LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The boos cascaded to the court long before the final horn, as Louisville men's basketball coach Kenny Payne made his way toward midcourt to be in position for the postgame handshake even while the final seconds of a 75-63 loss to Arkansas State were still draining away.
Arkansas State counts among its notable alumni a voice actor and comedian named Rodger Bumpass. You might know him as the voice of Squidward on the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants.
Stay with me, I'm going somewhere with this. If you, like me, had kids who were fans of that cartoon, you have a number of scenes seared into your brain by sheer repetition. One of them I carry is of Squidward, behind his cash register in the restaurant, listening to an annoying customer. Finally, he hands the customer a baseball bat and says, "Here. Please hit me as hard as you can."
And that, friends, is how Louisville fans felt at the end of one of the worst halves of basketball the University of Louisville will ever play in its home arena, if the good Lord above is, indeed, a God of mercy.
At the end of the game, PA announcer Lance McGarvey gave the final score. What he didn't say was, "Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright and locked position."
At this point, if you're a Louisville basketball fan, you're just strapped in, waiting to feel that landing gear hit the surface of whatever hellscape the basketball program has brought you to.
Louisville led Arkansas State at the half on Wednesday. It was a one-point game when ASU made seven straight shots, six of them layups, to go up 51-40. And then came the inevitable, "Well, we're down double digits, what's the point of playing defense?" segment of the game.
Arkansas State made 30 baskets in the game; 22 were layups or dunks. Payne tried some things. He trapped full court and half-court. He went to a 2-3 zone. It tricked no one.
After the game, I asked him the main question that is on my mind. After seeing the team's record fall to 4-6 on the season, and his record to 8-34, is he at all concerned about his job security? Is that something he is thinking about?
"No, not really," he said. "If I lived my life not being true to myself, I probably would. But I live my life in faith. I live my life knowing that, to be honest with you, am I doing right by these young people? And every single day, I question that. And what I mean by question it is, when the day is over, did I cheat Skyy Clark? Nine out of 10 days? No. Did I cheat Tre White? No. Did I cheat Brandon? No. I live my life that way. Not worrying about the outside. Hopefully that answers the question."
It answers part of the question. But it also did not attempt to lay out a case for what Payne is doing to improve the program. Pouring into the players is a great thing, and is to be commended.
But let's diverge for a moment to discuss another player who was in the headlines on Wednesday. Koron Davis is a junior college transfer who came to Louisville from out of nowhere. He didn't even appear on the ranking charts. On Wednesday, Louisville announced that Davis had left the team and was seeking a transfer. Davis countered, via social media, that he had not done any such thing.
U of L put out a statement later saying that Davis had been dismissed from the team, and it wishes him well.
Former Louisville player Koron Davis watches the team during a loss to Arkansas State.
You can see what happened here. Payne didn't want to say the player was kicked off the team – and for weeks had maintained that the player "was not in trouble" – because he wanted to protect the player from increased scrutiny. But if you're going to play that game, you better make sure the player is willing to play along.
Davis didn't. He showed up at the women's game on Wednesday, then moved down close to the court for the men's game. He declined to elaborate on the circumstances of his departure.
Payne would not go into it further after the game, despite several attempts by reporters, including me, to get him to. Asked what it meant that Davis still came to the games, Payne said. "I would ask you the question what does that mean to you opposed to what it means to me? Again, we came out with a statement, I'm not really trying to dwell in it it's emotional for me simply because he's a good kid and you know it's one of those circumstances where we've already addressed it."
Not really, but at this point it's just another head-scratcher for fans, many of whom wonder how they can get great detail on Ty-Laur Johnson's tights but not so much on the season-long absence of a player.
Whatever the case, we've been here before. The negativity bounces around the social media echo chamber and is amplified. It's tough to climb out of. It's a flat spin. I asked Payne how he plans to deal with it in the locker room, how he's already dealing with it.
"For me, I try to constantly talk to (players) about what's important," Payne said. "And I use it as teaching moments. I think that sometimes, you know fans, critics, they look at something and they see it just in wins and losses and not really fully understanding that there's young people that read here everything that people say. And that hurts them, because they trusted to come here (to Louisville), they trusted. And this is a part of the journey, the journey, to be a great player, the journey to be, to conquer yourself, is to be able to handle clutter, to handle chaos, to handle critics to handle, and then still be true to who you say you are and what you want and your goals and aspirations. You know, I think that they are learning that I think that they want to win. I think that they work hard. But something has to happen within them to where they are able to show it. And I'm constantly talking about, 'We have to earn respect, that it's not going to be given to us. You know, and that's respect from the littlest things to the referees, to the opposing team, to our fans. Everybody. I want us to earn respect. So that's the best answer I can give you."
I don't know. It's after midnight and I can't even remember the question. Oh yes. Negativity.
The seconds are ticking down, and people are booing. This is more than bad basketball. To not even be able to guard a straight line driver, that's something more. It's a disconnect. It's a failure to communicate.
It's not sustainable. Even if you live in a pineapple under the sea, surely you realize that.
But before you reach for the Louisville Slugger, I want to stop you. If you think things are bad for Louisville, that the players are in a tough situation, I want to, just briefly, talk to you about another basketball team in Louisville.
Bellarmine has had so many injuries that it is down to 7 or 8 players for Saturday's matchup with Evansville. They've had so many surgeries, coach Scott Davenport is being given a bulk rate by local hospitals.
The team was out to dinner earlier this week when a phone call came that sent the team's top player, Garrett Tipton, a sixth-year senior, rushing out of the restaurant. His mother, Jenny, had died suddenly after a fall. She was only 52. Her funeral was Thursday. Tipton expects to play Saturday, but he's hurting. And in shock. And he's not the only one. After a practice session a day or two after, another Bellarmine player learned his grandfather had died.
I know, at Louisville, times are hard. But we should never forget what real hard times are. Especially during this season when the pain of real-life losses seems to flare up worse for so many.
I only say this for some perspective, for those suffering losses, on the court and off.
It doesn't change matters at Louisville. It just ought to remind us to take a breath.
Related Stories:
- BOZICH | Louisville's 75-63 loss to Arkansas State its most embarrassing moment
- MIXED MESSAGING | Reversing course after Davis' posts, Louisville says he was dismissed
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