The Time Has Come for Louisville to Fire Kenny Payne.

Column: With the Cardinals’ 2023-24 campaign now in the rear view mirror, the UofL administration needs to finally pull the trigger and remove Payne as the men’s basketball head coach.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The tumultuous and frustrating 2023-24 season for the Louisville men’s basketball program is, finally and mercifully, now officially in the books.

The Cardinals were able to keep pace with NC State on the offensive end of the floor but struggled immensely on defense, eventually culminating in a 94-85 loss to the Wolfpack in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.

It was the same song and dance that we have been accustomed to over the last month-plus, and really over the entire season. Louisville ended their campaign on an eight-game losing streak, en route to finishing with a paltry overall record of just 8-24.

At this point in time, Kenny Payne’s body of work through two seasons as the head coach of the Cardinals speaks for itself. Adding in the ghastly 4-28 season in his first year at the helm, Payne is 12-52 overall, including 5-35 in regular season ACC games, 1-28 in road/neutral site games and 0-19 in Quad 1 NET games. 33 of Payne’s losses have come by double digits, and he has more losses by 20+ points – 14 – than he does wins.

Because of Payne’s ineptitude as the head coach, the rumors and chatter surrounding his job status have been swirling for weeks now. Many thought that his dismissal could come following the Cardinals’ loss to Kentucky this past December, but athletic director Josh Heird would remain in place at least through the new year. But over the last few days, the rumors and chatter that were present back then have once again reached a fever pitch.

Following Louisville’s loss to Boston College this past Saturday in their regular season finale, there was speculation that Payne might not even make it to the ACC Tournament. WDRB‘s Rick Bozich reported after the loss to the Eagles that we should “expect a decision from athletic director Josh Heird on Payne’s future soon, perhaps as early as Sunday and certainly not long after U of L exits the ACC Tournament in Washington D.C. next week.”

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Following the Cardinals’ loss to Arkansas State this past December, I wrote about how “enough was enough,” and that Louisville needed to cut ties with Payne before further damage and embarrassment to the program was dealt.

Three months later, and my stance has not changed. With the season having just wrapped up, the time for Heird to reach a decision on Payne’s future at Louisville is now here, and this isn’t a decision that requires much deliberation or discourse. The administration must move on from Payne, and the move must happen now.

Sad news for Louisville Basketball: He’s gone

ByViashima Shular

The Time Has Come for Louisville to Fire Kenny Payne.

By Viashima Shular

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