LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kenny Payne knew that Josh Jamieson earned a two-year show cause penalty from the NCAA as well as a one-month suspension from the University of Oregon in December 2018 for a collection of rules violations.
And Payne hired him as the Cards’ third assistant coach Tuesday.
Payne knew the NCAA ruled that, on 64 occasions, Jamieson participated in or observed voluntary workouts with Oregon players. Officiating scrimmages. Holding shooting sticks. Shagging balls. Timing conditioning runs.
All those items were no-nos for a director of basketball operations.
Payne knew that and added Jamieson to a staff that already included Nolan Smith of Duke and Danny Manning, the former Wake Forest head coach.
Why hire a guy with even minor NCAA issues for a staff that Payne described as "the best staff" in the game?
“Those things that happened at Oregon have been dealt with,” Payne said. “They were dealt with by the school, they were dealt with by the NCAA and they were dealt with by Josh.
“Josh learned from his mistakes and has grown from them. It’s over with. Josh is an incredibly hard worker who was committed to helping the players at Oregon improve. That’s where his heart is.
“I’ve talked to guys like Payton Pritchard (a former Oregon guard) who were there at the time, and they love Josh and how hard he worked with them. They credit Josh with helping them reach their dreams.
“I’m not worried about Josh at all.”
Payne needs to be right about Jamieson, because whenever you mention NCAA violations and the University of Louisville basketball program in the same sentence, social media explodes and Cardinal fans wonder when the conversation will stop drifting into the NCAA muck.
Understand that at Oregon, columnist John Canzano wrote about the NCAA situation and suggested that the school needed to punish Jamieson “with a mandatory nap.”
In other words, Jamieson worked too hard and cared too much.
Payne confirmed that, saying that during the time the two men worked together in Eugene, Jamieson was frequently one of those 70-hours-a-week guys committed to the success of Oregon basketball. And the Ducks won four Pac-12 titles and crashed the 2017 NCAA Final Four. They developed a strong of guys now playing in the NBA.
Jamieson was a former high school coach from Medford, Oregon, who took Kyle Singler, one of his players, to Durham, North Carolina, and helped him move into his dormitory room at Duke University with Smith and Jon Scheyer.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman retained Jamieson on the Ducks’ staff. Jamieson just completed his 14th season as the director of operations before accepting Payne’s offer to come to Louisville.
But the lights flash a bit brighter at Louisville, because the men’s basketball program is awaiting a determination on a rules violation case that occurred during the Rick Pitino era. That situation might have been complicated by graduate assistants allegedly violating rules under Chris Mack.
Payne is aware of that. He was also aware of what happened at Oregon. He wanted Jamieson on his staff because of his work ethic and his ability to connect the players. Payne said he was confident there would be no issues at Louisville.
At Oregon, Jamieson was an operations guy. At Louisville, Jamieson will be an on-the-floor, hands-on coach who will also recruit. He’ll be clear to get in a defensive stance or direct passing drills from the top of the key, things that he was not supposed to do at Oregon.
“Josh will be a home run hire,” Payne said, “He’s a great coach.”
Payne said that with confidence Tuesday because he and Jamieson have been friends for nearly two decades.
Relationship-building is a convenient term that coaches default to when they discuss building their programs. It belongs in the first paragraph along with words like fit and culture.
There is talking. And there is doing.
Payne has checked both boxes while assembling his coaching staff at U of L. Relationships and trust are building blocks for Payne.
Jamieson has qualities that align him with Smith and Manning, the Cards’ other assistants. But this is the characteristic that binds the three men: Jamieson, Smith and Manning have all known Payne for more than a decade.
There’s not going to an assistant trying to focus attention on himself. There’s not going to be a complainer who will drain energy for the team.
Payne had a vision for the staff he wanted to build in his first head coaching opportunity. It was built on recruiting three assistants whose character Payne knew well through shared experiences in his basketball journey.
With Smith, the relationship began when Nolan was a child, the son of Derek Smith, Payne’s former U of L teammate. Smith, 33, is a hard-charger who relates well with the younger generation.
With Manning, the ties began with their shared experiences in the NBA. Manning, 55, is the staff veteran who knows his way around the Atlantic Coast Conference and can help Payne navigate head coaching responsibilities.
With Jamieson, it was their time at Oregon, where Payne got his start as an assistant coach under Ernie Kent. Jamieson, 44, has considerable experience in scheduling, practice plans, travel and the recruiting map.
“He’ll be a tremendous help,” Payne said. “He graduated from business school. Very organized. He can put together practice plans and game prep.
“Guys, when I tell you this man is really smart, I’m understating it. You understand what I’m saying. He’s more than what I’m telling you. Over time, you will see his impact on this program.”
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