Louisville has called a press conference for Friday morning, at which point it’s expected the Cardinals will name alumnus Kenny Payne as their new head coach, multiple outlets reported.
Payne, 55, won a national title with Louisville as a player in 1986 and has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.
Payne would replace Chris Mack, who was fired by the school in late January.
Payne has the reputation as an elite recruiter, having been an assistant coach at Oregon and then a longtime assistant to John Calipari at Kentucky.
Payne averaged 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in four seasons at Louisville from 1985-89. He averaged 3.6 points per game as a freshman when Louisville won it all in 1986.
He was taken #19 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1989 draft and averaged 3.5 points in 144 games (13 starts) in the league. He was waived by the Sixers in January 1993.
