As most expected, Kentucky today announced that it will not retain Billy Gillispie next season. What WAS surprising, though, was Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s words regarding the situation: “Kentucky fans deserve a coach who understands that Kentucky isn’t just another coaching job.”

Harsh, man…harsh. Certainly seems to be some bad blood here.

So, of course this leaves a huge number of questions up in the air. Who is a possibility? Who isn’t? Billy Donovan of Florida has repeatdedly been quoted as listing Kentucky as his “dream job”, but released a statement today that he was not a candidate for the position.

VCU’s Anthony Grant has been a hot commodity on the coaching market, but reportedly has been confirmed as the new coach at Alabama.

The main name that I’ve heard is John Calipari of Memphis, whom is a decent/good recruiter but not much of a floor coach…much in the mold of Gillispie, in my opinion. One other name that has been mentioned is Oklahoma State’s Travis Ford.

Interesting stuff!