Three ex-UK men’s hoops assistants are thriving as D-I head coaches in 2025-26
Fast-break points from the frozen Lexington streets:
21. Former Kentucky men’s basketball assistants are thriving. Three men who were once UK assistants are having significant success in 2025-26 as NCAA Division I head coaches.
20. Jai Lucas. In his first year as Miami Hurricanes head man, the ex-UK assistant (2021-22) has the Canes (17-5, 6-3 ACC) in a tie with North Carolina for fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Current ESPN.com Bracketology has Miami as a projected No. 11 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
19. Game to watch: Lucas will close out his first regular season as Miami head coach March 7 when Louisville will visit the Watsco Center for a game that could have NCAA tourney implications for both teams.
18. Herb Sendek. A former UK aide (1989-1993) under Rick Pitino, the Santa Clara head man has the Broncos (19-5, 10-1 WCC) in a heated battle with perennial league power Gonzaga (22-1, 10-0 WCC) for the West Coast Conference regular season crown.
17. Game to watch: Gonzaga got the better of Santa Clara 89-77 on the Zags’ home court Jan. 8. The rematch will come on Valentine’s Day, when Sendek and Co. will get Mark Few’s Bulldogs in the Leavey Center.
16. KT Turner. Another one-year (2022-23), John Calipari-era assistant at UK, the Texas Arlington head man has the Mavericks (14-7, 6-3 WAC) in a three-way tie with Utah Valley and California Baptist for the Western Athletic Conference lead.
15. Game to watch: Texas Arlington has already split two games with California Baptist and lost 86-74 to Utah Valley on Jan. 17. On Saturday, Turner and the Mavericks get a second shot at Utah Valley.
14. Glynn Cyprien. Another former Kentucky assistant (2007-09), Cyprien has been named acting head men’s basketball coach at Tarleton State where incumbent head man Billy Gillispie is sidelined for undisclosed reasons.
13. Jordan Burks. The former Kentucky forward (2023-24) had 17 points and four rebounds for Central Florida in the Knights’ 88-80 upset of then-No. 11 Texas Tech last Saturday. The 6-foot-9, 205-pound junior is now averaging 12.7 points and 4.3 rebounds for UCF (17-4, 6-3 Big 12).
12. Ugonna Onyenso. The 7-foot, 245-pound ex-UK center (2022-24) is averaging 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for a Virginia team (18-3, 7-2 ACC) that is tied for third in the ACC.
11. A rim protector. Though Onyenso is playing only 17.3 minutes a game for first-year Virginia head man Ryan Odom, the ex-UK big man is 12th in NCAA Division I in blocked shots, averaging 2.4 a contest.
10. Bryce Hopkins. St. John’s is riding a seven-game win streak, and Hopkins, the former Kentucky forward, has scored in double figures in all but one of those wins — when he scored eight points. The 6-7, 225-pound super-senior is averaging 13.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Rick Pitino’s Red Storm (16-5, 9-1 Big East).
9. Doug Shows. Called two more technical fouls in the time it took you to read the first 12 items of this column.
8. Brandon Garrison. One surmises that his junior season has not, to date, gone as the Kentucky big man had hoped, but the 6-10, 245-pound Garrison gave UK a good 13 minutes — four points, two rebounds and three assists — in the Wildcats’ 85-77 win at Arkansas last Saturday.
7. Tyler Ulis’ blue suit. Did you read anything into the sartorial choice of the former Kentucky point guard turned Arkansas assistant coach for the Cats vs. Hogs game?
6. The coaching hot seat. As the 2025-26 season enters February, three SEC men’s hoops head coaches are thought to be feeling unwelcome warmth.
5. Matt McMahon. The LSU coach has his team sitting 14-8, but the Tigers are only 2-7 in the SEC. In four seasons at LSU, McMahon, the former Murray State coach, is 59-61 overall but is a horrid 16-47 in SEC games.
4. A blunt assessment from the LSU AD. Last month, new Tigers athletics director Verge Ausberry told the “Tiger Rag” (LSU’s version of “The Cats’ Pause”) that if McMahon “doesn’t make (the NCAA Tournament), we’ll have to reevaluate.”
3. Lamont Paris. In his second season at South Carolina in 2023-24, Paris led the Gamecocks to a 26-8 mark, a 13-5 SEC record and an NCAA Tournament berth. Since then, however, South Carolina has gone 23-31 overall, 4-23 in the Southeastern Conference.
2. Porter Moser. In five seasons at Oklahoma, Moser is 85-70 overall. However, the former Loyola head man only went 20-34 in Big 12 games in his first three years at OU, and has gone 7-20 in the SEC since the Sooners switched leagues in 2024-25.
1. A last stand at Rupp Arena? When Oklahoma (11-11, 1-8 SEC) faces Kentucky (15-7, 6-3 SEC) Wednesday night, the Wildcats should expect a foe playing with the vigor that comes from desperation.
