Kentucky’s search for John Calipari’s replacement hasn’t been a walk in the park, that’s for sure.
Immediately after it was reported that Calipari would take his talents to Arkansas, insiders mentioned UConn’s Dan Hurley and Alabama’s Nate Oats as the top two options for Kentucky. Both coaches quickly shot down that possibility.
The coaching search in Lexington then zeroed in on Baylor’s Scott Drew. It seemed like he was going to take the job, but on Thursday it was reported that he’s staying in Waco.
Adam Zagoria of NJ.com spoke to a basketball coach about Kentucky’s search for a new leader. Let’s just say this coach didn’t hold back when discussing the current state of the Wildcats.
“It’s getting embarrassing,” an anonymous coach told Zagoria. “Danny no, Nate no, Scott no!!! People understand how difficult that job is and they don’t want to follow CAL!”
At this point, Billy Donovan might be Kentucky’s last hope at a big-name hire. He’s currently with the Chicago Bulls.
However, according to Jeff Goodman, the chances of Donovan taking on the Kentucky job have increased over the past few days.
“I’ve talked to people close to Billy Donovan this morning. A couple days ago, I would’ve said the odds of him returning to college were 0-10 percent,” Goodman said. “Now I’d say they’re 25-30 percent. Is [Kentucky athletic director] Mitch Barnhart willing to wait a week?”
Kentucky fans will have to patiently wait for answers regarding the school’s basketball team.