After losing Jason Hart to SMU, Mark Pope is reportedly parting ways with Alvin Brooks III as the Kentucky coaching staff undergoes a massive offseason facelift.
The exit queue is growing rapidly as the coach looks to remake the staff quickly before the Transfer Portal.
We reported earlier this week that Mark Pope had grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of results in both scouting and recruiting. We knew that several seats on the bench would inevitably come open. With assistant coach Jason Hart already packing his bags for SMU, the second massive domino has officially fallen.
According to multiple reports, associate head coach Alvin Brooks III is not expected to return to the Kentucky coaching staff next season.
Always the bridesmaid on the recruiting trail
Brooks was originally brought to Lexington to be the heavy hitter for high-profile recruits. He did a lot of great work for Scott Drew at Baylor. He possessed an elite, championship-level resume, but that magic simply never translated to the Bluegrass.
While Kentucky consistently found itself in the final groups for elite, blue-chip prospects, they were always the bridesmaid and rarely the bride. Moral victories are meaningless when you are coaching a blue blood.
A total makeover in the recruiting department was needed, but Brooks' struggles unfortunately extended beyond the recruiting trail.
Inconsistent game plans and an expiring contract
Brooks was also a key contributor to Kentucky's game-planning, and the on-court results were wildly inconsistent.
The glaring issues came to a head during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. During the OT win over Santa Clara, it was actually center Brandon Garrison who had to audible and change the defensive game plan mid-game. Whatever the coaching staff had cooked up simply wasn't working, and Santa Clara was getting all the shots they wanted.
It saved the season for one more game, but the structural flaws were totally exposed two days later when the Wildcats were blown right off the floor by Iowa State.
Coupled with the fact that Brooks was operating on an expiring contract, a mutual parting of ways was really the only expected outcome here.
Navigating the rest of the coaching staff
So, where does Mark Pope go from here? The rest of the bench is currently in a state of total flux.
Veteran assistant Mark Fox is reportedly someone Pope would love to have back in the fold. Fox is actually still meeting and talking with recruits, but he isn't sure that he wants to commit to another year. The ball is entirely in his court.
Meanwhile, there are heavy rumors circulating that Cody Fueger might step away from the coaching profession entirely, though nothing has been finalized on that front. If he coaches, I believe it will be with Mark Pope.
As of right now, Mikhail McLean is the only remaining assistant coach actively under contract. With the Portal just over a week away, the timeline is getting tight to have a staff intact.