[Old School Hound]

Okay, Bluegrass Rivals. Let's play a game(I promise, I'm not the SAW guy), a hypothetical game concerning UK basketball. Pretend you are Mitch, not the old one in the wheelchair who looks like a turtle but the one who is the AD at UK.

Our Cats are likely gonna finish with somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 or 14 losses and  land somewhere in the middle to lower tier of the SEC. Might  win a game or two in the NCAAT, but could be an early exit. Looking ahead to next season and with what is likely to be here, another double digit loss season, possibly another 13 or 14 L season appears to be on the table, at least.

If your pretend AD phone on the UK campus rings and either of these three men are on the other end saying they want to come to Lexington and win multiple championships, are you interested in hearing them out?

1. Bruce Pearl--- one of the best in the game , at the present time. Yes, a he's a slimy, grotesque, snake of a man but, MAKE NO MISTAKE, he WOULD win championships in Lexington, and he would do it quickly.

2. Rick Pitino--- the little Italian Stallion says to you that he will commit the next five years of his life to winning multiple titles at UK. And you KNOW he can do it!!! Like Pearl, he will bring some of the best basketball talent to Lexington and , like Pearl, he WILL coach them up. Rick Pitino, Act 2 would be the hottest ticket in town for five years.  , if However, if you should visit his favorite LEX restaurant after Rick has been there, be careful wiping your mouth with those napkins. You never know where they've been.

3. Brad Stevens --- there have been rumors about the President of Basketball Operation of the Boston Celtics coming back to college. Just recently there was a rumor, now squashed, that he was interested in the IU job.  Let's pretend that the only job that is the apple of Brad's eye is located in Lexington, KY. Suppose he calls and badly wants to be the coach of YOUR UK Wildcats. This cat took Butler... yes, Butler, to two straight NCAA title games. You KNOW he would win multiple titles in Lexington .


By all indications, Mark P. is a great guy, loves KY, understands how KY fans feel about their basketball. He seems to "get it."  His teams play a fun style of ball. You can pretty much count on his team being entertaining. But, you might also be able to count on mid-level recruits and double digit loss seasons. KY's Latter Day head man has never finished very particularly high in his conference, and that pattern has a good chance of continuing this season at UK. He also has never known what it's like to taste the sweet fruits of victory in a NCAAT game. You might have to get used to a sweet fruit -free diet while Mark is here.

I like Mark. I think he's done an admirable job this season with a collection of some okay, but not great, basketball talent. His teams play a fun, entertaining style of ball. I'm okay with 14 losses a year if the team entertains me and makes the four hours of my time I give them a week worth my while. I've been able to enjoy several UK NCAA titles. I'm  here for the journey now... the fun, the entertainment, even watching BBN meltdowns is kinda fun.  Kinda the same reasons I'm here on BGR. It's as much about about fun and entertainment as it is about titles .

  With that said, I've always had a man crush on the coaching savant up at Boston, Mr. Stevens. That would be enticing. Also, Rick Pitino, Part II, are you kidding?! That would be a blast.  And Bruce Pearl, he'd be the Toast of Lexington after back-to-back titles . The only downside is we'd get to see his nasty naked belly painted in blue. That, alone, should gather multiple NCAA infractions,  something Bruce Almighty knows a lot about.

So, let me ask you, gurus, if either of these men called you begging for a chance to come to Lexington, and all but promising multiple titles, do you take them seriously and send Mark on a mission back to Salt Lake?

If you decided to hire one of these three to replace Mark, when one would you go with? Or would you just flat turn down all of these three  coaching superheroes, I mean, superegos... ????

What say you???