Marquette’s Kolek will miss Big East opener

Louisville fires Payne after going 12-52 in 2 seasons

Besides proven success and experience, Louisville athletic director Josh Heird made clear that the Cardinals’ next men’s basketball coach must have an intense passion for a job he considers one of the sport’s best.

“More important than anything else, we’ve got to have somebody who is dying to coach this basketball program,” Heird said. “I mean, they will crawl here to coach this basketball program because that’s how much it means to him.”

Louisville fired Kenny Payne on Wednesday after going 12-52 in two seasons that marked the worst consecutive finishes in the storied program’s history, with Heird saying “a change is needed” to reach expectations. The move came a day after the Cardinals’ 94-85 firstround loss to North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, their eighth consecutive defeat.

Heird said he was a strong believer in Payne’s potential when he hired him nearly two years ago to lead his alma mater. Louisville doubled last season’s four-win total but didn’t meet the high bar of expectations, and the seasonending slide suggested a regression.

Louisville finished 8-24 (3-17 ACC) in a season that was expected to be the start of a climb back after a 4-28 campaign. The loss total was a program record.

Speculation now shifts to Payne’s successor, who is expected to be more experienced and with a higher profile than Payne. Possible candidates include Baylor’s Scott Drew, who guided the Bears to the national championship in 2021, Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May and Indiana State’s Josh Schertz.

Tyler Kolek will miss 10thranked Marquette’s first game in the Big East Tournament as he continues to recover from an injury, coach Shaka Smart said Wednesday.

Kolek injured an abdominal muscle Feb. 28 and has missed the Golden Eagles’ last three games. Marquette opens the conference tournament against Villanova or DePaul on Thursday night.

Smart said Kolek would be questionable for any Big East Tournament games beyond Thursday, if Marquette were to advance. Smart said Kolek would be available for the NCAA Tournament.

“He’s still day-to-day and not planning on playing tomorrow, but he’s close,” Smart said.