LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For yet another instance in Kenny Payne's second season as the head coach of Louisville men's basketball, the biggest story surrounding the program is regarding a player's absence.
Louisville men's hoops sports information director Zach Greenwell released a statement Thursday announcing U of L will not medically clear freshman center Dennis Evans to return to playing for the Cardinals due to an undisclosed medical condition. During a Friday news conference ahead of Saturday's ACC matchup with Pittsburgh, Payne declined to go into any details regarding Evans, citing the desire to respect the privacy of the 7-foot-1-inch freshman and his family.
"Obviously, I love Dennis," Payne said. "But out of respect for his privacy, I can't really elaborate a lot on it. But I really, really love the kid."
Louisville freshman Dennis Evans reacts after a score against UMBC.
Evans has not played since Dec. 29 vs. Bellarmine due to a shoulder injury. The former Minnesota commit did not make the team's trip to Virginia earlier this week and did not return from his home in California after the team broke for the holiday break. According to Louisville, he is still a member of the program.
"Obviously, if I'm saying 'I love Dennis,' you can imagine what his teammates feel about Dennis," Payne said. "So, that's the extent of what we're going to say about it."
U of L officials have also declined to discuss more details surrounding the former five-star prospect's medical diagnosis. But if Evans does decide to return to campus, the university will honor his scholarship. His absence is one of many injury concerns for the Cardinals as they try to get their first ACC victory.
Senior forward JJ Traynor has not played since a Dec. 3 loss to Virginia Tech thanks to a shoulder injury. Tre White (groin) and Emmanuel Okorafor (ankle) missed the loss at Virginia as well, leaving Louisville shorthanded. Payne described all of those players as having a day-to-day status in updating their recoveries.
"I try to have a philosophy of next man up," Payne said. "We're playing very good teams. And to be honest with you, I need dudes to max out. I need dudes to have special nights to lift their team up, not just to be average or just good enough."
Traynor and White are two of the team's top four scorers and rebounders. Without Evans and Okorafor too, the Cardinals' front court depth behind Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is suddenly thin.
Payne started Miami transfer Danilo Jovanovich vs. Virginia and has played freshman Kaleb Glenn double-digit minutes in four of the past five games. Both are inexperienced options whom Payne said he is working with to grow up quickly.
"I try not to live with the mistakes," Payne said. "I address them. But the reality of it is when you're so shorthanded, you have to find a different way. The bench isn't always the motivating factor. And that's how we deal with it."
Saturday's home game at noon on WBKI vs. Pitt will see two teams in desperate need of their first conference victory. For Payne, whose overall record at Louisville stands at 9-36, each contest looms large as another chance to make any positive deposit that athletics director Josh Heird told WDRB's Eric Crawford he needs to make. In the midst of a 5-8 season with three of the last four losses coming by double digits, low attendance at the KFC Yum! Center, multiple departures and mounting injuries, the second-year head coach maintains confidence.
"You have to believe in what you're doing and you have to know that the kids are capable of doing what you're asking them to do," Payne said. "Obviously, there are going to be things out of your control that's going to happen. That's called life. And what I'm trying to teach to young people is life.
"We're masquerading it as basketball, but it's really life. There are things that are not going to fall your way at times. I grew up believing that nothing ever happens great first. We're building a program brick by brick. So, there's going to be some rocky roads. I'm good with that. There are going to be rocky days. I'm good with that. How do we respond to it? How do we fight through it? How do we keep believing in what we're doing? That's the most important thing for me."
Even more important for Payne right now is the need to stack wins. He remains adamant that he and his coaching staff are doing whatever they can to improve.
"The reality of it is they don't play hard all the time," Payne said of his players. "And we need them to continue to fight harder and play better for longer stretches. When we do, we are competitive. When we don't, teams separate from us. We show them on film, we talk about it, we do a bunch of stuff individually in sitting down with players. We do it in groups.
"Everything that we can do as a staff, coach or mentor, we try to address it. We do not ever want to leave anything unsaid that needs to be said. Because the reality of it is if we can get them to get over the hump, then maybe they never look back at it."
Related Stories:
- Louisville loses big man Dennis Evans to undisclosed medical issue
- CRAWFORD | Nothing new (unfortunately) in Louisville's 77-53 loss at Virginia
- BOZICH | Can Louisville men's basketball take advantage of sagging ACC?
- CRAWFORD | Amid struggles, Louisville AD Heird says Payne will continue as coach
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