4-Point Play: What to know about Jason Hart and Mark Fox

Things were far too quiet on the staff front beyond what we already knew with Mark Pope bringing his right-hand man from BYU with him in Cody Fueger. Speculation ran rampant for a couple of days regarding potential package deals and friendly faces returning to Lexington, only to have two new names come to light in Jason Hart and Mark Fox, first reported by Kyle Tucker of The Athletic. The former would be joining as an on-court recruiting assistant — one of three, joining Fueger — while the latter would be one of two non-recruiting assistants, akin to Bruiser Flint or John Welch this past season.

Three down, two to go with one remaining in each category. Go get a guy you want to bring on the road with you to recruit, another to develop talent and coach ’em up in-house.

So what do you need to know about additions two and three while we wait for four and five?

Hart brings West Coast connections to Lexington

Born and raised in Los Angeles, went to high school in Inglewood, 13 years of coaching in the greater LA area at Taft HS (2011-12), Pepperdine (2012-13), USC (2013-21) and the NBA G League Ignite (2021-24). Beyond his four-year playing career at Syracuse and ten years in the pros — and he still spent four of those seasons in California playing for the Kings and Clippers — Jason Hart has done nothing but live and breath SoCal life. Those are his roots and his connections in the area are second-to-none.

“One of the most connected people in LA,” one national source told KSR. “Should have gotten one of the SoCal HC jobs in the last few cycles.”

He made a name for himself in the coaching world with the Trojans as an assistant for three NCAA Tournament teams and one Elite Eight in 2021 under Andy Enfield, now the head coach at SMU. Hart was credited with landing former five-star Onyeka Okongwu in 2019, who went on to become the No. 6 draft pick in 2020.

“He basically ran USC when they were at their peak under Enfield,” another source added. “Recruiter, ran practices. He’s tough on kids but players love him.”

Overloading the G League Ignite with young talent

Hart coached the Ignite for three seasons, accumulating a total record of 19-59 from 2021-24. Originally created as an alternate path for high schoolers to get to the NBA, the league decided to shut down the program entirely in March due to NIL and the transfer portal leveling the playing field in college.

“Four years ago, we started Ignite to fill a void in the basketball landscape, and I’m proud of the contributions we were able to make to that ecosystem,” NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. “With the changing environment across youth and collegiate basketball, now is the right time to take this step.

“… As ever, the G League’s commitment to developing top NBA talent and helping players achieve their NBA dreams is unwavering.”

The optics weren’t great, especially considering the 2-32 finish in the final year with arguably the team’s most talented (and youngest) roster since the program was assembled. Playing a full G League schedule with five likely draft picks, three first-rounders and two lottery picks — all newcomers — the youth just couldn’t break through in a league full of grown men. And it was enough for Adam Silver to call it quits.

Let’s take a step back and look at the macro level, though. Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis were consensus top-10 recruits in the 2023 cycle with Dink Pate inside the top 30, Tyler Smith a former five-star recruit now the No. 21 overall draft prospect. Izan Almansa was seen as a major get out of Spain, too.

Scoot Henderson was the No. 3 pick in 2023 while Dyson Daniels came off the board at No. 8 overall in 2022. The Ignite stole Jaden Hardy, a former five-star, consensus top-five talent in 2021, away from Kentucky while MarJon Beauchamp, Leonard Miller, Sidy Cissoko and Mojave King also heard their names called in the draft representing the GLI.

Hart brought in a ridiculous amount of talent, and that’s what will be asked of him under Pope in Lexington. With Kentucky’s platform and resources, it’s a no-brainer and nothing short of a home run to add to the bench.

Fox is overqualified for the position

It’s not every day you get to add a guy with 324 career wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances as a D1 head coach across three stops to your staff — certainly not as an off-court assistant in a non-recruiting role.

Things ended on a sour note at Cal with a 38-87 campaign across four seasons and a 3-29 finish in 2022-23, but Mark Fox is also the same guy with nine 20-win seasons at Nevada and Georgia, including just three losing records in 14 combined years at both stops. He inherited a terrible situation with the Golden Bears and never found his footing, but his basketball mind has never been in question. Again, this is a guy who has coached with USA Basketball, worked with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Summer League and had professional development stints with the likes of Brad Stevens, Gregg Popovich and Geno Auriemma. He’s as respected as they come in that regard.

And after spending a season under Ed Cooley at Georgetown as the director of student-athlete relations and NIL partnerships, he’s back on a high-major bench providing input on Xs and Os — his specialty. He’s overqualified for the position in Lexington, but that puts Kentucky in a really solid spot under first-year head coach Mark Pope.

Circle of coaching life for Pope

So how do you find yourself in that position if you’re Pope, adding a guy who could very easily land a smaller head coaching gig at just 55 years old? What goes around, comes around.

Kentucky’s newest head coach originally enrolled in medical school at Columbia in 2006, then dropped out to join Fox’s staff at Georgia as the director of basketball operations in 2009 — his first gig in basketball. That was after Pope played at Washington from 1991-93 where Fox got his first coaching job as an assistant, their paths overlapping twice in their respective journeys.

Pope went on to become an assistant at Wake Forest for a year (2010-11) before spending the next four at BYU (2011-15) ahead of his first head coaching job at Utah Valley. He was there from 2015-19, then back as the head coach at BYU from 2019-24 before taking over at Kentucky this offseason. After Fox gave him his first opportunity as a DOBO in 2009, Pope is returning the favor with a seat on his own bench at the biggest school for both of them, iron sharpening iron.

It’s a chance for Fox to distance himself from his time in Berkeley and rebuild his coaching brand before he inevitably earns his next shot. Thrive alongside Pope in Lexington and the field opens among interested suitors moving forward, potentially back at the high-major level.

It’s mutual back-scratching that benefits both parties.