Kentucky insider names three targets to watch to replace John Calipari
As we enter day two of speculation regarding the next head coach at Kentucky, there are still plenty of names circulating, regardless of who may already have denied any interest in the opening. Now, Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones has updated his list with three names that he believes the Wildcats will be targeting.
Jones shared the trio in a tweet on Tuesday morning. He says that Kentucky will start with UConn’s Dan Hurley, Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls, and Baylor’s Scott Drew.
“Kentucky will contact Danny Hurley, Billy Donovan and Scott Drew. My guess is they will make all three of them say no,” Jones wrote. “Maybe they all do but they will try with all before moving to another group.”
Hurley is an obvious option for any program in the country, especially after Monday. He just got done leading the Huskies to a second-straight national championship to become the first repeat in the sport since, ironically enough, Donovan did it with the Gators in ’06-’07. That’s why, even while quieting those rumors after winning the title last night, Kentucky might at the very least call and demand another refusal.
After that, Donovan and Drew are two names that have come up often in an eventual, potential coaching search. Donovan is in connection due to five years on Rick Pitino’s staff starting in 1989. As for Drew, many have long viewed him as a reported option for AD Mitch Barnhart.
Donovan spent 19 seasons in Gainesville leading Florida. That was before spending the last nine in the NBA, five with Oklahoma City and four in Chicago. He had a great college stint with the Gators with a 467-186 (.715) record. The most notable span of that time was winning the school’s only two national titles consecutively in 2006 and 2007. Since then, he has a 397-317 (.556) record in the association with six playoff appearances.
Drew was the third of the three on the list after 21 seasons in Waco. He reconstructed the Bears who won single-digit games in his first three seasons. That project built them into a team that has routinely won 20-plus games in his tenure. That has led to a record of 446-244 (.646) for him at Baylor, including a dozen tournament appearances and their national title in 2021.
After that trio, there’s a following group of candidates that Kentucky would have to shift to according to Jones. It’s far more vast, though, as he didn’t share any specific, possible names after those three.
“That group is much more wide open and could include a ton of people,” wrote Jones.
Kentucky’s job has been supposedly open for less than two days and a double-digit amount of candidates are within the discussion with varying levels of interest and legitimacy. Still, to Jones, these are the three that the program will zero in on to start with.