34 Facts About Denny Crum

Denny Crum guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships and six Final Fours.

Denny Crum played college ball for the UCLA Bruins under head coach John Wooden.

Denny Crum was later an assistant under Wooden, and the Bruins won a national championship in each of his three seasons on the staff.

Denzel Edwin Denny Crum was born in San Fernando, California, in Los Angeles County.

Denny Crum then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, to play for the UCLA Bruins.

Denny Crum was honored with the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Trophy for outstanding first-year varsity player.

Denny Crum received the Bruin Bench Award for most improved player the following year.

Denny Crum was then rehired by UCLA to replace assistant coach Jerry Norman, and became John Wooden's top assistant coach and chief recruiter.

Denny Crum took a $3,000 pay cut from UCLA compared to his earnings at Pierce.

Denny Crum's recruits included Bill Walton, one of the greatest college basketball players ever.

In 1971, Denny Crum was hired as head coach by the University of Louisville, taking over for John Dromo, but he left UCLA thinking he would return one day to succeed Wooden.

Denny Crum declined the opportunity to replace his mentor at UCLA.

Denny Crum said life in Louisville was "more relaxed and it's not a hassle to do everything".

Denny Crum led the Cardinals to four more Final Fours in the 1980s.

Denny Crum received another offer to return to UCLA in 1988, after Walt Hazzard was fired, but he remained at Louisville.

In 1993, Denny Crum became the second fastest coach to reach 500 wins.

On his 64th birthday in 2001, Denny Crum announced that he would retire at the end of the season.

Denny Crum coached the US World University team to a gold medal in 1977.

Denny Crum led the American's Pan American team to a silver medal in 1987.

Denny Crum usually held a rolled-up program in one hand during games, like Wooden, and would often gesture with it.

At Louisville, whose team colors are red and black, Denny Crum sometimes wore a red blazer on the sidelines.

Denny Crum ran a variation of Wooden's trademark high-post offense.

The year after Denny Crum won his last national championship in 1986, the NCAA introduced the three-point line, revolutionizing the game.

Denny Crum never returned to the Final Four, coming as close as the Elite Eight in 1997.

From 2004 to 2014, Crum co-hosted a local radio talk show with former University of Kentucky head coach Joe B Hall.

The Joe B and Denny Show was the top Fox Sports radio show in the state of Kentucky.

Denny Crum was married to his third wife Susan Sweeney Denny Crum, then a news anchor and reporter for Louisville television station WDRB, from 2001 until his death.

Denny Crum had three children, Cynthia and Steve from his first marriage, and Scott from his second marriage.

Denny Crum lived in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, and had a hunting ranch in eastern Idaho.

Denny Crum played professional poker and collected western novels by Louis L'Amour.

Denny Crum was awarded Metro Conference Coach of the year three times.

Denny Crum was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2002, Crum received the Legends of Coaching award given by the John R Wooden Award Committee.

In 2010 Denny Crum was an inaugural inductee of Pierce College's athletic hall of fame.