Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Crum dies at 86

Denny Crum, the former head coach of the Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team, has died at the age of 86. Crum played college basketball at UCLA under John Wooden and later served as an assistant coach for the Bruins, helping the team to three national titles. He was hired as head coach at Louisville in 1971 and led the Cardinals to six Final Four appearances and two national championships in 1980 and 1986. Crum retired in 2001 with a 675-295 record at Louisville and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. He also started the “Denny Crum Scholarship Fund,” which awards scholarships to Louisville students who show leadership and community service, academic achievement, and volunteer involvement. Louisville’s home court at the KFC Yum! Center is named after him. Crum suffered two strokes in recent years, in 2017 and 2019.