W
hat’s next?
THAT’S THE QUESTION MOST EXASPERATED LOUISVILLE FANS HAVE BEEN ASKING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF
WEEKS. IT’S ALSO A COMMON QUESTION AMONG THE ARDENT BASKETBALL FANS IN INDIANA AND KENTUCKY
AS THE CORE OF COLLEGE HOOPS SEEMS TO BE IN QUESTION DUE TO THE ONGOING FBI INVESTIGATION.
WHILE I DON’T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, LET’S ATTEMPT TO BREAK OUT THE CRYSTAL BALL TO DETERMINE
WHAT MAY BE NEXT FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND ENTITIES IN OUR SPORTING LANDSCAPE.
What’s next for Louisville Basketball?
In the short term, David Padgett and his new
trio of assistant coaches — longtime veteran
head coach Trent Johnson, eager assistant Greg
Paulus and former program assistant R.J. Evans
— will man the ship until a head coach can be
hired. This year’s team has so much talent and
athleticism that it just might surprise people on
34 EXTOL SPORTS / NOVEMBER 2017
the national landscape who viewed Louisville as
a lost cause after Rick Pitino’s firing.
Fans are going to love the new and improved
Deng Adel with his incredible defense and
improved jumpshot. Fans will like the smooth
confidence of VJ King and the bouncy athleticism
of Ray Spalding and more consistent play from
Anas Mahmoud. And the freshmen? Darius Perry
will be a sparkplug at guard and Malik Williams
is a quiet, rebounding machine.
What about long term?
I recently spoke with Interim Athletic Director
Vince Tyra who said they were flooded with
candidates when looking for assistant coaches.