Calipari backs ex-asst. Payne amid 'growing pains'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Minutes after No. 9 Kentucky defeated rival Louisville in a lopsided 95-76 road victory Thursday, Wildcats coach John Calipari said his Cardinals counterpart, Kenny Payne, deserves more time at the helm of the program.

Payne, Calipari’s friend and former assistant, now has a record of 9-35 overall and 2-19 in ACC play since he was hired to lead his alma mater last season. Calipari said Louisville continues to improve and that if Payne is given the chance to coach the Cardinals into next season, they will show major strides.

He said Kentucky faced similar scrutiny during the 2020-21 season, when the Wildcats finished 9-16, the worst record in the program’s modern history.

“He’s got a really young team,” Calipari said. “And you’ve got to let him go and do what he does. The players love him because they play for him. They never let go of the rope. And I’m watching and I feel for him. Shoot, we went through it a couple of years ago. The people get mean and nasty. They do. And that’s what you have to deal with in this profession. … My guess is he’ll have this program — within a year — where everybody wants it. It’s just that the growing pains are miserable. We went through it.”

Payne said he continues to stay positive but also said he knows he has work to do.

“Obviously, there are things I could have done better,” Payne said. “There are some games that we lost that we could have won, should have won. On paper, it says we were the better team. I’m not sitting here and saying I’m not at fault. I’m not happy with where we are. But I also know that we still can get better. And there is a lot of room for growth. But it’s not all on the kids. I have to do a better job of getting these guys prepared to play really good teams.”

Louisville athletic director Josh Heird has not yet offered public comment on Payne’s status. But speculation about the coach’s future has lingered since last season, when the Cardinals finished 4-28.

Louisville has connected on just 28.9% of its 3-point attempts this season and its opponents have made 53.3% of their shots inside the arc, two of the worst marks in the country. Losses to Chattanooga, DePaul and Arkansas State have hurt Louisville, which is now 267th in the NET rankings. DePaul (272) and Vanderbilt (297) are the only major-conference teams ranked lower than the Cardinals.

But Payne said his team is improving throughout the turbulent season. Louisville outscored Kentucky 43-42 in the second half of Thursday’s game.

He said he’ll likely turn to the transfer portal this offseason to add more talent because most high school recruits couldn’t crack his rotation right now. The talent gap between his roster and the one at Kentucky, he said, is shrinking.

“If I’m using Kentucky as a measuring stick? Did you see all those All-Americans out there?” Payne said. “The first thing I’ll say is I don’t know what the game was last year, but to me, I see segments where the gap is closing. I don’t know if fans see it or if you guys see it as media people, but the gap is closing. And I feel like we’re headed in the right direction.”

On Thursday, the bulk of the KFC Yum! Center was filled with Kentucky fans who chanted, “Blue! White!” throughout the game. Louisville has wrestled with limited attendance for its second consecutive season under Payne as the team’s struggles persist. But the players’ faith in their coach has not waned.

Skyy Clark, who led Louisville with 20 points Thursday, said the team still believes in Payne.

“We’re still rocking with KP,” he said. “We have no control over what decisions are being made. We don’t even have time to worry about that or focus on that. We have a game that’s coming up. We’re going into conference play, so that’s what we’re focused on. We’ve got to control what we can control.”

For Calipari, Thursday seemed difficult even though he won the game. After the victory, he shared a long embrace with Payne in the handshake line.

“He’s going to be fine, and I’ll tell you that when [your players] love you that much and how they’re responding to him, it’s just a matter of time,” Calipari said.