Good morning, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports fans.
Let’s get right into it – the University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Head Coaching position is very coveted – Louisville is a blue blood men’s basketball program. Louisville has a passionate fan base (they consistently sell out the Yum Center) and have extensive financial support. The program has national championships.
Rick Pitino Fired
As you know, Rick Pitino is no longer the Louisville head men’s basketball. @SportsChannel8 was kind enough to provide a summary why this is the case below:
Interim Coach Named
On September 29, 2017, David Padgett was named Interim Head Coach of Louisville Men’s Basketball. (h/t @LouisvilleMBB). Here is more on Padgett’s background:
Padgett was UofL’s director of basketball operations for two seasons (2014-16) before his move to an assistant coaching position in 2016. He becomes just the third head coach for the Cardinals in the last 46 years, following Rick Pitino (2001-17) and Denny Crum (1971-2001).
In his three seasons on the UofL staff, the Cardinals have produced a collective 75-26 record (.743), finished among the top four teams in the ACC in each year, and UofL reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2015. Last year, UofL posted a 25-9 record, tied for second in the ACC and earned a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. He helped the Cardinals assemble a top-10 recruiting class in 2017, as UofL’s class was ranked seventh in the nation by ESPN and Rivals and 247Sports, while the Cardinals were 10th by Scout.com.
Before joining the UofL staff, Padgett spent three years as an assistant coach at IUPUI from 2011-14. He served a year as assistant strength coach with the Cardinals in 2010-11 as UofL posted a 25-10 mark, beat seven ranked teams and reached the title game of the Big East Championship.
…..
A three-year starter and captain at center for the Cardinals (2005-08), Padgett was a unanimous first-team All-Big East Conference selection as a senior and also earned USBWA All-District IV honors. He averaged a team-leading 11.2 points and grabbed 4.8 rebounds his senior year in 2007-08 when the Cardinals reached the NCAA Elite Eight.
So Padgett is one of the beloved figures in Louisville Men’s Basketball history. He’s been a basketball operations director for two years – and an assistant coach for one.
However, Padgett has no head coaching experience. None. Zero. Nada. The empty set.
And he’s the interim head coach of a Louisville team that has one win over an NCAA tournament team in Florida State.
It would be shortsighted, ill-advised, shortsighted, hasty, unwise, and I could use many other adjectives here – to give the full-time job to Padgett even if Louisville gets to the NCAA tournament and wins a game (Louisville isn’t a team that is going to win more than one game in the NCAA tournament if the Cardinals get there). Again – let’s recap – Padgett has no head coaching experience. None. Zero. Nada. The empty set. I was shocked to hear that Louisville fans were on the “give the job to David” path. That’s a joke.
Think about who the head coaches are in the ACC (in no particular order): 1.) Roy Williams (North Carolina), 2.) Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), 3.) Tony Bennett (Virginia), 4.) Notre Dame (Mike Brey), 5.) Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech), 6.) Leonard Hamilton (Florida State), 7.) Jim Larranaga (Miami), 8.) Wake Forest (Danny Manning), 9.) NC State (Kevin Keatts), 10.) Syracuse (Jim Boeheim). 11. ) Brad Brownell (Clemson), 12.) Josh Pastner (Georgia Tech) – even Boston College’s Jim Christian has his team making progress.
There are multiple coaches in the ACC who are hall-of-famers. David Padgett isn’t in the area code – or let’s say the orbit – of these coaches and their breadth of experience. Not in any universe.
Louisville must conduct a national search for its next men’s basketball coach. Louisville is a blue blood men’s basketball program. Alumni and friends of Louisville deserve nothing less than national search for arguably the university’s most important athletic coaching job.
Wish List
I asked @_NickBurch) who is on his wish list for the next hire. Here’s what he said:
Top 5, in order:
1. Mack
2. Brey
3. Marshall
4. White
5. Buzz (sorry, but I like him)— Nick Burch (@_NickBurch) January 21, 2018
Nick, we are friends – don’t take Buzz 😉 But yes, Chris Mack (Xavier), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Mike White (Florida), and Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech) are all capable of going head-to-head with the current ACC men’s basketball coaches (Buzz is already going head-to-head). Louisville’s men’s basketball program is too important not to make a big splash hire – someone who has many years of head coaching experience.
Louisville Administration Are All Interim
What also can’t happen is the Louisville Men’s Basketball head coaching hire cannot be made by anyone in an interim status.
556 days without a permanent president at UofL.
— Mark Blankenbaker (@UofLSheriff50) February 4, 2018
Louisville has an interim university president in Dr. Gregory Postell.
Louisville also has an interim athletic director in Vincent Tyra.
We’ve discussed the need for Louisville to conduct a national search for its men’s basketball head coaching job – but Louisville must hire it’s President and Athletic Director first. A permanent administration, university president and athletic director, need to hire the men’s basketball coach as a team. An interim administration cannot sag a new administration with a BAD DECISION.
Louisville alumni and friends of the university deserve national search conducted by a permanent administration.
Thoughts? Tweet us, Louisville fans.
Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page
Leave a Reply