Louisville basketball’s season ended Tuesday at the hands of Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Cardinals finished the year a dreadful 4-28, totaling just 2 conference wins.

Following the game, Payne answered a question from a reporter on whether or not he has had a conversation with Louisville AD Josh Heird about his future with the program. He responded by saying he wasn’t sure if there was a reason to have a conversation about his future.

Another reminder: Louisville, one of the best programs in college basketball history, lost 28 games this season.

Should Kenny Payne return to Louisville?

This is a hard question to ask on the surface. Heading into the season, the Kenny Payne hire seemed to be a good one. He has Louisville ties, a talented group of incoming players and a revitalized fanbase itching to see success after years of mediocrity.

Instead they were granted the worst season in Louisville basketball history, by a pretty wide margin. They lost their first 9 games of the season and finished with just 2 wins over power conference teams. They weren’t losing to good teams either, the Cardinals lost games to Bellarmine, Florida State, Wright State, Appalachian State and Lipscomb this season.

Payne needs to have a pretty good explanation for why that happened this season, as well as a plan moving forward to right the ship starting in 2023. It’s hard to judge a coach for his first season with a program, but several college basketball coaches have been fired for far, far less.