Changes coming for Matthew Mitchell’s staff at Kentucky

There are going to be some position switches on the Kentucky women’s basketball staff, but they aren’t likely to change much overall.

A recent position listing on the university jobs board for a special assistant to head coach Matthew Mitchell most likely will be filled by current UK assistant coach Lin Dunn.

Dunn, who came out of retirement in 2016 to join Mitchell’s staff amid the crisis of more than a handful of players leaving and a complete assistant coaching staff turnover, would move into the newly created position. The job posting indicates that an internal candidate is being considered.

It’s likely that UK’s current director of player personnel, Amber Smith, will be elevated to the third assistant coaching spot alongside Kyra Elzy and Niya Butts.

Smith, a former standout point guard under Mitchell, has filled in regularly over the past two years on the recruiting trail for Kentucky at times when Dunn was unable to travel.

Smith has previous coaching experience, first as a graduate assistant at Tennessee and then for two seasons at Louisiana Tech, where her main duties were recruiting and on-court development.

The contracts of associate head coach Elzy and Butts, which expire in June, are expected to be renewed soon.

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Changes coming for Matthew Mitchell’s staff at Kentucky."