Kentucky basketball is dead.

Yes, I am a former Kentuckian. I didn't move away because I wanted to, I moved away because there just weren't any decent jobs to be had. I left the Bluegrass State in the spring of 1996. I consider this to be the height of Kentucky basketball in the post Rupp era.

I continued to follow my beloved Wildcats from afar for the next several years. When Rick Pitino left, I was convinced that the University had found an adequate replacement in Tubby Smith. Tubby then proceeded to win a National Championship in 1998 and all was well in the land of milk and honey.

I never put much thought into the fact that Tubby won the Championship with players that had been recruited and developed by Rick Pitino. Then, I started noticing that Kentucky's bench just kept getting shorter and shorter. Tubby didn't seem to have too many superstars anymore. There were still some good players on the roster, but there just wasn't that one guy who could put the team on his shoulders and produce a win when it really mattered. It wasn't as if Tubby wasn't signing the McDonald's All Americans. He's had plenty of them. They just weren't developing into scoring machines the way they were at Duke and North Carolina. Then the unthinkable happened. The University of Kentucky's basketball team started slowly becoming ordinary. They have currently lost six straight to Florida and four straight to Vanderbilt. Hell has begun to freeze over.

Either Tubby is miscalculating these players potential out of high school, or he is doing a lousy job of coaching them once he gets them on campus. Either way, something is broken in the Bluegrass State.

There is no doubt that Tubby is a wonderful guy. Mitch Barnhart recently said as much when he gave Tubby a vote of confidence as the Kentucky basketball coach. At 95% of the universities in this country that would be enough. But, this isn't 95% of the universities. This is the University of Kentucky. Basketball is a way of life in Kentucky. The State simply doesn't have any other major sports team. There are no professional teams in the state. Football is an afterthought. Rick Pitino has revived the Louisville basketball program, but Louisville will always be second fiddle in the State of Kentucky. I say that with the utmost respect, but it is still true. No, the good people of Kentucky will never be satisfied with a nice guy who doesn't win. So the question is, "how long will Tubby remain the head coach?"

Well, I'm surprised the guy is still there. I think the only reason Tubby still has a job in Lexington is because our good friend Mr. Barnhart is afraid to pull the trigger. I can't say that I blame him. Who is he gonna get to replace Tubby? Rick Pitino isn't coming back. Rick Majeras isn't going to touch it. Steve Lavin? Being successful at Kentucky requires more than just being a good coach. To be successful at UK, you have to have the right personality. Rick Majeras has it, but his health is just too bad to handle the stress and I think he knows it. Billy Donovan would be a good fit but Mitch will never get him away from Florida. I just don't think that any big name coach is gonna be willing to put up with the pressure from the alumni and the crazy fan base.

So, who does that leave as an option? Well, Mitch is gonna have to take a chance on a young coach who hasn't really proven himself on a big stage. The first names that come to mind are Travis Ford and John Pelphrey. Again, I can't blame Mitch for being afraid to pull the trigger. The alumni and fan base would surely be happy with either of these two guys at the helm for the first few years. Disciples of Rick Pitino would be the obvious choice, right? But, if they didn't at least win a conference championship in those first few years the pressure would start to build. Not only would it build on the coach, but it would also build on the A.D. (Barnhart). I just don't think Barnhart has it in him to fire Tubby and step into the unknown.

I think the only way Kentucky gets a new basketball coach is if Tubby resigns. Then, the pressure is off Barnhart to a certain degree. He can't be blamed for firing the "nice guy," and he has the argument that he hired the best coach that was available at the time as a replacement. That way, it doesn't appear that Mitch already had somebody in mind to replace Tubby when he fired him. Tubby then gets to step away on his own terms which means a lot in today's sports world. That would be a win-win for everybody.

This is all wishful thinking on my part. I don't see Tubby leaving any time soon. I have to say that the sun just doesn't seem to shine near as bright in my world anymore. The flowers don't smell as nice and I haven't seen a rainbow in a long time. With no rainbows there can be no pot of gold. Yes, Kentucky basketball is dead and I find myself searching the TV listings for a college basketball game featuring the University of Louisville. There it is, I admit it. Hell has truly frozen over.