Denny Crum, 1937-2023

Rick Pitino coached both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, arch-rivals, to National Championships in college basketball. And was corrupt at both schools. It is possible to succeed at one of them, and to do it cleanly. Denny Crum proved that.

Denzel Edwin Crum was born on March 2, 1937 in the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando, California. He played at Los Angeles Pierce College, then, in 1956, transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles.

John Wooden was the head coach at UCLA, and had yet to lead the Bruins to their 1st appearance in what would now be called the NCAA Tournament's Final Four. In 1958, Crum graduated, and Wooden appointed him as the freshman coach. In 1961, he became an assistant coach back at Pierce, and head coach in 1964. That year, Wooden led UCLA to their 1st National Championship, and won another in 1965, and another in 1967.

Wooden then brought Crum back as his assistant and his chief recruiter. He recruited Sidney Wicks. He recruited Henry Bibby. He recruited Keith Wilkes (later to rename himself Jamaal Wilkes). Most importantly, he recruited Bill Walton. UCLA won the National Championship again in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971.

Crum was then hired to be the head coach at the University of Louisville. In his 1st season there, 1971-72, Crum guided the Cardinals to the Final Four, losing in the Semifinals -- to Wooden's UCLA. Crum got Louisville to the Final Four again in 1975, losing in the Semifinals -- again, to UCLA. The Bruins won the National Championship again without him in 1972, 1973 and 1975, so, while he was a big part of Wooden's success, Wooden did win 6 titles without him, and 4 without the players Crum recruited.

Wooden retired after that 1975 title. In 1980, Crum led Louisville to another Final Four. This time, they reached the Final -- where they played UCLA, now coached by Larry Brown. But the Cardinals wouldn't be denied, with Darrell Griffith, a.k.a. "Dr. Dunkenstein," scoring 23 points, beating UCLA, 59-54.

Louisville reached the Final Four again in 1983. In 1986, they won another National Championship, led by freshman star Pervis Ellison, beating the 1st Final Four team that Mike Krzyzewski coached at Duke University.

He was only the 9th coach to win 2 National Championships. Henry Iba at the school now known as Oklahoma State, Adolph Rupp at Kentucky, Indiana coaches Branch McCracken and Bob Knight, Phil Woolpert at the University of San Francisco, Ed Jucker at the University of Cincinnati, Dean Smith at North Carolina, and, of course, Wooden. (He has been joined by Krzyzewski, Pitino, Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, Billy Donovan at Florida, Roy Williams at North Carolina, Jay Wright at Villanova, and Bill Self at Kansas, for a total of 16.)

In addition to his 2 National Championships and his 6 Final Fours, he won 15 regular season Conference Championships and 11 Conference tournaments. In 1993, he became the 2nd-fastest coach to reach 500 wins. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame the next year. He retired in 2001, with a record of 675-295, a winning percentage of .696.

He was married twice, and since 2001, he had been married to Susan Sweeney, a news anchor at a Louisville television station. He had a daughter, Cynthia; and 2 sons, Steve and Scott. From 2004 to 2014, Crum co-hosted The Joe B. and Denny Show on Fox Sports Radio, with Joe B. Hall, who had coached Kentucky to 3 Final Fours, including the 1978 National Championship. Hall died in 2022.

Denny Crum died today, May 9, 2023, at his home in Louisville. He was 86 years old, and it was a life of success and integrity, in a profession where the two have frequently refused to mix.