Arkansas’ John Calipari has hired Kenny Payne to his coaching staff as an associate head coach, it was announced Thursday evening.
Payne, 57, most recently served as the head coach at Louisville. With the Cardinals, he had a two-season record of 12-52, including 5-35 in ACC play, and was fired at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Payne, a first-round pick in the 1989 NBA Draft out of Louisville, began his college coaching career at Oregon in 2004. He joined Calipari’s staff at Kentucky in 2010 and was on the bench for the Wildcats’ national championship run in 2012.
Payne later served as associate head coach at Kentucky from 2014-20 before taking an assistant position with the NBA’s New York Knicks. He was named Louisville’s head coach in March 2022.
As a player for the Cardinals, Payne won a national championship in 1986 as a freshman. In his final 2 seasons, he averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds, and 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, respectively.
After being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, Payne played four seasons for the franchise. He averaged 3.5 points over 144 games played , including 13 starts.
Payne is the first member of Calipari’s staff to be announced by the program.