John Calipari has filled the opening on his Kentucky coaching staff.

K.T. Turner, who spent the 2021-22 season as an associate head coach at Oklahoma under Porter Moser, will fill the position vacated by Jai Lucas earlier this spring.

“I knew that when we had an opening, K.T. Turner would be our next guy I’d be calling on,” Calipari said in a statement released by UK. “I’ve been very impressed with K.T. for as long as I’ve known him. He is from Cincinnati, his father worked for Tony Yates, and he still has ties to the area. He’s an established coach and someone who has a passion for development. He loves spending time in the gym working with kids and helping them continue to push for improvement.

"K.T. has done an excellent job of recruiting Texas, which has always been good to us, and has a terrific ability to connect with young people. He is exactly the coach we were looking for, and I’m thrilled to have him join our family.”

Turner has almost 20 years of college coaching experience. He also spent time at Texas, SMU, and Wichita State among several other jobs in working his way up the coaching ladder.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work at the University of Kentucky,” Turner said. “I’ve always wanted to work under John Calipari and be a part of his program. He has been on the forefront of college basketball for a long time. My family is extremely thankful for the opportunity to live in the state of Kentucky and be a part of the Lexington community.

"There is work to be done and the staff that I am joining is prepared to get this done. We know the mission is to get number nine.”

A native of Cincinnati, Turner earned his degree in criminal justice from Oklahoma City University in 2003. Turner played professionally for Benneton Treviso in Italy for three seasons before moving into the coaching profession.

Turner and his wife, Cassaundra, have three children, Kelis, Kenny and Kendra.