Kenny Payne
- Thread starter BabaySharkk
- Start date
One of the best in the country at what he does, so it's a yes from me.
Coach Payne is just as important to Coach Cal as the Big Dog is to coach Stoops!
I thought he had been given a raise 2 years ago above that 900K figure. I know some disagree, but I think he should be our next head coach when Cal retires. Knows the system, is a recruiter, likeable, has the background, contacts, and would keep it all going.
best big man coach in cbb and a top 3 recruiter who is clean . Mike miller and the like don't count .
If Joe B took over for Rupp then KP can take over for Cal.
At the very least it would be a helluva bridge to have for a few years and recruiting probably wouldn't take too big of a hit.
Let's pretend Cal is here another 5-8 years. KP will be 57-60ish. He will have been Cal's assistant for 15-18 years. Hall was an assistant to Rupp for 7 years and a head coach for 6 years previous to that at tiny schools.
I got blasted a while back for stating this. The longer KP stays the more certain I am that this will become a reality.
The alternative is Cal just retiring and then you try and quickly offer a hot commodity (like BCG was) or a proven high profile guy (Brad Stevens/Billy Donovan- just examples) and run risk of being rejected and settling for someone who wasn't the ultimate goal.
KP is the guy...
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I would flat out love for Kenny Payne be next coach at UK. His pressers are a lot more informative and entertaining than Cals but hopefully we are a long way off from even thinking about finding a replacement for Cal.
I would pay KP 2 million as an assistant. Just cut Barbee at this point he's useless
Specifically for the KP part. I don't know have any clue what the heck is going on to judge what everyone else's job is on staff, but KP is worth all the praise and pay he can get.
We once had a UK website championing a "Respect Your Team" theme and going around loudly claiming KP would never coach UK, and then claiming to be "Wrong On Purpose" when the news finally came out.
With Cal getting the lifetime contract and will still be at UK in some function! Have to think he’ll pick his predecessor and Payne will be the choice!
You’re fooling yourself if you think he won’t! He got a raise when all the UL talk came about!
He's definitely worth $900K. It keeps most smaller schools from offering him that kind of money to be their HC, and most big schools want someone with HC experience. It keeps him at UK. In fact, I would make him the first, and only, asst coach to make $1 million a year.
Go watch what barbee did at auburn. That'll tell you enough about his coaching ability.