UK men’s basketball officially adds Jason Hart to staff

Posted by Admin April 22, 2024 Basketball

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope has named Jason Hart, a nine-year NBA veteran with coaching experience at the high school, collegiate and professional levels to his staff.

“Jason Hart is everything as a coach that he was as a player,” Pope said. “He has boundless energy. He’s fearless. He is stubborn. But he has endless joy and love for this game and our players.

“He has all of the grit that you’d expect from a big-time Syracuse point guard, and he earned everything he got in his decade-long NBA career through pure blood, sweat and tears. Jason is going to win over Kentucky players and Kentucky fans in about 10 seconds. I’m thrilled to welcome Jason, Brandi and their family to UK.”

Hart most recently served as the head coach of the NBA’s G-League Ignite squad, coaching the likes of Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Big Blue Nation,” Hart said. “I’ve played and coached at every level of basketball and there is not a more passionate fan base than this one. I will give every ounce of energy to our players and this program, and I can’t wait to get started. I want to thank Mitch Barnhart and Mark Pope for their confidence in me, and I want to say a special thanks to my family for their continued support.”

A nine-year NBA veteran, he is also a member of Syracuse’s All-Century Team, which honored the top 25 players in the program’s history. In 2011, Syracuse awarded him the Vic Hanson Medal of Excellence.

Hart concluded his collegiate playing career (1997-2000) as the program’s all-time leader in steals (329) and ranked second all-time in assists (709). He also shares the Syracuse record for most steals in a season with 101 set in 1999.

He was picked in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was teammates with Pope for one season.

A Southern California native, Hart joined the Ignite following a nine-year assistant coaching career. He began his collegiate coaching career at Pepperdine in 2012 before joining Andy Enfield’s staff at Southern Cal for the 2013-14 season. He was promoted to associate head coach beginning in 2017-18, continuing through the 2020-21 season.