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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) - Now what? Fifty-two losses in two seasons under Kenny Payne were painful enough, but now Louisville basketball is losing off the court too.
Plan A was to hire Scott Drew, Baylor's highly successful coach, which was a long shot/no shot in the first place. Why would Drew want to leave Baylor after 21 years and a national championship for a huge rebuilding job? Answer: he wouldn't, even though U of L reportedly offered him a package that would have made him among the highest paid college coaches in the country.
Responding to a question about his interest in Louisville Thursday, Drew made his position clear.
"Baylor University has been my family's home," Drew told ESPN Radio in Waco, Texas. "All my kids have been born in Texas. So I can't thank the community and the Baylor family for how they've loved our family. We're hoping we can bring another championship home to Baylor this year and for many more years. That's always been our top priority. That's what I focus on during the year and that's what I still focus on. So, hopefully that answers your question."
It does. So UofL athletic director Josh Heird moved on to Plan B -- Florida Atlantic's Dusty May, who was a co-favorite all along and seemed like a slam dunk, with no significant buyout, a huge raise from his approximate $1.5 million and ties to the region as a former Indiana University student manager and an Illinois native. But Heird also whiffed on May.
Saturday night, less than 24 hours after the Owls' 77-65 first-round overtime loss to Northwestern in the NCAA East Regional, the Detroit Free Press confirmed that May, 47, and Michigan have agreed to a five-year deal to replace the fired Juwan Howard.
ESPN's Adam Wojnarowski first reported the news earlier that evening, using sources and writing that May "became swept away with Michigan's alumni network and fierce loyalty to the university and athletics, and he believes that will help transcend some of the inherently transactional nature of the modern NIL/transfer portal era in recruiting and player retention."
Presumably, Heird has a Plan C, but UofL's six-year string (and counting) of embarrassments on and off the court, will continue if that candidate becomes the third coach to thumb his nose at Louisville. We will surely discover who that coach is within the next few days, although it will take two or three seasons to find out if he was the kind of home run Heird needed to get the program back on the track to national prominence.
Maybe U of L will follow in the footsteps of UCLA in its search to find a replacement for Steve Alford in 2019-20. The Bruins were turned down by at least three (Rick Barnes, John Calipari and Jay Wright) and there were reports that Tony Bennett and Jamie Dixon were also on the list before Cronin was hired from Cincinnati.
The former U of L assistant proved an excellent choice, guiding UCLA to a Final Four in 2021 and two Sweet Sixteens before suffering his first losing season since 2008 (at Cincinnati) this year with one of the youngest teams in the nation.
Cronin would be a perfect fit for Louisville, but a monster buyout of $18 million appears to be a deal-breaker.
There's nobody who sticks out as a prime target like Drew and May. Among those who Heird might make the next call to are the usual suspects in the coaching carousel. Eric Musselman of Arkansas could move into the top spot. Other names that have surfaced are Jamie Dixon of TCU, Seton Hall's Shaheen Holloway, Pat Kelsey of Charleston. You could also add Utah State's Danny Sprinkle and James Madison's Mark Byington as potential candidates.
University of Kentucky fans are all too familiar with Holloway, who took the job at his alma mater two seasons ago after leading No. 15 seed St. Peter's to an 85-79 upset of the No. 2 Wildcats in a first-round game en route to a Sweet Sixteen berth.
Of course, there's always the possibility Heird has a surprise preference waiting in the wings. He has said he wants a coach who is willing to crawl to Louisville to coach the Cards. So far, he's still searching for someone who will don the kneepads and hit the road.
SKYY CLARK ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL
Skyy Clark announced Sunday he will enter the transfer portal for a second time although keeping a line of communication open with Louisville.
After spending his first season at Illinois, Clark averaged 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 31.8 minutes per game on .412/.353/.776 shooting splits this past season at Louisville.
The former top-50 recruit, once a UK target, started 28 games for the Cardinals.
Sophomore forward Danilo Jovanovich, a transfer from Miami, also announced he was entering the transfer portal. He played in 20 games, starting five and averaging 8.3 minutes. His totals were 24 points and 22 rebounds.
Here is the running total of Louisville players to enter the portal: Clark, Dennis Evans, Kaleb Glenn, JJ Traynor Curtis Williams and Jovanovich.
No word on the plans of Louisville's other top scorers - Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Mike James and Tre White.
