Hmmm…… what would the national media narrative be if Lamar Jackson threw 2 INT’s & fumbled in the endzone late to lose a game. It’d lead every sports talk show with headlines like “regressed” or “have they figured Lamar out”.
Year one of the Pitino era, St John’s is in the Big East semis for the first time in 24 years. Two days ago Kenny said a turnaround in college basketball takes 3-4 years. 🤦🏽♂️
How are we seeing more practice videos of Pat Kelsey in 3 hours than we have Kenny Payne in 2 years??
Cards have a terrific social media team. This guy is going to be a content champion.
Am I the only one that feels completely detached from college basketball. I used to look forward to 4-5 different games a week, now I routinely find myself stumbling upon games that once would have been appointment viewing. It’s a byproduct of UofL’s struggles.
This is what a postgame handshake is supposed to look like as a competitor. No giggling/ hugging & chopping it up. Straight bee line to locker room to coach your team. That’s the reason RP is pushing the defending national champs & KP is giggling to a 9-35 record. Expectations.
Card fans largely have shown extreme restraint in not criticizing Kenny for universally behaving in a manner not befitting his title. He left the role in the exact same fashion as he occupied it - showing disdain for every level of stakeholder in Cardinal athletics.
This is a guy that totally gets it. He attends numerous games of other sports and high school basketball. He’s totally ingrained in this community. The head basketball coach hasn’t done any of this. It’s yet another clear example of not understanding the importance of the role.
I simply don’t understand KP. At 0-8 & down 13 he’s laughing & joking on the sideline.
I really appreciate keeping the guys light, but it’s to the point where you start to question how much he even cares. The optics are just bad. I’m not a lessor fan because I observe this.
It is a must that the next UofL basketball coach be a master communicator. After 4+ decades of UofL fandom it’s unreal how detached the community is from the program. KP is invisible. Winning will help, but if not for a few ex Cards fans would have zero look into the program.
UofL post game pressors are extremely light on areas the team played poorly and heavy on nebulous talk about “what this program means, etc”. Prior HC experience was wildly undervalued on this hire.
@CBKReport
2 Final Fours, 1 National Championship, 2X Big East Tournament MVP, Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner, graduated as the all time steals leader in school history, 2nd in assists in school history. This list is incomplete without
@PeypeySiva3
Go ahead and say it folks. Jerry Eaves & Rick Bozich banged the Kenny Payne drum for 5 years…to KP’s detriment. He wasn’t ready for this and based off his comments I’m not sure he wanted this. Look across the court tonight. Muss was successful leading Nevada & earned Hogs gig.
@CardChronicle
Not exactly a graphic “mistake”, but the Teddy game where they showed his stats while they were comparing him to QB’s that scramble and he only had like 100 yards in 10 games. Is there an opposite of “sneaky athletic”?
I cannot believe UofL is this poorly coached. Anyone that knows me knows I was floored Heird hired KP, that said I couldn’t have dreamed he’d be this ill equipped to lead & this bad. Folks, at 0-7, being down 19 at half is nearly impossible to do short of zero coaching.
@CBKReport
Indiana. 1 Final Four over last 30 years & 1 title over last 40 years and it’s fanbase calls itself a blue blood program. Indiana hasn’t been elite consistently in the lifetimes of anyone that actually attends that university.
Attended my first UK game last night - several things of note. UK fans are obsessed w/ L’s down. Must have seen 10-15 on the Jumbotron during game Cats were losing to 7-8 USC. Cal’s assistant graveyard - Antigua/Boozer back on the bench keeping the seat warm for the next HC miss.
@lukeskywalka11
2nd half of ‘13 Big East Championship against Syracuse. Down 16 with 15:00 left and win by 17. That 33 point swing in last 15 minutes felt like a 50 point swing.
@thestateoflou
The sad part is his father is putting a target on him. Zan clearly isn’t even a marginal D1 basketball player & his Dad put him in a position to look poorly.
Allowing him to walk-on is the HC’s prerogative. Starting him in a crucial road game is professional malpractice.
@CardChronicle
Hearing Beecher Terrace 30% of UofL fans thought “whoa, Gus comes from tough stock”. The other 70% of UofL fans have absolutely no clue what or where it is. 😊
Louisville Slugger Field is one of the gems of
@MiLB
. The
@LouisvilleBats
have an outstanding facility. Here’s a thread of outstanding minor league ballparks starting with this gem on the banks of the Ohio River.
The Kenny Payne to Pat Kelsey transition can be a lesson for us all.
Some opportunities seem more difficult than they truly are. With PROPER preparation, a can-do attitude & absolutely working your tail off what one man calls BROKEN another man sees as READY. ATTITUDE MATTERS.
Another few articles in the Courier this morning w/ quotes from Payne family calling UK family and saying it’s all love. It’s an insult to injury. They have zero feel for the pulse of the UofL fanbase on UK. The optics are horrible.
@TheCardConnect
Many UofL fans flat don’t grasp how unprofessional this is. Adidas is the largest financial benefactor to the entirety of UofL Athletics. Financial support & resources hinge on adherence to contractual obligations w/ sponsors. This simply would never happen at well run programs.
I thought KP was a terrible hire. I didn’t think he was qualified & certainly wasn’t ready for the CEO portion of leading a Rolls Royce program. I didn’t think that he would have the worst start in major conference history. LITERALLY couldn’t be worse.
@CBKReport
The most absurd thing ever was a few years back when ESPN named Michael Jordan the best college player ever. Kareem is so far and away the most accomplished college player of all time.
@betterstreetsai
As much as I love the look and appreciate the sentiment of this I do have to note that 10’s of thousands use this thoroughfare daily and removing this transportation option without creating another hinders countless peoples way of life/livelihoods. I-90/94 is jam packed as is.
Attending the UofL game today I was both saddened by the small crowd size given what a Saturday game has been for 50 years at UofL and surprised it was as large as it was. Fans badly want something to cheer for. UofL talent is far better than 3-20.
@ShehanJeyarajah
I actually wish ESPN covered the NWSL more. The games are great to watch and the ladies are really skilled….. and I’m not even super soccer guy. 🤷🏽♂️
In today’s presser did I actually hear Kenny say he can’t bench guys, followed by him admitting that the team doesn’t play hard?!? This is 46 games into the Kenny Payne tenure.
This can’t continue for 3 more months.
Has everyone noticed who has been eerily silent about this horribly coached team & terrible fan relations? There are a few that banged the drum louder than any that are now completely silent. No one gets it right 100% of the time, but this was the longest of longshots.
Lenoir-Rhyne is currently 8-9 overall & 3-6 in conference play. L-R will be the worst loss in UofL basketball history. What was thought a horrible loss at the time is actually worse.
@L_Wade22
100% agree. Mack literally invited every available basketball alum into his own home.
Kenny mentioning former player access is simply another misguided attempt to point at anything other than his dreadful performance. He’s leaving UofL as poorly as he preformed in the job.
@Shane00
There’s such an odd nostalgia for this era. This is 32 years ago. No one then would have suggested anything was better 32 years prior to this in ‘59. Athletes today look like granite Gods versus these guys. Just as they’ll be better, faster, stronger 32 years from today.
Kenny’s presser today was a microcosm of his tenure as HC. Completely void of any responsibility for the results, zero specifics on how/why they played poorly and completely unaware in the reality of how quickly a team can improve in today’s college basketball. Dreadful 2 years.
@accnetwork
@snicklefritz35
@Lj_era8
In the open field in college he was nearly unstoppable. No one thought he’d dominate the NFL in a similar fashion. Spoiler alert...... he has.
@BigGameBoomer
Ok, I’ll take the bait. To rank Louisville anywhere outside 1-3 is absurd. Practice facility is great, athletic dorm is brand spanking new and the Yum center is the nicest arena in college basketball.
UofL coaches opinions v UK:
Mack: Perfect video poking Cal in ribs “anytime, anyplace”.
Pitino: One finger salute walking off the floor at Rupp. Calls Cal desperate & delusional.
Crum: “Typical”, leading to “can we cut” from Joe B.
KP: I love Cal.
Huge props to Evangel for making it to the
@KHSAA
Final 4. With less than 40 kids in the entire high school it’s an amazing accomplishment. If not for being located in Louisville this would be the darling story all across the state. Well done to coach Larry Miller & the Eagles!!
@FOS
@LVAces
@WNBA
should target more cities without an NBA team where WNBA will be top dog. Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Raleigh to name a few.
@CardChronicle
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Worst than I remembered, 26 rushing yards for the season, but he was a “dual threat” guy to the national drop in guys.
Now that we’re here, this level of unaware Louisville coverage is only topped by “Palachus”.
@ericcrawford
He had a considerable amount of time before his first season to bring in transfers & connect w/ fans. He did neither. He didn’t even move to Louisville after he was hired for some time.
This thing has been a failure from launch. KP wasn’t near ready for a job of this magnitude.
@TimSullivan714
Why? What am I missing here? There are hundreds of former players. This man played at UofL over 50 years ago. Why is the local media obsessed about updating us on he & Eaves? I’ve been a fan my whole life & attended probably 150 games & never once wondered if Beard was aligned.
@WillBrinson
State got a total jam job. There’s zero reason to force a team that won all season long to warrant a
#1
seed to have to play a true road game. Those young ladies deserved better.
@bomani_jones
The fact he was a high school coach like two minutes ago raises questions of how he acted when there weren’t national network’s broadcasting his games? 🤷🏽♂️
When you have receipts of numerous cats on here telling me that I didn’t know what I was talking about when I screamed from the rooftops that KP would be a total disaster getting this job. It was never personal. He never should have have even been considered.
@NFL_DovKleiman
Not only is it potentially detrimental to his health, but he’s also judged more harshly than any player in the NFL. If he played & lays an egg because of injury it’s all that’s talked about for 6 months. Playing while injured is a lose/lose for him.
@LouisvilleMBB
@coachkennypayne
This is flat unbelievable. In a season that the team is 2-18 the official MBB Twitter account is tagging UK players and thanking them for coming?!? This is so unwanted and bizarre. I thought that social media UK plant guy was removed by Tyra? The total nightmare continues.
@danorlovsky7
The coverage of Lamar is so vexing. Guy won a Heisman running pro style offense for a demanding college coach. Unanimous MVP in run dominated offense. 80% of QB’s would be universally praised w/ that resume. Guy is judged pass to pass, not even game to game or season to season.
@Dami0nLee
Big fan Damion, but you aren’t watching these games. Cards are 0-9, and are digressing.
You guys know KP personally & are rooting for him from afar. In person this is the worst start in 110 years of UofL basketball & ACC history. This isn’t simply overzealous fans complaining.
@TheBillsGuys
@NFL_DovKleiman
Max was flat excellent on boxing on HBO. I think Max’s takes were well thought out and compelling. He was never a screamer or disrespectful ala Stephen A. SAS is illustrating how horrible of a work environment that had to be.
@_EthanMoore
…… and …. zero public outreach to form any kind of relationship & sell his vision. Zero national or local interviews, zero written messages, zero pod hits. Just completely off the radar in a job that requires public leadership….. off a 4 win season.
@Real7Talk
The video above makes it look different than how it actually occurred. The ball wasn’t near Kobe’s face. People have been pumped on this for years and it didn’t happen the way they think it did.
The Kenny Payne era has been an all systems failure in every aspect. The mishaps too many to list. Cory Alexander, while attempting to be a loyal friend, is actually calling into question his own professional integrity.
@GovAndyBeshear
Any update on how this can be applied to the actual economic engine that drives KY, Louisville. We’ve been paying tolls on two bridges going on 7 years now. Not to mention the non tolled freeway bridge is currently under construction for a 3+ year project… & the tolls continue.
@EricPMusselman
@MauiInv
@Nike
@PigsBrand
Man…. I’m so jealous of the way Musselman constantly gives his fanbase these updates. There are a great many coaches that can learn from Muss’s excitement building.
@rickbozich
Yesterday was the first time UofL fans have heard from Payne since the ACC tourney pressor 10 weeks ago. Fans want to buy in, KP doesn’t do anything to reach out to fans. Zero communication to reach out to fans & sell his vision. Giving info for these columns isn’t fan outreach.
@PeypeySiva3
My son was in 4th grade and couldn’t believe you were at the mall. He had to build up the courage to ask for pic. He’s a senior in college now. 😊
Plummer ending up with 308 yards passing & 3 TD’s is outstanding, especially considering the patchy spots to start. Great for him to step up massively in the 4th.
@JeffMcDev
This entire vignette was bizarre, he acted as if he was going to drop some A-ha genius answer, but he was actually asking rhetorical questions.
The reaction here by players & coaches leads to so many more questions. Nearly zero energy & zero direction in a 3 possession game w/ over 2:35 left. This isn’t about talent. This fanbase knows better.
@sgellison
It’s so bizarre the amount of disrespect he receives from many. It’s like they simply can’t overcome their preconceived notion’s of him no matter how well he does. The bar just gets moved further and further. He’s the only player in the league that’s judged on “has he won a SB”.