LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kenny Payne, University of Kentucky's men's basketball associate head coach, accepted an assistant coaching position with the New York Knicks, ending his 10-year run with Kentucky.

Payne's decade with the program saw 295 wins, a national championship, four Final Fours, eight NCAA Tournaments, five Southeastern Conference regular-season championships, five SEC Tournament titles, and 33 NBA Draft picks.

“First of all, I want to thank Dr. Eli Capilouto, Mitch Barnhart and Coach Cal for the unbelievable opportunity I’ve had at Kentucky for the last 10 years,” Payne said. “I’ve been blessed to not only coach at the greatest program in college basketball but to be in a position to help young men grow and develop and to play a part in their families’ lives. They’ve been 10 of the most rewarding years of my life, and I’ll cherish my time in Lexington for the rest of my career."

Now, a national search for Payne's replacement will begin.

“This is a bittersweet day for us at Kentucky,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “Kenny has been an extremely important part of our success here. His relationship with our players is second to none. He coaches them and challenges them as hard as anyone, but they respect him, they listen to him and they learn from him because they know he cares. As a basketball coach and a teacher, he could run any program in the country. Simply, he’s as good as they get."

The 2010-11 season was Payne's first season with the Cats after six seasons as an assistant at Oregon. In 2014, Payne was promoted to head coach.

Just this year, Payne was named to the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

“For 10 years, Kenny Payne has been a foundational piece of the success of Kentucky men’s basketball,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK director of athletics. “He is a great coach of fundamentals and did a superb job of developing young college players into NBA-level talent. Combine that with his ability to build relationships and mentor players, and you have an outstanding coach. I look forward to keeping up with his success.”