On April 8, shock waves were sent around the college basketball universe as it was announced that John Calipari was leaving Kentucky to be the next head coach at Arkansas. After the loss to Oakland, many Kentucky fans wanted Coach Cal out, but few thought this would actually happen. Welp, here we are today where Kentucky quickly needs to find a coach who can take the Cats back to the promised land.
I thought it would be a cool idea to ask Chat GPT about who the top people for the coaching vacancy are. Here are my grades on Chat GPT’s list for the next Kentucky Basketball head coach.
5. Tom Crean (ESPN)
My grade: D-
Chat GPT, what are we thinking here? Tom Crean has been coaching since 1999 and has only made one Elite Eight. That doesn’t meet Kentucky basketball standards at all. In his four years with Georgia, he never went above .500 in SEC play, which led Crean’s firing in 2022. Now he doesn’t even coach basketball… he works at ESPN! I think Kentucky fans would riot if Tom Crean was coaching in Lexington next year. Bad start for Chat GPT.
4. Nate Oats (Alabama)
My grade: A-
Is it unrealistic? Yes. However, I believe Nate Oats would be a great replacement for Coach Cal. He is young, successful, energetic, and he prioritizes winning over the NBA draft. Kentucky fans wanted Calipari out because of his lack of success in the tournament. All Nate Oats does is win in March; he won multiple tournament games while at Buffalo and he just took Alabama to their first Final Four in program history. He should probably be higher on this list, but good call Chat GPT.
3. Chris Beard (Ole Miss)
My grade: D+
Chris Beard’s Ole Miss team had a pretty successful season, although they did not make the NCAA tournament. Notably, Chris Beard led Texas Tech to a National Championship game in 2019. Before his time in Lubbock, at Little Rock, Beard made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. The big red flag with Beard is that he was fired from Texas in 2022 for a legal problem. A guy with legal issues isn’t usually an ideal head coach. I’m not on board with Chat’s pick here.
2. Brad Stevens (Celtics Front Office)
My grade: A
I mean the dude turned Butler into a powerhouse. He coached six seasons of college basketball all at Butler and managed to get in the NCAA tournament four times. Twice he was runner-up and only once did he get knocked out in the first round. Keep in mind, he did this at Butler. After this incredible collegiate coaching career, he turned to the NBA. Stevens was briefly the head coach of the Celtics, but he later took on a front office role with the team. If any job opening could pull Stevens back into coaching it could very well be Kentucky. The one concern I could have here is that he has been distant from coaching for several years now. Not a lot of people are talking about this, but I think Chat GPT nailed this pick.
1. Billy Donovan (Chicago Bulls)
My Grade: A+
I see why Chat GPT put him at number one. He won back-to-back National Championships at Florida, and he has been to 8 Elite Eights. There is no doubt Billy Donovan is an elite basketball mind. With the Bulls struggling to make the playoffs, it would not shock me if Coach Donovan and the Bulls mutually decided to part ways. To be honest, I tried to find some concerns if Billy Donovan coached at UK, but I couldn’t find anything. A coach with multiple national championships, a brilliant basketball mind, and professional experience is everyone’s dream candidate. Chat GPT hit a home run with Billy Donovan at their one.
