Crum’s Road to Final Four Began Here

Denny Crum got his first taste of coaching as a San Fernando High sophomore when he directed a youth team.

Now his resume compares with the best in college basketball history.

Crum, who starred as a player at both San Fernando High and Pierce College, is experiencing another routine March, having directed the University of Louisville men’s basketball team to its 18th NCAA tournament appearance in 21 years.

Louisville (25-8) plays Texas (18-11) in an East Regional semifinal Thursday at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

Crum, 60, has a 41-20 record in NCAA tournament play, ranking him third in victories behind Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former UCLA Coach John Wooden. The Cardinals need two more victories to give Crum his seventh Final Four appearance, second to Smith among active coaches.

Crum’s Louisville teams have won 612 games, placing him 19th on the all-time list, eighth among active coaches.

As a player, Crum starred for three years at San Fernando, earning all-league honors as a senior. At Pierce, he averaged 27 points as a freshman and as a sophomore led the Brahmas to a conference championship. He also coached at Pacoima Junior High School during the ‘60s.

In two seasons at UCLA, Crum was a regular in the back court, averaging 7.1 points. After graduation, he stayed with the Bruins as coach of the freshman team. He left UCLA to coach at Pierce for seven years--the last four as head coach--before rejoining the UCLA staff as Wooden’s top assistant and chief recruiter, a position he held until Louisville hired him in 1971.

Crum is among only three active collegiate coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He was enshrined in May 1994 and noted in his induction speech: “It’s a feeling I really don’t know how to express. It’s a lifetime of experiences that go much deeper than winning or losing a game.”