Five memorable moments during Denny Crum's Hall of Fame college basketball coaching career

Denny Crum took over the Louisville men's basketball program in 1971 at 34 years old, and to this day his fingerprints remain all over it.

Hired from a field of 30 applicants, Crum led the Cardinals to six Final Fours and two national championships during his three decades at the helm (1971–2001) and became an icon in the city. The San Fernando, California, native died Tuesday at age 86, U of L said in a statement.

Here's a look back at five of the most memorable moments of Crum's Hall of Fame coaching career:

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March 24, 1980: Denny Crum coaches Louisville to NCAA championship, beating his alma mater UCLA

Darrell Griffith went out with a bang in his last game in a Louisville uniform, scoring 23 points and earning Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after a 59-54 win against Crum's alma mater, UCLA, for the first NCAA title in program history. The Cardinals trailed the Bruins, led by first-year head coach and future Hall of Famer Larry Brown, 54-50 with 4:12 to play in the second half but stormed in front thanks to Griffith and sophomore Jerry Eaves combining for six straight points.

"It's a tremendous thrill to win," Crum, then 43 years old, told reporters after the game. "It's almost unbelievable that 15 young men would give their coaches no problems of any kind over of six months, on or off the floor."

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1983: Louisville basketball beats Kentucky in 'Dream Game,' reaching back-to-back Final Fours

Playing against rival Kentucky for the first time in 24 years, Crum and the Cardinals emerged victorious in an overtime thriller at Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, to make their second consecutive Final Four appearance. The stakes were so high for the Elite Eight matchup that Louisville's WHAS 840-AM began pregame coverage for the 12:45 p.m. tipoff at 5 a.m., according to The Athletic.

Kentucky's Jim Master drilled a 12-foot jumper at the buzzer to force overtime with the teams tied at 62 apiece, but Louisville scored the first 14 points of the extra period and walked away with an 80-68 win. After the instant classic, U of L and UK renewed their regular-season series for the first time since 1922 on Nov. 26, 1983, and it's blossomed into one of the biggest sporting events in the commonwealth every year.

"I had always pushed for it," Crum said in 2014, "because I thought it would be good for basketball and good for our state. And it was. It has been."

March 31, 1986: Crum wins second national title at Louisville with Cards' win vs. Duke

Led by Ellison's 25 points, four of which came in the final 41 seconds, Louisville defeated Duke 72-69 to bring home its second national championship. Wagner iced the game at the free-throw line with two seconds left, and Crum bested another future Hall of Fame coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

"I feel a lot happier," Crum said when asked after the game how this championship compared to his first in 1980. "Back then, I was mostly just relieved to win one. I'm really going to enjoy this one. It kind of puts you in select company."

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Jan. 7, 1993: Denny Crum becomes second-fastest college basketball head coach to reach 500 wins

Louisville defeated South Florida 98-75 on a Thursday night in Tampa, Florida, to give Crum his 500th career victory.

"I'm glad it's behind us," he told reporters after the game. "It's a nice feeling to be there; now we can concentrate on other things. When you start the season knowing it's close, you wonder how long it's going to take."

It took Crum until the eighth game of his 22nd season to reach win No. 500. The only coach to get there faster is the late UNLV legend Jerry Tarkanian, who did so in the 28th game of his 20th season.

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May 9, 1994: Crum inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Crum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at age 57. His speech focused on the influence several people had on his career — his former coach at UCLA, John Wooden, U of L assistant coach Jerry Jones and former Cardinals head coach Bernard "Peck" Hickman — and he reflected on deciding to stay in Louisville after interviewing for the Bruins' job in 1977.

"I really thought I was going to say yes (to UCLA)," Crum said. "But the day after I got back here, I played golf with some friends and thought, 'Why would I want to go out there and fight all that traffic and smog and stuff when I have everything here?'

"I had grown to love Louisville. It's a great place to be a basketball coach or player and a wonderful place to live and raise kids. It's been a great relationship. Louisville has been really great to me."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Denny Crum's best moments: 5 from his HOF Louisville basketball career