Kentucky Basketball: 20 candidates to replace John Calipari as Head Coach

Brad Underwood

Kentucky will consider all of their options and it’s certainly possible that Underwood catches their attention. Though certainly one of the older coaches in today’s consideration, Underwood has had sustained success throughout his coaching career, especially his work at Stephen F. Austin and Illinois.

A former guard at Kansas State, Underwood was a junior college head coach and had long stints as a D1 assistant. His D1 head coaching start was at Stephen F. Austin, featuring three NCAA Tournament bids and two upset wins in a fantastic three-year stretch. Underwood spent the next season at Oklahoma State before bolting for Illinois. He’s done great work with the Fighting Illini, winning a couple of Big Ten titles and leading this year’s squad to the Elite Eight.

You could see Kentucky taking a chance with Underwood, though he wouldn’t be one of the higher names on their list. He’s done great work with an Illinois program that’s been struggling in recent years. Whether or not he’d be interested in leaving Illinois is one thing, though he was quick to bolt Oklahoma State for a better deal with the Illini. Regardless, it’s probably not a move that happens unless several of these other names abstain.