Louisville Basketball: What do the Cardinals do next in their coaching situation?

The Louisville Cardinals finished their season Tuesday night with a loss to Mississippi State in the NIT Quarterfinals. Is this the last game that interim coach David Padgett will be at the helm?

No program has dealt with more drama in the 2017-18 college basketball season than the Louisville Cardinals, who lost both their Athletic Director and Hall-of-Fame head coach Rick Pitino after yet another off the court scandal.

It was a trying ordeal for the players, who after missing out on the NCAA Tournament originally voted to skip the NIT altogether. I couldn’t blame those guys if they had decided to stick to it, considering the toll this season have to had on them. But they ultimately played and made a run before running into the Mississippi State buzzsaw.

Now that the season’s over, a decision needs to be made on Head Coach David Padgett, who’s still on an interim tag after suddenly replacing Pitino.

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The results are a mixed bag based on the season. The Cardinals finished 22-14 (9-9) and had no losses to any teams who failed to make the NCAA Tournament. But the reason why the Selection Committee kept them out was a lack of quality wins, as they failed to beat one ranked opponent as well.

In Padgett’s case, the game (or moment) that might have cost him the full-time gig was the end of game tactics against No. 1 ranked Virginia. Louisville had a great chance to win that crucial game, but miscues by both the coach and veteran players caused them to throw the game away.

The coaching carousel is already underway, and some of the big names were already gobbled up. Last season also had so many big-time coaching hires that there aren’t too many available this time around.

Because of the financial backing, resources, and prestige of the program, the Cardinals are a top-15 job for coaches. There will be some guys already linked to good teams in the coming days, and possibly some NBA coaches who are on their way out.

Depending on which names come up, Padgett will likely be gone, but don’t count him out just yet. He was the alumni factor, which is important for a fan base that has rallied behind the team all season. From a public relations standpoint, he’s been close to perfect, representing the University with poise and class. If the players didn’t have that level of respect for him, they might not have played in the NIT.

Next: Ranking the Sweet Sixteen teams

The Sweet Sixteen will be starting up on Thursday night, but keep an eye out for what Louisville does in the next few days, as it’ll have a big impact on the college basketball landscape for years to come.

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