[Cactus Jack]

I agree with everything you say about Barnes. So what does it say about Cal that Barnes now has his UT program equal to or above Cal's UK program?

I'll preface by saying it isn't apples to apples because Cal has a lot of prior success that Rick Barnes doesn't (Final Fours at multiple schools, an impressive stretch of Final Fours and a title at Kentucky), but it's definitely concerning. We're now in mid-February and the season isn't trending in the right direction and the wheels could fall off quickly.

Another early exit in March and it's probably time to start evaluating some very uncomfortable options. Biggest hurdle will be that Calipari's contract is an albatross and even if you can afford to get out of it and hire the replacement that you want, you're probably still taking from other parts of the budget (read: football) and have no margin for error if you needed to buy out the replacement a few years down the road.