Top 8 candidates for the UK job

Of that list, the only ones I see as potentially realistic are Otzelberger and Pitino. And Pitino is kind of a stretch.

5 years ago Rick would have ridden a horse from NYC to Kentucky. Now, I think he's probably content to stay at home in NYC and build St. John's.

Oats will get consideration, but there is really no need to jump into that fishbowl. He's arguably been better than UK at Alabama and he's now proven he can reach the Final Four at Alabama. More importantly, Alabama will pay him very well and he can still live a normal life outside of the crazies surrounding Kentucky basketball (something Deborer can't do in Alabama).

Drew's name always gets mentioned and he stays at Baylor. Pearl is in the same situation as Oats. I can't see Donovan really wanting to deal with the current NIL/transfer landscape...which is what drove Jay Wright out.

Kentucky will, and should, try to throw their weight around. But I'm not seeing them landing a huge name.

Chris Beard rebuffed Arkansas for Ole Miss. Would he do the same to Kentucky if offered? Hard to see that happening. There are many up-and-coming coaches, as well as solid major-conf coaches that will be interested. Will UK be interested in them?

One name that is at a "blue blood" with Kentucky ties is Mick Cronin. His star faded with this year's poor performance, but before that he had a Final Four and two Sweet 16 appearances. Recruiting has kind of been an issue. There are rumors that is because of a lackluster NIL pool at UCLA. He wouldn't have that issue at Kentucky.

In the end though, Kentucky only has one move...and that is to bring Matt McMahon back to the bluegrass state. LSU fans will be understandably devastated, but they will recover.

Someone in Vegas is drunk

Agree the buyout is an issue. It depends though on if Oats actually wants the job or not, and if it’s about money.

Calipari was making $8.5 per year
Oats’ new contract is I believe $4.5

If Oats was willing to take a $4.5 salary at UK, then that $4 million per year savings pays off that buyout pretty quickly.

But if Oats were to demand $6-7 million to leave, the buyout becomes more complicated.

The way I see it, if UK and Oats have mutual interest, it could very well happen and the buyout wouldn’t be much of a problem.

But if Oats was only willing to take the job with a Calipari-sized salary, it’s likely not going to happen.

That’s why I think Scott Drew is the favorite right now.

Now BetOnline has odds out… they are a bit different than the other list:

+100 Scott Drew
+300 Nate Oats
+700 Richard Pitino
+900 Billy Donovan
+1000 Mark Pope
+1200 Kelvin Sampson
+1600 Sean Miller
+1800 Chris Beard
+2000 Rick Pitino
+2000 Scott Padgett
+2000 Shaka Smart
+2500 TJ Otzelberger
+2500 Bruce Pearl
+2500 Will Wade
+2500 Anfernee Hardaway
+2500 Dan Hurley
+2500 Jay Wright

quote:

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Someone in Vegas is drunk

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Wouldn’t be the first time

Dennis Gates? Mizzou knows all about great bball coaches after all

Buzz is available :)

Now BetOnline has updated odds out…

+100 Scott Drew
+300 Nate Oats
+350 Jimbo Fisher
+700 Richard Pitino
+900 Billy Donovan
+1000 Mark Pope
+1200 Kelvin Sampson
+1600 Sean Miller
+1800 Chris Beard
+2000 Rick Pitino
+2000 Scott Padgett
+2000 Shaka Smart
+2500 TJ Otzelberger
+2500 Bruce Pearl
+2500 Will Wade
+2500 Anfernee Hardaway
+2500 Dan Hurley
+2500 Jay Wright