Louisville Cardinals men's basketball

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Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2023–24 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Louisville Cardinals wordmark.svg
University University of Louisville
First season1911
All-time record1,882*–933 (.669)
Athletic directorJosh Heird
Head coach Pat Kelsey (1st season)
Conference ACC
Location Louisville, Kentucky
Arena KFC Yum! Center (2010–present)
(Capacity: 22,090)
Freedom Hall (1956–2010)
(Capacity: 18,865)
Nickname Cardinals
Student section"The Ville'ns"
ColorsRed and black [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament champions
1980, 1986, 2013*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1959, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 2005, 2012*, 2013*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1959, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012*, 2013*, 2015*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1951, 1959, 1961, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012*, 2013*, 2014*, 2015*
NCAA tournament appearances
1951, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012*, 2013*, 2014*, 2015*, 2017, 2019
Conference tournament champions
1928, 1929, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012*, 2013*, 2014*
Conference regular season champions
1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2005, 2009, 2013*, 2014*
*Appearances Vacated by NCAA, along with 123 wins

The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 (with the 2013 title being vacated); and have officially been to 8 Final Fours (with the 2012 and 2013 appearances being vacated) in 39 official NCAA tournament appearances while compiling 61 tournament wins. [2] [3]

Contents

History

"Peck" Hickman era (1944–1967)

Bernard "Peck" Hickman's 1944 team finished with a 16–3 record and started a string of 46 consecutive winning seasons, which was an NCAA record. [4]

Men's basketball team, 1914, CN Caldwell, captain University of Louisville men's basketball team, 1914.jpg
Men's basketball team, 1914, CN Caldwell, captain
U of L winning percentage by year ULbballp.GIF
U of L winning percentage by year
U of L all-time wins/losses graph ULcmlt wins.JPG
U of L all-time wins/losses graph

Hickman led Louisville to its first championship on a national level by winning the NAIB tournament in 1948. [5] In 1956, led by All-American Charlie Tyra, the Cardinals won the NIT Championship. [6] In 1956 his team was placed on two years probation, to include bans on postseason play, by the NCAA due to recruiting violations. [7] In 1959, Louisville made its first NCAA Final Four appearance behind the play of All-American Don Goldstein.

The Cardinals never had a losing season in Hickman's 23 seasons as head coach. [8] He coached 11 20-win teams, appeared in five NCAA tournaments, coached six NIT appearances and finished with a 443–183 overall record, a .708 winning percentage that ranks him in the top 45 all time.

John Dromo era (1967–1971)

John Dromo was Hickman's assistant for 17 years and succeeded him at head coach in 1967. In four seasons as head coach, Dromo led the Cardinals to a 68–23 record (.747 winning percentage) and the 1967 Missouri Valley Conference title.

A heart attack during the 1970–71 season forced Dromo to retire. His assistant, Howard Stacey, was named interim head coach for the final 20 games of the season. [9]

Denny Crum era (1971–2001)

Denny Crum was hired as head coach from his alma mater, UCLA, where he was the top assistant coach to John Wooden. It was under the guidance of Crum that Louisville became a college basketball power. In his first season, he guided the Cardinals to the NCAA Final Four, becoming the first coach ever to go to a Final Four in his first season as a head coach. Overall, Crum had six Final Fours with the Cardinals (1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986). He is fifth all-time in Final Four appearances. [10]

The Cardinals won the 1980 NCAA tournament championship by defeating UCLA 59–54. Six years later, Louisville would overcome Duke 72–69 for a second title. Crum is one of only 11 coaches to win two or more national championships. [11] He was named National Coach of the Year in 1980, 1983 and 1986.

He took the Cardinals to 23 NCAA tournaments, where they had an overall record of 43–21. While in the Metro Conference, the Cardinals won 12 regular season titles and 11 tournament championships. In its 19 years of naming a champion, the Metro had Louisville as first or second place 17 times. In 1993, Crum became the second fastest coach to reach 500 wins. [12]

Crum was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1994. He retired in 2001 with a career record of 675–295 (.696 winning percentage) over 30 seasons. He was a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 2006.

Rick Pitino era (2001–2017)

Rick Pitino was hired in 2001 after four years as head coach of the Boston Celtics, and previously as head coach of Louisville's in-state rival, Kentucky. [13]

Pitino guided the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of 15 seasons, reaching the Elite Eight six times and the Final Four three times (2005, 2012, and 2013). His teams won six conference tournament championships and four regular season titles. The Cardinals won at least 20 games every season since Pitino's first season at Louisville. Through the 2015–16 season, Pitino amassed a record of 391–134 (.745) during his time at Louisville.

Pitino was selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, [14] and was under contract through the 2025–26 season. [15]

The University of Louisville self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2015–16 season amid an ongoing NCAA investigation over an escort sex scandal involving recruits between 2010 and 2014. The ban included both the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. [16] [17]

On June 15, 2017, the NCAA charged Rick Pitino for failure to monitor his basketball program which was involved in a sex-for-pay scandal. He was suspended for the first five games of the ACC season in 2017–18. [18]

On September 26, 2017, federal prosecutors in New York announced that the school was under investigation for an alleged "pay for play" scheme involving recruits at Louisville. [19] [20] The allegations state that an Adidas executive conspired to pay $100,000 to the family of a top-ranked national recruit to play at Louisville and to represent Adidas when he turned pro. [19] [21] The criminal complaint did not name Louisville specifically but appeared to involve the recruitment of Brian Bowen, a late, surprise commit to the school. [22] [23] On September 27, 2017, Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich were placed on administrative leave. [24]

On October 26, 2017, Rick Pitino was fired as the head coach of Louisville Men's Basketball. [25]

On February 20, 2018, the NCAA ruled that Louisville must vacate its records from 2011 to 2015. This included 123 wins, the 2013 NCAA title, and a 2012 Final Four appearance. [26]

Chris Mack era (2018–2022)

On March 27, 2018, Xavier head coach Chris Mack agreed to terms on a seven-year contract worth about $4 million annually to become the next head coach at Louisville. [27] Louisville was the first ever school to hire away a head coach whose previous team was a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Mack had a notable start to his Louisville tenure, recruiting a top-5 2019 class that included a 5-star player, four 4-star players, and a three-star player. Picked to finish 11th in the 2018 preseason ACC poll, Mack led the Cardinals to a 20–14 season peaking at #15 in the AP polls and finishing in seventh place in the ACC standings with signature wins over #9 Michigan State, #12 North Carolina, and #11 Virginia Tech and tough losses to #5 Tennessee, Marquette, #22 Florida State, and #2 Duke. Under Mack, Louisville made only one NCAA tournament appearance. [28] [29] [30]

On January 26, 2022, Louisville and Chris Mack mutually agreed to part ways.

Kenny Payne era (2022–2024)

On March 18, 2022, it was announced that the University of Louisville signed Kenny Payne to a six-year contract as head coach. [31]

Kenny Payne ended his first season with the worst record in modern times for any Louisville team, finishing the season 4–28. [32]

On March 13, 2024, Louisville fired Payne after a two-year record of 12–52. [33]

Pat Kelsey era (2024-present)

On March 28, 2024, Pat Kelsey was introduced as the 23rd head coach for the Louisville Cardinals mens basketball team, signing a 5-year contract.

Notable achievements

As of the end of the 2015–16 season, Louisville had an all-time 1778–892 record in 102 seasons of intercollegiate basketball ranking 10th in all-time victories and seventh in all-time winning percentage among NCAA Division I schools. From 1944 to 1990, Louisville had an NCAA-record 46 straight winning seasons, winning 20 or more games on 31 occasions during that period.

Louisville has made 42 NCAA Tournament appearances (5th all-time) and 15 NIT appearances. The Cardinals have reached the NCAA Tournament 32 of the last 40 years (12 of the last 15, 14 of the last 18 years, 20 of last 25). Since the NCAA began keeping Sweet Sixteen appearance records in 1975, Louisville's 21 Sweet Sixteens are 5th all-time behind North Carolina (26), Kentucky (25), Duke (24), and Kansas (22). The Cardinals have reached the Elite Eight on 14 occasions, including five of the past nine seasons. Louisville is sixth in tournament victories (75) with a 75–41 overall NCAA Tournament record, reaching the Final Four 10 times.

Louisville is the only school in the nation to have claimed the championship of three major national post-season tournaments including the 1948 NAIA championship, the 1956 NIT title and the 1980 1986 and 2013 NCAA championships. Simultaneously, Louisville is the only school in NCAA history to have a Men's Basketball National Championship vacated, along with 2 Final Four appearances.

By the numbers

[34]

TraditionNumberNational rank
All-time NCAA Tournament titles 2*t-9th
All-time NCAA Tournaments 39*8th
All-time NCAA Tournament Wins 61*6th
All-time NCAA Final Fours 8*8th
All-time victories 1759*26th [35]
All-time winning percentage .652*11th [35]

Post-season results

National championships

1948 NAIA Tournament Championship

1948 NAIA Tournament Results
RoundOpponentScore
First Round South Dakota State 63–60
Sweet Sixteen Emporia State 82–66
Elite Eight Beloit 85–76
Final Four Xavier 56–49
Championship Indiana State 82–70

1956 NIT Championship

1956 NIT Tournament Results
RoundOpponentScore
First RoundBye
Elite Eight Duquesne 84–72
Final Four Saint Joseph's 89–79
Championship Dayton 93–80

1980 NCAA Tournament Championship

1980 NCAA Tournament Results
RoundOpponentScore
First RoundBye
Second Round Kansas State 71–69 OT
Sweet Sixteen Texas A&M 66–55 OT
Elite Eight LSU 86–66
Final Four Iowa 80–72
Championship UCLA 59–54

1986 NCAA Tournament Championship

1986 NCAA Tournament Results
RoundOpponentScore
First Round Drexel 93–73
Second Round Bradley 82–56
Sweet Sixteen North Carolina 94–79
Elite Eight Auburn 84–76
Final Four LSU 88–77
Championship Duke 72–69

2013 NCAA Tournament Championship (Vacated)

2013 NCAA Tournament Results
RoundOpponentScore
First Round North Carolina A&T 79–48
Second Round Colorado State 82–56
Sweet Sixteen Oregon 77–69
Elite Eight Duke 85–63
Final Four Wichita State 68–62
Championship Michigan 82–76

NCAA Tournament Final Four history

NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

NCAA tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years → '79 '80 '81 '82 '83 '84 '86 '88 '89 '90 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '99
Seeds→324315254484311667
Years → '00 '03 '04 '05 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '17 '19
Seeds→74104631*9441*4427

* – Overall number one seed. The committee began ranking 1 seeds in 2004.

Complete NCAA tournament results

The Cardinals have appeared in the NCAA tournament 39* (43) times. Their combined record is 61–44* (76–44).

* – NCAA vacated all wins from 2011 to 2015.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1951 Sweet SixteenKentuckyL 68–79
1959 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd Place Game
Eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
Michigan State
West Virginia
Cincinnati
W 77–63
W 76–61
W 88–81
L 79–94
L 85–98
1961 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Ohio
Ohio State
Morehead State
W 76–70
L 55–56
W 83–61
1964 First RoundOhioL 69–71 OT
1967 Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
SMU
Kansas
L 81–83
L 68–70
1968 Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Houston
Kansas State
L 75–91
W 93–63
1972 Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd Place Game
Southwest Louisiana
Kansas State
UCLA
North Carolina
W 88–84
W 72–65
L 77–96
L 91–105
1974 Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Oral Roberts
Creighton
L 93–96
L 71–80
1975 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd Place Game
Rutgers
Cincinnati
Maryland
UCLA
Syracuse
W 91–78
W 78–63
W 96–82
L 74–75 OT
W 96–88 OT
1977 First RoundUCLAL 79–87
1978 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
St. John's
DePaul
W 76–68
L 89–90 2OT
1979 #3Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#6 South Alabama
#2 Arkansas
W 69–66
L 62–73
1980 #2Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship
#7 Kansas State
#6 Texas A&M
#1 LSU
#5 Iowa
#8 UCLA
W 71–69 OT
W 66–55 OT
W 86–66
W 80–72
W 59–54
1981 #4Second Round#5 ArkansasL 73–74
1982 #3Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#11 Middle Tennessee
#2 Minnesota
#4 UAB
#1 Georgetown
W 81–56
W 67–61
W 75–68
L 46–50
1983 #1Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#8 Tennessee
#4 Arkansas
#3 Kentucky
#1 Houston
W 70–57
W 65–63
W 80–68 OT
L 81–94
1984 #5First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Morehead State
#4 Tulsa
#1 Kentucky
W 72–59
W 69–67
L 67–72
1986 #2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship
#15 Drexel
#7 Bradley
#3 North Carolina
#8 Auburn
#11 LSU
#1 Duke
W 93–73
W 82–68
W 94–79
W 84–76
W 88–77
W 72–69
1988 #5First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Oregon State
#4 BYU
#1 Oklahoma
W 70–61
W 97–76
L 98–108
1989 #4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Arkansas–Little Rock
#5 Arkansas
#1 Illinois
W 76–71
W 93–84
L 69–83
1990 #4First Round
Second Round
#13 Idaho
#12 Ball State
W 78–59
L 60–62
1992 #8First Round
Second Round
#9 Wake Forest
#1 UCLA
W 81–58
L 69–85
1993 #4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Delaware
#5 Oklahoma State
#1 Indiana
W 76–70
W 78–63
L 69–82
1994 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#14 Boise State
#6 Minnesota
#2 Arizona
W 67–58
W 60–55
L 70–82
1995 #11First Round#6 MemphisL 56–77
1996 #6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#11 Tulsa
#3 Villanova
#2 Wake Forest
W 82–80 OT
W 68–64
L 59–60
1997 #6First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#11 Massachusetts
#3 New Mexico
#10 Texas
#1 North Carolina
W 65–57
W 64–63
W 78–63
L 74–97
1999 #7First Round#10 CreightonL 58–62
2000 #7First Round#10 GonzagaL 66–77
2003 #4First Round
Second Round
#13 Austin Peay
#12 Butler
W 86–64
L 79–71
2004 #10First Round#7 XavierL 70–80
2005 #4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#13 Louisiana–Lafayette
#5 Georgia Tech
#1 Washington
#7 West Virginia
#1 Illinois
W 68–62
W 76–54
W 93–79
W 93–85 OT
L 57–72
2007 #6First Round
Second Round
#11 Stanford
#3 Texas A&M
W 78–58
L 69–72
2008 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Boise State
#6 Oklahoma
#2 Tennessee
#1 North Carolina
W 79–61
W 78–48
W 79–60
L 73–83
2009 #1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#16 Morehead State
#9 Siena
#12 Arizona
#2 Michigan State
W 74–54
W 79–72
W 103–64
L 52–64
2010 #9First Round#8 CaliforniaL 62–77
2011 #4Second Round#13 Morehead StateL 61–62
2012*#4Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Davidson
New Mexico
Michigan State
Florida
Kentucky
W 69–62
W 59–56
W 57–44
W 72–68
L 61–69
2013*#1Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Title
North Carolina A&T
Colorado State
Oregon
Duke
Wichita State
Michigan
W 79–48
W 82–56
W 77–69
W 85–63
W 72–68
W 82–76
2014*#4Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Manhattan
#5 Saint Louis
#8 Kentucky
W 71–64
W 66–51
L 69–74
2015*#4Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#13 UC Irvine
#5 Northern Iowa
#8 NC State
#7 Michigan State
W 57–55
W 66–53
W 75–65
L 70–76 OT
2017 #2First Round
Second Round
#15 Jacksonville State
#7 Michigan
W 78–63
L 69–73
2019 #7First Round#10 MinnesotaL 76–86

Complete NIT results

The Cardinals have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 15 times. Their combined record is 16–15. They were the 1956 NIT Champions.

YearRoundOpponentResult
1952 First Round WKU L 59–62
1953 First Round
Quarterfinals
Georgetown
Manhattan
W 92–79
L 66–79
1954 First Round St. Francis (NY) L 55–60
1955 First Round
Quarterfinals
Manhattan
Duquesne
W 91–86
L 66–74
1956 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
Duquesne
Saint Joseph's
Dayton
W 84–72
W 89–79
W 93–80
1966 First RoundBoston CollegeL 90–96
1969 First Round
Quarterfinals
Fordham
Boston College
W 73–70
L 83–88
1970 First RoundOklahomaL 73–74
1971 First RoundProvidenceL 58–64
1973 First Round
Quarterfinals
American
Notre Dame
W 97–84
L 71–79
1976 QuarterfinalsProvidenceL 67–73
1985 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game
Alcorn State
South Florida
Chattanooga
UCLA
Tennessee
W 77–75
W 68–61
W 71–66
L 66–75
L 84–100
2002 First Round
Second Round
Princeton
Temple
W 66–65
L 62–65
2006 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Delaware State
Clemson
Missouri State
South Carolina
W 71–54
W 74–68
W 74–56
L 63–78
2018 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Northern Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Mississippi State
W 66–58
W 84–68
L 56–79

Regular season conference championships

The Cardinals have won 23 conference regular season championships.

Since the 2014–15 season they have played in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Before that, they belonged to the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from the 1925–26 to 1947–48 seasons, the Ohio Valley Conference for the 1948–49 season, the Missouri Valley Conference from 1964–65 to 1974–75, the Metro Conference from 1975–76 to 1994–95, Conference USA from 1995–96 to 2004–05, the Big East Conference from 2005–06 to 2012–13, and the American Athletic Conference in 2013–14.

They played as an independent school from 1911–12 to 1924–25 and from 1949–50 to 1963–64 (29 total seasons).

Missouri Valley Conference (7)
Metro Conference (12)
Conference USA (1)
Big East Conference (2)
American Athletic Conference (1)

Conference tournament championships

The Cardinal have won 19 conference tournament championships.

Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament (2)
Metro Conference tournament (11)
Conference USA tournament (2)
Big East Conference tournament (3)
American Athletic tournament (1)

Rivalries

Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry has been ranked the 2nd best rivalry in college basketball by Bleacher Report and 3rd best rivalry in all of college sports by Basketball Hall of Fame contributor Dick Vitale. [38] Kentucky and Louisville first played against each other in 1913 but stopped playing each other in the 1920s, playing only twelve times between 1913 and 1983. The rivalry was generally dormant with only occasional matchups until the teams met in the 1983 NCAA tournament. Since then, the two teams have met each year in late December or early January.

Much like the Iron Bowl, the Kentucky–Louisville rivalry is all the more intense because the two schools have consistently been among the nation's elite men's basketball teams for most of the last 50 years. Both schools are also two of the most victorious programs in NCAA men's basketball history; Kentucky is #1 on the list of all-time winningest programs in Division I Men's Basketball and Louisville #26 (#10 including vacated victories). Kentucky has eight national championships while Louisville has two (officially; three including the vacated 2013 title) national championships.

Cincinnati Bearcats

While predominantly a football rivalry, the proximity and long-standing conference affiliation of Cincinnati and Louisville made this into a key rivalry, particularly in the days of the Metro and Big East conferences. This rivalry went on hiatus in 2014 when Louisville left the American Athletic Conference for the ACC.

Notable Cardinals

Retired numbers

Charlie Tyra UL.jpg
Wes Unseld 1967.jpeg
Darrell Griffith (cropped).jpg
Charlie Tyra, Wes Unseld, and Darrell Griffith, whose numbers were retired by Louisville
Louisville Cardinals retired numbers
No.PlayerPos.TenureNo. ret.Ref.
2
Russ Smith PG 2010–142022 [39]
8
Charlie Tyra PF 1954–57 [39]
31
Wes Unseld C 1966–68 [39]
35
Darrell Griffith SG 1977–80 [39]
42
Pervis Ellison C 1986–89 [39]

Louisville basketball has honored five former players by retiring their numbers. Except as noted, these are the last players to wear these numbers for a Louisville men's squad:

Cardinals in the Hall of Fame

Louisville has three representatives in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Cardinal All-American and former Washington Bullets All-Star Wes Unseld, who was inducted in 1988, former coach Denny Crum, who was inducted in 1994, and coach Rick Pitino, who was inducted in 2013. Darrell Griffith, a national player of the year and consensus All-American at the University of Louisville, is part of the 2014 induction class for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

National Player of the Year awards

All-Americans

Twenty one Louisville players have earned 25 All American selections. 7 players received 8 consensus All-American selections. [41] [42]

Consensus selections

Other selections

Other major national awards

Honored jerseys

Louisville has honored the jerseys of 21 former players.[ citation needed ] Their numbers remain active.

Honored Jerseys
NumberPlayerPositionYears
14 Alfred "Butch" Beard Guard1966–69
10 Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman Guard/Forward1972–75
16 Jack Coleman Forward/Center1946–49
24 Don Goldstein Forward1956–59
4 Lancaster Gordon Guard1980–84
13 George Hauptfuhrer Center1944–46
20 Bob Lochmueller Forward1949–52
22 Rodney McCray Forward/Center1979–83
12 Jim Morgan Guard1953–57
20 Allen Murphy Guard/Forward1972–75
16 Chuck Noble Forward/Guard1950–54
13 Bud Olsen Center1959–62
15 Jim Price Guard1969–72
13Kenny ReevesGuard1946–50
9 Phil Rollins Guard1952–56
43 Derek Smith Guard/Forward1978–82
55 Billy Thompson Forward1982–86
22John TurnerForward1958–61
20 Milt Wagner Guard1981–86
32 DeJuan Wheat Guard1993–97
45 Donovan Mitchell Guard2015–17

Conference Player of the Year

Key

Co-Players of the Year
Player (X)Denotes the number of times the player has been
awarded the Player of the Year award at that point
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
1973–74 Junior Bridgeman SF Junior
1974–75 Junior Bridgeman (2) SF Senior
Metro Conference Player of the Year
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
1977–78 Rick Wilson SG/PG Senior
1979–80 Darrell Griffith SG Senior
1980–81 Derek Smith SG Junior
1982–83 Rodney McCray SF Senior
1986–87 Herbert Crook SF/SG Junior
1987–88 Pervis Ellison C Junior
1992–93 Clifford Rozier C Sophomore
1993–94 Clifford Rozier (2) C Junior

Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Metro Conference tournament Most Outstanding Player
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
1978 Rick Wilson SG/PG Senior
1980 Darrell Griffith SG Senior
1981 Rodney McCray SF Sophomore
1983 Rodney McCray(2) SF Senior
1986 Pervis Ellison C Freshman
1988 Herbert Crook SF Senior
1989 Pervis Ellison(2) C Senior
1990 LaBradford Smith SG Junior
1991 LaBradford Smith(2) SG Senior
1993 Dwayne Morton SF Sophomore
1994 Clifford Rozier C Junior
1995 DeJuan Wheat PG Sophomore
Conference USA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
2003 Luke Whitehead SF Junior
2005 Taquan Dean SG/PG Junior
Big East Conference tournament Most Outstanding Player
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
2012 Peyton Siva PG Junior
2013 Peyton Siva PG Senior
American Athletic Conference tournament Most Valuable Player
SeasonPlayerPositionClass
2014 Russ Smith SG/PG Senior

1000-point scorers

As of 2015, Louisville has 67 1000-point career scorers, second only to North Carolina for most all time. [43]

Cardinals in the pros

The Cardinals have had 75 players taken in the NBA draft, the most recent being Ray Spalding, who was chosen in the 2018 NBA draft, and Donovan Mitchell, who was chosen in the 2017 NBA draft. 30 former Cardinal players are playing professional basketball, with six of those currently playing in the NBA.

Donovan Mitchell is one of five former Cardinals playing in the NBA in 2020. Donovan Mitchell Utah 2018 (cropped).jpg
Donovan Mitchell is one of five former Cardinals playing in the NBA in 2020.
NameLeagueTeam
Deng Adel Flag of the United States.svg NBA G League Long Island Nets
Chane Behanan Flag of Puerto Rico.svg BSN Santeros de Aguada
Wayne Blackshear Flag of the United States.svg NBA G League Maine Red Claws
Rakeem Buckles Flag of France.svg LNB Pro B Lille Métropole BC
Earl Clark Flag of Spain.svg Liga ACB San Pablo Burgos
Taquan Dean Flag of France.svg LNB Pro A Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez
Nouha Diakite Flag of France.svg LNB Pro B Lille Métropole BC
Gorgui Dieng Flag of the United States.svg NBA Memphis Grizzlies
Anton Gill Flag of Finland.svg Koripallon I-divisioona Koiviston Kipinä Basket
Montrezl Harrell Flag of the United States.svg NBA Philadelphia 76ers
Terence Jennings Flag of Bulgaria.svg NBL Beroe
Jaylen Johnson Flag of the United States.svg NBA G League Iowa Wolves
V.J. King Flag of the United States.svg NBA G-League Westchester Knicks
Preston Knowles Flag of Thailand.svg ASEAN Basketball League Mono Vampire
Kyle Kuric Flag of Spain.svg Liga ACB FC Barcelona Lassa
Damion Lee Flag of the United States.svg NBA Phoenix Suns
Trey Lewis Flag of Israel.svg Israel Basketball Premier League Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Mangok Mathiang Flag of Israel.svg Israeli Basketball Premier League Hapoel Eilat
Donovan Mitchell Flag of the United States.svg NBA Cleveland Cavaliers
Alhaji Mohammed Flag of Tunisia.svg Championnat National A US Monastir
Jordan Nwora Flag of the United States.svg NBA Milwaukee Bucks
Larry O'Bannon Flag of Argentina.svg LNB Hispano Americano
Chinanu Onuaku Flag of the United States.svg NBA G League Greensboro Swarm
Juan Palacios Flag of Spain.svg Liga ACB Movistar Estudiantes
Terry Rozier Flag of the United States.svg NBA Charlotte Hornets
Samardo Samuels Flag of France.svg LNB Pro A Chorale Roanne
Peyton Siva Flag of Germany.svg Bundesliga Alba Berlin
Chris Smith Flag of Israel.svg Israeli Basketball Premier League Hapoel Jerusalem
Jerry Smith Flag of Greece.svg GBL Ifaistos Limnou
Russ Smith Flag of Israel.svg Israel Basketball Premier League Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Quentin Snider Flag of the Netherlands.svg DBL Feyenoord
Édgar Sosa Flag of Israel.svg Israeli Basketball Premier League Hapoel Gilboa Galil
Ray Spalding Flag of the United States.svg NBA G League Greensboro Swarm
Kevin Ware Flag of Finland.svg Korisliiga Korihait

Several other former players have played in the NBA, including:

Facilities

Home courts

KFC Yum! Center (2010–present)

Since the 2010–11 season the Cardinals have played their home games at the KFC Yum! Center located along the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Louisville. As of February 7,2017, Louisville has a 114–14 record (.891) in 6 seasons in the KFC Yum! Center. [44] [45] [ failed verification ]

The facility has a seating capacity of 22,090 with 71 suites and 62 loge boxes. [46] It is the third-largest in the nation (behind only Syracuse's Carrier Dome, Tennessee's Thompson Boling Arena, and Kentucky's Rupp Arena). Louisville ranked among the top 3 in attendance in the first three seasons at the KFC Yum! Center. [47] The attendance record of 22,815 was set on March 9, 2013, against #24 Notre Dame.

The playing surface at the KFC Yum! Center is named Denny Crum Court in honor of Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. The University of Louisville first renamed its home court after Crum in January 2007. [48]

Since the opening of the KFC Yum Center, the University of Louisville has become the most valuable college basketball team in the nation. In 2012 the Cardinals were worth $36.1 million, up nearly 40% from two years earlier, before the Yum Center opened. [49]

Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center FreedomHallStateFair.jpg
Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center

Freedom Hall (1956–2010)

From 1956 to the completion of the KFC Yum! Center in 2010, the Cardinals played their home games at Freedom Hall. Louisville had a 664–136 record in 54 seasons in Freedom Hall (.83 winning percentage). Freedom Hall has been the site of six NCAA Final Fours, four additional NCAA events and 10 conference tournaments. ESPN College Basketball magazine once named Freedom Hall as the nation's "Best Playing Floor."

Louisville ranked among the top 10 nationally in average home attendance at Freedom Hall for 31 years, including the last 28 in the nation's top five (19,397 in 2009–10, third in the nation). In 2010, a new Freedom Hall attendance record was set when 20,135 fans witnessed the Cardinals defeat the #1 ranked Syracuse Orange in the final University of Louisville game in the arena. [50]

Jefferson County Armory as it was September 5, 2007 now named the Louisville Gardens Louisville Gardens roadwork.jpg
Jefferson County Armory as it was September 5, 2007 now named the Louisville Gardens

Jefferson County Armory (1945–1972)

Jefferson County Armory was the primary home of Louisville Cardinals basketball starting in 1945 when Bernard "Peck" Hickman was head coach until the 1957–58 season, when Freedom Hall became their primary home game site. The Cardinals played 10 of their home games in the Jefferson County Armory in 1956–57 and three games in Freedom Hall. Louisville played one game at the armory in 1958–59.In the 1960s the armory was renamed the Louisville Convention Center. The Cardinals played two games at the Convention Center in 1963–64 and three games in the Convention Center in 1964–65. The last game the Cardinals played there was November 30, 1972. Louisville was 153–23 all time at the Jefferson County Armory which is now named the Louisville Gardens. [51] [52]

Belknap Gymnasium (1931–1944)

After playing home games at numerous venues in its early years, the Cardinals moved to the newly constructed Belknap Gymnasium in 1931. The gym housed 600 bleacher seats and the baskets were mounted directly to the wall. Louisville compiled a 56–35 (.615 winning percentage) before moving to the Jefferson County Armory. The gym was razed in 1993 to make way for Lutz Hall. [53]

Practice facilities

Planet Fitness-Kueber Center (2007–present)

Since 2007 the Cardinals have practiced at the $15.2 million, 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) Planet Fitness-Kueber Center on campus. The Planet Fitness-Kueber Center houses the teams basketball offices, practice facilities, film room and training areas.

The facility was named the Yum! Center, until December 2018 when local businessmen Rick and David Kueber donated $3 million to rename the facility. [54]

Controversies and scandals

1956 recruiting violations

In 1956 the team was placed on probation for two years by the NCAA, including bans on postseason play, due to recruiting violations. [7]

2015 sex scandal

A former Louisville player, and then Director of Basketball Operations, Andre McGee, arranged and paid for strippers and prostitutes to perform striptease dances and sexual acts for 17 prospective and former basketball players from 2010 to 2014. On October 3, 2015, the book publisher IBJ Custom Publishing released a book entitled "Breaking Cardinal Rules." Based on revelations provided by the local self-described escort, Katina Powell, the book detailed striptease dances and acts of prostitution that Powell and McGee arranged and organized in Minardi Hall over approximately a four-year period. [55]

During the investigation of the allegations, the university self-imposed a ban on the 2016 NCAA tournament. In June 2016, the NCAA announced that the university would lose four basketball scholarships over the course of four seasons, but there would be no further postseason ban. The NCAA suspended head coach Rick Pitino for five ACC games during the 2017–18 season. The NCAA also ordered the university to vacate all wins from 2011 to 2014 that include ineligible players. The vacated wins include a Final Four appearance in 2012 and an NCAA Tournament Championship in 2013. [56] Luke Hancock's 2013 Final Four Most Valuable Player Award was reinstated by the NCAA because he was found to be innocent of any NCAA rule violations.

2017–18 NCAA corruption scandal

As a result of a corruption scandal implicating various schools including Louisville, [57] [58] [59] on September 27, 2017, Louisville placed head coach Rick Pitino on unpaid administrative leave and athletic director Tom Jurich on paid administrative leave. [60] Rick Pitino and Tom Jurich would then be fired with cause by the university. Two days later, assistant David Padgett, a former star player under Pitino at Louisville, was named as acting head coach. [61]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry</span> American college sports rivalry

The Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals. The rivalry between these two schools, located about 100 miles (160 km) apart, dates to their first men's college basketball game in 1921, and has continued across all sports, with the football series gaining attention as well, having started in 1929. Both universities share common characteristics, both being over 200 year old institutions in urban settings. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of four conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference to Conference USA, and more recently in the Big East Conference, which in 2013 was renamed to the American Athletic Conference. After the 2013–14 season, Louisville joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and since then the rivalry has been put on hiatus in football and basketball. Cincinnati will officially join the Big 12 conference in 2023. However, many other sports at the universities, such as baseball, continue to battle periodically.

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The 2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by interim head coach David Padgett after former head coach Rick Pitino was fired due to an FBI investigation into the school. They finished the season 22–14 overall, and 9–9 in ACC conference play, finishing in a tie for 8th with Florida State, who they defeated in the second round of the ACC tournament before losing to Virginia in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the NIT, where they defeated Northern Kentucky in the first round and Middle Tennessee in the second round before being defeated in the quarterfinals by Mississippi State.

The 2018–19 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Chris Mack who was hired on March 27, 2018, after it was announced interim coach David Padgett would not be retained. They finished the season 20–14, to finish in 7th place. In the ACC Tournament, they beat Notre Dame in the Second Round before losing to North Carolina in the Quarterfinals. They received a at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and received a 7th seed before losing to 10th seed Minnesota in the First Round.

The 2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by interim head coach Mike Pegues. The Cardinals finished the season 13–19 overall and 6–14 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for eleventh place. As the eleventh seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated fourteenth seed Georgia Tech in the First Round before losing to sixth seed Virginia in the Second Round.

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