Bio

The seeds of Denny Crum's coaching career were planted at an early age. While playing three varsity seasons at San Fernando (CA) High School, Crum coached a summer league team as a 10th grader. He went on to star for L.A. Pierce College, averaging 27 points per game as a freshman and earning All-Southern California honors. He led Pierce to its conference championship as a sophomore and was named Player of the Year. 
Crum then played two years at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden. In 1956-57 he helped lead the Bruins to a 22-4 record and was named the team's best first-year player. In Crum's senior year, the team went 16-10 and he was named the most-improved player. 

Upon graduation from UCLA, Crum coached the Bruins' freshman team before returning to L.A. Pierce as head coach in 1964. After four successful seasons at Pierce, Crum returned to UCLA as an assistant to coach Wooden, helping lead the Bruins to NCAA Championships in 1969, 1970 and 1971. He accepted the head coaching position at the University of Louisville in 1971.

Crum led the Louisville basketball program for 30 seasons, building a record of 675-295, with 23 NCAA tournament appearances, 6 final four finishes, and NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986. 

The honors and accolades Crum has collected during this brilliant career are numerous. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Co-Coach of the Year in 1973, the Metro Conference Coach of the year in 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1994, and the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 1996. He was named the Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year in 1980, and the Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1983, and 1986. The Lexington Herald-Leader named Crum Sportsman of the Year in 1986 and the Sportsman of the Decade in 1990. In 1990, he was enshrined into the UCLA Hall of Fame, in 1992 he was inducted into the California Community College Men's Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2002, L.A. Pierce inducted Crum into the college's Hall of Fame and retired his #8 jersey.

Crum is a 2002 recipient of the Legends of Coaching Award, presented annually by the John R. Wooden Award Committee. On February 7, 2007, Louisville's home floor at Freedom Hall was officially named the "Denny Crum Court."