LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — After Carson Howard helped lead the University of Louisville to the national championship of the men’s basketball managers' games in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, his first call went directly to a passionate fan that he knew was watching a live-stream of the event in Louisville:
His grandfather, Terry Howard, a former Cardinal player.
“It meant so much to me,” Terry Howard said. “Who would have thought something like this would ever happen?”
“I wore number 23 because that’s the number my grandfather wore when he played for Louisville,” Carson Howard said. “It was so cool to do it for him this year.”
This year, of course, is the 50-year anniversary of Terry Howard’s trip to the NCAA Final Four with Denny Crum and the Cards to San Diego. As I wrote Friday, the Cards endured a wrenching 75-74 overtime semifinal defeat to UCLA. That loss, which came after U of L led in the final minute of regulation and overtime, prevented the Cards from playing Kentucky in the national championship game that a breathless state awaited.
On Friday a member of the Howard family got his national championship trophy as the Cardinals’ team that featured four student managers and four graduate assistants won three 20-minute games.
They defeated Iowa State, Minnesota and finally Michigan State (29-24) in front of a boisterous crowd in downtown San Antonio that included U of L head coach Pat Kelsey as well as Howard’s uncle, Todd, a former U of L reserve, and cousin Adam, a former student manager and coach at Indiana.
Carson Howard scored 17, 11 and 9 in the three victories. A day later, his proud grandfather remained exultant about a pair of three-point shots that Carson made close to the mid-court logo.
“They were deep,” Terry Howard said. “But he’s always been a really good shooter.”
Indeed. Prior to the tournament, the Cards’ managers won all eight of their regular-season games, which were squeezed onto their schedules the night before U of L games. Carson Howard made 11 threes while scoring a season-high 38 points in a victory over Eastern Kentucky.
Carson is the son of Terry’s son, Nate, who played basketball at Murray State. After a solid high school basketball and golf career in Mason, Ohio, northeast of Cincinnati, Carson joined U of L as a student manager in Chris Mack’s final season of 2021-22.
He worked through both seasons of Kenny Payne’s stay and remained with the managers during the 27-8 season the Cardinals just finished under Kelsey.
Playing basketball is not the primary job of the student managers. It’s a competitive outlet they wedge into their schedules after working 50 or more hours a week to serve the coaching staff and players — and handle their own academic demands.
They’re on call 24/7 — in case a player wants to come to the gym and workout. Transportation, food setup, laundry, cleaning, equipment and other assignments are part of the drill.
“It’s been a phenomenal experience,” Carson Howard said. “I’ve made so many great friends.”
That includes all of his teammates on the championship squad:
Kyle Zunic; Braden Carver; Graham Sandefur; Ian Ellis; Charlie Champagne; Jacob Monesson and Logan Padgett.
Do not forget the celebrity coaches: Cards’ guard Reyne Smith ran the show with the assistance of Kelsey’s son, Johnny.
The group flew to San Antonio Thursday and shared an Airbnb. They played their three games Friday — two 10-minute halves with a running clock and an hour between sessions. They might find tickets for the national semifinals at the Alamodome Saturday before returning home Sunday — carrying the trophy.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Carson Howard said. “I'm just lucky to be a part of such a great group.”
“Wearing my number 50 years later?" Terry Howard said. “Just incredible.”
More from Bozich and Crawford:
BOZICH | Memories burn 50 years later for Greatest U of L-UK Game Never Played
CRAWFORD | Pearl, Pitino share AP Coach of the Year — and a place in my own story
BOZICH | Why Duke, Houston, Florida, Auburn will — and will not — win the NCAA men's title
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