I am someone who firmly believes the answers to a lot of your current questions are often found understanding events from the past.
When Rick was hired back in 2001 I thought the situation was pretty dire if we didn't get him; Jurich had very publicly put his eggs in that basket in a bitter PR battle with Denny and the Old Guard that surrounded him, and Jurich money whipped Pitino with a months long charm offensive with a very lucrative nest egg assembled back into the 80's from very favorably negotiated local television contracts and out-of-conference games that fell outside the umbrella of conference negotiated deals with the Metro Conference and CUSA. A very bitter pill to swallow for Coach Crum because every bit of it was on his back...and it goes to that guy punking me over in Lexington? I can't tell you how many bar bets (my price was always $5) I won telling people at Lynagh's in Lexington that Louisville had a nest egg to sign Pitino and an ambitious AD willing to spend it. Fortunately I moved to Louisville just prior to Rick. They always overestimated Rick's loyalty; I never underestimated his or Jurich's ambition. I also won quite a few bets telling them coming off of our loss of Chris Redman in 1999 that we had a guy named Deion Branch that they couldn't guard with a gun, but that's a story for another day.
...and now? The landscape is starkly different but it's important to understand the scars caused by that Turn of the Century battle between the Denny Camp and the Jurich/Pitino camp. Jurich had the counsel of two of Louisville grand titans of industry--the late Owsley Brown Frazier and Malcolm Chancey. They had the clout and equity to talk Jurich down. Our financial situation while not dire is very much in flux. The big donors are scattered, attendance in football and basketball is flagging. The Lynn Family name is seemingly on every new athletic structure South to Etown...but allegedly disenchanted with Jurich's forced exit. While we had the Denny camps and the New Guard with Jurich who was in his fourth year at Louisville, it was recognized by most that a way needed to be found to swallow a lot of pride and buy Coach Crum out. Now we look like Afghanistan in 2002...war lords, cabals and camps scattered all over the place neither connected or communicating. We don't have a President, we don't have an Athletic Director and we seem like this big Ocean liner floating around in the Ocean like the Italian luxury cruiser in Ghost Ship. No Captain, No Crew, just a rusting hulk of a formerly stunning ship drifting around aimlessly. Do yourselves a favor some day and do a search on the wealthiest basketball players on Planet Earth. I will save you some trouble...Michael Jordan's net worth is $1.5 Billion. Checking in tied for second is Magic Johnson at $600 million. Kobe Bryant's net worth when he died was around the same number. Labron James $440 million and Shaq who seems to dabble in everything with a flour recipe at $400 million. Junior Bridgeman sits at $600 million with Magic and the late Kobe Bryant. They made their money with NBA salaries and shoe deals from the time they were teenagers. Junior did it the old fashioned way, savvy investments across a number of different food and beverage enterprises. That is 1 donor and I don't want to reduce Junior Bridgeman to being a donor...he is as shining an example of what a Louisville basketball player can become and it's important that he not only be recognized, it is critical he be active in this Community. The Tragers are still very active around town and apparently still opening their wallets for UofL through the baseball program. Jonathan Blue outside the fold after being ousted by Bevin. Larry Benz was quietly brought back into the fold by someone which I think was a critical step. We don't have Schnatter anymore since he is the latest to jump onto the lucrative victimhood speaking circuit with Sarah Palin, Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton.
So why Payne and not wait around for someone in the NCAA tournament to come available? None of those people treat the open wounds of the past because it wouldn't happen under Cronin and we can't wait around tearing those wounds open getting Scott Drew a fat pay bump. I'd offer you that not only would Musselman in particular not salve those wounds, he'd rip them open with his own knife and hatchet. Payne doesn't check every box of many in our camp due to experience or whatever reason...but he checks for me the most important box and that is getting a whole bunch of very important advocates back in those luxury suites lining Cardinal Stadium and the YUM Center. This is the United States of America...YOU pay what you pay for a seat at the YUM Center or a parking pass and season tickets at Cardinal Stadium. THEY pay FOR the YUM Center and Cardinal Stadium. You can afford to worry about Kenny's X's and O's...but his Dollars and Cents might outweigh that.
...and I'm pretty sure the worries about his X's and O's stacked next to Penny Hardaway isn't a little bit of Code language paralleled to some of what used to be so common over in Lexington. Their resume's aren't REMOTELY similar. How much time did Hardaway spend on a college or pro bench as an assistant? Did he attend Larry Brown practices on his own dime, run college practices for ten plus years under a coach in a competitive conference or play an active role under a pretty renowned NBA coach? Kenny Payne with a clipboard isn't much of a worry for me because the modern game is actions sets and more offensive free flow. One thing I think underestimated when we hired Mack was boredom; a halfcourt offensive approach with a Pack Line would be supported if we won wildly...but we were neither entertaining of effective for the most part.
Let the good times roll. You can consider my support of the hiring of Kenny Payne as full throated.
When Rick was hired back in 2001 I thought the situation was pretty dire if we didn't get him; Jurich had very publicly put his eggs in that basket in a bitter PR battle with Denny and the Old Guard that surrounded him, and Jurich money whipped Pitino with a months long charm offensive with a very lucrative nest egg assembled back into the 80's from very favorably negotiated local television contracts and out-of-conference games that fell outside the umbrella of conference negotiated deals with the Metro Conference and CUSA. A very bitter pill to swallow for Coach Crum because every bit of it was on his back...and it goes to that guy punking me over in Lexington? I can't tell you how many bar bets (my price was always $5) I won telling people at Lynagh's in Lexington that Louisville had a nest egg to sign Pitino and an ambitious AD willing to spend it. Fortunately I moved to Louisville just prior to Rick. They always overestimated Rick's loyalty; I never underestimated his or Jurich's ambition. I also won quite a few bets telling them coming off of our loss of Chris Redman in 1999 that we had a guy named Deion Branch that they couldn't guard with a gun, but that's a story for another day.
...and now? The landscape is starkly different but it's important to understand the scars caused by that Turn of the Century battle between the Denny Camp and the Jurich/Pitino camp. Jurich had the counsel of two of Louisville grand titans of industry--the late Owsley Brown Frazier and Malcolm Chancey. They had the clout and equity to talk Jurich down. Our financial situation while not dire is very much in flux. The big donors are scattered, attendance in football and basketball is flagging. The Lynn Family name is seemingly on every new athletic structure South to Etown...but allegedly disenchanted with Jurich's forced exit. While we had the Denny camps and the New Guard with Jurich who was in his fourth year at Louisville, it was recognized by most that a way needed to be found to swallow a lot of pride and buy Coach Crum out. Now we look like Afghanistan in 2002...war lords, cabals and camps scattered all over the place neither connected or communicating. We don't have a President, we don't have an Athletic Director and we seem like this big Ocean liner floating around in the Ocean like the Italian luxury cruiser in Ghost Ship. No Captain, No Crew, just a rusting hulk of a formerly stunning ship drifting around aimlessly. Do yourselves a favor some day and do a search on the wealthiest basketball players on Planet Earth. I will save you some trouble...Michael Jordan's net worth is $1.5 Billion. Checking in tied for second is Magic Johnson at $600 million. Kobe Bryant's net worth when he died was around the same number. Labron James $440 million and Shaq who seems to dabble in everything with a flour recipe at $400 million. Junior Bridgeman sits at $600 million with Magic and the late Kobe Bryant. They made their money with NBA salaries and shoe deals from the time they were teenagers. Junior did it the old fashioned way, savvy investments across a number of different food and beverage enterprises. That is 1 donor and I don't want to reduce Junior Bridgeman to being a donor...he is as shining an example of what a Louisville basketball player can become and it's important that he not only be recognized, it is critical he be active in this Community. The Tragers are still very active around town and apparently still opening their wallets for UofL through the baseball program. Jonathan Blue outside the fold after being ousted by Bevin. Larry Benz was quietly brought back into the fold by someone which I think was a critical step. We don't have Schnatter anymore since he is the latest to jump onto the lucrative victimhood speaking circuit with Sarah Palin, Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton.
So why Payne and not wait around for someone in the NCAA tournament to come available? None of those people treat the open wounds of the past because it wouldn't happen under Cronin and we can't wait around tearing those wounds open getting Scott Drew a fat pay bump. I'd offer you that not only would Musselman in particular not salve those wounds, he'd rip them open with his own knife and hatchet. Payne doesn't check every box of many in our camp due to experience or whatever reason...but he checks for me the most important box and that is getting a whole bunch of very important advocates back in those luxury suites lining Cardinal Stadium and the YUM Center. This is the United States of America...YOU pay what you pay for a seat at the YUM Center or a parking pass and season tickets at Cardinal Stadium. THEY pay FOR the YUM Center and Cardinal Stadium. You can afford to worry about Kenny's X's and O's...but his Dollars and Cents might outweigh that.
...and I'm pretty sure the worries about his X's and O's stacked next to Penny Hardaway isn't a little bit of Code language paralleled to some of what used to be so common over in Lexington. Their resume's aren't REMOTELY similar. How much time did Hardaway spend on a college or pro bench as an assistant? Did he attend Larry Brown practices on his own dime, run college practices for ten plus years under a coach in a competitive conference or play an active role under a pretty renowned NBA coach? Kenny Payne with a clipboard isn't much of a worry for me because the modern game is actions sets and more offensive free flow. One thing I think underestimated when we hired Mack was boredom; a halfcourt offensive approach with a Pack Line would be supported if we won wildly...but we were neither entertaining of effective for the most part.
Let the good times roll. You can consider my support of the hiring of Kenny Payne as full throated.
