Kentucky’s final assistant coach opening appears to be coming off the board, and Mark Pope is reportedly turning to a familiar name with strong recruiting ties.
According to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim, the Wildcats are set to hire Alfred Aboya for the last spot on the staff. Aboya brings coaching experience from NBA Academy Africa and also has a college playing background at UCLA from 2005-09, where he reached the Final Four three times.
That background matters for Kentucky, especially with the staff already showing interest in players connected to Aboya. One of the names to watch is Cherif Millogo, who is currently on a visit to Lexington after Kentucky’s pursuit picked up over the last month. Aboya is also close with another target, Lewis Uvwo.
The move follows a summer in which Kentucky’s staff situation kept evolving. Nick Robinson, Kentucky’s Director of Operations for men’s basketball, worked in an on-court interim role over the summer, and some around the program believed he might end up in the final assistant chair. Kentucky also explored a run at Jamal Crawford earlier in the offseason, but that path cooled.
Pope had signaled for months that another hire was possible, even while saying he liked the way his current group was operating. “Most likely, yes,” Pope responded in July when asked if he plans to hire another assistant coach.
“I can't tell you when, this is what I can tell you. I love the way that our staff is working right now.
So, there's been a chance in the NCAA right now in terms of staff. So right now, I get Will Corbin, I get Nick Robinson, and Matt Santoro on the court.
All staff members are allowed to be on the court right now. I like the way we feel as a staff.
I'm engaged in conversations about staff every day. Even when our staff is full, I'm still talking to people and seeing where it goes.
If we hire someone, it's gonna be the right person that's gonna be the right fit for what we do, but we're working at a really high level.”
Pope also addressed the possibility more recently, saying, “Certainly we have the potential to kind of grow the staff, strengthen the staff, change the staff right now, and that could happen, but right now it’s actually by far the best I've felt with how our staff is functioning together.”
Kentucky officially posted the opening last week, and now the Wildcats appear ready to add a coach with international connections and recruiting reach.
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Now Kentucky gets a primetime stage against LSU with a chance to turn that frustration into something tangible, and the conversation around the Wildcats has only grown louder because of it. The betting market has its own opinions about where Kentucky stands in this one, but Harpers message was aimed more at the bigger picture, the idea that this is the kind of game where a team can change how its viewed with one strong performance. [Read more 🡒]