LEXINGTON, Ky. _ With the announcement that John Calipari has agreed to a "lifetime contract" to continue coaching men's basketball at the University of Kentucky, there is no reason to think the UK head coaching job will open imminently.
Which is probably just as well.
Many of the elite programs in college hoops are presently led by head men who are, let's say, not spring chickens. Syracuse's Jim Boeheim is 74; Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is 72; North Carolina's Roy Williams is 68; Michigan's John Beilein is 66; Michigan State's Tom Izzo is 64; and Calipari is 60.
At some point, some of the plum head coaching jobs in men's college hoops will open. Yet there are few obvious choices from the "next generation" of coaches to fill those eventual marquee openings.
With John Pelphrey's hiring by Tennessee Tech, there are now eight former Wildcats men's basketball players who hold Division I head coaching jobs.
Is there a realistic scenario where any of them could emerge as a viable candidate to one day lead the UK men's basketball program?
In alphabetical order, let's review the career arcs of the ex-Cats presently coaching in men's Division I:
