The year 2024 has been for Kentucky fans a wild ride for the last four months. From the celebratory vibes among the fan base as they went on a win streak that saw them defeat some of the best teams in the SEC as well as the country. To the disappointing post play that led them to a result of 0-2 in the conference and NCAA tournament combined. Ultimately sparking a conversation about the job of Hall of Fame Coach, John Calipari. And on April 10th the decision was made public that John Calipari was stepping down as the coach of the University of Kentucky and would become the new coach at Arkansas.
With this surprising move near the middle of April, Kentucky hurried to hire their new Head Coach in former 1996 Kentucky wildcat champion, and then BYU head coach Mark Pope. This hire stemming from the connection that Coach Pope has to the university, along with his modern style of basketball. Coach Pope is someone, if done right, would be here as long as he wants.
There was an elephant in the room that still needed to be addressed though. Since Coach Pope was not believed to be a home run hire after Kentucky was turned down from both Coach Scott Drew of Baylor and two-time defending National champion Coach Dan Hurley of UCONN. Being vetted by his on-court presence and mind, the only question that needed to be answered was whether Coach Pope could recruit at his new school. With John Calipari at the helm the University of Kentucky saw 46 McDonald's All Americans over 15 years.
With that new normality it is safe to suggest that Kentucky fans will need to temper their expectations. Regardless, with this question looming, it was necessary for the fresh staff to host well-endowed and highly linked assistant coaches that will help with the lure of Kentucky for some type of sustainability.
And with that uncertainty in the forefront, Kentucky has hired what is the possibility of the best staff they could have conjured up. This past week Kentucky announced the hire of Cody Fueger, Jason Hart, Mark Fox, and Alvin Brooks III.
Coach Cody Fueger-Has coached alongside Mark Pope since 2015 beginning at Utah Valley. He journeyed with Pope to BU, where he played an intricate part in the development of BYU’s modern offense. He first made his appearance in college basketball as a video coordinator and student assistant under the legendary Coach Rick Majerus.
Coach Jason Hart
-Coach Hart is originally from Inglewood California and spent 9 years in the NBA after being drafted after finishing his collegiate career at Syracuse. Shortly after leaving the association Coach Hart started in coaching by joining the staff at Taft HS in Los Angeles and from there, he would find himself at Pepperdine as an Assistant and then to USC, where he is widely known for his eye for talent and being one of the most respected coaches from the West Coast. Eventually Coach Hart would become the Head Coach of the NBA G League Ignite team. As that league has been disbanded, his reputation and respect has not.
Special note: Coach Hart and Coach Pope are former NBA teammates.
Coach Mark Fox
-Coach Mark Fox started his coaching career as an Assistant at Washington university, and after moving to Kansas State and Nevada, he would eventually be offered the leading role as HC for Nevada. In his time there he led Nevada to 4 NCAA appearances, which would include five regular season championships. Before the 2009-2010 season Coach Fox would be offered the Head Coaching job at the University of Georgia. While there he saw two tournament appearances before being let go in 2018. From there Coach Fox would be hired at Cal-Berkeley where he spent four seasons, before becoming Director of Student-Athlete Relations and NIL Partnerships at Georgetown in 2023.
Special note: Coach Fox brought Coach Mark Pope as an assistant at UGA for his first coaching opportunity.
Coach Alvin Brooks III
Brooks was a former point guard that played at Idaho State. Four years after his collegiate career Coach Brooks began his coaching career. From 2004 to 2012, Coach Brooks would be on staff as an assistant at Arkansas-Fort Smith, Midland, Bradley, and Sam Houston State. After gaining experience Coach Brooks would join the power five ranks when he became an assistant at Kansas State University under Coach Bruce Weber. Prior to coming to Kentucky, he spent his longest tenure at Baylor University with Coach Scott Drew, in those 8 years he saw the NCAA championship, and was credited with bringing in some of the best recruits to attend Baylor. Coach Brooks carries the name of one of the best Assistant coaches in the college game.
Special note: His Dad was the Director of Basketball operations at the University of Kentucky during Billy Gillispie tenure.
There remains one more position open for Kentucky’s staff that is not Graduate Assistant related. Coach Pope has said they are monitoring and wanting to make sure they did something that fits to this great puzzle they have pieced together. In his KSR interview he boasted about the energy that this group has, and much like their analytical approach to the game, the same applies to the completion of the roster and the staff.
(All images ae from UKAthletics website)
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