Louisville hoops is coming off of its worst record since the 1940s and has quickly become the butt of many jokes. The Cardinals nearly lost to UMBC in the 2023/24 college basketball season-opener before losing to Chattanooga, Texas and Indiana.
They defeated a bad Bellarmine team on Wednesday night, narrowly, and almost had to do so without their four-star freshman guard. Ty-Laur Johnson sat out the first half of the game due to an improper selection of undergarments.
Louisville apparently did not have the compression pants that he wanted. Or as head coach Kenny Payne called them— tights. Seriously.
Johnson played just 19 minutes during the five-point win because he chose not to play during the first half because of some tights. He eventually changed his mind after halftime.
Johnson finished with eight points, five assists, two rebounds and three turnovers. The 6-foot guard ran the point. The offense started to click and got into a groove that at one point opened up a 12-point lead.
Payne prefaced his statement with “I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” and he was right. He probably should have kept that one to himself because it reflects poorly on his player. It also reflects poorly on the program that it would allow a player to decide to sit out on his own accord because of underwear.
However, his message was pretty clear. Payne was trying to explain that he needs Johnson on the court and understands that Johnson needs to be on the court while showing the type of things that he has to go through to get him on the court.
Sophomore Skyy Clark, a sophomore transfer from Illinois, sympathized with his teammate and joked “we’ve all been freshman before.” Payne made it clear that Johnson is still growing. He offered a refreshing perspective in an era that is very different than when he played at Louisville in the 1980s.
This is a new day and age, a new generation of young people. They are learning what it means to be a part of a team. They are learning what it means to be kids of character. They’re learning. They’re learning. All of them are learning.
We want them to think — like in your mind, you’re looking like I can’t believe he just said that — that’s what it is coaching young people. That’s what it is.
There’s a generation of these young kids now that think, you know, I don’t feel good today. I can just shut it down. Well, that affects a whole lot of lives.
Ty-laur Johnson is a great kid. He is learning for the first time in his life what it is to be held accountable, to be on time, to be a part of a team and have his responsibility to the team. I’m proud of him for fighting through. But I also know that I cannot ever take my foot off his neck. I know that.
— Kenny Payne
While what Payne is saying makes sense, his players need to play when called upon. It’s that simple.
Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport could not comprehend the entire scenario. When asked if he was able to wrap his head around Johnson’s refusal to play over underwear, he simply said “no.”
He was then asked to elaborate further.
Well, it’s a yes or no answer […]
I just coach my own guys. I will say, I’ve coached a lot of basketball at every level and that’s a new one to me.
— Scott Davenport
Johnson did not comment after the game. There are a lot of questions that will never be answered.
Perhaps the most important question is this: why didn’t the Cardinals, a team sponsored by Addidas, have the proper “tights” for Ty-Laur Johnson? And when he asked for a specific pair of tights, why didn’t Louisville get them for him?