John Calipari is reportedly leaving Kentucky to become Arkansas’ men’s basketball head coach. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the monumental development on Sunday evening.
On Monday, Thamel made the rounds on ESPN’s programming to discuss Kentucky’s next step. He suggested a major splash the program could pursue.
Appearing on The Paul Finebaum Show, Thamel called Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan a “home run hire” for Kentucky.
“Billy Donovan is the aspirational hire,” Thamel said. “He was an assistant there under Rick Pitino. There’s ties there for Billy Donovan. He obviously dominated the SEC in the mid-2000s and has been a generally successful NBA coach.”
Donovan led the Florida Gators to back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007, a feat that since hasn’t been replicated entering UConn’s quest to repeat on Monday night. The Gators won the SEC tournament four times and made two additional trips to the Final Four before going to the NBA.
However, Donovan is preoccupied at the moment. The Bulls have secured a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, so Kentucky would at least have to wait until next week’s elimination game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Thamel believes a delayed hiring process could signal interest in Donovan.
“I think if Billy Donovan happens, there would have to be a little bit of a wait,” Thamel said. “And that would be a tell.”
Thamel then threw out some long shots. He said the Wildcats “have to call” Jay Wright to see if they can lure him out of retirement and predicted that UConn’s Dan Hurley could leverage this situation into a raise after Monday’s National Championship Game.
Thamel eliminated Nate Oats, Mick Cronin, and T. J. Otzelberger as feasible candidates because of substantial buyouts before mentioning Scott Drew and Bruce Pearl as more realistic options.