LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville has been looking for a new head coach for the last few months and the name Kenny Payne has come up often.
The Cardinals have been under the direction of interim coach Mike Pegues since Chris Mack was removed as head coach in January 2022. UofL finished the 2021-22 season 13-19 after a loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament.
Payne had been mentioned as Louisville's top target from the moment Mack was out. Payne is praised not only as an excellent recruiter for luring some of the Wildcats' top talent during his time at the University of Kentucky but he is also credited with developing many of their star post players.
According to UK Athletics, Payne has spent the past two years with the New York Knicks after 10 years as a Kentucky assistant on John Calipari's staff. He was also an assistant at Oregon.
He grew up in Laurel, Mississippi and attended the University of Louisville. As a player for the Cards, Payne scored 1,089 points from 1985-89 at Louisville under Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum.
He was a freshman reserve on the Cardinals' 1986 national championship squad, playing alongside Pervis Ellison, Billy Thompson and Robbie Valentine.
From 1989 to 1993, he played four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. He also played overseas in several countries including Italy, Brazil, China and Australia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.