Kentucky
Mark Pope staying patient with his final coaching staff hire
Kentucky Basketball has filled out its staff nicely after hiring Mark Pope as the new head coach.
Since the hiring of Pope, Kentucky has hired former Georgia head coach Mark Fox, former BYU assistant Cody Fueger, former G-League Ignite/USC assistant Jason Hart, and former Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks.
With all of those hirings, Kentucky still needs to hire one more assistant coach for the staff.
Although fans are eager to finish out the staff along with getting a completed roster, it may take some time to find the last staff member for the team, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Remember, there are now five assistant spots for handling on-court coaching, but only three of them can recruit off campus, those being Brooks, Fueger, and Hart. This final hire is one of the spots for a coach who can’t recruit off campus.
This is Pope’s staff at Kentucky so far:
Alvin Brooks III (associate HC)
Jason Hart (G League Ignite HC/former USC asst)
Cody Fueger (BYU asst)
Mark Fox (special asst)Pope has one more off-the-road spot to fill. I’m told it’ll be a while before that pick is in.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 24, 2024
Early on in the process of filling out the staff, many media members and fans thought Keegan Brown could make his way from BYU to Kentucky, but that never came to fruition, along with Orlando Antigua possibly wanting to stay. He has since taken a job at Illinois.
Kenny Payne was an option, but he has since accepted a job at Arkansas to team up with John Calipari. Of course, there were some talks of former Kentucky basketball players joining the staff, including Jeff Sheppard, Scott Padgett, Derek Anderson, Rajon Rondo, Tyler Ulis, and others.
With the staff being basically completed, Pope and Co. will now start to finish the roster for this upcoming year’s team, with a lot of openings to fill and not too much time to do so.
Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky
Kentucky football spring game offers early look at Will Stein’s Cats
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
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.
Kentucky
Kentucky has reportedly moved on from top-10 transfer Paulius Murauskas

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