2000–01 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2000–01 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the university's 87th season of intercollegiate competition. The head coach was Denny Crum and the team finished the season with an overall record of 12-19.[1][2] It was Crum's last season as head coach of Louisville, ending the longest tenure of any Louisville head basketball coach.[3][4][5] Crum also became the winningest coach of the Louisville basketball team during his 30-year coaching career, with 675 wins.[6] Rick Pitino replaced Crum after the season ended.[7]

2000–01 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
2000–01 record12-19 (8-8 Conference USA)
Head coach
Home arenaFreedom Hall
2000–01 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Cincinnati11–5 .688  25–10  .714
Southern Miss11–5 .688  22–9  .710
Charlotte †10–6 .625  22–11  .667
Memphis10–6 .625  21–15  .583
South Florida9–7 .563  18–13  .581
Marquette9–7 .563  15–14  .517
UAB8–8 .500  17–14  .548
Saint Louis8–8 .500  17–14  .548
Louisville8–8 .500  12–19  .387
Houston6–10 .375  9–20  .310
DePaul4–12 .250  12–18  .400
Tulane2–14 .125  9–21  .300
† 2001 Conference USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

The Cardinals began their regular season on November 17 with an 86-71 win over Hawaii. However, the Cardinals went on a five-game losing streak from November 22 until an 86-70 win over Loyola (Chicago) ended the streak on December 18. They won again on December 21 by a score of 89-86 over Murray State, but lost the next four games between December 23 and January 10, 2001. The Cardinals never won more than two games in a row, with their largest losses coming against Alabama by a score of 100-71 on November 30, and against Charlotte by a score of 106-72 on February 11.[2]

Postseason

On Wednesday March 7, 2001, the Cardinals played Alabama-Birmingham for the first round of the Conference USA Tournament. Led by Murry Bartow, the Blazers defeated the Cardinals 71-64, leaving the Cardinals with a final record of 12-19 The Cardinals did not play in the NCAA Tournament.[2]

Awards

Louisville distributed the following awards at the end of the season:[8]

Peck Hickman Most Valuable Player Award
Marques Maybin
Most Improved Player
Rashad Brooks
Most Three Points Awards
Reece Gaines
Most Assists Awards
Reece Gaines
Best Defensive Player
Joseph N'Sima
Best First-Year Player
Joseph N'Sima
Rebound Award
Joseph N'Sima
Best Field Goal Percentage Award
Hajj Turner
Best Free-Throw Percentage
Erik Brown
Scholar-Athlete Award
Muhammed Lasege
Most Inspirational Player Award
Bryant Northern
Coaches' Award
Simeon Naydenov

Coaching change

At the end of the season, coach Denny Crum retired from coaching the Cardinals, with the original announcement coming on March 2, 2001.[9] The soon-to-be coach Rick Pitino visited the campus on March 14, 2001.[7] He held his first press conference on March 23, 2001 at 6:30 PM EDT.[10] On April 17, a rally was held commemorating the new head coach.[11] Two days later, Pitino completed the basketball staff.[12]

References
  1. "2000-2001 Louisville Cardinals Roster and Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. "2000-2001 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. "Crum Will Retire After 30 Years at Louisville". Louisville Cardinals. March 2, 2001. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  4. "Denny Crum Coaching Record". Sports-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  5. "Peck Hickman Coaching Record". Sports-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  6. "Denny Crum Profile". Louisville Cardinals. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014. Crum has reached many major milestones in his career, including becoming U of L's all-time winningest coach in 1991, passing 23-year Cardinal coach Bernard "Peck" Hickman.
  7. "Pitino Visits U of L Campus". Gocards.com. March 14, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  8. "Marques Maybin Honored as Cards' Basketball MVP". Gocards.com. April 4, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  9. "Coach Denny Crum Retires - Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site". Gocards.com. March 2, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  10. "Pitino Holds First Press Conference as Cardianls' Head Coach - Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site". Gocards.com. March 23, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  11. "Pitino to Address U of L Student Rally April 17 - Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site". Gocards.com. April 16, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  12. "Pitino Completes Cardinals' Basketball Staff - Louisville Cardinals Official Athletic Site". Gocards.com. April 19, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
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