Michigan State

Michigan State students greet Louisville players with a message during the starting lineups before MSU's 64-53 win.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There was not great movement in the search for a new head coach for the University of Louisville men's basketball program over the weekend, but there did seem to be a coalescing of support behind former Cardinal and current New York Knicks' assistant Kenny Payne.

Among the votes of confidence he received were from his boss, Knicks' head coach Tom Thibodeau, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale and former Cardinals' coach Rick Pitino.

A quick rundown of news:

KNICKS GIVE PAYNE A THUMB'S UP

Asked by reporters in Milwaukee about Payne's interest in the Louisville job, Thibodeau said the job was appealing to his assistant.

"I think he has great comfort in the college game because of the great success that they had at Kentucky,” Thibodeau said Friday. “I think for him, the Louisville job is obviously appealing because it’s his alma mater. ... He’d be ideal for (Louisville). He’s strong on both sides of the ball. He’s strong with individual development. And he’s been around. He brings a lot of experience to any situation that he goes to.”

Payne has been with the Knicks for two seasons after 10 years as an assistant to John Calipari at Kentucky.

PITINO ASKED ABOUT LOUISVILLE

The Hall of Fame former coach of the Cardinals celebrated his 800th career on-court victory with a win at Iona over the weekend. When asked about events in Louisville, Pitino said he had "no animosity" toward the city or school.

"I think Kenny Payne can unite Louisville again," Pitino said. "I’m not endorsing him, because that would probably be the killer for him. But I’m hoping Kenny Payne gets it, because he can unite all factions of Louisville, and that would be great. I don’t like to see any coach get fired, but I’m hoping for Kenny. He’s a great guy, a great recruiter. He’s a terrific coach. And if he wants it, I hope he gets it.”

Asked about Mack's abrupt departure via a $4.8 million settlement with the school, Pitino said, "I’m not sure that the coach didn’t want to leave. I’m not sure of that. But there are lot of great people at Louisville, a lot of great people, and a lot of people I don’t like. Most left the board, and I’m happy they left.”

IS LOUISVILLE A TOP 10 JOB?

It's a question that has been batted about since the position came open last week. It certainly is a top-10 money job. Mack's salary was the 10th-highest in the nation at the time of his departure.

But recent struggles in the program, NCAA issues, lagging attendance and more have left some wondering if the job has lost its luster.

No way, argues, WDRB's Rick Bozich. Read more here. And that column was written before Louisville put 19,473 into the KFC Yum! Center for Saturday's game against Duke.

COACH K OFFERS ADVICE

In gracious remarks about the Louisville program and Cardinals' Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski urged Louisville fans to support the players and program.

Krzyzewski and Crum

Mike Krzyzewski and Denny Crum talk before Duke's game at Louisville on Jan. 29, 2022.

Asked what he would tell Louisville fans, Krzyzewski said: "Just what I would say to Duke fans when I retire, the program's bigger than any one individual, no matter what that individual has done for the program. And if you've done enough, if you've done a lot like Coach Crum, right? Denny will always be a part of it. But he's never going to be bigger than it, just like me. I'm never going to be bigger than Duke basketball. You guys have one of the one of the best programs in the history of college basketball and an incredible fan base of loyalty. I've watched Louisville forever. And I can't remember when it wasn't outstanding. And so that's what I would say: Just move on. Just give Mike (Pegues), whatever you're going to do, give these kids this support. They fought like crazy today and they played winning basketball. And a lot of games left. And with this veteran team that they have, they got a chance to go on a roll."

Read Krzyzewski's full comments here.

VITALE WEIGHS IN (AGAIN)

After Louisville' 74-65 loss to Duke on Saturday, Vitale chimed in on Twitter to note that the Cardinals were playing with more energy. He also urged the school to hire Payne for its coaching vacancy while shouting out to some of his WDRB connections.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

With names being thrown around without much substance behind them until more serious talks commence, I posted a question on my Twitter account (@ericcrawford). What fictional coach would you choose to coach the Cardinals?

The answers are varied. Among the most popular: Ted Lasso, Ken Reeves (from The White Shadow), Coach Carter (who was a real coach, Ken Carter, from Richmond High School in California), Norman Dale (another based on a real coach), Gil Thorpe and this coach below, from the movie "Blue Chips."

Head to Twitter to register your vote.

More real news to come, as developments dictate.

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