Kentucky basketball coaching candidates with John Calipari reportedly headed to Arkansas
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball appears to be in unfamiliar waters: For the first time in more than 15 years, it reportedly will have to navigate a coaching search.
According to reports that began circulating Sunday night, Calipari will be the next coach at Arkansas. Calipari, who won 76.9% (410-123) of his games with the Wildcats, experienced dizzying success in the early years of his tenure, advancing to the Final Four four times in his first six seasons, highlighted by a national championship in 2012. But he never made it back to the Final Four after 2015 — a season in which Kentucky won its first 38 games before losing in the national semifinals to Wisconsin. UK did not reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in Calipari's final three appearances, losing four of his final five games in the event.
So, who will Kentucky turn to now?
First and foremost, UK fans want someone who will return the program to prominence in the Big Dance as well as the SEC Tournament, which it hasn't won since 2018. Given that potentially the entire 2023-24 roster will depart in the wake of Calipari's departure to Arkansas, along with the incoming signees who now likely will ask for releases from their national-letters-of-intent, the Wildcats' next coach will need to tap into the NCAA transfer portal and use NIL to rebuild the ranks.
Barnhart and Kentucky should be able to open the checkbook for its new coach, since it does not owe Calipari any money because he left for another job of his own volition. Per USA TODAY Sports’ coaching salary database, UK was scheduled to pay Calipari $8.5 million for the 2023-24 season.
With all those factors in mind, here's an early look at potential candidates for Kentucky's vacancy (listed in alphabetical order):
Scott Drew, Baylor head coach
It's an open secret that Drew, who built Baylor's program from the ashes following one of the most sordid scandals in NCAA history, is at the top of Barnhart's list of potential replacements for Calipari. Drew would be the first coach UK ever hired to already have a national championship on his résumé, as he led Baylor to the title in 2021. He is 446-244 (.646) in 21 seasons with the Bears; prior to taking over at Baylor ahead of the 2003-04 campaign, Drew spent one season (2002-03) as Valparaiso's head coach, going 20-11 overall and winning the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season title with a 12-2 mark.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona head coach
After spending 22 seasons as Mark Few's right-hand man at Gonzaga, Lloyd took over as Arizona's coach in April 2021. He's been a rousing success so far, setting an NCAA record for most wins by a head coach in his first two seasons (61) and three seasons (88). Lloyd, who has won 81.5% (88-20) of his games in three seasons, boasts a pair of Pac-12 regular-season titles as well as two conference tournament championships.
Nate Oats (Alabama)
Oats has turned Alabama into an SEC power in his seasons with the program. The Crimson Tide has two regular-season championships (2021 and 2023) and doubled up by winning the SEC Tournament those same two years. He's advanced to the Sweet 16 three straight seasons and reached this year's Final Four, where Alabama fell to UConn in the national semifinals Saturday. Oats boasts a winning percentage of 68.4% (117-54) with the Crimson Tide. Prior to taking over at Alabama, Oats had a stout four-season run at Buffalo, where he went 96-43 (.691) and led the program to the NCAA Tournament on three occasions.
Along with boasting a near-70% winning clip in nine seasons as a college coach, Oats has other qualities a program like Kentucky desires:
He's young (he won't be 50 until October);
he's proven he can recruit talent in the high school ranks (2023 SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller was a five-star forward in the 2022 class) and via the transfer portal (Grant Nelson was one of the most highly sought after transfers after the 2022-23 season);
and his teams play a fun brand of basketball (Alabama led Division I in points per game in 2023-24 at 90.0 per contest).
Oats' biggest red flag: his handling of a fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 2023 in which he made remarks he later called "unfortunate."
Two other Kentucky basketball coaching candidates to consider
T.J. Otzelberger (Iowa State)
Brad Underwood (Illinois)
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball coaching candidates with John Calipari to Arkansas
