According to a report by Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio, longtime veteran NBA coach John Welch is joining John Calipari’s coaching staff at Kentucky.
Welch, the father of UK graduate assistant Riley Welch, has more than 30 years of coaching experience.
Here is an excerpt from KSR:
The native of Portland, Maine will take one of five on-court positions going into the 2023-24 season, in charge of game planning and workouts. His addition comes alongside the departure of assistant video director Andrew Ortelli, who is set to take a new position at Temple, KSR has learned.
Welch was in Lexington interviewing for the position last weekend. An official announcement is expected in the near future.
The 60-year-old coaching veteran is the father of former Kentucky walk-on and graduate assistant Riley Welch. He joined the NBA ranks back in 2002 and stayed through 2020, spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies (2002-05), Denver Nuggets (2005-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-15), Sacramento Kings (2015-16) and Los Angeles Clippers (2016-20). Welch began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UNLV — where he played college basketball from 1985-86 — followed by stints at Long Beach State (1993-95) and Fresno State (1995-02).
Here’s an interview with Welch when he was an assistant for the Clippers:
