Kentucky expected to hire Mo Williams for assistant role

Kentucky is expected to hire Jackson State head coach Mo Williams as an assistant coach, a source told On3.

Williams, a former NBA All-Star, has been the head coach at Jackson State since 2022.

Williams played two seasons at Alabama and was the 2002 SEC Freshman of the Year. In the 2003 NBA Draft, he was selected 47th overall and went on to have a 13-year NBA career, highlighted by an All-Star selection in 2009 and an NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 alongside LeBron James. He retired from the NBA in 2017.

Williams then began his college coaching career, first serving as an assistant at Cal State Northridge from 2018-20 before becoming the head coach at Alabama State, a position he held for two seasons. He later took the head coaching job at Jackson State, his hometown program. He received a contract extension with the program in 2024.

Williams now joins Mark Pope’s staff at Kentucky as an assistant, which recently had two openings. Assistant coach Jason Hart accepted a job at SMU, and Kentucky associate head coach Alvin Brooks is not expected to return next season.

Mo’s son, Mason Williams, a four-star point guard, committed to the Wildcats late last week.