At this mid-to-late summer stage, any additions that Mark Pope makes to his Kentucky team, in any capacity, will come as a surprise. Though not only do the Cats have an open roster spot, but they've still got an open assistant coaching position as well. Coach Pope, however, is in no rush to fill the latter.
Per KY Insider, Pope likes the current state of the 2026-27 Wildcats, and that includes their scenario on the sidelines. “This group is functioning at a high level,” said Pope, “I’m not in desperate need of adding more pieces, although I’m open to the idea.”
In simpler terms, Pope isn’t combing the market for any sort of immediate hire, and doesn’t appear ready to settle at that position after multiple previous suitors left their posts. If Kentucky brings in another coach, it’ll likely be a name with some kind of particular tie to Pope or his roster.
The only such name evidenced to any degree remains Jamal Crawford, but that hope appears to be a little more complex than a waiting game.
Hiring Jamal Crawford Would be Complex
Crawford was initially seen as a potential pull for No. 1 overall recruit Tyran Stokes, having coached the star recruit in the high school level.
Kentucky fans know painfully well how all of that went down, and we got Milan Momcilovic out of the ordeal anyway. But even with Stokes off the board, Crawford remains the perceived top assistant option.
As of May, Crawford still had Kentucky's offer on his table and was mulling the position over, per On3. With NBA coaching aspirations and a career in television broadcasting clouding his view, Crawford's outlook, as far as Lexington is concerned, remains hard to gauge. It'd be a knockout hire similar to assistant coach and former pro Mo Williams coming to Kentucky, but it'd be wise not to count on this one actually happening.
However, another possibility has also begun to stew in big blue circles, and it's one the school is already more than familiar with.
Another Assistant Option for Kentucky
Late last week, KSR's Ryan Lemond noted Nick Robinson, Kentucky's current Director of Men's Basketball Operations, as someone to watch for that final assistant spot. Having followed Pope from BYU and as someone who stayed through the aforementioned coaching turnover, this would be the opposite sort of hire compared to Crawford.
Instead of reaching out for someone to change the current operation, assigning Robinson would essentially be doubling down on the current regime in a good faith show of loyalty to a guy who stuck around.
Yet, even if these appear to be our two main options, Pope isn't pressed to have either one of them signing on the dotted line right now. Our cap'n seems to have it all worked out, and as a result of his recent recruiting run, I think most of the BBN is happy to kick back and believe him for now.
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