LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It was a moment that was difficult for television to capture but it was all the testament needed to the life of Louisville Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Crum, who died at age 86 last Tuesday at his home after a long illness.

Crum's former players in attendance at his funeral service at Southeast Christian Church on a Sunday afternoon in Louisville lined the aisle for the casket to pass through at the conclusion. As they lined the path, they embraced, and there were some tears. And they kept coming.

The line stretched out of the sanctuary.

It was part of a daylong goodbye to Crum, who led the University of Louisville basketball team to NCAA titles in 1980 and '86, six Final Fours and 675 victories. But basketball was only a part of the life that was remembered by former players, friends and Bob Russell, longtime senior pastor of Southeast Christian, where Crum attended and served for the last decades of his life as he transitioned from championship coach to champion for his community.

From Cindy, Russell passed along a memory of Crum teaching her to square dance in Mexico, her feet moving on top of his. From Scott, he shared memories of family vacations that always included fishing. And from Steve, he shared a story about how Crum was always cool, even when he was chewing out refs. As a graduate assistant coach, Steve Crum once tried to pull his dad away from getting on refs at halftime. "Back off," Crum told his son. "I know what I'm doing." In the second half of the game, the calls turned in Louisville's favor.

Then Russell turned to Susan.

"On June 9, 2001, Denny Crum married Susan Sweeney, and he admitted that's the best thing he ever did in his life," Russell said. "And I totally agree. His family agrees. All three kids said they admired the way he loved and treated Susan. ... Susan, 22 years ago, you and Denny stood before me at the wedding ceremony. And I said, 'Now there's an age disparity. Susan there may come a time when you have to take care of Denny. Then you made that vow, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. And God gave you 22 good years. But I thank you for keeping your vow and becoming a good caregiver in Denny's life."

Crum, over the final 20 years of his life, suffered great disappointments and even at times felt unappreciated by the athletic department he helped to build. But he found a way to put those things behind him, and to live with great grace and forgiveness.

"One of the things I admired about Denny was his balanced personality that became more balanced, I think, as he grew older," Russell said. "He was competitive but always composed. He didn't rant and rave on the sidelines and lose his temper. He was a famous celebrity but he was approachable. ... I was proud of the way Denny worked hard to forgive those he believed had wronged him."

Crum was remembered for many little sayings by former players Roger Burkman and Junior Bridgeman. His longtime assistant coach, Jerry Jones, said that he worked for Crum for decades, and was treated as an equal every day.

"One thing I remember most about him and the thing that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life is that he was an individual who treated you like you were an equal," Jones said. "... I don't care where you came from, what color you were or anything else, he treated you like an important individual. He was always one of us. ... I think all of us here are better because we knew Denny Crum."

Bridgeman talked about playing with Harvey Catchings with the Milwaukee Bucks. When Crum died, Catching sent Bridgeman an e-mail. He said his aunt worked at UCLA, and one day he had come to see her, and she took him to meet John Wooden and Denny Crum. Crum asked the boy if he liked basketball, and the boy said he did, even though he'd played in only 6 games his senior year of high school. Crum said he wanted to make some calls, and got the young man a spot on a junior college team.

He wound up being a good player, and being drafted into the NBA, where he played for nine seasons. He also had a daughter, named Tamika, who became a WNBA Hall of Famer.

"All because of one meeting with Denny Crum," Bridgeman said. "That's just one example of the influence that Coach Crum had. Had it not been for Coach Crum putting him on the path to basketball, Tamika Catchings might not have had any interest in basketball at all."

Jonathan Israel, who heads up the Denny Crum Scholarship Fund, recounted the coach's considerable charitable efforts. Burkman drew a laugh from the crowd when he repeated Crum's oft-used exhortation to "stop dinking around."

And former Southeast senior pastor Dave Stone was one of many who shared Crum's unsinkable competitiveness, including his insistence on finishing a round of golf even after suffering symptoms of heatstroke, believing all the time, "We're going to win."

But Stone also remembered watching Crum as a volunteer usher and greeter, helping those late to church find a seat in the crowded sanctuary.

Russell, who baptized Crum at the church, noted that Crum wanted to be baptized in front of the church's large congregation, to make a public statement.

"I think when he stands before the Lord," Russell said, "his finest hour is not going to be in 1980 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis or 1986 at Reunion Arena in Dallas or even at the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. I think his finest hour spiritually is going to be the day that he confessed Christ as his Savior and Lord and put his trust in Him."

One of the people sitting in the crowd that day was Bridgeman, his former player.

"A lot of people that day when he came out said, 'Is that Denny Crum?'" Bridgeman said. "I turned to my wife and said, 'Is that Denny?' It was Denny. . . . So today the question isn't how do you say goodbye? This is the gathering to say, 'until we meet again.'"

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