Milan Momcilovic and Kam Williams are likely to lead a position group that should bring plenty of experience and intrigue to the Kentucky perimeter this season.
Kentucky officially announced two additions to the coaching staff Tuesday afternoon.
Alfred Aboya, who most recently served as the head coach of NBA Academy Africa and the Cameroon men’s national basketball team, will fill the fifth assistant coaching position on Mark Pope’s staff for the 2026-27 season.
John Pelphrey, a former UK standout and one of the “Unforgettables” in the Wildcats’ senior class of 1992, is the program’s new director of player development. Pelphrey was most recently the head coach at Tennessee Tech, where he spent the past seven seasons.
Both new staff members are already with the team and have been part of Kentucky’s practice sessions. The Cats will play their exhibition opener against Little Rock at 7 p.m. Friday in Rupp Arena.
Aboya, 41, played four seasons at UCLA and — after his professional playing career concluded — rejoined his college head coach, Ben Howland, as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State. He also worked in the G League before taking over NBA Academy Africa in 2022. The NBA ended the program earlier this month.
He will join a coaching staff that also includes Mark Fox, Cody Fueger and Mikhail McLean, who all came to UK with Pope in 2024, as well as new assistant Mo Williams, a former NBA All-Star who joined the Wildcats during the offseason.
Aboya, who is originally from Cameroon, also has ties to prominent UK recruiting targets, including Cherif Millogo, a 7-foot-4 center who visited Lexington last weekend, and Yann Kamagate, a 7-footer ranked No. 1 nationally in the 2028 class. Kamagate is also a possibility to reclassify to 2027 and begin his college basketball career next year
Pelphrey, a Paintsville native, scored 1,257 points for the Wildcats and was a key player for Kentucky during Rick Pitino’s first seasons in charge of the program. He went on to a successful coaching career, serving as a longtime assistant under Billy Donovan before becoming the head coach at South Alabama and Arkansas.
Ben Roberts launched Inside Kentucky Basketball in 2026 to bring a source of independent and objective coverage of the Cats to UK fans. He spent 20 years at the Lexington Herald-Leader, including four seasons as UK men's basketball beat writer.
