Kentucky Wildcats basketball head coach search hot board 2.0

The Kentucky Wildcats are in the market for a new basketball coach after reports indicated on Sunday evening that John Calipari is leaving Lexington to replace Eric Musselman at Arkansas. 

Musselman recently left Fayetteville to take over as the head coach at USC. 

Calipari, who had been the head coach at Kentucky since 2009, won a national championship with the Wildcats in 2012. And he took UK to four Final Fours. But he hasn't advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019. With Kentucky fans and boosters growing restless, Calipari found a comfy exit strategy that allows him to escape the pressure cooker of Wildcats basketball while remaining in the SEC. 

As far as who Kentucky will hire to replace Calipari, I'd expect the program to pursue, and likely land, a big name. 

Nate Oats -- Alabama head coach 

Nate Oats has to be at the top of the list for Kentucky. Oats led the Crimson tide to a 31-6 record in 2022-23 behind the play of superstar Brandon Miller. Without Miller in 2023-24, the Crimson Tide's overall record slipped to 25-12, but Alabama reached the Final Four before ultimately losing to UConn. Oats could thrive with the resources that Kentucky would be able to provide. 

Update: Oats tweeted this week that he's staying at Alabama.

Scott Drew -- Baylor head coach 

Scott Drew has a national championship on his résumé and he routinely has Baylor among the top programs in the nation. Drew has been at Baylor for over 20 years so it could be tough to get him to leave. But the Kentucky job is one of the best jobs in the country so I'm sure he'll be willing to listen if the Wildcats want to talk.  

Update: CBS Sports reported on Thursday that Drew is staying at Baylor. 

Jay Wright -- Former Villanova head coach 

Jay Wright has been retired since 2022, but he's only 62 years old. Before his retirement, he was one of the elite coaches in the sport, winning two national championships at Villanova (2016 an 2018) and guiding the program to four Final Four appearances (including in his final season). Wright said he retired because he had lost his edge. Maybe that edge has returned after a couple of years off. 

Update: Jay Wright indicated during coverage of the national championship game on Monday that he's not interested in taking the Kentucky job.

Rick Pitino -- St Johns head coach

This one is obvious as Pitino was the head coach at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997. He won a championship with the Wildcats in 1996 before leaving to coach the Boston Celtics a year later. Pitino, who also won a national championship at Louisville, narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament this season with St Johns. Pitino will turn 72 this fall, but he's still a solid coach. The other drawback (aside from his age) is that Pitino was fired at Louisville in 2017 due to a pay-for-play scandal. 

Dan Hurley -- UConn head coach

This one seems unlikely, but Dan Hurley is one of the top head coaches in the nation so he has to be considered. Hurley won a national championship last season with the Huskies and he's positioned to win another one this season (if UConn can get past Purdue on Monday night). Hurley, however, is a New Jersey native who played at Seton Hall. He's in a good spot at UConn and might not want to give that up for Kentucky. 

Update: Dan Hurley indicated that he's not interested in the Kentucky job.