Billy Donovan is Kentucky's potential 'home run hire'

Mitch Barnhart is getting prepared to conduct his third head men’s basketball head coach search at the University of Kentucky. One specific name was a big part of each search in 2007 and 2009. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Former Florida head coach Billy Donovan has been in the NBA for a decade now. The 58-year-old is set to make his seventh postseason appearance in professional basketball. However, there might be a possibility the former Kentucky assistant coach under Rick Pitino for five seasons from 1989 to 1994 could return to Lexington.

Is a third time a charm? ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Donovan is the “home run hire” for Kentucky and that previous ties could help him get to Lexington.

Here our ⁦@SportsCenter⁩ hit from earlier with ⁦@HannahStormESPN⁩ on John Calipari’s upcoming move to Arkansas and who the Wildcats will hire to replace him. pic.twitter.com/UGtG4gN2SR

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 8, 2024

“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.”

The Bulls could be playing basketball games for two-plus more weeks. Would Kentucky be willing to wait that long for a coach who won two national titles, four SEC Tournament titles, six SEC regular-season titles, and 502 games with a .709 winning percentage in 21 seasons as a college head coach? There will be urgency to get someone hired quickly as Kentucky would need to build a full roster via high school recruiting and through the transfer portal over the next month or so.

Mitch Barnhart is familiar with Billy Donovan. Will that familiarity finally lead to Donovan returning to Lexington? Pete Thamel believes Scott Drew is the most logical hire, but Kentucky could take some big swings on Jay Wright, Dan Hurley, and Donovan.