Mark Pope is set to be introduced officially as the new head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday. There is already talk of some former BYU players transferring to come with him, but he has other word to do as well as he transitions to Kentucky.
Putting together a coaching staff will be an early task to complete. John Calipari is taking some of the former coaches with him to Arkansas, and others will go elsewhere.
It’s likely that Pope brings at least some of his staff from BYU along with him. However, there will be positions to fill in with new guys. There are some former Kentucky players who could be contacted by Pope about joining his staff in Lexington.
Here is a list of former players at Kentucky who could be nice additions to Pope’s staff with the Wildcats. They have varying levels of coaching experience, but their ties to the program would make them popular hires.
Tyler Ulis went from terrific point guard to assistant coach at Kentucky. He was with the team under former coach John Calipari, and may not want to stay under a new regime. However, Mark Pope should make the call. His youth and familiarity with the current college basketball landscape would make him a valuable coach to have.
Travis Ford was a fan favorite as a player, and has gone on to be a good head coach at multiple stops. His most successful stint was at Oklahoma State, but he has been at St. Louis for the past eight seasons. He was let go by the team last month, so the question would be whether or not he’d be willing to go back to being an assistant. Odds are he wouldn’t, but he should at least reach out.
John Pelphrey is the current head coach at Tennessee State, so this one would be very unlikely for now. He has, however, bounced back and forth between head jobs and assistant jobs a few times. Should he get the chance to coach for Kentucky, it could be tempting. He also has SEC coaching experience, which would be a bonus.
Scott Padgett began his coaching career as an assistant at Kentucky in 2009. Since then, he’s bounced around, and is currently an assistant at Mississippi State. Wildcats fans would love to lure him back to Lexington, and he does know Mark Pope pretty well, having played with him for Kentucky.
Another former Kentucky point guard, Rajon Rondo enjoyed a long NBA career before retiring officially this year. His acumen for basketball makes him a logical pick to move into the coaching ranks, and what better way to start than at Kentucky. Pope should at least gauge his interest in coaching, and go from there.
