Denny Crum
Encyclopedia
Denzil E. "Denny" Crum is a former American men's college basketball
coach at the University of Louisville
from 1971 to 2001, compiling a 675–295 record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Final Fours. Honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 1994, Crum is one of the major figures in the history of sports in Kentucky and in college basketball in general.
As the head coach at U of L, 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. Crum's prolific post-season play and calm demeanor earned him the monikers "Mr. March" and his most well-known nickname, "Cool Hand Luke
."
. From 1954–1956, Denny Crum played basketball at Los Angeles Pierce College
. In 1956, he 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.
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. He remained at UCLA until his departure for Louisville in 1971.
, 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 is tied for fifth all-time in number of final four appearances with Adolph Rupp
and Tom Izzo
. They rank behind John Wooden
, Dean Smith
, Mike Krzyzewski, and Roy Williams
.
On March 24, 1980, the Cardinals became NCAA Tournament champions after defeating Crum's alma mater, UCLA, 59–54. Crum's 1980 national champions have been credited with popularizing the High-5. Six years later, Louisville would overcome Duke
72–69 for a second title. Crum is one of only eleven coaches to achieve two or more national championships. In 30 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. He ranks 16th in overall Division I wins.
The graduation rate for players under Denny Crum has been called "troubling" by some sources. Basketball players enrolling at U of L between the 1988-89 and 1997-98 had a 27% graduation rate as measured by the NCAA, well under the Division 1 average of 44%.
On the court, Crum's teams were famous for running a man-to-man defense
that switched on all picks. Offensively, Crum ran the high-post offense, one similar to that of his mentor at UCLA, John Wooden
. 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.
.
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.
In 1994 Crum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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".
On February 7, 2007, Louisville's home floor at Freedom Hall
was officially named "Denny Crum Court." When the Cardinals basketball teams moved to the downtown KFC Yum! Center
in 2010, the name "Denny Crum Court" was retained.
and has a hunting ranch in Idaho.
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.
He also plays professional poker and collects western novels by Louis L'Amour
. For the past twenty years, Crum has also bred horses.
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.
Crum also makes routine trips to his Idaho Ranch with long-time friend Wayne Reis.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach at the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
from 1971 to 2001, compiling a 675–295 record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Final Fours. Honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 1994, Crum is one of the major figures in the history of sports in Kentucky and in college basketball in general.
As the head coach at U of L, 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
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, where one defeat ends the season. Crum's prolific post-season play and calm demeanor earned him the monikers "Mr. March" and his most well-known nickname, "Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
."
Playing career
Crum was born in San Fernando, CaliforniaSan Fernando, California
San Fernando is a city located in the San Fernando Valley, in northwestern region of Los Angeles, California, United States. The population was 23,645 at the 2010 census, up from 23,564 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. From 1954–1956, Denny Crum played basketball at Los Angeles Pierce College
Los Angeles Pierce College
Los Angeles Pierce College, also known as Pierce College, Pierce, is a community college that serves more than 23,000 students in the northern Chalk Hills of Woodland Hills, a community within the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.The college began with 70 students...
. In 1956, he transferred to UCLA to play for John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
. 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.
Coaching career
After graduating in 1958, Crum served as a freshman coach under John WoodenJohn Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
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. He remained at UCLA until his departure for Louisville in 1971.
University of Louisville, 1971–2001
In 1971, Crum was hired as head coach by the University of LouisvilleUniversity of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
, taking over from John Dromo
John Dromo
John Dromo is best known as head coach for the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team from 1967 - 1971.From 1942 to 1947, Dromo served as coach of "nearly everything" at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio....
. By 1972, Crum had taken his first team to the NCAA Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
. Crum would go on to lead the Louisville Cardinals
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. A member of the Big East Conference since 2005, they are known nationally as traditional powers in men's basketball, women's volleyball, and dance team...
to five more final fours (1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1986). He is tied for fifth all-time in number of final four appearances with Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
and Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo is an American college basketball coach. Since 1995, he has been the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, presiding over a prolonged period of success....
. They rank behind John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
, Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
, Mike Krzyzewski, and Roy Williams
Roy Williams (coach)
Roy Williams is head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina. After averaging nearly an 80% win percentage in 15 seasons at the University of Kansas, he became the eighteenth head coach at North Carolina when he replaced Matt Doherty in 2003...
.
On March 24, 1980, the Cardinals became NCAA Tournament champions after defeating Crum's alma mater, UCLA, 59–54. Crum's 1980 national champions have been credited with popularizing the High-5. Six years later, Louisville would overcome Duke
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I...
72–69 for a second title. Crum is one of only eleven coaches to achieve two or more national championships. In 30 seasons, Crum took the Cardinals to 23 NCAA tournaments, where they had an overall record of 43-23.
While in the Metro Conference
Metro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...
, 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. He ranks 16th in overall Division I wins.
The graduation rate for players under Denny Crum has been called "troubling" by some sources. Basketball players enrolling at U of L between the 1988-89 and 1997-98 had a 27% graduation rate as measured by the NCAA, well under the Division 1 average of 44%.
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.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 on the sidelines.On the court, Crum's teams were famous for running a man-to-man defense
Man-to-man defense
Man-to-man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in American football, association football, and basketball in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart , but a player may be assigned to guard a...
that switched on all picks. Offensively, Crum ran the high-post offense, one similar to that of his mentor at UCLA, John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
. From 1989 to 1996, four of Crum's post players (Pervis Ellison
Pervis Ellison
Pervis Ellison is a former college and professional NBA basketball player.Ellison was nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his play with the University of Louisville. At 6 ft 9 in and 242 lb, he started all four years as the center under coach Denny Crum...
, Felton Spencer
Felton Spencer
Felton LaFrance Spencer is a retired American professional basketball player who played at the center position in the National Basketball Association.-High school and college:...
, Clifford Rozier
Clifford Rozier
Clifford Glen Rozier is a retired American professional basketball player.He was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 1st round of the 1994 NBA Draft. Rozier played for the Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves in 4 NBA seasons...
, and Samaki Walker
Samaki Walker
Samaki Ijuma Walker is an American professional basketball power forward and center. Walker played college basketball at the University of Louisville and was drafted in 1996 by the Dallas Mavericks, where he played until 1999...
) were selected in the top 16 picks in the NBA draft, including three (all but Rozier) in the top ten.
Retirement
Crum announced on his 64th birthday that he would be retiring at the end of the season. Though Crum insisted the decision was his, it is widely rumored that Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich drove him out to pursue the recently available Rick PitinoRick Pitino
Rick Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996...
.
Head coaching record
Honors
In the 1980s, Crum was named National Coach of the Year three times (1980, 1983, 1986). He was awarded Metro ConferenceMetro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...
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.
In 1994 Crum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2002, Crum received the Legends of Coaching award given by the John R. Wooden Award
John R. Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award and recognizes the All–America Teams.The awards, given by the Los...
Committee. This award recognizes "a coach's character, success rate on the court, graduating rate of student athletes, [and] his coaching philosophy".
On February 7, 2007, Louisville's home floor at Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
was officially named "Denny Crum Court." When the Cardinals basketball teams moved to the downtown KFC Yum! Center
KFC Yum! Center
The KFC Yum! Center is a US $238 million, 22,000-seat basketball and multipurpose arena that opened on October 10, 2010, on the Ohio River waterfront in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on Main Street between Second and Third Streets. The project is part of a $450 million project that includes...
in 2010, the name "Denny Crum Court" was retained.
Personal life
Since 2001, Denny Crum is married to Susan Sweeney Crum. He has three children, Cynthia, Steve and Scott, from a previous marriage. He lives in LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and has a hunting ranch in Idaho.
Crum currently co-hosts a local radio talk show with former University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
head coach Joe B. Hall
Joe B. Hall
-See also:*Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball*NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches- External links :* at unofficial Fan Site* * *...
which airs on WKRD. The Joe B. and Denny Show is the top Fox Sports radio show in the state of Kentucky.
He also plays professional poker and collects western novels by Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
. For the past twenty years, Crum has also bred horses.
Crum is still active at the University of Louisville, serving as a special assistant to university president James Ramsey
James R. Ramsey
Dr James R. Ramsey is the current president of the University of Louisville, located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. He became the school's acting president on August 1, 2002 and was named the permanent president on November 4, 2002....
and appearing at various functions with former Cardinal and pro-basketball player Darrell Griffith.
Crum also makes routine trips to his Idaho Ranch with long-time friend Wayne Reis.
See also
- List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
- List of NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coach