Aboya, Pelphrey Officially Added to Coach Mark Pope's Staff

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball program officially announced two staff additions on Tuesday, naming Alfred Aboya as an assistant coach and John Pelphrey as Director of Player Development.

Aboya comes to Lexington having most recently served as the head basketball coach at NBA Academy Africa as well as the head coach of the Cameroon National Men’s Basketball Team.

He brings strong ties to young players from Africa, both those there currently and those that have moved on to play in Europe, and is expected to take on a large role in international recruiting for the Wildcats.

Aboya coached Cameroon in all FIBA competitions since taking over as the head coach in 2022, including in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where the team reached the semifinal stage.

Aboya played college basketball at UCLA from 2006-2009, where he appeared in 142 games and reached three consecutive Final Fours under head coach Ben Howland. He was a member of the winningest senior class in UCLA men’s basketball history, finishing his career with 123 wins.

After college, Aboya embarked on a six-year professional playing career that included stops in France, Japan, Venezuela, Turkey and the NBA G League. As a player, Aboya participated in FIBA AfroBasket, the African Games and Olympic qualifying.

Originally from Yaoundé, Cameroon, Aboya earned his undergraduate degree in political science from UCLA and went on to earn a masters in public policy and administration from Mississippi State.

Pelphrey, a member of the Kentucky men’s basketball team from 1988-1992, returns to his alma mater after most recently serving as the head coach at Tennessee Tech for seven seasons. He coached multiple All-Ohio Valley Conference selections during his time with the Golden Eagles, including four-time All-OVC pick, Jr. Clay.

Prior to his time at Tennessee Tech, Pelphrey built a successful coaching career which included several stops in the Southeastern Conference.

After getting his start as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State under Eddie Sutton in 1994, Pelphrey would join forces with Billy Donovan at Marshall and eventually Florida.

Pelphrey got his first head coaching gig at South Alabama, where he was at the helm for five seasons, leading the Jaguars to a Sun Belt tournament championship in 2006 and a Sun Belt regular season title in 2007.

Following his time at South Alabama, Pelphrey was hired as the head coach at Arkansas. In his four seasons with the Razorbacks, Pelphrey totaled a 69-59 record. He won 23 games during his first season in 2008, the most by a first-year head coach in program history. While in Fayetteville, Pelphrey coached four All-SEC performers and two SEC All-Freshmen honorees.

Pelphrey then returned to Florida as the lead assistant under Donovan, before eventually taking an assistant position at Alabama ahead of the 2017 season.

Affectionally known among Big Blue Nation as one of the “Unforgettables” alongside fellow class of 1992 seniors Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus and Sean Woods, Pelphrey ranks No. 32 on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,257 points. He also holds the seventh spot on the all-time steals list with 173 swipes and ranks No. 13 on the all-time assists leaderboard with 327. Pelphrey was an All-SEC selection in 1991, when he was the Wildcats’ leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points per game. A native of Paintsville, Kentucky, Pelphrey is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and has his No. 34 jersey retired in the rafters at Rupp Arena.

The hires are pending the completion of successful background checks.