Report: Louisville basketball to hire IU assistant Kenny Johnson

Louisville basketball intends to hire Indiana assistant coach Kenny Johnson for the same role, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star Tuesday morning.

The Star reports that a source confirmed to them Monday night that Johnson had accepted the offer.

Johnson, a dogged recruiter who just completed his second season at Indiana under coach Tom Crean, would replace Kevin Keatts, who left Louisville at the end of the season to take the head coach position at North Carolina-Wilmington.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino said at his season-end press conference that he'd like to hire an assistant coach with experience. The assumption then was that former assistant Ralph Willard would be Pitino's likely choice.

But in recent days, Johnson's name came up more and more. A report from the Bloomington Herald-Times on Friday said Louisville was involved in a "bidding war" with Maryland to hire Johnson.

Sources near Louisville shot that report down, but Johnson's name surfaced again Monday.

The Indianapolis Star reported the hiring online through an unconfirmed source.

InsideMDSports.com, an affiliate of 247Sports.com, first reported late Monday night that Louisville would hire Johnson.

Scout.com also reported the move, but a Louisville spokesman said there was "nothing to report now."

Neither Pitino nor Indiana coach Tom Crean responded to text messages from The Courier-Journal.

Johnson is known as a strong recruiter in the Washington, D.C., area.

Reach Louisville writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).