The University of Kentucky faced a significant upset during this year’s March Madness. After qualifying as the third seed for the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats were knocked out by the 14th-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies by a narrow score line of 76-80. This also prompted head coach John Calipari to leave Kentucky, as he takes up a new offer of coaching Arkansas from next season. With the head coaching position for the Wildcats now wide open, fans and former players have started discussing the best possible suitor to lead Kentucky next season.
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In a recent episode of the Bully Ball podcast, former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins endorsed his fellow former league colleague Rajon Rondo as the best fit for this role. Boogie had previously endorsed Rondo for potential head coaching jobs in the NBA as well. As an alumnus of Kentucky, Cousins would vouch for Rondo as a coach if he ever decided to lead the way for the Wildcats.
“I think the perfect hire for UK (University of Kentucky) would be Rajon Rondo,” Cousins told Rachel Nichols and Amin Elhassan on the podcast. Being a native of Kentucky and an alum of the University, it would be apt for the Wildcats to hire Rondo to take them out of this slump. Endorsing his former colleague and buddy, Cousins remarked, “I think putting Rondo in that position, he has a great energy moving forward. He’s great at creating standards, he’s great at leading the ship. I don’t think there’s a better leader to lead Kentucky out of this spot than a Rajon Rondo.”
Rondo had previously stated during an appearance on the podcast that he would love to have Boogie as a part of his coaching staff. However, when Amin Elhassan pointed out how Cousins might have to babysit the college kids and deal with their tantrums and antics, especially if they are ‘TikTok stars,’ Cousins replied, “I would be screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘Get into that god damn gym. F**k that TikTok man!'”
Perhaps the University of Kentucky team could benefit quite positively from this potential new coaching staff by combining Rajon Rondo’s vision and intelligence with DeMarcus Cousins’ tough coaching style. As Rachel Nichols pointed out, Rondo currently lives in Kentucky. So the coaching job will be very convenient for him to accept. The Wildcats could even emerge as the next big contenders of the NCAA Championship if Rondo really gets the opportunity.
LeBron James also endorsed Rajon Rondo as a potentially great coach
LeBron James recently praised his former teammate Rajon Rondo as a potentially great coach in his podcast ‘Mind the Game’ with JJ Redick. When James was asked about his NBA teammates with incredible game intellect, the 4x NBA champion did not hesitate to name his former teammate, with whom he has won a championship in 2020. James also hinted at how Rondo could be the potential head coach of the expected NBA expansion team from Las Vegas, where the 20-time All-Star has a deep interest.
DeMarcus Cousins’ endorsement of Rondo could be understood from the fact that both he and Rondo are University of Kentucky alumni. Boogie would definitely want someone with the best understanding and intellect of the game to lead their alma mater into the best spots during the collegiate basketball season.
