Kentucky basketball names K.T. Turner as assistant coach

Kentucky has filled the void on its bench, as the program has officially announced the hiring of K.T. Turner to take over the assistant coaching position left by Jai Lucas, who joined Duke’s staff following the 2021-2022 season.

Turner, a 20-year veteran in the coaching game, spent last season as Oklahoma‘s associate head coach under Porter Moser.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work at the University of Kentucky,” Turner said. “I’ve always wanted to work under John Calipari and be a part of his program. He has been on the forefront of college basketball for a long time. My family is extremely thankful for the opportunity to live in the state of Kentucky and be a part of the Lexington community. There is work to be done and the staff that I am joining is prepared to get this done. We know the mission is to get number nine.”  

Prior to his stop in Norman, Oklahoma, Turner held the same position at Texas the year prior, where the Longhorns won the Big 12 Championship and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Before stopping by the Forty Acres, Turner also coached for seven seasons at SMU. During that time, the Mustangs accumulated a 160-71 record, won a pair of American Athletic Conference regular-season titles and two AAC Tournament championships with Turner on the bench.

Turner also has experience coaching a Final Four with Wichita State back during the 2012-2013 season after a 30-9 miracle run through the NCAA Tournament. That resume made him a perfect fit for Calipari and the Wildcats.

“I knew that when we had an opening, K.T. Turner would be our next guy I’d be calling on,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “I’ve been very impressed with K.T. for as long as I’ve known him. He is from Cincinnati, his father worked for Tony Yates, and he still has ties to the area. He’s an established coach and someone who has a passion for development. He loves spending time in the gym working with kids and helping them continue to push for improvement. K.T. has done an excellent job of recruiting Texas, which has always been good to us, and has a terrific ability to connect with young people. He is exactly the coach we were looking for and I’m thrilled to have him join our family.”