Kentucky's Calipari hires a veteran assistant with an eye toward remaking his offense

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky head coach John Calipari doesn’t need much recruiting help. A look at the Wildcats men’s basketball roster for next season confirms that.

With his latest assistant coaching hire, the Hall of Famer is turning to a veteran coach who can provide experience in on-court matters, offensive strategy implementation, scouting, game-planning and overall skills development.

John Welch has nearly 20 years of experience on NBA sidelines and nearly a decade in the college game, much of it for Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State. In the pros, he’s worked for such coaches as George Karl, Doc Rivers, Jason Kidd and Hubie Brown.

Most recently, Welch was a part of the Los Angeles Clippers staff that advanced to the playoffs twice, including the Western Conference semifinals in 2020.

"John Welch has been involved in every level of basketball and been an important part of the development of NBA careers for guys like Carmelo (Anthony), Pau Gasol, DeMarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin and Brook Lopez," Calipari said. "He loves the game and will be a tremendous asset to our young players and our staff. John has worked closely for decades with Vance Walberg, who developed the dribble-drive offense, and was a pioneer of bringing it to the NBA. With the strength of our guards and perimeter players we need to get back to that style of play. John will be involved heavily in our offensive strategy and will be our lead coach in on-court player development. We’re excited to have him join our program."

Welch is expected to change the orientation of the UK offense, which has at times grown stagnant in recent seasons.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Kentucky basketball program," Welch said. "I look forward to working with Coach Cal and his tremendous coaching and support staff. Helping players grow and develop has always been my passion as a coach, and I can’t wait to get in the gym with our team this summer. It is an honor to become a part of Big Blue Nation’s proud basketball tradition and have the opportunity to assist in the continued success of the premier program in college basketball."