Mark Pope looks like a coach who is already on his last legs at Kentucky. He has whiffed on high-end recruits. He has not made a splash in the transfer portal. Kentucky doesn't appear to be a top-20 team, let alone top-10. That's not the Big Blue standard. If Kentucky has a season anything close to its recently-concluded campaign -- a 7 seed with a meek second-round March Madness exit -- Pope should be gone. Is this Billy Donovan's chance to get back into college basketball?
Billy Donovan wanted to finish his season with the Chicago Bulls and discuss his future with the organization. UNC wasn't willing to wait for the NBA season to end, so it hired Mike Malone instead.
Billy Donovan, if he does return to college basketball, wouldn't jump at any old job. Kentucky isn't "any old job." North Carolina was another Cadillac job. It's not as though Billy D has a long list of places to consider; he doesn't. Kentucky is a short-list type of program, however.
If the Detroit Pistons get eliminated by the Orlando Magic, that job could come open, and Donovan might want to think about that job. If he doesn't pursue the chance, however, what other NBA openings would appeal to Billy D? Only the Golden State Warriors, and that's only if Steve Kerr calls it quits. With few choice NBA spots available, Donovan pivoting to college ball next year seems realistic.
This might be Scott Drew's chance to leave Baylor for a Cadillac job. If it's not Billy Donovan, Scott Drew could go to Lexington if Mark Pope gets fired.
If Nate Oats, Todd Golden, and Dusty May didn't land the Carolina job, why would the dynamic be different at Kentucky?
If you're thinking about Ben McCollum to Kentucky, remember that Kansas -- when Bill Self retires -- is viewed as the favorite to land the current Iowa coach.
If Billy Donovan did go to Kentucky, it would mean Billy D would follow in the footsteps of mentor Rick Pitino, who coached the Wildcats to the 1996 national championship and the 1997 championship game, leading the program back to prominence after it crumbled in the late 1980s. There would be a lot of symmetry and poetry attached to Billy Donovan going to Lexington to rescue the Wildcats over 35 years after Pitino arrived in Bluegrass Country.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Mark Pope is sinking at Kentucky basketball -- enter Billy Donovan