Pete Thamel calls Billy Donovan the 'home run hire' for Kentucky, lists other possible options

Plenty of names have been thrown around to replace John Calipari as the head coach at Kentucky. ESPN insider Pete Thamel believes the best option for the Wildcats very well could be Bulls coach Billy Donovan.

Thamel appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday and shared where things stand as Kentucky searches for its next head coach, including the possibility of Kentucky hiring Donovan.

“Billy Donovan is the home run hire. Billy Donovan is the aspirational hire,” Thamel said. “He was an assistant there under Rick Pitino. There’s ties there for Billy Donovan.”

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Donovan was the head coach at Florida from 1996-2015, reaching the Final Four on four occasions and winning a pair of national titles.

He left for the NBA ahead of the 2015-16 season and is currently with the Bulls, after starting off with the Thunder. Thamel believes that if Donovan is the hire for Kentucky, the process could take some time.

“He obviously dominated the SEC in the mid-2000s and has been a generally successful NBA coach. It’ll be interesting in the courtship of Billy Donovan, the Bulls are in the NBA play-in game, which is on April 17,” Thamel said. “I don’t think Billy Donovan could leave before the NBA playoffs. So if we start to see this search drag out towards that date, I think it would be an increased indication that someone was interested.

“You remember the Nick Saban search. What did that take, 38 days at Alabama for him to leave the Dolphins and come. … I think if Billy Donovan happens, there would have to be a little bit of a wait and that would be a tell.”

If Billy Donovan isn’t the hire, whether it’s his choice or Kentucky’s, Thamel believes another candidate who makes a lot of sense is Scott Drew of Baylor. Several other coaches could have interest, but Thamel believes Drew is most likely.

“Jay Wright they have to call. Danny Hurley will probably end up getting a raise out of this. I’m sure they’ll be interested in him, win or lose tonight.  … And other logical names we can kind of cross off because of buyouts,” Thamel said. “Nate Oats has a buyout of around $18 million. T. J. Otzelberger has a buyout of around $17 million, the Iowa State coach. And obviously Mick Cronin’s buyout is in the neighborhood of $20 million. Those are just wild amounts of money for a basketball coach.

“So I think we end with Scott Drew being one of the most logical names. His buyout is reasonable. It’s under $5 million. And I really feel like Scott Drew becomes a very logical candidate for Mitch Barnhart at Kentucky. Bruce Pearl’s name will obviously be bandied around, too. He would certainly handle the Kentucky circus.”