Regarding Kenny Payne, Pat Kelsey said, “He is welcome back here like everybody else.”

The recently sacked head coach of the Cardinals is receiving an olive branch from the new head coach of the men’s basketball program at Louisville.

LOUISVILLE, KY: In his first news conference, Pat Kelsey revealed that he “almost fell down” when he discovered the results of a recent Google search for the best 50 players in Louisville men’s basketball program history. The Cardinals’ recently appointed head coach would then go on to explain that these former players “built this” program and they were free to return whenever they wanted.

In his introductory remarks, the former head coach of College of Charleston stated that he was afraid of leaving out any noteworthy former UofL players, therefore he didn’t want to start naming them.

Still, he made sure to mention one: Kenny Payne.

Naturally, Payne lost his position as head coach of the Cardinals earlier this month after serving as the head coach of his alma university for two years. He was an all-systems failure during his time at Louisville, going just 12-52 overall, with an 8-24 record this season. On Thursday, Kelsey was formally announced as Payne’s replacement.

Similar: Five Key Points from Pat Kelsey’s Press Conference

Kelsey went above and above to provide Payne a helping hand, even in light of everything that transpired during his tenure as head coach of Louisville’s men’s basketball team. He stated that Payne remains a Cardinal and that any previous players are welcome to return.

“Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we wanted it, but he is a major, major, major part of Card Nation,” added Kelsey. Like everyone else, he is welcome to return here. He is an exceptional human being. Although I don’t know him well, I do know a great deal of people who do. We take great pride in him for who he is and his status as a Cardinal.”

The athletic director of Louisville, Josh Heird, was unaware that Kelsey intended to make a special effort to bring up Payne at the podium. Heird noted that it “meant a lot” to him that Kelsey was prepared to do that, in addition to the fact that Kelsey’s remarks about Payne echoed his own thoughts.
stated to the press during Kelsey’s first news conference. It has great significance for me, as I continue to believe in Kenny. Kenny is a remarkable individual and human being. It didn’t work out here, but occasionally things just don’t work out in certain circumstances.”I didn’t know he was gonna say that,” Heird

However, that doesn’t alter Kenny’s identity. It makes no difference what he accomplished for our program during his time as a player or the previous two years in terms of the work he put in here. Pat’s willingness to express that meant a lot to me.”

Payne is a 1,000-point scorer who played for the Cardinals for four years, from 1985 to 1989. In 1986, he helped Louisville win a national championship. The Philadelphia 76ers chose the Laurel, Mississippi native with the 19th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.