LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — I expected Darrell Griffith to become emotional while talking about what a powerful force Denny Crum became in his life.
Together, in 1980, Crum and Griffith brought the program its first national championship, creating a unshakeable lifelong bond.
I expected that Junior Bridgeman would repeat his steadfast belief that Crum did more than anybody to make the University of Louisville a national brand. An internationally admired business leader, Bridgeman can identify people who make a difference.
“There’s something about playing here, that no matter what team you were on, what year you played, there’s something special about playing for the University of Louisville,” Bridgeman said.
“I thought about it and what made it special was Coach Crum.”
I expected Billy Thompson and Kenny Payne to share their stories about how they took lessons learned from Crum and applied them in their successful lives. Thompson built a ministry in South Florida. Payne aspires to coach the Cardinals back to the greatness that Crum achieved.
"Every time I mentioned the fact that I played at the University of Louisville to just average Joe people, whoever love sports, they would say would say, 'Louisville,'" Thompson said.
"They wouldn’t say 'Doctors of Dunk.' They would say 'Who’s that coach there?'"
"And I would say, 'Denny Crum.' They would say 'That’s right, that boy is bad. He’s bad.'"
"I would just smile and say, 'Yeah, he was bad.'"
"Thank you for loving me," Payne said. "Thank you for allowing me to see you love others."
I expected those stories to drive the theme during the 95-minute Celebration for Life that U of L hosted for Crum Monday night at the KFC Yum! Center. Crum, the man who coached U of L to a pair of NCAA titles during his Hall of Fame career, was 86 when he died last week.
But here is what I did not expect:
*To see Jerry Smith sitting on the floor in the group of 120 former U of L players and managers. Smith played for Rick Pitino, five years after Crum retired. But he flew from Milwaukee to attend the celebration.
Why?
"Why not?" Smith said.
"I know what Coach Crum meant to Louisville basketball. Being around Louisville, a lot of players told me what a great man he was."
*To see Steve Bugg sitting in the same group. Bugg walked on to the Louisville program in the late 70s. After graduating from U of L, Bugg built a 23-year career in the Secret Service, primarily working security for President Gerald Ford.
Bugg lives in San Diego, California. He took a flight early Monday morning to ensure he arrived to pay his respects.
Why?
"Because I learned lessons from Coach Crum that I carried through my entire life," Bugg said. "It was just a special time in Louisville basketball."
That was the kind of night it was in downtown Louisville, part celebration of Crum, part pep session for the future of Louisville basketball. Former Cardinals came from everywhere. Rodney McCray from Houston. Everick Sullivan from North Carolina. Cornelius Holden from Los Angeles. Thompson from Miami.
I apologize to any names I missed. Kenny Klein, the Cards’ retired associate athletic director for communications said it was the largest gathering of former Louisville players over his four-decade association with the school.
I cannot forget the video tributes from five members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski; UCLA three-time national champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Kentucky coach John Calipari; ESPN analyst Dick Vitale and North Carolina coach Roy Williams. (ESPN analyst Jay Bilas; former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins and former Georgia coach Hugh Durham also recorded videos.)
Crum is the coach who recruited Bill Walton from San Diego to UCLA in 1970, the year before Crum departed for Louisville. Early in the recruiting process, Crum told UCLA coach John Wooden that Walton was the best high school player he’d ever seen.
Wooden summoned Crum into his office. He closed the door. He advised Crum never to say something that outrageous in public. Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, had just left UCLA with three national titles a year earlier. Crum persisted.
Then Crum took Wooden to San Diego to watch Walton play. Wooden did not say a word to Crum on the ride home.
After Walton signed with the Bruins, he was the centerpiece of UCLA teams set an NCAA record by winning 88 straight games and a pair of national titles.
Crum was right and Walton never forgot him. Walton was unable to record a video. So he wrote a letter of several pages that Paul Rogers, the master of ceremonies, read to the gathering.
"Denny we did not know what we had with you," Walton wrote.
Walton said that during the long stretch when UCLA struggled to find a replacement for Wooden the program’s former players believed Crum would return to his native California to save the Bruins. It didn’t happen.
"They must have treated you as the king you were because you never did come home," Walton wrote.
Crum never left. Louisville was his home. And the program, and all the players who came downtown Monday night, were his legacy, more so than the two national titles, four other Final Four trips, his rolled up program or trademark red blazer.
Their presence in the building spoke more powerfully than any words about their respect for Denny Crum.
"If you played for coach Crum, you played for the best," Thompson said.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
