Scott Drew seems to be the focal point of the coaching search in the Bluegrass state.
John Calipari bolted for Arkansas this week after coaching Kentucky for the last 15 years, and the job might already be Drew’s to turn down.
Drew has coached at Baylor since 2003, winning the national championship in 2021.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday that Kentucky brass “plans to officially meet with Baylor’s Scott Drew regarding its head coaching vacancy in the near future”.
Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew reacts against the Clemson Tigers in the first half in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConTuesday night, longtime Kentucky sportswriter Keith Taylor wrote on X that Drew had already been offered the job by the program.
It wouldn’t be a high-profile college coaching search without flight tracking rumors, but Drew seemed to dispel the idea that he’s in Lexington right now by tweeting about his lunch in Waco on Wednesday.
Be that as it may, legendary ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale cited “BBN (Big Blue Nation) scouts” as saying Drew is indeed in Lexington on Wednesday.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who won two national championships at Florida, had been seen as a possible candidate for the Kentucky job when the Calipari news broke.
Donovan issued a tepid denial about interest in the job when he spoke to reporters Tuesday night in Chicago.
“I’m committed to being here, trying to help these guys as best we can to close out this year,” Donovan said before his team’s loss to the Knicks. “Get home court in the play-in [tournament] and try to advance.”
ESPN reporter Pete Thamel had touted Donovan as someone who would be a “home-run hire” for Kentucky.
While Donovan has not had nearly as much success in the professional ranks as he did in college, coaches in general tend to prefer the lifestyle of the NBA.
Despite the fact that college coaches have fewer than half as many games and thus do not have to be on the road for nearly as much of the year, navigating NIL and the transfer portal has been a turnoff for the last several years for anybody with the cachet to avoid it.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley and Alabama head coach Nate Oats have both also denied having interest in the Kentucky job.
