Denny Crum
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| Denzil E. "Denny" Crum | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Title | Head Coach | |
| Sport | Basketball | |
| Born | March 2, 1937 | |
| Place of birth | San Fernando, California | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 675-295 | |
| Championships | ||
| NCAA Tournament Championship (1980, 1986) | ||
| Awards | ||
| Gold Medal, USA World University Games (1977) National Coach of the Year (1980, 1983, 1986) Metro Conference Coach of the Year |
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| Playing career | ||
| Basketball Hall of Fame, 1994 | ||
Denzil E. "Denny" Crum (born March 2, 1937 in San Fernando, California) is a former college men's basketball coach. He is well-known for coaching the University of Louisville between 1971 and 2001, compiling a 675-295 record. He guided Louisville to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986).
As the head coach at Louisville, Crum is widely credited with pioneering the now common strategy of scheduling tough non-conference match-ups early in the season in order to prepare his teams for March's NCAA tournament, where one defeat ends the season. He also was an early user of the 2-2-1 zone press, and his teams' exciting style of play earned them the nickname the "Doctors of Dunk". Crum's prolific post-season play and calm demeanor have earned him the monikers "Mr. March" and "Cool Hand Luke".
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[edit] Playing career
From 1954-1956, Denny Crum played basketball at Los Angeles Pierce College. In 1956, he later transferred to UCLA to play for John Wooden. While at UCLA, Crum was honored with the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Trophy for outstanding first-year varsity player. He also received the Bruin Bench Award for most improved player the following year.[1]
[edit] Coaching career
After graduating in 1958, Crum served as a freshman coach under John Wooden at UCLA. The following year, he returned to Pierce College to serve as head coach. After four years at Pierce College, Crum was rehired by Wooden as a top assistant coach and chief recruiter. As a coach at UCLA, he accompanied Wooden to three NCAA titles.[2] He remained at UCLA until his departure for Louisville in 1971.
[edit] University of Louisville, 1971-2001
In 1971, Crum was hired as head coach by the University of Louisville, taking over from John Dromo. By 1972, Crum had taken his first team to the NCAA Final Four. Crum would go on to lead the Louisville Cardinals to five more final fours (1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1986). He ranks forth in number of final four appearances after John Wooden, Dean Smith, and Mike Kryzewski.[3]
On March 24, 1980, the Cardinals became NCAA Tournament Champions after defeating Crum's alma mater, UCLA, 59-54. Crum's 1980 national champions been credited with popularizing the High-5.[4] Six years later, Louisville would overcome Duke 72-69 for a second title. Crum is one of only ten coaches to achieve two or more national championships.[5] In thirty seasons, Crum took the Cardinals to 23 NCAA tournaments, where they had an overall record of 43-23.
While in the Metro Conference, the Cardinals won 12 regular season titles and 11 tournament championships. In its 19 years of naming a champion, the Metro had Louisville as first or second place 17 times.
In 1993, Crum became the second fastest coach to reach 500 wins.[6] He ranks 16th in overall Division I wins.
[edit] Other coaching
Denny Crum coached the 1977 USA World University Team, where he won a gold medal. In 1987, he coached the Pan American team to a silver medal.
[edit] Coaching style
Crum had a number of trademark characteristics as a coach. He usually held a rolled up program in one hand during games and would often gesture with it. At Louisville, whose team colors are red and black, Crum sometimes wore a red blazer (often accompanied by a black shirt) on the sidelines.
On the court, Crum's teams were famous for running a man-to-man defense that switched on all picks. Crum was one of the only coaches to employ this strategy because it often leads to mismatches.
Offensively, Crum ran the high-low, which focuses on post play. From 1989 to 1996, four of Crum's post players (Pervis Ellison, Felton Spencer, Clifford Rozier, and Samaki Walker) were selected in the top 16 picks in the NBA draft, including three (all but Rozier) in the top ten.
Crum was also known for his ability to improvise late in games. His teams were notorious for scoring or getting a stop right after timeouts, presumably because Crum would outcoach his opponents in the huddle. His last Elite Eight team, in 1996-97, was known as the "Cardiac Cards" because their games were almost always close, regardless of how good their opponent was.
[edit] Retirement
After winning the 1986 national championship, Crum's teams began to decline, never reaching another Final Four. Throughout the 1990s, they were consistently solid (reaching the Tournament in eight out of ten years), but never seriously contended for a championship. There grew a perception that Crum was out of touch with the game and with modern players. The program received sanctions twice in the decade, though neither incident was linked to Crum.
In 2000-01, the Cardinals suffered their second losing season in four years, and support grew for replacing Crum. After a series of meetings with Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich, Crum announced on his 64th birthday that he would be retiring at the end of the season.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Overall Record | Winning Pct | Post-Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-72 | 26-5 | .838 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1972-73 | 23-7 | .766 | NIT Tournament |
| 1973-74 | 21-7 | .750 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1974-75 | 28-3 | .903 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1975-76 | 20-8 | .714 | NIT Tournament |
| 1976-77 | 21-7 | .750 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1977-78 | 23-7 | .766 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1978-79 | 24-8 | .750 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1979-80 | 33-3 | .917 | NCAA Champions |
| 1980-81 | 21-9 | .700 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1981-82 | 23-10 | .697 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1982-83 | 32-4 | .889 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1983-84 | 24-11 | .686 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1984-85 | 19-18 | .514 | NIT Final Four |
| 1985-86 | 32-7 | .825 | NCAA Champions |
| 1986-87 | 18-14 | .563 | |
| 1987-88 | 24-11 | .686 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1988-89 | 24-9 | .727 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1989-90 | 27-8 | .771 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1990-91 | 14-16 | .467 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1991-92 | 19-11 | .633 | |
| 1992-93 | 22-9 | .710 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1993-94 | 28-6 | .824 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1994-95 | 19-14 | .576 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1995-96 | 22-12 | .647 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1996-97 | 26-9 | .743 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1997-98 | 12-20 | .375 | |
| 1998-99 | 19-11 | .633 | NCAA Tournament |
| 1999-00 | 19-12 | .613 | NCAA Tournament |
| 2000-01 | 11-18 | .379 |
[edit] Honors
In the 1980s, Crum was named National Coach of the Year three times (1980, 1983, 1986). He was awarded Metro Conference Coach of the year three times (1979, 1980, 1983). In 1980, he was also named the Sporting News Coach of the Year, the Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year, and the Basketball Weekly Man of the Year.[7]
In 1994 Crum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. At the time, he was the only active coach to be honored in this way.[8]
In 2002, Crum received the Legends of Coaching award given by the John R. Wooden Award Committee. This award recognizes "a coach's character, success rate on the court, graduating rate of student athletes, [and] his coaching philosophy" [9]
On February 7, 2007, Louisville's home floor at Freedom Hall was officially named the "Denny Crum Court."[10]
[edit] Personal life
Since 2001, Denny Crum is married to Susan Sweeney Crum.[11] He has three children, Cynthia, Steve and Scott, from a previous marriage. He lives in Louisville.
Crum currently co-hosts a local radio talk show with former University of Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall which airs on WKRD. The Joe B. and Denny Show is the top Fox Sports radio show in the state of Kentucky.[12]
He also plays professional poker[13] and collects western novels by Louis L'Amour.[14] For the past twenty years, Crum has also bred horses.[15]
Crum is still active at the University of Louisville, serving as a special assistant to university president James Ramsey and appearing at various functions with former Cardinal and pro-basketball player Darrell Griffith.[16]
[edit] References
- ^ Profile at the Wooden Award website
- ^ The official site of the Joe B. and Denny Show - Denny Crum Bio
- ^ ESPN.com - NCB - The Denny Crum Legacy
- ^ High five
- ^ Player Bio: Denny Crum :: Men's Basketball
- ^ Official Website of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Hall of Famers
- ^ Denny Crum's profile on Master Basketball Coaches
- ^ Player Bio: Denny Crum :: Men's Basketball
- ^ Wooden Award - Athletics
- ^ WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Crum legacy comes full circle with dedication of Denny Crum Court
- ^ KET - People: Susan Sweeney Crum
- ^ The official site of the Joe B. and Denny Show - About The Show
- ^ Denny Crum's professional poker player bio
- ^ Player Bio: Denny Crum :: Men's Basketball
- ^ Denny Crum's Profile at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association
- ^ WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Crum legacy comes full circle with dedication of Denny Crum Court
[edit] External links
- UofL Men's Basketball website
- Basketball Hall of Fame profile
- The Official Site for the Joe B. and Denny Show
- Photos from the unveiling of Denny Crum Court
| Preceded by John Dromo |
University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach 1971–2001 |
Succeeded by Rick Pitino |
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