Mikhail McLean changes Twitter profile to reflect new position as Kentucky assistant coach

Mark Pope has seemingly finalized his first staff at Kentucky.

Per the Twitter page of Mikhail McLean, he has joined as the fifth assistant for the Wildcats’ bench of this new tenure. No report has come out on news of that addition, though, along with no official release by the program yet.

McLean was most recently an assistant at Lamar. He joined the Cardinals back in 2021 under Alvin Brooks III, who has since joined Pope’s staff as well.

Before his hire there with the Cardinals, McLean and Brooks were also together on the staff at Houston, his alma mater, for six seasons under Kelvin Sampson. McLean was the assistant director of player development for the Cougars over his half decade there. He served as an academic liaison and a camp director there after starting as a graduate assistant.

While a player at Houston from 2010 to 2015, McLean appeared in 102 games including 34 starts. He averaged 2.4 points per game in that career along with 1.8 rebounds while shooting 47.5% overall.

Beyond college basketball, McLean also works on the staff for the Bahamas Senior National Team. As a native of Nassau, he serves as an assistant for their team, specifically as their defensive coordinator.

McLean looks to now be the fifth hire for the team’s bench under Pope. Brooks joined on as associate head coach while Cody Fueger and Jason Hart are both on board as assistants with McLean. Mark Fox is also on staff as an associate coach.

As for in their building, Nick Robinson is there as Director of Men’s Basketball Operations. Randy Towner is also there now as their new strength and conditioning coach.

Pope is putting the final pieces together for what will be his first season coaching back in the bluegrass. That now looks to include McLean based on this development from social media.

Kentucky to play Clemson in 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge

Approaching three decades since their last head-to-head matchup, the Wildcats are set to take on the Clemson Tigers in the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge.

Mark Pope and his team will travel to the Palmetto State in a true road game for the first time since 1933. That game will take place on Tuesday, December 3rd.

College Hoops Today’s Jon Rothstein was the first to break the complete ACC/SEC Challenge slate, which includes 16 games on December 3rd and 4th.

Kentucky leads the head-to-head series 12-4 dating back to 1922.

Along with Clemson, Kentucky now reportedly has seven games on their schedule in the non-conference. They will play Duke in the Champion’s Classic from Atlanta and Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in New York. They’ll also face Gonzaga in Seattle along with home matchups against Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Lipscomb.