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Biggest "What-If" in UK Basketball History

HoptownCat93

HoptownCat93

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What is your biggest "What-If" in UK history? I want a bunch of you to give your what-if...and 3-4 things that would have happened if your condition was met. (Examples - Pitino doesn't leave, Meeks returns for his Senior year, Eddie does not get caught cheating, Etc.)


I'll start


What if John Calipari was hired in 2007 instead of Billy Gillespie?

-Derrick Rose signs with Kentucky
-Everyone important...including Randolph Morris...returns
-Patterson still signs
-Sandy Bell/Calipari make sure Rose's ACT is never an issue

A starting lineup of:
Morris
Patterson
Crawford
Bradley/Meeks
Rose

I think that is a dominant team that could have challenged for the national title. 3 really good seniors with an elite freshman in Rose...oh and PPat was pretty good too BTW. No NIT and No Gardner Webb. Our rise back to the top would have been immediate.

And who knows, by year 2 we could have seen a Tyreke Evans and Jodie Meeks back-court.
 
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What if Brandon Knight looks to set up Doron Lamb more in the FF4 game against UCONN instead of shooting every time he touched it? That's the one that bugs me.

Love Knight, we don't get to that game without him, but he felt he had to carry us all the way and he didn't.

Knight 6-23, 3-11 3PT.
Lamb 5-12, 3-5 3pt.
 
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BassProCat said:
What if John Higgins actually had a spine and called games fairly for UK....add at least 2 more nat’l ship banners to the rafters.
Click to expand...

I would say it would be a net of one. Because if we won in 2011, then we probably wouldn't have won in 2012 because I believe the players that stayed for 2012 would have likely left after winning the championship in 2011. Still could have won in 2012, but it would be a lot less likely.
 
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Not necessarily my biggest what-if, but I wonder what would have happened if Coach Smith had made it to a second final four. This is not a slam on Coach Smith, I just wonder how it might have changed things.
 
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What if Zion signed with UK? First off, as exciting as his game is I think he's going to be a bit of a bust just because his fundamentals aren't the best and it's going to be harder to dunk on the entire gym when everyone on the court is now around the same size. But let's say we get Zion, as Cal had banked on. Zion is a popular player and has the most ridiculous high school mixtape probably since John Wall. He continues to push the culture that Cal has created around Kentucky basketball as being "the cool program" where we get stars like Drake and Jay-Z to come to our games.

As Matt Jones talked about a few weeks back, there are a few program changing moments that we've had in the Cal era. The Twins returning more than likely prevented Cal from taking the Cavs ridiculous offer when LeBron returned home. The one that Jones didn't really open up on, but did mention was the night Cal found out that Zion was going to Duke. And how it has changed his approach to recruiting since then. Despite the praise that Barbee has gotten in the last few days (which I think is complete bs, that guy is worthless) Cal has stopped handing off recruiting to his assistants. A prime example is the brisket picture with Maxey a month or so ago. Cal is back to being the guy going out and getting his recruits. He is hungry again.

If Zion comes to UK, I think that pleases Cal enough for him to continue handing off some of the recruiting duties to his assistants and we see similar results. Not that we aren't getting great recruits, but as this board has discussed to the point of exhaustion, we weren't getting the guys at the very top of the list anymore. With Zion going to Duke over us, I think it has truly sparked something inside of Cal to bring us back to the all-time elite status of recruiting he had been doing in the first few years at UK.
 
BankerCat12 said:
What if Pitino had retired here instead of taking the Celtics job? The run he was just starting to make was unreal.
Click to expand...

For me, this is it. The run would have been amazing. As much as Coach Pitino has done since then, I could understand why some would question this but imagine another 10 years of his recruiting and coaching. I think he would have won 3 more championships.
 
I wonder what if Bogans had not injured his ankle against wisconsin in 2003. Does that team finish like everyone though and give Tubby his 2nd ring? I think so. I also wonder what if Fitchs' shot had went in against UAB the following year, could that team have finished? Lots of narrow misses for Tubby in his tenure.
 
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ObjectivelyModerate said:
For me, this is it. The run would have been amazing. As much as Coach Pitino has done since then, I could understand why some would question this but imagine another 10 years of his recruiting and coaching. I think he would have won 3 more championships.
Click to expand...
Aren't/wern't we hearing the same thing with Cal? Hard to do.
 
Bigjoecatfan56 said:
I wonder what if Bogans had not injured his ankle against wisconsin in 2003. Does that team finish like everyone though and give Tubby his 2nd ring? I think so. I also wonder what if Fitchs' shot had went in against UAB the following year, could that team have finished? Lots of narrow misses for Tubby in his tenure.
Click to expand...

We’ve had a few missed titles due to injuries to key players. Injury bug is the devils work.
 
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HoptownCat93 said:
What is your biggest "What-If" in UK history? I want a bunch of you to give your what-if...and 3-4 things that would have happened if your condition was met. (Examples - Pitino doesn't leave, Meeks returns for his Senior year, Eddie does not get caught cheating, Etc.)


I'll start


What if John Calipari was hired in 2007 instead of Billy Gillespie?

-Derrick Rose signs with Kentucky
-Everyone important...including Randolph Morris...returns
-Patterson still signs
-Sandy Bell/Calipari make sure Rose's ACT is never an issue

A starting lineup of:
Morris
Patterson
Crawford
Bradley/Meeks
Rose

I think that is a dominant team that could have challenged for the national title. 3 really good seniors with an elite freshman in Rose...oh and PPat was pretty good too BTW. No NIT and No Gardner Webb. Our rise back to the top would have been immediate.

And who knows, by year 2 we could have seen a Tyreke Evans and Jodie Meeks back-court.
Click to expand...
I don't think Rose would have ever been cleared to play had Sandy Bell looked closely at the ACT score. They might have avoided Memphis's fate by catching it before the NCAA questioned it, but I don't think there is any chance he would have played without UK suffering the same fate as Memphis.
 
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HoptownCat93 said:
What is your biggest "What-If" in UK history? I want a bunch of you to give your what-if...and 3-4 things that would have happened if your condition was met. (Examples - Pitino doesn't leave, Meeks returns for his Senior year, Eddie does not get caught cheating, Etc.)


I'll start


What if John Calipari was hired in 2007 instead of Billy Gillespie?

-Derrick Rose signs with Kentucky
-Everyone important...including Randolph Morris...returns
-Patterson still signs
-Sandy Bell/Calipari make sure Rose's ACT is never an issue

A starting lineup of:
Morris
Patterson
Crawford
Bradley/Meeks
Rose

I think that is a dominant team that could have challenged for the national title. 3 really good seniors with an elite freshman in Rose...oh and PPat was pretty good too BTW. No NIT and No Gardner Webb. Our rise back to the top would have been immediate.

And who knows, by year 2 we could have seen a Tyreke Evans and Jodie Meeks back-court.
Click to expand...

If rose had come here we would have vacated that season that is the what if answer
 
What if Ralph Sampson signs with UK instead of changing at the press conference and signing with UV? How many National Championships would we have won? How many more players would have come to UK to play with along next to Sam Bowie & Ralph Sampson? Biggest what if in UK history? Maybe.....
 
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Bigjoecatfan56 said:
Then we 3 peat.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. That would have been 2 in a row. That could have changed Pitino's mind from leaving (probably not), or on the choice of the next HC (probably not), or (more likely) that added pressure of going for the 3-peat with what was a good team but not a great team, not even one of the favorites to win it, may have been to much for the 98 team.
 
BankerCat12 said:
What if Rex didn't come out before the UCONN National Title game stating Cal was leaving? Screw Rex.
Click to expand...
Jesus. How many times do you people have to be told that the team did not hear about that tweet until after the game. Smh
 
docholiday51 said:
What if Grad students could have played in 54'

What if we had lost to duke in 66'

What if Issel doesn't foul out in 70'

What if we shoot 47% instead of 3 for 33 against G-Town.
Click to expand...

I was going to put the "lose to Duke in 66" up as well. Probably the only negative that would have become a long term positive. Duke then becomes the school perceived as racist all-white school, and UK & Rupp are not.

In the G-town game, it wouldn't have taken 47%. We were up 7 in a low scoring game at the half. I bet even 35-40% would have been enough to hang on.

Other obvious considerations (since I've been watching the Cats):
- Ralph Sampson says UK
- Bowie is healthy for 83 season
- make 10 2nd half baskets vs G-town in 84
- we don't have to play LSU for a 4th time in 86
- UCLA/UNLV had not set-up UK & Casey w/ the Emory package magically popping open
- guarded Grant Hill on the inbounds pass
- Mashburn doesn't foul out in OT vs Michigan, OR Brown doesn't hurt his shoulder earlier in the game
- Anderson not get hurt in 97
- Pitino doesn't leave
- Bogans doesn't get hurt in Sweet 16 "road game" for #1 seed
- We hire Cal instead of Gillespi
- Higgins is not named F4 ref in 2014
- Higgins is not named F4 ref in 2015
I may have just found the winner,
- if Poythress is not injured in Dec-2014, I have zero doubt we then make history at 40-0. This also takes away a title from Duke & K
- Higgins is not named our Regional Final ref in 2017
 
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Mike Casey


A car crash shattered his leg in summer of 1969.

Casey was in the same class with Dan Issel and Mike Pratt, but it was Casey who led the team in scoring as a sophomore.

He averaged 20 points his sophomore and junior years. All -SEC both seasons.

Kentucky went in to the 1970 tournament 25-1 and ranked #1. (We might have been undefeated with a healthy senior Casey.)

We lost in a great Mideast Regional final against powerful #4 Jacksonville.

This was the year after Alcindor (Kareem) had graduated in 1969. (Walton wouldn’t play for another year.) UCLA was good, but not unbeatable
 
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Most casual fans dont realize how close Cal has been to the most amazing run in the last 40 years of college basketball. It's really scary. If Meeks stayed one more season don't think that 2010 team could have been beat. The following season if Kanter had a been eligible I think we cut down the nets, then 2012. That would be an unheard of 3 in a row. If Noel doesn't get hurt we don't win it all in 13 but we don't go to the NIT. In 2014 if WCS doesnt get hurt I think we beat UConn. In 2015 if Poythress doesn't get hurt I think we go undefeated. 2016 same results I think as nobody new Skal wouldnt have the light come on. But in 17 nobody was playing better ball than us going into the UNC game. If that game is called fairly pretty good chance we win and win it all. Just saying it's pretty scary how close Cal is to having 3 or 4 titles and an undefeated season here.
 
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HoptownCat93 said:
What is your biggest "What-If" in UK history? I want a bunch of you to give your what-if...and 3-4 things that would have happened if your condition was met. (Examples - Pitino doesn't leave, Meeks returns for his Senior year, Eddie does not get caught cheating, Etc.)


I'll start


What if John Calipari was hired in 2007 instead of Billy Gillespie?

-Derrick Rose signs with Kentucky
-Everyone important...including Randolph Morris...returns
-Patterson still signs
-Sandy Bell/Calipari make sure Rose's ACT is never an issue

A starting lineup of:
Morris
Patterson
Crawford
Bradley/Meeks
Rose

I think that is a dominant team that could have challenged for the national title. 3 really good seniors with an elite freshman in Rose...oh and PPat was pretty good too BTW. No NIT and No Gardner Webb. Our rise back to the top would have been immediate.

And who knows, by year 2 we could have seen a Tyreke Evans and Jodie Meeks back-court.
Click to expand...

I consider it a blessing that UK didn't get Cal in 07 if it meant Rose would have been here.
 
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