Jackson State Head Coach Mo Williams Named Assistant Coach at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope has named Mo Williams, a 13-year NBA veteran with extensive coaching experience to his staff it was announced on Monday. Williams has served as the head coach of Jackson State for the past four seasons.

“Mo brings a level of toughness, experience and authenticity that our players will immediately connect with,” Pope said. “He’s been where they want to go, and he understands what it takes to get there. Beyond that, he’s a teacher of the game and a hard-nose competitor. I’m excited to have him and can’t wait to see the impact he’ll have on our program.”

Mo Williams (SMU Athletics Photo)

Williams was a member of the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers earned an All-Star nod in 2009 with the Cavs. He played 13 NBA seasons with seven NBA franchises. For his professional career, Williams averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game over 818 career games. He shot 43.4% from the field and 37.8% from distance. During his All-Star season, Williams logged a career-high of 17.8 points per game and dished out 4.1 assists per game.

“I am excited to be joining the Big Blue Nation family,” Williams said. “I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity and I’m extremely grateful.”

Following a decorated playing career, Williams began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Cal State Northridge. He was then hired as the head coach at Alabama State before taking the reins at Jackson State.

He guided Jackson State to the 2025 Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship game and finished runner-up in the regular season with a 14-4 league record. He followed that up with a quarterfinal appearance in 2026. The Tigers were led this past season by Daeshun Ruffin who was the SWAC Player of the Year and the HBCU National Player of the Year. Ruffin finished fourth in the country in scoring with 23.3 points per game.

Williams faced one of the nation’s toughest schedules year in and year out with the Tigers, but produced a 47-25 overall record in league play during his tenure. In all, he has coached two SWAC Players of the Year (Ruffin and Ken Evans), a SWAC Freshman of the Year (Dorian McMillan) and a SWAC Defensive Player of the Year (Evans).

In his first season at Jackson State, Williams and the Tigers were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll and soared to third in the final standings. He also captured a win over SMU in his inaugural season with the Tigers.

Williams was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2025. He earned Mississippi Mr. Basketball honors before joining Mark Gottfried’s Alabama Crimson Tide. Williams captured Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year accolades in 2002 after helping the Tide to the regular-season crown and a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In two collegiate seasons in the SEC, Williams averaged 13.1 points per game and 4.2 assists. He logged 16.4 points and 3.9 assists as a sophomore and was a third-team All-SEC honoree before being drafted No. 47 overall by the Utah Jazz.

Williams has seven sons – Kydarrius, Maurice, Michael, Mason, Maxwell, Asa and Ezra. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, he is married to Antonia.

His hiring is contingent on the satisfaction of the University’s pre-employment screenings and other due diligence.