Photo - UK Athletics
Kentucky officially posted two basketball coaching positions Monday which generated a lot of buzz across the Bluegrass. Why? I’m not sure.
Assistant coach Joel Justus left last week to take a job at Arizona State and Tony Barbee left to become head coach at Central Michigan. So two coaches gone would logically seem to lead to two job postings.
One hire is going to be former UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua, currently still an assistant at Illinois. No, it is not official but it’s coming after the deadline for applicants gets here on May 3.
But the big news coaching-wise is with UK women’s basketball and LSU women’s basketball.
Coach Kyra Elzy made a significant addition to her staff by hiring veteran coach Gail Goestenkors. You might remember her from her time at Duke from 1992-2007 when she compiled a 396-99 record and went to four Final Fours and two national title games. Goestenkors, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, also coached at Texas.
“I love Gail’s passion for the game of basketball. When you combine that with her desire and track record of developing players, I know she is going to be a dynamic addition to our staff,” Elzy said.
She better be because the SEC got a whole lot better when LSU somehow convinced Kim Mulkey to leave Baylor where she’s had a dominant program. She won three national titles and was the first person to win a national title as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.
She means business, too. During her introductory press conference, he had five current LSU players stand up and asked them to look around the arena.
“Final Four, Final Four, Final Four,” Mulkey said. “Nowhere there does it say National Champion. That’s what I came here to do.”
And why SEC women’s basketball just got a lot better.
