LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Following the death of legendary University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Coach Denny Crum, those who knew him best remember his selfless acts and life lessons taught to countless college athletes.
“This loss resonates in every inch of college basketball,” Scott Davenport, men’s basketball coach at Bellarmine University said.
Davenport previously worked as an assistant coach under Crum at UofL. Davenport says the life lessons Crum taught on and off the court still stick with him to this day.
“The Hall of Fame — it just didn’t seem enough to me,” Davenport said. “To me personally, that’s a group of people and for some reason in my mind he’s even bigger than that, but he was never too big to help people.”
Davenport recalls Crum being the kind of person who was always generous, not only with players but in the community too.
For the last 22 years, the Denny Crum Scholarship Foundation and the Denny Crum Scholarship Fund at UofL have awarded over $1 million dollars to over 400 students.
A new residence hall on the UofL campus was also recently named in his honor. Among those who call the building home are student athletes from the men’s basketball team.
“I’ve had too many to count — former Bellarmine players from the last 18 years text me today. They never met him, and they texted me today to say I know how much he meant to you, we’re praying for you coach,” Davenport said. “He’d be proud of that.”
Though he may no longer be with us, the legacy of one of Louisville’s best coaches will live on for generations.