By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky’s search for a new men’s basketball coach has begun and a list of candidates to replace John Calipari have already surfaced.
Baylor coach Scott Drew is reportedly the school’s top target to replace Calipari. Drew has been offered the position, a reliable source told Kentucky Today Tuesday night. A timetable for a decision isn’t known, but Drew has told his staff he is considering the Kentucky position and will let them know of his decision by Thursday.
Drew has compiled a 446-244 record in 21 seasons at Baylor and guided the Bears to a national championship in 2021. Drew began his head coaching career at Valparaiso. Drew has reportedly been on Kentucky’s radar since Calipari stepped down on Tuesday.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright also has been mentioned as a possible successor to Calipari. Wright has been out of coaching since 2022 and currently serves as an analyst for CBS Sports. He guided the Wildcats to NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018.
A former assistant coach at Kentucky and current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan also could be in the mix. Donovan, who led Florida to back-to-back titles in 2006-07 said as of Tuesday night, he had not been contacted by Kentucky officials about the opening. Donovan has been out of college coaching since 2015 when he took over at Oklahoma City. He has been with the Bulls since the 2020-21 season.
Connecticut coach Danny Hurley, who just guided the Huskies to a second-straight championship on Monday night, has been speculated as a potential target, but Hurley appears to be a longshot based on his connections in the Northeast.
A chance to win three straight championships is intriguing to Hurley. “That’s what I’m thinking about,” he said.
Other names mentioned are former Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and BYU’’s Mark Pope.