It's been offseason of wonder with what Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball would do with its final assistant coach position. Nick Robinson, who is Kentucky's Director of Operations for men's basketball, slid into an on-court interim role over the summer. Some just assumed after Kentucky's pursuit of Jamal Crawford cooled that Robinson would fill the final spot, with the thought of making a hire still there. After officially posting a job opening last week, Kentucky has found its new assistant coach.
According to KSR's Jack Pilgrim, Kentucky is set to hire Alfred Aboya to fill its final assistant coach position. Aboya has years of experience in the coaching world, most-notably with NBA Academy Africa after previously playing college basketball for UCLA from 2005-09, reaching the Final Four three times. As a coach, he has strong international connections as a coach with NBA Academy Africa. One to watch for Kentucky specifically is his ties with target Cherif Millogo, who is currently on a visit to Lexington as the staff has begun expressing strong interest over the last month. He is also close with another target, Lewis Uvwo.
Oct. 6, 2026 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
If you missed it, here was Mark Pope's comment when asked about filling that final assistant coaching position. "Certainly we have the potential to kind of grow the staff, strengthen the staff, change the staff right now, and that could happen, but right now it's actually by far the best I've felt with how our staff is functioning together." It was his comment back in July, though, that should tell you there was a good chance a hire was coming all along, as he answered 'most likely' when asked about it over the summer.
"Most likely, yes," Pope responded in July when asked if he plans to hire another assistant coach. "I can't tell you when, this is what I can tell you. I love the way that our staff is working right now. So, there's been a chance in the NCAA right now in terms of staff. So right now, I get Will Corbin, I get Nick Robinson, and Matt Santoro on the court. All staff members are allowed to be on the court right now. I like the way we feel as a staff. I'm engaged in conversations about staff every day. Even when our staff is full, I'm still talking to people and seeing where it goes. If we hire someone, it's gonna be the right person that's gonna be the right fit for what we do, but we're working at a really high level."
Kentucky pursued Jamal Crawford early in the summer, but it wasn't the right time. Mark Pope patiently waited for the right hire to come along and now he's got an assistant with plenty of recruiting connections.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as Mark Pope is reportedly set to fill the final assistant coach position.