Louisville Basketball: Top 15 players to ever play for legend coach Denny Crum
By Joey Loose
14. Herbert Crook
Crum seemed to excel at recruiting talent from Louisville, and Crook was another skilled player who stayed in his hometown. He was a talented forward who played for the Cardinals from 1984 to 1988, riding the bench as a freshman before developing into a top-level player later in his career.
A full-time starter as a sophomore, Crook averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game, but it was the end of his season that mattered the most. He helped lead the Cardinals to the national championship in 1986, with a pair of 20-point efforts during the second weekend of the tournament in wins over North Carolina and Auburn.
RIP to the legendary Louisville coach Denny Crum. Coach Crum was a brilliant coach, teacher, and competitor, and one of the finest gentlemen and champions the game has ever known. Denny Crum will always be Louisville Basketball. #RIP pic.twitter.com/GY09wBiFzm
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) May 9, 2023
His final two seasons saw him emerge as even more important piece, averaging at least 15 points per game in both seasons while his shooting numbers improved as well, winning Metro Player of the Year in 1987.
He was a late draft pick of the Indiana Pacers in 1988 but his professional career did not include any time in the NBA. Crook was by no means the top star on that 1986 title team, but he played a significant role during the Cardinals’ run to the title. His 1,723 career points ranks 10th all-time in Louisville history and he sits in a similar spot in several other career statistics.