Louisville opens another season amid scandal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the second time in three seasons, Louisville needs to maintain its on-court focus amid fallout from another scandal off of it.
This time the Cardinals will have to get it done without longtime coach Rick Pitino.
Louisville is just over a month removed from acknowledging that it is being investigated in a national federal bribery probe of college basketball. The investigation led to Pitino’s firing on Oct. 16 after 16 seasons. David Padgett has been promoted from second-year assistant to interim coach.
Athletic director Tom Jurich was also fired in the wake of the probe that stunned players.
“It just came out of nowhere,” senior guard Quentin Snider said, “and when that happened you just didn’t know what to do until someone explained to you what’s going on.
“The only way to get over tough times is to be around your teammates and play basketball.”
Stunning as the sudden changes have been to the program, Cardinals veterans believe their previous experience moving past a 2015 sex scandal has prepared them to handle this latest crisis — even without the Hall of Fame coach on the sidelines.
“We’re the only ones who can bring everybody together,” said 7-foot senior Anas Mahmoud, referring to a group including Snider and junior forwards Deng Adel and Ray Spalding.
Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell — an NBA draft lottery selection — and starting forward Jaylen Johnson are among eight Cardinals gone from a 25-9 squad that reached the NCAA Tournament second round. But Louisville returns five regulars who averaged at least 5.5 points per game.
Malik Williams (6-11) and Lance Thomas (6-8) highlight a freshman class with length. Louisville also signed 6-7 guard Brian Bowen, a high school All-American who is referred to in the federal complaint but not named. Bowen remains enrolled but is being held out of practice and games until the allegations are resolved.
Louisville’s biggest question is how quickly Padgett adapts to becoming a first-time head coach on short notice. The 6-11 former player under Pitino suggests he will stress defense like his mentor but acknowledges things have moved too fast to ponder what his philosophy will be.
“I think we have a chance to have a very, very good year based on our talent level,” he said. “We have a good mix of returning, experienced players who’ve played a lot of significant minutes for us and we have a nice group of young, talented freshmen.
“We’re excited about this season and that’s what we want it to be, focused on basketball. That’s what these kids deserve.”