April 19 (UPI) -- Former Louisville men's basketball head coach and Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne will join John Calipari's staff at Arkansas, the Razorbacks announced.
The Razorbacks said Payne will serve as associate head coach. Louisville fired Payne in March after he led the Cardinals to a 12-52 record over two seasons. The Cardinals went 8-24 in 2023-24.
Payne, 57, served as an assistant from 2020 to 2022 with the New York Knicks. He was with Kentucky from 2010 through 2020. Payne also served as an assistant from 2004 to 2009 at Oregon.
He starred at Louisville as a player from 1985-89 and was a first-round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1989 NBA Draft. Payne spent four seasons with the 76ers.
He went on to play in the NBA D-League and in Australia, Italy, Japan, Brazil, the Philippines, China, Argentina and Cypress before starting his coaching career.
Payne was part of Calipari's Kentucky staff when the Wildcats won the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball title and for four Final Four runs, including another trip to the title game in 2014.
Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ronnie Brewer Jr., who was hired in 2021, is the only other person listed on the men's basketball coaching staff page on the Razorbacks website.
