Thursday, March 22, 2007

Who's Next?

Well, Tubby is gone. I have to admit that I thought that Tubby would be back in Kentucky, but I was wrong. I was right about Tubby not getting fired, but I thought that leaving UK would go against everything that he has done in his career. Very few people actually know what actually went on between Tubby and the UK administration, and none of them are going to be talking. He might have been forced out, but I don't think that is actually the case. There is no doubt that some of the big money people at UK wanted Tubby gone, but I think that he was going to be allowed to stay at least another year.

I think Tubby's decision was one of two things. First off, he might have just grown tired of the extreme pressure and constant criticism. He made it seem like it didn't get to him, but I'm sure it did, just like it would get to any human being. Tubby might have seen Minnesota as a place where he can go and be a hero. He also gets a chance to start from scratch. If he builds a good program there, his reputation will be much better than it is right now.

The other situation, which I haven't seen anywhere else yet, might have been that Tubby knew that next year is going to be bad, and he needed to get out before he got fired. I think Tubby knows that Morris will not return next year. Even if got Patterson and Lucas for next year, the team could still be in trouble. I don't think that Tubby wanted to put his career in the hands of 2 freshmen. Tubby hadn't been able to succeed with the current group, and it wasn't going to get better after the best player (Morris) leaves. This might not be true at all, but you never know.

I wish Tubby good luck now, especially when he's playing the other Big 10 schools like Indiana and Michigan St.

Now, lets get down to business. Who should UK hire next? My first choice by far would be Billy Donavan. Until last year, I would think that UK would be crazy to hire Donavan, but he's had tons of success at Florida. With Donavan UK would also get somebody who has experience at UK and he would be an immediate fan favorite. Fans would think it's the second coming of Rick Pitino. I've already heard some of the media say that Donavan won't come, but the national media knows nothing of this situation. They always speak their opinions as fact, and they are usually wrong.

Now here are some other considerations:

Rick Pitino: I hope that he is not even considered. Pitino's had his chance at UK and it was great, but I don't want him back. He would win, but I don't think he'd have the success that he had in the 90's.

Billy Gillespie: He's done wonders at Texas A&M and UTEP, but he hasn't had much pressure at either of those places. I do think that he'll push for the job, but I don't think he'll be the top choice.

John Calipari: Great recruiter and has dominated at UMass and Memphis, but could he succeed in a real conference. He could get to another Final 4 this year, which would help his resume look even better.

There are many other candidates, and I'm not going to name them all. I hope that the new coach is named within the next couple of weeks, but I also want them to make sure they hired the right person.

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