The Confidential

The ACC School Mount Rushmores: Louisville FINAL

The Louisville Mount Rushmore was a tough one.  The general consensus was that–while Johnny Unitas was a superstar–his star was so NFL-related as to question his inclusion in a Louisville Mount Rushmore.  The Confidential is not too bold as to ignore criticism.  Where, as here, there is a legitimate beef, the Confidential listens.  We removed Unitas from the list.

With two holes to fill, the decision becomes a bit easier.  Darrell Griffith is beloved to Louisville hoops fans.  Unlike Unitas, he did most of his real damage in college–benefiting the program directly.  He left school as the all-time leading scorer.  His jersey has been retired.  He won a national championship.  He even earned the moniker Dr. Dunkenstein–an exciting player coming before Phi Slamma Jamma and Michael Jordan.  He would have been #4, but now he is #3.

The battle for #4 becomes tougher.  On the one hand, Rick Pitino just won a national championship.  On the other hand, Rick Pitino is at Louisville because of athletic director Tom Jurich.  Although the Confidential’s initial thought was to defer Jurich for a later edition, the fan outcry was significant.  Jurich hired Pitino.  He hired Charlie Strong. Both of those programs are top 10 and headed to our beloved ACC.  He has been in charge of Louisville’s rapid climb in revenue–despite the paltry sums generated by the TV revenue from Big East (and lesser conference) membership.  Louisville sports is as powerful as it has ever been–and most of that is due to the efforts of Tom Jurich.  Someday he will have a field, arena, or stadium named after him.  For now, he will have to settle for a spot on the Confidential’s Louisville Mount Rushmore.

The Final Louisville Mount Rushmore: Denny Crum, Howard Schnellenberger, Darrell Griffith, and Tom Jurich.

Other Mount Rushmores:

• ACC Football Coaches
• ACC Basketball Coaches

1. Maryland Preliminary   Maryland Final
2. Boston College    Boston College Final
3. Wake Forest   Wake Forest Final
4. Miami   Miami Final
5. Virginia Tech   Virginia Tech Final
6. Syracuse   Syracuse Final
7. Virginia   Virginia Final
8. Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh Final
9. North Carolina State  North Carolina State Final
10. Clemson   Clemson Final
11. Georgia Tech  Georgia Tech Final
    
12. Louisville
13. Notre Dame
14. Duke
15. North Carolina
16. Florida State

For more on the Louisville decisions, see the original discussion…

Read more…