There’s Larry Brown, from Kansas in 1988, Steve Fisher, from Michigan in 1989. The only surviving national championship coach from before 1988 is now Bob Knight, who won his first title 47 years ago. Dean Smith, Rollie Massimino, Jerry Tarkanian. Arizona and Olson, who passed in 2020, as did Georgetown’s Thompson. Just like Kentucky and Hall, who died last year. Crum and Louisville will always go together. The Cardinals never made it back his last 15 years, but his legend is secure. His best glory days came in a rush, with all six Final Four trips in his first 15 seasons. Louisville was the only head coaching job Crum ever had. Many had stories similar to Crum men who planted a flag in one place and stayed long enough to be forever linked to the school they led. With Crum’s passing, the message should be to appreciate the faces from a golden age of college basketball coaching while we still can. Had he returned to UCLA, would it have been the Bruins with the Doctors of Dunk? Would there have been no pause in championship banners for Pauley Pavilion, and coaching stability at UCLA rather than the constantly revolving door of the post-Wooden era? Would Louisville have forever stayed the junior partner in the big blue shadow of Kentucky? Would there even be a KFC Yum! Center now, with its Denny Crum court? And who would have co-hosted that radio show with Joe B. “The professional end didn’t mean as much anymore,” he said in an interview in 1977. By then, the city of Louisville loved him, there were no insane expectations and he could win big while keeping his sanity. That fell to Gene Bartow, who was devoured by the burden in two years. He said back then he didn’t want to be the poor guy who had to immediately replace Wooden, understanding what a mission impossible it would be. 1 aide was clearly ready to fly away on his own. Question the Wizard? In public? Who had the gumption to do that? Wooden threatened to banish Crum to the end of the Bruins bench, but he understood his No. When the Bruins stormed to another national title in 1971, a curious sidebar was the sight of Wooden and Crum arguing on the bench about substitution strategy. And he already had a strong and competitive voice. Did a lot of recruiting for Wooden, including landing a tall California kid named Bill Walton. How very different might college basketball history have been in two storied places had he gone thataway instead of thisaway when he came to the fork in the road of his career?ĭenzel Edwin Crum was a UCLA guard for John Wooden in the 1950s, then a UCLA assistant for Wooden in the late 1960s. What if Denny Crum had said yes to UCLA back in the 1970s? But an intriguing question should be included. But he also bred horses, collected Louis L’Amour novels and often went off to Idaho to hunt and fish.Īny remembrance of the career of the man who passed away this week at 86 must start with all that. He lost to John Wooden’s last Final Four team at UCLA and beat Mike Krzyzewski’s first Final Four team at Duke. The national champion who won 675 games and spanned eras. Yes, his local standing grew more only hallowed after he left the sideline, an affable and approachable coaching emeritus never far away from the Cardinals in body or spirit, and doing a radio show with his old rival from Kentucky, Joe B. Head Basketball is an excellent 2D basketball title that boasts several different game modes (including multiplayer), very nice-looking graphics, and above all a fun and addictive gameplay.Yes, Denny Crum turned Louisville basketball into a civic treasure and Freedom Hall into a vibrant landmark of the sport with two national championships, six Final Fours and massively entertaining teams. In addition, each character has two exclusive special throws. There are some 12 different players (whom you can also customize to your liking), and they have 12 corresponding basketball courts. One of the cool things about Head Basketball is its big variety of players and settings. With the latter you can hit the ball, but normally it's more useful for trying to knock out your opponent. On the left side of the screen you've got arrow buttons to move your player around, and on the right your jump and hit buttons. In fact it's practically identical, but with the goals replaced with baskets. The game is developed by the people who made Head Soccer, and thus shares lots of similarities with that legendary title. Head Basketball is a 2D basketball game where you can participate in one-on-one duels where absolutely anything goes.
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