Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope added another assistant to his coaching staff Saturday morning, just weeks before the regular season. Alfred Aboya, 41, is headed to Lexington after serving as a player development coach at the NBA Africa Academy since 2022. He oversaw day-to-day player development and coaching for elite high school-age prospects.

Before joining the NBA Africa Academy, the Cameroonian began his coaching career in 2018–19 as a Director of Player Development for the Iowa Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ G League affiliate. After a year in that role, Aboya became an assistant coach for the Wolves, mentored by then-head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah. Aboya has a strong resume in terms of stints as a Player Development coach.

While joining UK for his second go-around in an assistant coaching role, his ability to showcase the players he has developed, both amateur (NBA Academy Africa) and pro (Iowa Wolves), could do wonders in terms of helping Pope land recruits. As a player, Aboya played four seasons at UCLA (2005-09) and averaged 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds his senior year. He went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft and ended up playing professionally in the G League, France, Japan, Venezuela, Turkey, and Libya; the man has seen a lot of basketball across many different leagues and levels.

With the addition of Aboya, Pope now has five assistant coaches working with him: Mark Fox (associate coach), Cody Fueger, Mo Williams, Mikhail McLean and Aboya. Kentucky’s first exhibition game is set for Friday, Oct. 16, when they welcome Arkansas Little Rock to Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be viewed on SEC Network+.

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