The Gross Domestic Product of Kentucky -- all $38 of it -- has been saved, with John Calipari set to be unveiled today as the new Wildcats coach. (Though wouldn't it be funny if he looked at the date and decided ... never mind.)
The deal is worth close to $4 million per, so expect rival fans to begin calculating dollars per win next season, though it won't be nearly as fan as it was with Nick Saban, since even a truly awful basketball team wins can win at least, say, a dozen games. Not referring to anyone in particular, of course.
In any case, Calipari has a solid resume -- no one can doubt that. The question is, can he turn success at a Conference USA school to ...
Wait a minute. I almost forget and thought we were talking about football for a moment. Get back to basketball.
Since he comes from a conference arguably as good as the SEC, Calipari could have some early success with Kentucky. It's probably in his best interest to do so.
Not that there's any pressure or anything.
John Calipari has made up his mind and will take on the challenge of guiding the most storied college basketball program in America from it's current irrelevance back to national respectability. ...
John Calipari will be embraced by the Big Blue Nation, and he is one of the few coaches in America with the automatic stature, credibility and ego to take on this iconic position. ... There will be no learning curve, and if you think expectations were high before, welcome to the quantum leap.
See? Just return the program to respectability in, say, a season or two, and you'll be fine.
Like those at other historically great programs, the Big Blue Nation's basketball fan base can be the best in the world.
Or it can be a mob that makes the characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest look like portraits in mental health. As long as you win, you shouldn't need Nurse Ratched.
As for Georgia -- well, they would probably take Nurse Ratched at this point. Mike Anderson decides to stay at Missouri, which is in truth not an illogical decision, particularly not when he gets his contract nearly doubled just for allowing his name to float in the Dawgs-related ether for a few days.
And since there are no heirs apparent, let's throw out names!
Where Georgia might turn now is unclear. Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel was considered one of the Bulldogs' top targets. ...The criteria set forth by Georgia athletics director Damon Evans and UGA President Michael Adams at the outset of its coaching change -- they fired Dennis Felton on Jan. 29 -- was for an experienced, successful Division I head coach. A few coaches who fit that description are Clemson's Oliver Purnell, Baylor's Scott Drew, Xavier's Sean Miller, Butler's Brad Stevens and Penn State's Ed DeChellis.
Depending on your definition of "success," you could include Billy Gillispie.
Or there's that guy who just left Memphis. What's his name again?
The new guy at Memphis, though, could be a name familiar to SEC fans: Anthony Kennedy. However, when one of the strikes against a candidate is "a trial date hanging over his head," we can assume he's a long shot at best.
An interesting footnote. You might recall that former Florida assistant and VCU head coach Anthony Grant took the job at Alabama. Now comes word that Florida assistant Shaka Smart will head to VCU. Coming soon to an SEC team near you? I wouldn't rule it out.