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Men's Basketball

Candidates to Be Kentucky Basketball’s Next Head Coach

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3 weeks ago

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

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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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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

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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.

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Speaks on Kentucky’s Roster Construction, “I’m Really Excited About Where We Are”

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3 hours ago

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April 29, 2024

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Eddie Justice/UK Athletics

Believe it or not, it has only been a little over two weeks since Mark Pope took over as the Kentucky Basketball head coach. In that span, A LOT has happened. Pope has filled four of his five assistant staff positions and is nearly halfway done with his roster, adding six players, including four from the transfer portal.

“I’m really excited about where we are today,” Pope started in his Monday morning interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, when asked about how the roster is coming together. “This is really artistic. It is puzzle pieces. With every new piece, it kinda changes the picture. Where you have to readjust what you’re looking for in the next piece.”

How many pieces is Pope looking at? Nearly 30. “On our big board right now, we’re actually working with 29 guys that we’ve really, really zeroed in on,” Pope said. A broad list, I know, but also options. All 29 names are in a color-coded tier on a “giant whiteboard”, which has a broken wheel he joked, in his office. The staff also shares Google docs of targets, which he has politely asked the Big Blue Nation not to hack into.

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Aidan Mahaney, who is coming off a weekend visit to Kentucky, and Great Osobor and Koby Brea, who are both currently visiting Kentucky, are certainly three of those players. After these visits and their coinciding decisions, Pope suggests the staff may take a brief pause to analyze the roster before proceeding further.

“I need to take a little pause right now and just see how our pieces are fitting together,” Pope said. Don’t be worried, they will go “lightspeed” again, but compares it to a “surgical pause”. With the transfer portal deadline coming on May 1st, it is a perfect time to look at all their options.

The next deadline to look toward is the May 29th NBA Draft deadline. Pope says he leaving some room open as Kentucky is talking to “a bunch of guys” that are going through the draft process before making a final decision. Two confirmed guys in that category are Jaxson Robinson, who played for Pope at BYU, and Jaylen Wells an uber-athlete from Washington State.

That said, Pope is not in the business of waiting until the last minute and being vulnerable to a last-minute decision. “We’re not going to leave too much space because there are really talented players that fit us now,” he said.

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As it stands, Kentucky is in a really good position with its roster. Some really solid pieces have been added over the last week, especially defensively. Now, it’s about getting a couple of “dudes”, some offensive firepower, and then a bench. Pope and Co. sound prepared to tackle that.

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BB Recruiting

Wake Forest Transfer Andrew Carr Commits to Kentucky

Published

20 hours ago

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April 28, 2024

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Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr has committed to play for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

After finalizing all but one member of the staff last week, including the official announcements of top recruiters Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart, the Kentucky Wildcats have received their third commitment in as many days.

“BOOM!” Kentucky assistant Cody Fueger tweeted out on Sunday afternoon. Just hours later, Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr announced his commitment to Kentucky.

Carr is ranked as the 75th-best transfer by ESPN.

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Carr began his college career at Delaware, where his father and uncle both played. After two seasons, he elected to transfer to Wake Forest, where started in all 68 games. This past season, Carr was the star big man of a Demon Deacon team that won 20+ games for just the second time over the last decade.

This past season, Carr averaged career-highs in points at 13.5 per game, and rebounds at 6.8 per game. Doing so on 53% shooting from the field and 37% from deep. Per KenPom, he played primarily at the 4 spot and occasionally logged minutes at the 5, so he can play alongside Amari Williams as a stretch big. It is worth noting that Kentucky is also hosting Utah State transfer big Great Osobor for a three-day visit, alongside his family.

While Carr is experienced, his NCAA Tournament experience is limited. Playing just one tournament game, a 20-point loss to a 2-seeded Villanova team in 2022.

Watch a breakdown of the newest Wildcat below.

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Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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BB Recruiting

Top 25 Transfer Otega Oweh Commits to Kentucky

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2 days ago

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April 27, 2024

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Oklahoma Sooners transfer Otega Oweh has comitted to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Following Lamont Butler’s commitment to Kentucky on Friday, the Wildcats have received another commitment less than 24 hours later. This time Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh, he announced on his social media.

This comes after Oweh visited Lexington earlier this week, with reports coming out that his recruitment could be wrapped up quickly after.

Oweh is a top 25 transfer according to 247Sports, 38th by EvanMiya, and 55th by ESPN. Listed at 6-5, 210 pounds, Oweh is a strong and physical guard. His strength and athleticism have been a strength dating back to high school, which allows him to impact the game defensively, and also to get to the rim and thrive in transition opportunities.

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In two years at Oklahoma, the area that Oweh has significantly improved in has been his shooting. As a freshman, he shot just 25 percent from three, on just four attempts for the season, to 37.7 percent as a sophomore, making 20 of his 53 attempts. Most of that success comes from catch-and-shoot opportunities, where he rates in the 87th percentile. His ability to shoot off the dribble is the polar opposite, rating in just the 4th percentile.

Oweh is a two-way player with two years of eligibility remaining, while he will bring experience, there is still room for development with NBA upside. While he may not be a primary option, he’s certainly a player that can impact the game.

Oweh is now Kentucky’s third addition from the transfer portal and sixth player overall. A handful of top transfers are visiting, or currently visiting, Kentucky this weekend. The staff is hopeful a few join the roster.

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