![]() ![]() ![]() He was hardly intimidated by the "Wizard of Westwood," as Wooden was known. He played two seasons at Pierce College, a community college, before transferring to UCLA, where he averaged 7 points a game, then served as freshman coach. After working as an assistant, then head coach at Pierce, he returned to UCLA as Wooden’s top assistant and recruiter.Ĭrum landed a tall redhead for the Bruins named Bill Walton - arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time - and the team won national titles in all three of Crum’s seasons as Wooden’s assistant. He said his father, a good high school athlete in his own right, taught him, “Don’t major in minors.” In other words, to pay attention to the present and future and not worry about the past. "Denny" Crum was born March 2, 1937, in San Fernando, the sprawling Los Angeles suburb. View Gallery: Former U of L coach Denny Crum shows off his sports collection Who was Denny Crum? How did he get started in basketball?ĭenzil E. He retired with a record of 675-295, a 69.6% winning percentage.īy the numbers: Who is the best player to wear each number for Louisville basketball? When did Denny Crum retire from basketball? And during his final four years, the team struggled to a record of 61-61. Unable to recruit the caliber of stars he had landed in his glory years, his winning record dipped to 63% in his second 15 seasons. My prayers go out to his family and especially Susan."īut Crum, who was enshrined at The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 1994 class and was again honored at the Springfield, Massachusetts, facility with a granite bench in the Naismith Coaches Circle in 2019, saw his teams struggle late in his coaching tenure.Īfter the 1986 championship, his teams never advanced to the Final Four and only reached the Elite Eight one more time. He was a true treasure who gave so much to (the) university and the community. Those lessons are still relevant today. We were so blessed to have him in our lives. "My thoughts go through all the lessons that he taught, not just to me, but every player he ever came in contact with. “Today is a sad day for me personally, as well as the basketball world," said current U of L coach Kenny Payne, who played for Crum in the '80s, in a news release. In his first 15 seasons, he won an astounding 76% of his games, including national titles in 19. He passed away at his home Tuesday morning, the university said in a statement.Ī Southern California transplant who played and coached for UCLA’s legendary John Wooden, Crum was named national coach of the year three times and was the fastest coach to amass 500 wins after only UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian. View Gallery: Louisville basketball coach Denny Crum through the yearsĭenny Crum, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Louisville Cardinals basketball team to six Final Fours and two NCAA championships - and did so in such a calm fashion he was dubbed “Cool Hand Luke,” has died. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |