Louisville basketball, Kenny Payne will love again. It will take time

How do you love again? It takes some time to reconcile the pain from a serious breakup, but winning can help speed up the process.

Oh, you thought I was giving out dating advice?

No, I’m talking about Louisville basketball and former coach Kenny Payne. The love affair between the once-beloved former player and his alma mater was severed after Payne’s two seasons as head coach ended with a 12-52 record and two of the darkest years in program history.

It’s not fractured beyond repair, even for the former players who still haven’t allowed themselves to embrace the program like they once did because Payne was fired.

Payne and UofL just need some time and some wins to get over it.

Nothing makes bygones be bygones in sports like a special season. The Cardinals feel on the precipice of one, ranked No. 6, with a potential top-five NBA draft pick and considered one of the favorites to win it all.

Payne, the associate head coach on John Calipari’s Razorbacks staff, will see for himself as the Cards travel to Arkansas for the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday.

It’s probably a good thing that UofL is on the road, too, because the wounds are still too fresh and it’s too soon for a reunion for Payne at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville is planning on recognizing the 40th anniversary of its 1986 national championship team Payne was a part of on Jan. 31 against SMU. The Razorbacks play a home game against Kentucky on that day, so even if Payne was inclined to participate in person, he could not.

There’s no signal that he’s ready to make up publicly anyway.

I reached out to Payne, and he’s not interested in talking about his two seasons as UofL coach on the cusp of Wednesday’s game.

Understandably so.

What got lost in all the losses is Payne’s love for the school.

It’s his alma mater. It’s his former legendary coach, Denny Crum, who supported the move for him to be head coach. It’s his former teammates who pushed for him to get the job, too, both within the university administration and in convincing him it was his time to lead the program.

When it didn’t work out, those would be the people Payne felt he let down the most.

There have been plenty of high-profile basketball alumnus who failed in coaching stints at their respective alma maters.

Phi Slama Jama suffered a moratorium during Clyde Drexler’s 19-39 campaign in two largely forgotten seasons at Houston.

Chris Mullin lasted four seasons at St. John’s and posted a 59-73 record. He did, at least, get the Red Storm to the 2019 NCAA Tournament in his final season.

Patrick Ewing had one winning season in his six years at Georgetown. His overall record of 75-109 included an improbable run in 2021, winning the Big East Tournament for the Hoyas' lone NCAA Tournament bid during his tenure.

Matt Doherty’s time at North Carolina is what most mimics Payne at UofL.

Doherty had only been a head coach one season prior to getting the job with the Tar Heels largely due to a desire to “keep it in the family.”

During his first season, he led them to a No. 1 ranking in the poll, winning the ACC regular season, before they flamed out in the NCAA Tournament, upset by Penn State in the second round.

The 2001-02 season, Doherty had the worst season in decades in Chapel Hill with an 8-20 record. All the warm and good feelings of having an alumnus representing the program turned sour quickly.

He was unceremoniously ushered out after his third season to make way for Roy Williams' return. But it took Carolina winning the national title in 2005 for Doherty to be forgiven.

Payne and Louisville will get to that point as well as the wins and return to program normalcy put distance between what was during his tenure.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kenny Payne's reconciliation with Louisville basketball will take time