Do you ever stop to think what might have been?
Every action we take has farther reaching consequences than we will ever realize. If one thing were to go differently, we could be having some very different conversations right now.
Over the course of the season, we’ll discuss what we’ll call [B]“The Ripple Effect”[/B]. No, that’s not when Fred Sanford drinks too much wine. But rather, how one slightly different action could create a completely different result.
For instance, what would have happened if…
Kentucky hires John Calipari instead of Billy Gillispie in 2007
I wonder about this one a lot. From all that’s been said, Coach Cal was heavily interested in the Kentucky job when Tubby Smith bolted for Minnesota after the 2007 season. For whatever reason, he wasn’t a high priority on Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart’s list. First on the list was Florida’s Billy Donovan, who turned down an offer to stay in Gainesville. All depending on who you believe, the second choice was Texas’ Rick Barnes. (The Kentucky athletic department denied ever making Barnes an offer). Barnes almost immediately withdrew from consideration. A few other names had floated around, like Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Ohio State’s Thad Matta. Ultimately, Barnhart went with the untested Billy Gillispie out of Texas A&M. I don’t need to remind you how that debacle turned out.
So two years later, Barnhart saw the light and went for Calipari, who not only brought the exciting fast-paced offensive game that fans had longed for since the Pitino era, but brought around an incredible recruiting acumen. And the rest, as they say, is history.
So should have Barnhart skipped the two-year rut with Gillispie and went straight for Calipari when the opportunity arose? Perhaps. Gillispie wasn’t a good fit for Kentucky at all, as his disasterous run will attest. He had a terse relationship with the administration and the media, he ran the players ragged along with constant rumors of verbal and physical abuse. All this probably would have been accepted had he won games, but he didn’t. So yeah, he should have went with Calipari from the onset, right?
Well, there’s one problem there.
Derrick Rose.
While it was no guarantee that Rose would have followed Calipari to Lexington, it’s a very real possibility. After all, Rose didn’t go to Memphis for the barbecue or Graceland. He went there to play under Calipari, to play under the Dribble Drive Offense. I kinda doubt he would have stuck around had Memphis hired someone like Tony Barbee.
If you think the crapstorm around Rose’s SAT was big while he was at Memphis, just imagine what it would have been like at Kentucky. Just imagine what the Pete Thamels and Pat Fordes and Doug Gottliebs and John Feinsteins of the world would have been writing. It would have been insufferable. Jerry Tipton would probably have led a parade through the streets of Lexington.
It may have been no fault of Calipari’s or the schools, but try telling that to media members who smell blood. There’s no need for insignificant things like facts or evidence or proof when you can just as easily steer the court of public opinion.
Who knows, though? Maybe Rose would have stuck around Memphis, or maybe he would have went to Illinois or Indiana, the two other finalists for his services. Maybe the whole SAT thing would have never come to light.
What I can tell you is, we have a new National Championship banner in our rafters, so I’m pretty satisfied right now.
Don’t forget to vote in Nation of Blue’s Top 50 Players of All Time Poll. Just send your list of at least five, but no more than ten, of your favorite Kentucky players from ANY era to [EMAIL=”[email protected]”][email protected][/EMAIL]. Voting ends July 1, 2012.
