Ford stock rising
The more time that passes and the more rumblings you hear, the better chance Travis Ford has at becoming the next basketball coach at Kentucky.
After UK fired Billy Gillispie two days ago, the top candidate was believed to be Florida’s Billy Donovan, as was the case two years ago when Gillispie eventually was hired.
Donovan immediately said he was staying in Gainesville. His former assistant Anthony Grant, the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, quickly accepted an offer to become new head coach at Alabama. Had Donovan left for Kentucky, Grant was ready to replace him at Florida.
Memphis coach John Calipari, fresh off a season-ending loss to Missouri that same day, returned to Memphis on Friday morning and said he was where he wanted to be.
The prospect of Rick Pitino, now at Louisville, returning to coach at Kentucky never has gained much steam from either side. Pitino went as far as to endorse Ford and Arkansas coach John Pelphrey, both former Kentucky players, for the UK head coaching job.
More than one reporter from the SEC region has said Kentucky is looking to hire someone from within the UK family. “They’re looking for someone who gets it,” said one reporter. “They’re looking for someone who understands what Kentucky basketball is all about.”
That would be Ford and Pelphrey.
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