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Kentucky hires former Cavaliers All-Star as assistant coach under Mark Pope
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- Kentucky hires former Cavaliers All-Star as assistant coach under Mark Pope
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The Kentucky basketball team is starting up offseason preparations for the 2026-27 season. Kentucky is hiring a new assistant coach to work under Mark Pope . That new assistant is former Cleveland Cavaliers player Mo Williams, On3 reported on Monday.
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Williams played for seven different NBA franchises, including the Cavaliers. He was named an All-Star in the NBA during the 2009 season. He has been the head coach at Jackson State, where he had four consecutive losing seasons.
Before coaching at Jackson State, Williams also spent two seasons as head coach at Alabama State. As a college head basketball coach, Williams won just under 40 percent of his total games.
Kentucky just lost in the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament, to Iowa State.
Kentucky is looking to regroup after a somewhat disappointing season
© Jeff Le-Imagn Images
The Wildcats spent a little more than $20 million in NIL on their roster this season. It didn't work out too well for Kentucky , as the team was denied a trip to the Sweet 16.
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While Pope has been able to reach the NCAA tournament in each of his two seasons, Kentucky fans expect Final Four appearances. That hasn't yet happened under Pope.
Next season, Kentucky fans are expecting big things from this team. Kentucky has plenty of young talent, including guard Jasper Johnson. The Wildcats are also expected to use the transfer portal to rebuild.
"I think our focus is on finding guys who want to be at Kentucky because of what Kentucky is," Pope said after losing in the NCAA tournament, per A Sea of Blue. "This is the greatest place in the world to play basketball. It comes with all the pressure and the scrutiny."
There's already change in the air. Associate head coach Alvin Brooks III is not expected to come back to the program. He is the second assistant to leave this offseason. That opened up a spot on the bench for Williams.
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It was announced in recent days that Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe is entering the transfer portal. Lowe averaged eight points per game this season. Time will tell how this roster shapes up for the 2026-27 campaign.
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