Men's Basketball

Candidates to Be Kentucky Basketball’s Next Head Coach

Published

1 year ago

April 8, 2024

The Kentucky basketball head coaching job has opened for the first time since 2009, examining the top potential candidates.

ClutchPoints

Kentucky basketball. It is one of the biggest brands in all of collegiate sports. The most wins and the highest winning percentage in college basketball history. Eight national championships, the second most all time, and have made 17 Final Four appearances, tied for the third most.

It has endured seven head coaches and found success with almost all of them, with five different coaches winning national titles. For the first time since 2009, the program will be searching for a new leader, after John Calipari, who coached the Wildcats for fifteen seasons (2009-2024), is reported to take the Arkansas vacancy.

The biggest job in college basketball is now open. Given the timing, it is important to make a hire quickly, hopefully by Friday. Many will use it as leverage at their current job, and many will get raises, but who’s going to fill it? Let’s look at the top candidates.

Scott Drew, Baylor

Age: 53
Overall Record: 466-255 (64.6%), 22 seasons
Accolades: 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 3 Regular Season Conference Championships, 1 Final Four (2021), 1 Championship (2021), 3-time Big 12 Coach of the Year
Buyout: $4.5 million

Scott Drew may have the most impressive program turnaround in college sports history. Taking over Baylor in 2003, who was coming off a scandal involving a teammate murdering another, he has led them to 12 of their 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. Ultimately winning the 2021 NCAA Championship. If he can do that at Baylor, he can be successful at Kentucky.

Outside of Drew’s coaching ability, he would be a great spokesperson for the program and he has a close relationship with Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart.

Dan Hurley, Connecticut

Age: 51
Overall Record: 291-163 (64.1%), 14 seasons
Accolades: 6 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 Final Fours, 1 Championship (maybe two depending on outcome 4/8/2024), 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 2 Conference Tournament Championships.
Buyout: $7.5 million

The hottest coach in College Basketball right now, Dan Hurley, will be coaching for a second straight championship on Monday night against Purdue. If they are successful, he will become just the third coach in the Modern era to accomplish the feat, joining Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski and Billy Donovan (who appears on this later).

Hurley has a manageable buyout and will have a big roster rebuild with a bulk of the team leaving after the season. That said, there is an indication that Hurley would leave UConn and the Northeast program fits his personality. Then again, he has the confidence to want to take on a challenge like Kentucky. He will be open to listening.

Nate Oats, Alabama

Age: 49
Overall Record: 213-97 (68.7%), 9 Seasons
Accolades: 7 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1 Final Four, 4 Regular Season Conference Championships, 5 Conference Tournament Championships, 3-time Conference Coach of the Year
Buyout: $18 million

Nate Oats is a coach that Kentucky fans have grown all too familiar with, playing against him in his last season at Buffalo in the NCAA Tournament, and at Alabama since 2019. In that span, he has led the Tide to two SEC Regular season championships, two SEC Tournament championships, and the program’s first Final Four this year.

Oats plays a fun style, is fiery on the sidelines, and is one of the best analytical minds in college basketball. He would certainly be a popular fan pick, but the biggest issue is the $18 million buyout thanks to his freshly signed contract extension. He also noted that he doesn’t want to move his kids out of school.

Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls (NBA)

Age: 58
Overall Record: 502-206 (70.9%), 21 Seasons
Accolades: 14 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 4 Final Fours, 2 Championships, 8 Regular Season Conference Championships, 4 Conference Tournament Championships, 3-time SEC Coach of the Year.
Buyout: NBA

Is Billy Donovan still looking for a horse farm in Lexington? The Rick Pitino protege who turned down Kentucky twice in the past, has reportedly expressed interest in the Kentucky job this time around. At 58, Donovan is the oldest candidate, but also the most accomplished, going to four Final Fours and winning two national titles.

Donovan is a great coach but has been in the NBA for almost a decade, since 2015, and has not experienced college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal. But, being in the NBA he has experienced free agency. Is he willing to adapt at his age?

Mark Pope, BYU

Age: 51
Overall Record: 187-108 (63.4%), 9 Seasons
Accolades: 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances
Buyout: Unknown, Private University

Probably the least accomplished coach on this list, Pope has the biggest connection to Kentucky, being a former player from 1994-1996. He will receive support from his former coach and mentor Rick Pitino, not that Barnhart will take that with much merit.

At BYU the last five seasons, Pope has taken them to the NCAA Tournament twice in four possible seasons (COVID cancelled 2020 tournament), but yet to win a postseason game, and they finished 5th in a very strong Big 12 in their first season in the conference.

“Oh, I love Kentucky. You don’t understand; I love Kentucky. Like, in my soul, I love Coach P (Pitino) and I love Kentucky,” Pope said just last week. The search should not get this far.

Tommy Lloyd, Arizona

Age: 49
Overall Record: 88-20 (81.5%), 3 seasons
Accolades: 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances, National Coach of the Year, 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 2 Conference Tournament Championships
Buyout: $12 million

The least tenured coach on this list, but don’t take that for inexperience. Lloyd was an assistant at Gonzaga for over 20 years where he became the top became one of the best international recruiters in the country, and was key in player development for multiple Gonzaga stars.

In his first season at Arizona, Lloyd ran away with National Coach of the Year honors en route to a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lloyd has reached the Sweet Sixteen in two of his three years. He has been a West Coast guy his whole life and just inked an extension in February.

TJ Otzlberger, Iowa State

Age: 46
Overall Record: 169-98 (63.3%), 8 seasons
Accolades: 5 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 3 Conference Tournament Championships, Summit League Coach of the Year
Buyout: $17.5 million

In 2021, Otzlberger inherited an Iowa State team that was coming off a historically bad season, going 2-22 overall and 0-18 in the Big 12. Just 12 months later, he had them in the Sweet Sixteen for just the sixth time in program history. This year, he led them to the Big 12 Tournament championship and another Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Otzelberger’s offensive philosophy has been criticized, but his defenses have been ELITE: 5, 8, 1 over his three seasons.

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Addresses Otega Oweh’s Potential NBA Departure

Published

21 hours ago

May 14, 2025

Isaiah Pinto

Otega Oweh before facing his former team, the Oklahoma Sooners

Chet White | UK Athletics

Kentucky guard Otega Oweh recently declared himself as “all in” on preparing himself for the NBA.

Oweh’s return to Kentucky is in limbo. Most fans expected Oweh to exercise his final year of eligibility to stay in Lexington, but the 21-year-old has his eyes set on the NBA.

“So, (Oweh) got a lot of room to grow, he’s a phenomenal player who had a great season last year, and it’s pretty fun to talk about,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope told the media on Tuesday. “We’re talking to all of our guys that are going through this (NBA) process all of the time.”

Last season, the 6-foot-4 guard led the Wildcats in points and steals per game. Throughout the season, Oweh was a proven piece of Kentucky’s road to the Sweet Sixteen.

“He has so much room to grow,” Pope said. “I think his ceiling as a playmaker, he hasn’t even begun to tap into that, I think he can become an elite-level playmaker.”

To Pope’s point, Oweh only averaged 1.7 assists per game with 1.5 turnovers per game, a near one-to-one ratio.

“Otega’s physicality is elite,” Pope said. “His physicality on the offense and defensive end… shows up in contact, hits, it shows up in his explosiveness, it shows up in his first step, it shows up in his ability to kind of navigate guarding guys off the ball through screens by creating space with his chest.”

On May 2, the NBA announced their invitees to the NBA Combine ahead of the NBA Draft this summer. Guard Koby Brea and Oweh and two Kentucky players were invited out of the 75-prospect pool.

This week prospects will showcase their talents and measurements at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago for scouts.

Last season, Kentucky endured several injuries. However, Oweh started all 36 games and had to step up with guards Jaxon Robinson and Lamont Butler missing significant time.

Oweh was recognized as one of the conference’s best players, as he was named to the 2024-25 All-SEC Second Team.

“These are lifelong relationships that we build, and as these guys go pursue the next step, it’s really exciting for us and exciting for them, and we’re on it,” Pope said.

If Oweh gets signed or drafted by an NBA squad, it would be a massive loss for Kentucky.

Brea, Butler, Robinson, Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams have exhausted their college eligibility in addition to Travis Perry and Kerr Kriisa leaving the program via the transfer portal.

From the nine confirmed departures, five of them are guards. Losing Oweh would be a sixth guard gone from last season’s squad.

Thankfully for Pope and his staff, Oweh is still eligible to return to Kentucky. However, a decision has to be made by June 15 at the latest, 10 days ahead of the NBA Draft.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky’s Own Malachi Moreno Shows Out In Chris Brickley Invitational

Kentucky pledge and native Malachi Moreno nearly tallied a double-double in the Chris Brickley Invitational.

Published

3 days ago

May 12, 2025

Lane Mills

Malachi Moreno shows out in Brickley Invitational.

UK Athletics

Held in Chicago, the Chris Brinkley Invitational is a gathering of young superstars under the wing of famous basketball trainer Chris Brickley. This year, Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno was invited to participate in the event, allowing his hard work to pay off in direct competition with his peers.

Moreno, who will join a consensus top 10/15 (at least) Kentucky roster this fall, stood tall at the invitational this past Saturday, nearly logging a double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and one block.

The big man would have his way in the paint, notching multiple highlight worthy dunks as well as a full-court pass, boasting his playmaking capability.

Slotted at 25th in ESPN’s freshman recruiting rankings, Moreno became Kentucky’s only McDonald’s All-American earlier this year, and has since turned heads with not only his play on the court, but his treatment of people and the program off it.

He’s been spotted all throughout Lexington, including at Rupp, taking pictures with fans and talking titles in-between. Hailing from Georgetown, KY, Moreno’s hometown ambitions make him a likely fan favorite, and with four years of college basketball ahead of him, his journey is excitedly only getting started.

While Moreno’s role on next year’s roster has yet to take complete shape, his performance at the Brickley invitational is a good indicator of a high ceiling; and besides, it doesn’t hurt to keep it in-house once in a while. The sun shines bright when a Kentucky kid stays home.

Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Is “All In” On NBA Draft Process

While Otega Oweh is “all in” on the NBA Draft process, his ultimate fate at Kentucky still hangs in the balance.

Published

6 days ago

May 9, 2025

Lane Mills

Otega Oweh is "all in" on the NBA Draft.

Chet White | UK Athletics

While Kentucky’s incoming roster of freshman, transfers, and returners may seem complete to many, a once crucial piece has been taken for granted by folks eager to get the season started: Otega Oweh.

One of the primary driver’s of much of last year’s success, Oweh found his footing as a source of energy for his teammates, and found the ball in his hands more often than not when the team desperately needed a bucket.

Now, he’s testing the NBA Draft waters, and, according to Oweh himself, he’s “all in.”

A Pro Goal

“I have one more year of eligibility, but my goal is to play in the NBA,” he said. “So I’m not doing this process one foot in, one foot out.”

This potentially worrying tidbit came out of a segment with the Portland Trail Blazers media following a session with the team. Oweh was also asked about the rumor that he’d return to Kentucky if he wasn’t granted a first round selection in the draft, to which he said, “I wouldn’t say it’s completely false.”

“I believe I’m a first round guy, so I’m just gonna go through all these workouts, give it my all, then when it’s all said and done, I’ll see where I’m at and I’ll make that decision.”

“That decision” will mean a lot for Kentucky’s incoming roster whichever way it goes. If Oweh returns, the team will likely be in final, or near-final, form; barring any crazy shake-ups, we’d be looking at a finalized roster and rotation sooner rather than later.

If he doesn’t? Well, it’d be hard to imagine that the team would be left as-is – a late foray into the transfer portal on Mark Pope’s part would almost be imminent. And he couldn’t land just any player; he’d be replacing a potential SEC player of the year favorite, given a return. The stakes are at an all-time high.

It doesn’t help that the wait isn’t close to being over, either. Oweh has until June 15 to make his final decision, assuming he doesn’t sign an agent before then. With the BBN at his back, Kentucky’s would-be senior star is facing down what may be the most important decision of his career thus far… and all fans can do in the meantime is hurry up and wait.