After Jamal Crawford officially turned down his long-standing Kentucky offer, Mark Pope's assistant opening on the sideline was largely forgotten about. Although, even as recruiting news overshadows the Cats' staff, that position remains in need of attention. I'm here to suggest a fresh candidate, one that Kentucky should've been looking at all along. I'm throwing Rajon Rondo's name into the hat.
Kentucky fans were in on Crawford due in large part to his extensive NBA experience, as well as his more recent endeavor into coaching at the high school level. That's why Mo Williams was an envied hire in March, and it's also exactly why Rondo would be an ideal fit on Pope's staff, too.
I'm sure I don't have to remind any of the Big Blue Nation of Rondo's professional achievements. He's a two-time champion and four-time All-Star that has gone down as one of the best overall point guards of the 2010 era. He earned a fan-favorite reputation at Kentucky for similarly excellent reasons, leading the Cats to an Elite Eight in his freshman year.
Rondo's Coaching Philosophy Makes Him an Ideal Fit in Lexington
Now, he's drawing attention from the BBN on X for his AAU coaching philosophy:
Never wanted a former player on staff more than Rondo
— Blue Chips Media (@BlueChipsBBN) August 3, 2026
He’s doing all this with his AAU Program
Imagine his impact in college pic.twitter.com/pm8QDYdgBB
"For me, it's a great experience," Rondo said of coaching up-and-coming AAU athletes. "We go to bed at a certain time, I take their phones... it's a business trip."
"I try to teach them the same level of how we do it in the NBA..." Rondo went on. "We're there for business. We watch film more than probably any NBA team combined." Say what you want about this being on the AAU level, but Rondo's mindset is precisely what this Kentucky Basketball program needs.
On top of the experience he's already garnered in Lexington, knowing what it takes to win here better than anyone else could, Rondo's ideals seem like the antidote to last year's struggles. Under rules like these, teams don't have the wiggle room to loosen up.
Rondo's Coaching is the Antidote to Kentucky's Recent Effort Issues
Why exactly the 2025-26 Cats appeared so distracted isn't clear. But regardless, despite his best efforts on the whiteboard, Pope simply couldn't get that team to care at times. Nobody doubts his ability to draw up the proper play, but as a locker room manager, Pope still has something to prove.
That's where a hire like Rondo would come in. Bring in a guy with a blue and white pedigree and let him take a stern hold on your team's personalities. In the NIL age more than ever before, you never really know what you're getting when someone makes a pit stop at your program in the transfer portal.
It's unclear if Rondo is in the market for such a position, or if Kentucky would be interested at all. But it makes more than enough sense, and there's no doubt that the BBN would be thrilled to welcome back one of their own in a coaching role.
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