Kentucky Basketball Makes Surprising Move to Land Jamal Crawford—What This Could Mean for the Team Explored

Back when Kentucky Basketball lost assistant coaches Alvin Brooks III and Jason Hart, rumors began to circulate that Mark Pope was making a push for Jamal Crawford as a potential replacement.

However, nothing came of it, and it appeared that ship had sailed.

Now, KSR’s Jack Pilgrim and Matt Jones are reporting that there’s still a chance that Crawford could become an assistant coach at Kentucky, as a final decision has not yet been made by Crawford, and the Wildcats remain in pursuit.

Crawford, who is currently an assistant coach at his alma mater, Rainier Beach High School, is also an NBC broadcaster who is calling games in the NBA Playoffs. He’s a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (shoutout Keldon Johnson) and scored 19,419 career points across his 20-year NBA career.

Needless to say, Crawford is a major name in the world of basketball, and getting him would be a massive pull for any coaching staff.

Saying this, between Crawford coaching at his alma mater and the city he was born in while also calling NBA games, it feels like there’s about as much of an uphill climb for Kentucky to get him as there is for Tyran Stokes, if not bigger.

Oh, speaking of, Stokes is spending his final season of high school basketball at Rainier Beach. Safe to think that getting Crawford would be a major move toward getting Stokes.

But again, both of these feel like a long shot. Crawford has too good of a thing going for him in Seattle right now, where he’s also raising his family. He’d have to leave that and his NBC gig to take on a full-time coaching role at Kentucky.

It’s nice to think about, but this feels like a pipe dream for the time being, though one that Pope was right to shoot for.

One other thing to consider: Kentucky already landed former NBA standout Mo Williams this offseason. Perhaps he can help get Crawford to Lexington?