Wow, this is a shocker, Kentucky loses at Rupp to San Diego!

Say what you will about Tubby, but he wouldn't be losing to San Diego and Gardner Webb at Rupp Arena. Granted this season is a shared responsibility between Billy Gillispie and the Tubby Smith era. Let's not forget that Billy Clyde Gillispie is very stubborn (his own words - remember the Acie Law story?), so he is probably locking horns with just about everyone who disagrees with him, on and off the team. Unlike Texas A&M and UTEP that were at the bottom of the pit, he is finding himself in a totally different situation right now.

Rebuilding it's one thing, losing to top 10 teams is another thing, losing to San Diego and Gardner Webb at Rupp Arena in back to back months is a disaster for a program like Kentucky.

Kentucky fans, look up the Matt Doherty 8-win season at North Carolina for inspiration and support, or perhaps the last season of Steve Lavin at UCLA. Or the last season of Mike Davis at Indiana. It looks like a season of misery is almost inevitable for every program. Kansas fans, be thankful of Ole Roy: You didn't have to go through that!

I am very surprised by this, and while this team has had its injuries and issues, I wasn't expecting such epic losses. Well that's really the issue: the losses were not epic, they were not buzzer beaters, they were "owned" by Sun Diego and Garden Webs!

So, I don't know if this is a stretch, but who are the currently available head coaches at the moment? Either from the NBA or the college level, or ones with UK ties - ones that for one reason or another are out of a job or in broadcasting and might be interested in a mid-season pickup? Because Billy Gillispie may need to ... "take a leave of absence"!

Here's a few names: Larry Brown, Nolan Richardson, Hubie Brown, ...

More on this game from A Sea of Blue and also ASoB, and wall to wall coverage at John Clay's Sidelines Repor(t). More coverage including Gillispie quotes at the Wildcats Thunder blog, and an SEC wrap-up at SEC Hoops Good/Bad/Dirty.