A Louisville legend

Reflecting on the life and times of Denny Crum, who died Tuesday. Plus, USC adds another famous son, and the NBA Draft Combine invites are out.

Author

Mike Miller
May 10, 2023

For those who missed our big announcement on Tuesday, don’t fret. You can read all about The Field of 68 Tip-Off, a three-team event that starts in 2023 and features FAU, College of Charleston and Liberty, or watch the full announcement here. It’s gonna be a blast (and a great excuse to head to Florida just before winter hits).

Let's get to the rest of Tuesday’s news.

1. Denny Crum dies at 86

There’s a certain type of boldness that comes with passing on a sure thing. It’s a confidence that ensures you’re not plagued with second-guessing yourself later on, wondering what might have been.

Denny Crum, the Hall of Fame coach who built Louisville into one of the top 10 programs in college basketball history, had it.

It’s what ensured Crum, a former UCLA player and assistant to John Wooden, could pass on taking over at his alma mater. Twice.

It’s quite the move to pass once on returning home. It’s something else to do it again. And maybe that’s why Crum, who died Tuesday at the age of 86, ended up a legend on his own terms rather than building onto a well-established program.

"I hadn’t yet accomplished what I wanted to at Louisville," Crum told The New York Times in 1986. "And when I was offered the UCLA job after Gene Bartow left a couple of years later, I decided that I loved Louisville and didn’t want to leave. I think I probably could have done the job at UCLA better than anyone else. It’s never easy following a legend but because I knew the people and the situation there, I don’t think I would’ve had the problems other people had.”

How could that have played out if Crum did go to UCLA? Probably similar to what Roy Williams experienced when he eventually returned to North Carolina (not that this is a criticism of Williams; just an example). But that’s a thought exercise for another time because Crum did stay and built the Cardinals into a powerhouse.

“The program itself, because of the work Denny did, because he decided to make it his program, it became a destination program,” said Jeff Greer, who covered the Cardinals for the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Athletic from 2013-2019, and now hosts Floyd Street’s Finest for the Field of 68.

The résumé, if you don’t already know it by now, is staggering:

  • Two national titles

  • Six Final Fours

  • 23 NCAA Tournament appearances in 30 seasons

  • 15 regular-season conference titles

  • 675-295 overall record

But beyond the numbers, Crum’s Cardinals teams had a flair and panache. The 1980 title team, “The Doctors of Dunk” were just … cool. By the time the Cardinals won their second title in 1986, Crum’s legend was secure. He wasn’t Wooden but his own specific type of certified winner.

Not that he cultivated the limelight with flash or antics. He was a superb coach and believed in his players. From Brian Bennett at The Athletic:

From the beginning of his tenure, Crum embraced Black players, creating a stark contrast with crosstate power Kentucky, which was slow to integrate and even in the ‘80s was viewed as stodgy, stiff and resistant to racial progress. The Cardinals were jazz, while the Wildcats were a.m. radio. Kentucky steadfastly refused to play Louisville for nearly a quarter-century until the two teams met in the 1983 NCAA Tournament, a matchup coined “The Dream Game.” Crum’s Cardinals won, blowing the game open in overtime on a flurry of fast breaks.

Louisville’s flair belied the personality of its coach. Crum often wore a red sports jacket and always carried a rolled-up program on the sidelines, but he rarely called attention to himself or changed his demeanor. Like Wooden, he saw himself as a teacher of the game, not a screamer or showman. He was renowned as one of the top bench coaches in the game.

“He was very respectful of his players; he didn’t use profanity and didn’t berate the players,” said longtime former assistant coach Wade Houston. “And when he called a timeout, he could make an adjustment on the fly. A lot of people can try and make those adjustments, but you’ve got to make sure your players can understand and execute what you want to do. He was one who could do that.”

There’s more to Crum’s story than just winning, too. Even after he retired in 2001, he remained a loveable public figure, hosting a local radio show with one-time rival Joe B. Hall, attending Louisville home games, and eventually having the court at Freedom Hall named after him. (Mike Rutherford’s tribute at Card Chronicle is the comprehensive life and times of Crum.)

“The winning obviously played a huge part,” Greer said. “But even at the end when his teams started to struggle, and he retired and it could’ve been an uneasy relationship, he was still coming to games, he was still very much present in the community.

“Because of who he was as a storyteller, and as a thoughtful guy. He just won so many people over, he became a transcendent figure.”

2. USC adds another famous son

Bronny James won’t be the only one with an NBA bloodline on the USC roster next season.

DJ Rodman, a 6-6 small forward who averaged 9.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg last season for Washington State, announced Tuesday that he’ll be a Trojan, giving Andy Enfield’s team a solid option at the wing — and maybe even turning them into a Pac-12 title contender.

Rodman shot 38 percent from beyond the arc last season and will bring plenty of experience as a fifth-year senior. He should pair nicely with Boogie Ellis, USC’s leading scorer a season ago, and incoming freshman Isaiah Collier, arguably the No. 1 recruit in the country, along with Bronny.

Other portal activity:

3. NBA Draft Combine invites out

The NBA announced the 78 players expected to attend the NBA Draft Combine next week. There are no real surprises on the list shown below.

Even without an invite, those participating in the G-League camp this weekend could still earn an invite to the Draft combine next week. Players such as Johnell Davis, Olivier Nkamhoua, Norchad Omier, Antonio Reeves or Mark Sears will likely earn enough feedback to stay in the draft process or return to school.

What they don’t have is enough time to hit the G-League camp and enter the portal, if they haven’t already. Anyone wishing to enter the portal has to do so by Thursday.

The NBA Draft is June 22. Players have until June 1 to remove their names from the draft.

Waiting game

After Bob Huggins used an anti-gay slur in a radio interview on Monday, West Virginia is assessing the coach’s future with the university. What will happen, and what should they consider? Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster and Greg Waddell discuss.

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