Getty Image
The Kentucky basketball coaching search is well underway as the Wildcats look to target a replacement for John Calipari. Coach Cal recently bolted for SEC rival Arkansas, leaving college basketball’s most high-profile gig wide open.
A number of candidates have been linked to the Kentucky job, but none have committed to an agreement to this point.
It seems the ‘Cats swung and missed on Nate Oats, with Alabama boosters stepping up with an NIL offer too good to refuse. Oats was said to show interest in the job only to be lured into a decision to stay in Tuscaloosa.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright is also out, giving a “firm no” when asked about speculation surrounding the opening, though there are still top-level options on the board.
You can now mark off Jay Wright from your Kentucky coaching search. pic.twitter.com/avd08HpHAu
— Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) April 9, 2024
Still remaining are UConn’s Dan Hurley, Baylor’s Scott Drew, and Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
Donovan led Florida to back-to-back national titles in the 2000s before hopping to the NBA. He denied interest in the opening earlier this week, though he never definitively said, “no.”
“I have not been contacted by anybody,” he responded in a recent press conference. “But my total commitment and focus is here [with the Bulls].”
Interestingly enough, Donovan has Kentucky ties having coached in Lexington under Rick Pitino. Still, as of now, he’s out.
The home run hire is Hurley, who’s said to have been offered an $11M salary across 5-7 years, though to this point he’s brushed off any rumors of leaving UConn.
Kentucky’s initial offer to Dan Hurley is $11M/Year over 5-7 Years 🤯 (per @JDrumUK)
As @RowlandRIVALS points out, that is more than Kirby Smart currently makes at Georgia 😳
And Mitch and UK will go higher if rejected or matched by UConn pic.twitter.com/9hVb5WcTVY
— Blue Chips (@UKBlueChips) April 9, 2024
The Huskies have said they’ll “do all they can” to keep him in Storrs following back-to-back national championships.
That leaves Scott Drew in the Kentucky coaching search.
As the head coach at Baylor, he’s posted a 446-244 mark across two decades in Waco. That includes a national championship in 2021, which is more impressive considering he inherited one of the worst jobs in the sport at the time of his hiring.
Is he willing to leave the program he’s built in order to take over in Lexington? And more importantly, is his family ready to be put under the spotlight and scrutiny that comes with leading the Kentucky Wildcats?
A recent report says it’s something they’re thinking about.
Tristan Pharis of Sea of Blue and Kentucky Insider claims that Drew’s wife is hesitant to leave the comforts of Waco. While Pharis states that she would ultimately support Scott Drew’s final decision, her “introverted” personality is causing pause.
“His wife will ultimately follow what he decides to do, but he can live a semi-private life in Waco, that he cannot live in Lexington.”
— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) April 10, 2024
The family also has a daughter who attends the university and a pair of sons in high school.
Drew’s decision will likely be made in the coming days with Jon Rothstein reporting that he’s set to meet with Kentucky “in the near future.”
Should he be offered the job, it seems his family will play a role in whether or not he accepts.