Another sad walk off the court for Kenny Payne at the end of his second season as UofL coach (Mike DeZarn photo).Coach Kenny Payne still looking for answers but finding none as his UofL career winds down (Mike DeZarn photo).
Unless destiny continues to be cruel to the University of Louisville basketball program, the end of the Kenny Payne era may have finally arrived Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. No doubt about the outcome of the game, still another loss, the 23rd of the season in a string of continued disappointments.
There are no guarantees that Coach Kenny Payne will be fired before Wednesday. No guarantees either that he won’t be back. If he makes it through the week, the nightmare that began two years ago will continue indefinitely.
Louisville lost to Boston College 67-61 for the team’s second loss to the Golden Eagles this season. The Cardinals scored the first four points of the game, but hit the brick wall earlier than usual, allowing Boston College to go on a 17-1 run. Payne’s charges managed to keep the opposition with 10 and 12 points most of the way but unable or unwilling to play defense. Incapable of overcoming the smallest of deficits, lack of will, lack of talent, lack of vision, just too much lacking to go around.
“I am disappointed in the fact that we had Senior Night and came out and played the way we played – lethargic and uninterested,” Payne said. “I am very disappointed in that. … We have to play with a different fire. We have to play with a different purpose. I don’t think we did that. At the end of that, to only lose the game by six, what could we have done better individually or collectively to make sure we walk out of here with a win for our teammates?”
A familiar refrain coming from the UofL post-game press conference. Kenny Payne says all the right things, but when it comes to fixing them he has no answers. Minimal progress over the course of his two seasons at Louisville. Unable to recruit major talent, unable to take advantage of the portal, unable to benefit from one of the most lucrative NIL bankrolls in the nation.
Unable to excite the fan base, unable to communicate with the fans at all. Seemingly hasn’t made an honest effort to do the things necessary to succeed at Louisville.
The Kenny Payne experiment should be wrapped up this week if Louisville basketball has any hopes for retaining its fiercely-loyal fan base.
The biggest highlight of the day was Kathy Tronzo retiring as sports information assistant after 50 years on her 50th wedding anniversary. Her retired boss Kenny Klein recalls memories (Mike DeZarn photo).Two University of Louisville fans having fun in spite of the disappointments on the basketball court (Mike DeZarn photo).
