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Category: Louisville men’s basketball
In Kenny Payne, Louisville turns to its past to revive its hoops heartbeat
When Kenny Payne was being recruited to the University of Louisville by Wade Houston and Denny Crum, it was perhaps the hottest address in college basketball. It wasn’t the most tradition-rich. It didn’t have the longest history or the bluest blood. But Johnny Dawkins, a Duke player who faced the Cardinals in the 1986 NCAA…
Russ Smith: Louisville’s most unlikely hero
By Eric Crawford, WDRB This column originally appeared at WDRB.com after Louisville’s 2013 NCAA Championship, as part of Eric Crawford’s e-book commemorating the title, “The Run.” It was an easy moment to miss, but in some ways, it was a defining Russ Smith moment. With two seconds left in the NCAA championship game, the University…
Return of the boom? Louisville shows knockout punch in Miami win
CORAL GABLES, Fla. Walking through the Miami airport on Monday, I saw a Louisville fan with an old T-shirt on, featuring the words, “Here comes the boom!” I got to thinking, Louisville has done a lot of good things in the past year, but the Cardinals don’t really have that “boom” factor, that knockout punch….
Five weeks after stroke, Denny Crum says he’s making progress
LOUISVILLE, Ky. The car pulled up, and out popped Susan Sweeney Crum into the crowded lunch-hour parking lot of Kern’s Korner in the Highlands. “All right,” she said, smiling. “I’ve delivered him.” Up behind her walked Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Crum in a red-and-grey plaid shirt, smiling and happy to be out, showing…
LOUISVILLE LEGEND SERIES | Darrell Griffith: Promise delivered
LOUISVILLE, Ky. As a Louisville native, Kentucky Mr. Basketball and a prep All-American out of Male High School, Darrell Griffith could’ve played college basketball anywhere he wanted. He was the nation’s top prospect, and in 1976 was the only high school player asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic team. At the trials, his…
Looking inside Louisville’s “One Shining Moment”
ATLANTA — One Shining Moment. Many little moments. Having beaten Michigan 82-76 for the school’s third NCAA Championship, the University of Louisville basketball team looks up as the first strains of “One Shining Moment” begin in the Georgia Dome . . . U of L coach Rick Pitino’s family seems to materialize from everywhere, his…
A prayer changed Kevin Ware’s bad break into a big victory
There was a moment, with Kevin Ware lying on the sideline at Lucas Oil stadium, his right leg shattered and hanging at an unnatural angle, that the University of Louisville basketball player made a choice. He found in the midst of profound pain and crushing disappointment a minute of peace that changed his life. If…