366 days ago, Louisville basketball was broken.
The Cards were less than a week removed from losing in the NIT quarterfinals to Mississippi State. Losing seniors Quentin Snider and Anas Mahmoud were expected, but juniors Deng Adel and Ray Spalding following suit soon after was less so.
There was a tough-to-remove stain left on the program after NCAA investigations led to the subsequent removal of wins, championships, and final fours from Louisville’s record. Louisville basketball was limping along after the loss of long-time Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino, and AD Tom Jurich following another scandal- this time as part of a pay-for-play incident that shook the college basketball world.