All Entries Tagged With: "Denny Crum"
Kuric Leaves His Stamp On Freedom Hall
Decades from now University of Louisville fans will remember Freedom Hall, and talk about what a good place it was to watch basketball, about many of the memorable wins, the great Louisville players, the coaches, the NCAA Final Fours, a great slice of college basketball history.
They will remember that Louisville won that game, defeating Syracuse a second time that season.
Talk about all the former players on hand, Darrell Griffith, Wiley Brown, Rodney and Scooter McCray, Pervis Ellison, Billy Thompson, Roger Burkman …
About all the media hype leading up to that final game.
About Rick Pitino turning the microphone over to Denny Crum for the official goodbye to the old Cardinal home court.
What they will remember most, however, is the performance of Kyle Kuric during the second half because he went unnoticed during two minutes of action in the first half. He would re-enter the game with 16:11 to go.
The closing curtain for Freedom Hall, Louisville desperately needing a win, an NCAA tournament bid on the line, it was ne of those games that demands that someone step forward.
Kuric’s offensive display would not begin until the 14:25 mark, shocking onlookers with another one of those amazing dunks, following that up by hitting eight out of his next 10 shots, including four three-point shots and three other slams.
All 22 of his point total in 19 minutes of playing time. Even more impressively, all of his baskets coming with less than 14:25 to go in the game.
Kyle Kuric stepping out the shadows, grabbing the spotlight, assuming the leadership his team desperately needed, becoming a Freedom Hall legend in the process.
And here’s a Kyle Kuric dunk video:
Dana Kirk Dies In Memphis
Dana Kirk was known as “The Suit” when he served as an assistant basketball coach under Denny Crum at the University of Louisville. He was quite a spectacle on the sidelines, often attired in duds one would expect of a carnival barker.
Dana Kirk
Think of a burley 6-foot-8 dude dressed in bold outfits, checkerboard patterns or with broad stripes. Kirk was quite a sight on the sidelines at Freedom Hall, with his wardrobe choices endearing him to U of L fans.
His popularity in Louisville quickly subsided, however, after he became head coach at rival Memphis State in 1979. He also dressed more conservatively at his new job.
Kirk, 74, died Monday night in Memphis where he coached for seven seasons, compiling a 158-58 won-lost record. He had five straight 20-win seasons including 31-4 in the Tigers’ Final Four year and 28-6 in his last season. He was fired after his team was placed on probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. He was later found guilty of income tax violations.
Scotty Davenport Quiz
By Paul Sykes
The University of Louisville basketball team will face Bellarmine in Freedom Hall tonight. The head coach of the Knights, Scotty Davenport, is a former UofL assistant coach and one of the best motivational speakers out there.
His Bellarmine squad is ranked #1 in a couple of preseason Division II polls and plays in the highly competitive Great Lakes Valley Conference. Davenport is the only current head coach that has been an assistant under Denny Crum and Rick Pitino.
The days of Davenport remaining in Division II hoops are probably numbered. With the coaching carousel that exists in Division I ball, it is just a matter of time before Davenport gets the opportunity to take his talents elsewhere. Somewhere on that list of coaching possibilities that Tom Jurich keeps, it would be no surprise if Davenport’s name were written.
See if you can pass this quick Davenport quiz:
1. Where did Davenport get his coaching start?
A) Ky. Country Day
B) Ahrens Trade School
C) Georgetown College
D) Westport High School
2. Which two local legends did Davenport coach?
A) DeJuan Wheat
B) Darrell Griffith
C) Allan Houston
D) Derek Anderson
3. Which two schools are GLVC opponents for Davenport’s Knights?
A) Northern Kentucky University
B) IUPUI
C) Kentucky Wesleyan
D) Evansville
4. Which former Cardinal basketball player transferred briefly to play for Davenport before returning to Louisville?
A) Derrick Caracter
B) Beau Zach Smith
C) Perrin Johnson
D) Andre McGee
5. Which team did Davenport coach to the 1988 KHSAA basketball title
A) Iroquois
B) Ballard
C) Male
D) Ky. School for the Deaf
(Answers)
1. B
2. A, C
3. A, C
4. C
5. D…(just kidding, it is B)
Your Day John Wooden
Vintage Louisville Football
Vince Gibson Spawned The Red Rage
The image of flag girls waving “Red Rage” banners for the University of Louisville band stirred memories of Vince Gibson for many veteran fans at the football opener.
Vince Gibson and Red Rage gear.
Gibson coined the “Red Rage” phrase when he took over U of L football in 1975 to market the football program. The symbol caught on, appearing on everything from the team’s uniforms to fan gear. Even Denny Crum liked it, using the imagery with his basketball program.
A couple of years later, athletic director Dave Hart would introduce the concept of tailgating at Louisville football games. The idea took off immediately, with U of L later recognized by a national publication as one of the best tailgating programs.
Vince Gibson, the Red Rage theme and the tailgating concept couldn’t have converged at a better time. The NCAA’s football powers, in 1977, voted to split into two divisions — Division 1A for schools averaging more than 17,000 fans, and Division 1AA for everybody else.
Louisville would make the cut for Division 1A in 1978, with an average attendance of just over 19,790 per game.
Gibson left after the 1979 season and a won-lost record of 25-29-2 for the head coaching job at Tulane, where he would coach for three seasons. He resides now in New Orleans where he was in the travel industry for several years. Earlier this year, he attended a reunion with Bobby Bowden at South Georgia College where they began their football coaching careers together.
