Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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TeamPlayer said:

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Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.

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Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.

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Same. Absolutely could see him leaving.

At the same time, his dad stayed at Valpo, I'm guessing through lots of better opportunities. Some chance Drew would rather have the long-term legacy here than start over at Kentucky. And he certainly has a chance to do more here. Additional Final 4s and even another championship aren't out of the realm, given his age. That would put him in an extremely elite class. Plus, he knows he can stay here and keep chopping wood as long as he wants, even if there are some bumps along the way. Kentucky could be over and out in 4 years.

Either way, I don't think anyone would blame him for his decision.

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I think ultimately there's nothing he can do at Kentucky that he couldn't do here. His % chance of winning each year is higher alongside his resources and support, but he's never struck me as a predatory job-hunting blue blood either.

Which is why I think the decision to go to Kentucky, if he does go, would be predicated not on the fact that Kentucky can give him more, either in money or title potential, but because he's simply run out of ambition here and is looking for a new, albeit very very different, project.

And in that case that's not a knock at all on Baylor, it's just a personal decision, which I think at the end of the day all of us can understand and live with.

parch said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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TeamPlayer said:

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Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.

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Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.

---

Same. Absolutely could see him leaving.

At the same time, his dad stayed at Valpo, I'm guessing through lots of better opportunities. Some chance Drew would rather have the long-term legacy here than start over at Kentucky. And he certainly has a chance to do more here. Additional Final 4s and even another championship aren't out of the realm, given his age. That would put him in an extremely elite class. Plus, he knows he can stay here and keep chopping wood as long as he wants, even if there are some bumps along the way. Kentucky could be over and out in 4 years.

Either way, I don't think anyone would blame him for his decision.

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I think ultimately there's nothing he can do at Kentucky that he couldn't do here. His % chance of winning each year is higher alongside his resources and support, but he's never struck me as a predatory job-hunting blue blood either.

Which is why I think the decision to go to Kentucky, if he does go, would be predicated not on the fact that Kentucky can give him more, either in money or title potential, but because he's simply run out of ambition here and is looking for a new, albeit very very different, project.

And in that case that's not a knock at all on Baylor, it's just a personal decision, which I think at the end of the day all of us can understand and live with.

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Agree. Sometimes you leave a job because you need a new challenge or a shot of energy and adrenaline. That said, Drew does not look complacent to me. I think he finds plenty of fuel here.

parch said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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TeamPlayer said:

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Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.

---

Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.

---

Same. Absolutely could see him leaving.

At the same time, his dad stayed at Valpo, I'm guessing through lots of better opportunities. Some chance Drew would rather have the long-term legacy here than start over at Kentucky. And he certainly has a chance to do more here. Additional Final 4s and even another championship aren't out of the realm, given his age. That would put him in an extremely elite class. Plus, he knows he can stay here and keep chopping wood as long as he wants, even if there are some bumps along the way. Kentucky could be over and out in 4 years.

Either way, I don't think anyone would blame him for his decision.

---

I think ultimately there's nothing he can do at Kentucky that he couldn't do here. His % chance of winning each year is higher alongside his resources and support, but he's never struck me as a predatory job-hunting blue blood either.

Which is why I think the decision to go to Kentucky, if he does go, would be predicated not on the fact that Kentucky can give him more, either in money or title potential, but because he's simply run out of ambition here and is looking for a new, albeit very very different, project.

And in that case that's not a knock at all on Baylor, it's just a personal decision, which I think at the end of the day all of us can understand and live with.

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Agree. Sometimes you leave a job because you need a new challenge or a shot of energy and adrenaline. That said, Drew does not look complacent to me. I think he finds plenty of fuel here.

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He did say in a podcast interview through this site a few weeks ago, not long after the Louisville rumors started up, that he wanted to win "many more championships" at Baylor. I know words are often chaff when coachspeak enters the equation, but I've never gotten even an iota of a whiff that he's demotivated or looking at other shores. Which is why, even though it's Kentucky, I think it's much more likely he does not take that job.

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Agreed.

My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

boykin_spaniel said:

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My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

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Well, Hurley himself said he's not interested in Kentucky in his postgame interview last night. So I assume nobody really cares about the AD at that point.

With Oats taking himself out of the running, you can pretty much bank that Drew is either 1 or 1a alongside Billy Donovan for the job. It's just whether he wants it or not.

boykin_spaniel said:

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My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

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Throwing your recruiting under the bus to help your friend doesn't really make sense. Drew's quiet because Drew is very likely legitimately thinking about this offer. I don't blame the man one bit, but until he shuts down that he's in contention for the job it it's going to stunt his recruiting at Baylor. That is why you saw Oats come out so fast once he knew he didn't want it.

TeamPlayer said:

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Drew is about humility, love, developing the kid into a man.

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That sounds a lot like "person over player".

IvanBear said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

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Throwing your recruiting under the bus to help your friend doesn't really make sense. Drew's quiet because Drew is very likely legitimately thinking about this offer. I don't blame the man one bit, but until he shuts down that he's in contention for the job it it's going to stunt his recruiting at Baylor. That is why you saw Oats come out so fast once he knew he didn't want it.

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This will happen in a matter of days either way. It's not going be that big of a deal for recruiting if Drew weighs his options for a few days and decides to stay. It will be a much bigger deal, obviously, if he decides to leave because his successor will be building an entire roster in a very short period of time.

Fortunately, both McCasland and Tang have experience doing exactly that, and I would imagine we'd make both of those men say no before we went outside the Scott Drew tree.

He'd be crazy not to hear them out at least. I'm just trying to be optimistic. Not sure he wants to take that kinda job though unless he feels he has something to prove to himself.

Donovan would be a big coup but idk if he's actually interested in returning to college. Plus a totally new landscape. That leaves Drew or someone off the radar like Mark Few or some NBA coach not named Billy Donovan. If Drew says no, Barnhardt will be in a bit of a pickle with big blue nation.

IvanBear said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

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Throwing your recruiting under the bus to help your friend doesn't really make sense. Drew's quiet because Drew is very likely legitimately thinking about this offer. I don't blame the man one bit, but until he shuts down that he's in contention for the job it it's going to stunt his recruiting at Baylor. That is why you saw Oats come out so fast once he knew he didn't want it.

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You speak with absolute certainty an awful lot for someone who doesn't have any inside knowledge about what's going on with this situation.

Mitch Henessey said:

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IvanBear said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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My hope is that the Drew family apparently being friends of Mitch that Drew is going to stay quiet until after UK makes their hire. 2 big names already publicly said no and Drew doesn't want to put Mitch on the hot seat. UConn AD was quick to say he would do what he could to keep Hurley. Unless I missed something Mack has been very quiet

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Throwing your recruiting under the bus to help your friend doesn't really make sense. Drew's quiet because Drew is very likely legitimately thinking about this offer. I don't blame the man one bit, but until he shuts down that he's in contention for the job it it's going to stunt his recruiting at Baylor. That is why you saw Oats come out so fast once he knew he didn't want it.

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You speak with absolute certainty an awful lot for someone who doesn't have any inside knowledge about what's going on with this situation.

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Because, you don't have to have any insider knowledge of specific situation to understand how recruiting works. If two coaches are recruiting a player, and all the sudden one of those coaches starts to get mentioned for another job, that's the FIRST topic that comes up for any recruit.

"Hey this guy may not be at that job next year he doesn't know where he's going to be, come with me my program and the consistency."

or

"Hey coach, what school are you recruiting me to, do you know if there's even a roster spot for me at the new school, I already see they've got an entrenched starter in that role."

Drew has no incentive to stay quiet unless he's considering, this isn't Louisville where it's some unhinged fans suggesting Drew is interested in the job, this is every media outlet in the country naming Drew as option 1A or 1B. If there's zero chance he takes it then he is only foolishly hurting his own recruiting efforts by not saying so.

It seems the only top candidate left is Drew, who has yet to announce he's staying.

Reverend said:

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Kentucky is the top wrung of college basketball, despite their recent failures in the tournament. You're crazy if you don't at least think about it. I think he will and decide he has, for him, the best job in the world. If he decides otherwise, I wish him the best and thank him a thousand times over.

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Well said brother. The man deserves to do whatever he thinks is in his family's best interest. And I'm assuming a lot of prayer will go into it! But DONT GO!!!

You've been eating the corn too long. He just got a new deal making him T5 in the country with big increase to staff budget. IMO, he stays for these reasons along with the differing culture issues, but that's just me.

parch said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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parch said:

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TeamPlayer said:

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Would hate to see him go, but maybe he's ready for a new challenge. I think we're positioned pretty well if he left to hire a former assistant. I'd look at the Samford coach as well.

Too early at the moment. This could get real in just a few hours.

---

Agreed. I would hate to lose Scott like anyone else here, but realistically he has nothing else new to accomplish. He's recruited at the highest level, won every trophy he could possibly win here with the exception of the Big 12 tourney (which I think we can all live with), and could leave rightly knowing that he put us up on a pedestal for the next guy in both reputation and facilities.

He's been here 20 years through 3 ADs, scandal, the Mulkey drama, and floated above all of it. Nobody could accuse him of taking the money and running after all that. And FWIW, I feel differently about this one than I did Louisville. It's like taking the Alabama football job. One of the few where you just sort of throw up your hands.

It would honestly hit me hard for a few days, and I'm sure our top-rated recruiting class would fall apart, but whoever comes after Drew, whenever they come, will have every chance to get us back to the pinnacle.

---

Same. Absolutely could see him leaving.

At the same time, his dad stayed at Valpo, I'm guessing through lots of better opportunities. Some chance Drew would rather have the long-term legacy here than start over at Kentucky. And he certainly has a chance to do more here. Additional Final 4s and even another championship aren't out of the realm, given his age. That would put him in an extremely elite class. Plus, he knows he can stay here and keep chopping wood as long as he wants, even if there are some bumps along the way. Kentucky could be over and out in 4 years.

Either way, I don't think anyone would blame him for his decision.

---

I think ultimately there's nothing he can do at Kentucky that he couldn't do here. His % chance of winning each year is higher alongside his resources and support, but he's never struck me as a predatory job-hunting blue blood either.

Which is why I think the decision to go to Kentucky, if he does go, would be predicated not on the fact that Kentucky can give him more, either in money or title potential, but because he's simply run out of ambition here and is looking for a new, albeit very very different, project.

And in that case that's not a knock at all on Baylor, it's just a personal decision, which I think at the end of the day all of us can understand and live with.

---

Agree. Sometimes you leave a job because you need a new challenge or a shot of energy and adrenaline. That said, Drew does not look complacent to me. I think he finds plenty of fuel here.

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He did say in a podcast interview through this site a few weeks ago, not long after the Louisville rumors started up, that he wanted to win "many more championships" at Baylor. I know words are often chaff when coachspeak enters the equation, but I've never gotten even an iota of a whiff that he's demotivated or looking at other shores. Which is why, even though it's Kentucky, I think it's much more likely he does not take that job.

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He will be true to his word, and that will be realized!

Closer to his family in Valpo.

Being reported Drew has been offered the UK job

Scott Drew has been offered the job at UK.

— Keith Taylor (@keithtaylor21) April 9, 2024

Reported on Twitter in the last several minutes. The fact that the general impression from UK folks (on Twitter) is that this isn't great, should tell him he should stay or he may mess up his career.

Reverend said:

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Kentucky is the top wrung of college basketball, despite their recent failures in the tournament. You're crazy if you don't at least think about it. I think he will and decide he has, for him, the best job in the world.

If he decides otherwise, I wish him the best and thank him a thousand times over.

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Same. Scott Drew has given us 21 amazing years. I hope we get 20 more. But if we don't, I'll wish him success in Lexington and look forward to seeing what his successor can do with the foundation he's leaving them.

One-Eyed Wheeler said:

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Closer to his family in Valpo.

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Homer, Janet, Bryce & family all live in Arizona. I don't think he has any family in Indiana at this point.

Good one!!! Ya really got me there!!

Big12Fan2024 said:

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I can't imagine Barnhart would have allowed that to leak if he didn't already have a soft Yes.

I hate to see Scott go but it will be good for him to get a new start and now I will be excited to see where we head next hopefully with McCasland, Tang, Bryce Drew or someone else.

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I tend to agree. I don't think anyone at Kentucky lets it leak that he's been offered without some sort of agreement in place.

So Cal basically takes his recruiting class to Arkansas and Scott takes Edgecombe and Wright to Kentucky in the era of immediate transfer portal?

bear2be2 said:

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Big12Fan2024 said:

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So Cal basically takes his recruiting class to Arkansas and Scott takes Edgecombe and Wright to Kentucky in the era of immediate transfer portal?

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Pretty much. Our next coach will be building his first roster from the portal. That's the way new hires work now.

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Tang did that at Kansas State and promptly made the elite eight.

If he does take the job which seems all but guaranteed we need to make a hire quick. Portal entrants are already starting to find new homes and I'd imagine we will also lose all 3 incoming recruits

Well, this sucks.

bear2be2 said:

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Reverend said:

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Kentucky is the top wrung of college basketball, despite their recent failures in the tournament. You're crazy if you don't at least think about it. I think he will and decide he has, for him, the best job in the world.

If he decides otherwise, I wish him the best and thank him a thousand times over.

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Same. Scott Drew has given us 21 amazing years. I hope we get 20 more. But if we don't, I'll wish him success in Lexington and look forward to seeing what his successor can do with the foundation he's leaving them.

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I'll wish him well too, because he didn't just abandon us at the first sign of greener pastures. That said, I'm not as confident about our continued success without him, as the foundation he has been able to build in the last 20 years is not as established as other blueblood programs that can seemingly just plug in a new coach and keep on winning. Hope I'm wrong.