- Three things I'm angriest about: one, Shaedon Sharpe being here at all. Two, Cal saying he didn't have any answers last night. Chris Mack was essentially run out of town mid-season for saying something along those same lines. And three, and this is me being pre-emptively angry, but I'm already angry at whatever crock Cal's gonna roll out during his stupid Big Blue Madness speech in October. He'd be wise to just keep his mouth shut. Literally. From his final press obligation this season to SEC Media Days. Don't say ANYTHING unless it's released in a statement. Congratulate your NBA guys. Welcome your newbies. But I don't want to hear anything come out of the mouth of a guy who says he had no answers in the final minutes of a postseason game when that's EXACTLY what you're paid $9 mil/per to do.
- I think the only way Wagner comes here is if he reclassifies and comes early, because the longer KP is able to demonstrate his chops at UL, the easier it becomes to justify going there and playing for your legendary grandfather's program. And I haven't seen any reclassification talk surrounding him, so that's probably not happening.
- There are two huge obstacles to a change right now....one, who would hire Cal? There aren't any college jobs he'd take, and there's no chance an NBA team would take him after his antiquated offense has been exposed this badly. And the other obstacle is this...every single potential replacement has warts. Like I said, SAE was right about the lack of top-shelf options. I have a "list", but honestly, it's not all that impressive. So many good coaches are in situations now that they might have left 5-8 years ago, but now they're locked in(Wright, etc.)
- I do think that Kentucky is one of the few jobs that Scott Drew would leave for (IU and KU being the others). Maybe he looks around and sees 10,000 in attendance for a big conference game and wonders if he's maxed out at a place like Baylor. I know he's too aw-shucks for a lot of people, but the guy has won big at a place where a coach has no business winning big. And he's done it while adapting not only his recruiting style but his playing style as well. What he's doing this year with essentially a brand-new team, and battling the injuries his bunch has faced, is remarkable.
- Beyond him? Yeah, I don't know. We wouldn't even be talking about Chris Holtmann if he was from Texas instead of Nicholasville. Oats' team has been pretty unimpressive this year overall. Sean Miller has a rep for being unable to win the big one. NBA guys don't want to recruit. Love my guy Buzz, but he hasn't won enough. The best "newer" coaches (McMahon, Jans, etc.) haven't yet established that they can run a high-major program. That leaves you with a whole bunch of pretty good, but not great options (Underwood, Enfield, Musselman, etc.)
- I realize that this is a highly-unpopular opinion, especially in GYERO, but I'm still gonna watch the tournament. (Ir)regardless of how Kentucky does, it's always my favorite event of the year. I've been through enough hell the past five years to last me the next ten. I'm not gonna let Cal rob my joy. I'll enjoy some great games and all the drama, root like hell for whoever is playing Kansas, Duke, and Memphis, and profit.