Denny Crum facts for kids
Crum coaching an exhibition against the Dominican Republic National Team in 2011
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| Biographical details | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | March 2, 1937 San Fernando, California, U.S. |
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| Died | May 9, 2023 (aged 86) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
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| Playing career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1957 | Pierce Agriculture | ||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1959 | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Guard | ||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1961 | UCLA (freshmen) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1963 | Los Angeles Pierce JC (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1967 | Los Angeles Pierce JC | ||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1971 | UCLA (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1971–2001 | Louisville | ||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||
| Overall | 675–295 (.696) | ||||||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||||
| Championships | |||||||||||||||||
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| Awards | |||||||||||||||||
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| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1994 |
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| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
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Medal record
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Denzel Edwin Crum (March 2, 1937 – May 9, 2023) was a famous American college basketball coach. He led the University of Louisville men's basketball team, known as the Cardinals, from 1971 to 2001. During his time, his teams won an amazing 675 games and lost 295.
Coach Crum guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986. They also reached the Final Four, the last four teams in the NCAA tournament, six times. He was honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. Denny Crum was a very important person in the history of sports in Kentucky and in college basketball overall.
Crum played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins under legendary coach John Wooden. He later worked as an assistant coach for Wooden. The Bruins won a national championship in each of the three seasons Crum was on the coaching staff. As the head coach at Louisville, Crum was known for playing tough teams early in the season. This helped his teams get ready for the intense NCAA tournament in March, where one loss means your season is over. Because of his success in the postseason and his calm attitude, people called him "Mr. March" and his most famous nickname, "Cool Hand Luke."
Contents
Playing Career
Denny Crum was born in San Fernando, California. After finishing high school in 1955, he played basketball at Los Angeles Pierce College from 1955 to 1957. In his first year, he scored an average of 27 points per game.
In 1956, he moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to play for coach John Wooden's Bruins. Crum played as a guard at UCLA from 1957 to 1959. He averaged seven points per game. He won awards like the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Trophy for being an outstanding first-year player. He also received the Bruin Bench Award for being the most improved player the next year.
Coaching Career
After graduating in 1959, Crum started his coaching career as the freshman basketball coach at UCLA. In 1961, he went back to Pierce College as an assistant coach. By 1964, he became the head coach there until 1967.
Then, coach Wooden hired Crum again as a top assistant coach. He was also the main person in charge of finding new players for UCLA. The Bruins won national championships in each of the three seasons Crum was an assistant. He helped recruit famous players like Bill Walton, who became one of the greatest college basketball players ever.
Louisville (1971–2001)
In 1971, Denny Crum became the head coach for the University of Louisville. The team, the Cardinals, had not been to the Final Four since 1959 and had never won a national championship.
In his first season, Crum led Louisville to the Final Four. They lost to Wooden's UCLA team. The Cardinals reached the Final Four again in 1975, losing to UCLA once more. After that tournament, Coach Wooden retired. Crum was offered the chance to take over for Wooden at UCLA, but he said no. He turned down the job again two years later.
Crum led Louisville to four more Final Fours in the 1980s (1980, 1982, 1983, and 1986). Only five other coaches have reached more Final Fours than Crum's six.
In the 1979–80 season, a player named Darrell Griffith helped the Cardinals achieve an amazing 33–3 record. They beat Crum's old team, UCLA, 59–54 to win the 1980 national championship. This team was also known for making the "High-5" popular. Six years later, Louisville won a second title by beating Duke 72–69. This team was led by Pervis Ellison.
For his first 15 seasons, Crum won 76% of his games. In 1993, he became the second fastest coach to reach 500 wins.
On his 64th birthday in 2001, Crum announced he would retire at the end of the season. In the last 15 seasons of his career, his winning percentage was 63%. Even so, he led the Cardinals to four seasons with 20 or more wins and eight NCAA tournaments in the 1990s. He retired with a record of 675 wins and 295 losses, which is a 69.6% winning percentage. At that time, his 675 wins were the 14th most in NCAA history.
In his 30 seasons, Crum took the Cardinals to 23 NCAA tournaments. This is the 10th most by any coach. His overall tournament record was 42 wins and 22 losses. The Cardinals won 20 or more games in 21 of his 30 seasons. While in the Metro Conference, they won or shared 12 regular season titles and won 11 conference tournament championships.
During his time as coach, Crum coached 13 players who were later picked in the first round of the NBA draft. This included first overall pick Pervis Ellison. Six other players he coached were picked in the top 10 of the draft.
Other Coaching Experiences
Crum also coached the U.S. team in the World University Games. He led them to a gold medal in 1977. He also coached the American team in the Pan American Games, winning a silver medal in 1987.
Coaching Style
Denny Crum had a special style as a coach. He often held a rolled-up program in one hand during games and would use it to make gestures. At Louisville, where the team colors are red and black, Crum sometimes wore a red blazer on the sidelines.
On the court, Crum's teams were known for using a special defense called a 2-2-1 zone press. This defense would switch to man-to-man defense at half court. Like his mentor, John Wooden, Crum used a "high-post offense." This style of play focused on scoring close to the basket. Crum's 1980 national championship team was even called the "Doctors of Dunk." On defense, his players were expected to be able to switch positions easily. They would also guard players closely to stop passes inside and encourage outside shots.
The year after Crum won his last national championship in 1986, the NCAA added the three-point line. This changed the game a lot, making outside shooting more important. Crum was a bit slow to change his strategy. He never returned to the Final Four after that, though he did make it to the Elite Eight (the final eight teams) in 1997.
Throughout his career, Crum was known for being great at coaching during games. His teams often scored right after a timeout, using plays Crum would draw up. They also played very well in close games.
Radio Career
From 2004 to 2014, Crum co-hosted a local radio talk show. His co-host was Joe B. Hall, who used to be the head coach for the University of Kentucky. They did their show from different cities, Crum in Louisville and Hall in Lexington.
Their show, The Joe B. and Denny Show, was the most popular Fox Sports radio show in Kentucky. It was broadcast on 21 stations at its most popular time. It ended on October 30, 2014.
Personal Life
Denny Crum was married to his second wife, Susan Sweeney Crum, starting in 2001. She was a news anchor and reporter. He had three children: Cynthia and Steve from his first marriage, and Scott from his second marriage. He lived in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, and owned a hunting ranch in eastern Idaho.
Crum enjoyed playing professional poker and collecting western novels by Louis L'Amour. While he was coaching, he helped start the Louisville Eccentric Observer, which is an alternative newspaper in Louisville. Crum also bred horses.
When he was able, Crum often appeared at events with Darrell Griffith, a former player he coached who also played professional basketball.
Crum started The Denny Crum Scholarship Foundation, Inc. This foundation gives scholarships to students who show leadership, help their community, and do well in school.
Denny Crum passed away at his home on May 9, 2023, at the age of 86.
Honors
In the 1980s, Denny Crum was named National Coach of the Year three times (1980, 1983, 1986). He was also awarded Metro Conference Coach of the Year three times (1979, 1980, 1983). In 1980, he received several other awards, including the Sporting News Coach of the Year.
In 1994, Crum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2002, Crum received the Legends of Coaching award from the John R. Wooden Award Committee. This award recognizes a coach's good character, success on the court, how many of their student athletes graduate, and their coaching ideas.
On February 7, 2007, Louisville's home basketball court at Freedom Hall was officially named "Denny Crum Court." When the Cardinals basketball teams moved to the new KFC Yum! Center in 2010, the name "Denny Crum Court" was kept for the new facility.
In 2010, Crum was one of the first people inducted into Pierce College's athletic hall of fame.
Head Coaching Record Summary
|- style="background:#fafafa; border-top: 2px solid #aaaaaa;" | colspan="2" align="center" | Louisville: | 675–295 || 270–110 || colspan="5" |
|- style="background:#dddddd" | colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Total: || 675–295 || colspan="7" | |- | colspan="9" | National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Conference division champion |}
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See also
In Spanish: Denny Crum para niños
