Once UMKC fired coach Matt Brown, most eyes turned toward Louisville assistant Kareem Richardson as the next man to take the job. In fact, CBSSports.com reported that Richardson was the front-runner to replace Brown earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the school made it official, naming Richardson as the next coach.
“I would like to welcome Kareem back to Kansas City,” athletic director Tim Hall said. “He has strong relationships with high school and AAU coaches here and throughout the Midwest. He brings a high basketball pedigree in the areas of recruiting, on-the-floor coaching, strategy and preparation and service to young men. Kareem is an educator and knows what it takes to be successful in the mid-major ranks.”
Richardson spent time at UMKC as an assistant during the 2007-08 season and has been an assistant under Rick Pitino at Louisville since last April. He also was an assistant coach at Drake, Xavier, Evansville, Wright State and Indiana State.
Richardson faces a tough task. Brown had four 20-loss seasons in his six seasons as the head coach. The Kangaroos went 8-24 this season.
Louisville is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and will open up with the winner of Tuesday night's First Four game between North Carolina A&T and Liberty. Richardson will remain with the Cardinals until their season concludes.
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