Former NBA All-Star is the latest addition to Mark Pope’s Kentucky coaching staff
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mo Williams left Jackson State to join Pope’s Kentucky staff for 2026-27.
- Williams has NBA experience; son Mason Williams (4★) committed to Kentucky in 2026.
- Pope reshapes staff after departures; hires Keegan Brown for roster management.
The Kentucky men’s basketball coaching staff is going through a major shakeup this offseason, and another piece to Mark Pope’s overall puzzle is now in place.
Former NBA guard Mo Williams, who has spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Jackson State, will be an assistant coach on Pope’s staff for the 2026-27 season. Jackson State confirmed Monday afternoon that Williams had stepped down as its head coach to accept a role at Kentucky.
Williams is also the father of four-star point guard Mason Williams, who committed to Kentucky last week, becoming the first high school prospect from the 2026 recruiting class to pledge for the Cats.
“I want to thank Mo for what he has done for Jackson State men’s basketball,” Jackson State athletics director Ashley Robinson said in a statement. “His commitment to coming back home and elevating the program to compete at a high level speaks volumes about his character and work ethic. We are grateful for his leadership and impact, and we wish him nothing but success at Kentucky.”
Mo Williams, 43, played two seasons at Alabama before being selected with the No. 47 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. The Jackson, Mississippi native ultimately played 13 years in the league and was an All-Star point guard during the 2008-09 season. Williams won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and retired following that season.
After his playing days were finished, Williams jumped into coaching. He was an assistant at Cal State Northridge for two seasons before becoming the head coach at Alabama State in 2020. He spent two years in that role prior to being hired as Jackson State’s head coach in 2022.
At Jackson State, he compiled a record of 57-75, though he led the Tigers to a 47–25 record in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Williams was actually one of the first coaches to face Kentucky after Pope was hired as the school’s head coach. UK defeated Jackson State 108-59 on Nov. 22, 2024, the fifth game of Pope’s first season in charge of the Cats.
“These guys play really hard,” Pope said after that game. “They just compete and compete and compete. And Mo is clearly, I mean, come on, he’s one of the best basketball guys and ambassadors for this game, ever.”
After that game, Williams praised Kentucky’s ball movement and Pope’s overall approach to offense.
“You can have pace in your offense. You can have movement in your offense,” he said. “But if you don’t make the right read, it doesn’t give you an advantage. They do a good job of getting off the ball and making the right read to the right person.”
Pope will be replacing at least two members of his coaching staff this offseason.
Associate head coach Alvin Brooks III and assistant coach Jason Hart, who were both hired by Pope shortly after he took the UK job two years ago, are no longer with the program.
Hart has accepted the position of associate head coach at SMU under Andy Enfield, who had Hart on staff for eight seasons at Southern Cal earlier in his career. Brooks, who was the top assistant at Baylor before coming to Kentucky, did not have his contract renewed. Both assistants signed two-year deals in 2024 that were set to expire this summer.
Current assistants Mark Fox and Cody Fueger are also on contracts that are set to expire this offseason. Assistant coach Mikhail McLean is the only member of Pope’s staff currently signed through the 2026-27 season.
UK also recently announced the hire of Keegan Brown as “director of roster management” — a role that will help Pope shape the team’s roster for the upcoming season (and beyond). Brown worked in similar capacity for all five of Pope’s seasons as the head coach at BYU and was most recently the video coordinator for the Milwaukee Bucks’ G League affiliate.
There are also two additional job postings tied to the men’s basketball program on UK’s employment website. Both have “associate director” titles and are expected to be behind-the-scenes roles within the program.
Pope is currently signed to be Kentucky’s head coach through the 2029-30 season, giving him four remaining years on his contract. UK went 22-14 overall during the 2025-26 season, which ended with a loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
