In case you've been sleeping under a rock the last several days, the University of Kentucky is looking for a new men's basketball head coach. To many Kentuckians, this far outweighs the process of electing a new governor for the Commonwealth -- thus the rumor mill is running amok.
In a sense, filling the coaching slot is more newsworthy, if not more important. After all, we elect a governor every four years; UK has had only five men's hoops coaches since 1930.
But let me examine the sublime and the ridiculous among the names UK fans are batting about: Florida men's coach Billy Donovan and Tennessee women's (yes, women's) coach Pat Summitt.
Donovan has said next to nothing about the rumors that have him headed for Lexington. It seems he's distracted by the trifling matter of coaching his team as it attempts to become the first repeat national champion since Duke in 1992. (Sarcasm fully intended.) News flash, Wildcat fans: coaches get paid big bucks to coach, and when a particular coach's team makes the Final Four, he's still working! Serious news can wait until next week.
I almost spit a mouthful of whatever I was drinking across the room when I heard Summitt's name come up. This comes under the heading of "what have you been smoking, and where can I get some?" (Just kidding, folks -- I'm not advocating drug use.)
Why in heaven's name would Pat Summitt ever consider leaving UT for another school? In Knoxville, "The Lord is my Shepherd, but Pat Summitt is my Coach" stands next to anything in the Scriptures as eternal truth. Summitt is the alpha dog in the Vols' coaching pack -- you don't see Phil Fulmer or Bruce Pearl doing national TV ads. Her name is on the court where all UT home basketball games, men's and women's alike, are played. And she would leave all that for the unmatched aggravation of the UK men's job? Puh-leeze.
I expect UK to make a serious run at Donavan after the championship game Monday night. I also expect Summitt to have a good laugh over her turn in the rumor mill, quite possibly with former top assistant Mickie DeMoss, the women's head coach at -- you guessed it -- Kentucky.
In a sense, filling the coaching slot is more newsworthy, if not more important. After all, we elect a governor every four years; UK has had only five men's hoops coaches since 1930.
But let me examine the sublime and the ridiculous among the names UK fans are batting about: Florida men's coach Billy Donovan and Tennessee women's (yes, women's) coach Pat Summitt.
Donovan has said next to nothing about the rumors that have him headed for Lexington. It seems he's distracted by the trifling matter of coaching his team as it attempts to become the first repeat national champion since Duke in 1992. (Sarcasm fully intended.) News flash, Wildcat fans: coaches get paid big bucks to coach, and when a particular coach's team makes the Final Four, he's still working! Serious news can wait until next week.
I almost spit a mouthful of whatever I was drinking across the room when I heard Summitt's name come up. This comes under the heading of "what have you been smoking, and where can I get some?" (Just kidding, folks -- I'm not advocating drug use.)
Why in heaven's name would Pat Summitt ever consider leaving UT for another school? In Knoxville, "The Lord is my Shepherd, but Pat Summitt is my Coach" stands next to anything in the Scriptures as eternal truth. Summitt is the alpha dog in the Vols' coaching pack -- you don't see Phil Fulmer or Bruce Pearl doing national TV ads. Her name is on the court where all UT home basketball games, men's and women's alike, are played. And she would leave all that for the unmatched aggravation of the UK men's job? Puh-leeze.
I expect UK to make a serious run at Donavan after the championship game Monday night. I also expect Summitt to have a good laugh over her turn in the rumor mill, quite possibly with former top assistant Mickie DeMoss, the women's head coach at -- you guessed it -- Kentucky.
Labels: basketball, college
posted by Alan at 7:08 AM
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