It occurred to me as I watched former UK recruit under Gillispie (Vinnie Zollo) come off the bench for 8-10 meaningless minutes, that UK would have been average at best in the SEC this season. UK may pay the price for Cal someday, but this program could have suffered a UCLA like let down if it continued down the Billy G. road. Crazy how things sometimes work out, or in some cases don't. Also, big props to Harper for breathing some life back into this program after McDonald took a crap on it. Nice buzzer beater to take the win tonight.
Maybe not UCLA-level. I think Billy G. was a bit better that. They certainly wouldn't be the annual national title threats they are under Calipari, though.
It's not that I think Billy is that bad, I've said before that I was a fan of his style and mentality, it just wasn't a fit at UK. I'm referring more to the perfect storm that would have been created by possibly missing the tourney for the second year in a row, and the culmination of the meltdown the fanbase would have had. The fallout could have really cut deep, in many ways.