College basketball star refuses to play due to wardrobe malfunction... as coaches for both teams throw up their hands in disbelief: 'That's a first'

Louisville basketball coach Kenny Payne has admittedly seen a lot in his decades-long career, but against Bellarmine on Wednesday, the 57-year-old was admittedly in new territory.

'You ready for this?' Payne responded when asked by reporters to explain star point guard Ty-Laur Johnson's noticeable first-half absence.

A top-100 recruit and the top bench scorer for Louisville, Johnson missed all but three minutes of the first half despite being dressed and in uniform. Naturally reporters were curious if he was injured or being punished for some yet-to-be revealed transgression.

'I probably shouldn't tell you this,' Payne began. 'We didn't have the tights he wanted, so he didn't know if he wanted to play.

'Oh yeah, you heard it,' Payne continued. 'We didn't have the tights he wanted, that we've never had for him, and he decided, ''I don't feel like I can go.'''

Johnson did return to help the Cardinals rally back for a 73-68 win. He had eight points and five assists in 19 total minutes.

Bellarmine's head coach Scotty Davenport sympathized with Payne after the game.

'I will say, I've coached a lot of years, at all levels, and that's a first,' he said.

Johnson appeared to be wearing one legging during Wednesday's game. Previously he wore a similar legging in games against Indiana and Texas.

Payne is in his second season for a program that has struggled to rebuild since Rick Pitino was fired in 2017 amid a federal investigation into recruiting allegations.

The once-proud Cardinals were just 4-28 last season, including a 2-18 conference record.

This year Louisville is 3-3 heading into conference play against Virginia Tech on Sunday.