Oh, this is so fun!
Self is staying.
Just kidding about Cal and K, but if you think about Cal and K, their days really could be numbered.
To reiterate, Cal has failed folks big time that don't appear to like failure, or the unexpected. :-)
And Coach K? Well, bottom line, it took him a 9 stack of what Bo Ryan reputedly called rent-a-players, plus an apparently completely cleared path to the Final with an apparently favorable whistle to barely beat UW with only two guys that might make an NBA roster!!! Think about it.
Next season, if LSU were given the SEC stack (and it apparently has been) and Cal has to earn an SEC title, then can he and UK be taken seriously at all anymore? eve with Labissiere? I mean the jury is kind of in on Cal's coaching, isn't it? Without all the advantages, he might take you to the NIT and lose first round, right? He's not like Self who will find a way to win a conference title even with guys no other stack school would even sniff at.
And can the NCAA really afford to clear another path to the Finals for Coach K? What if Coach K doesn't sign Ingram? OMG! Coach K seems to be at that age that he has to have no competition until the Finals, then a favorable whistle, and a nine stack to pull it off. This is no exaggeration, is it? I mean he and/or his players appeared to have to resort to big time cheap shotting even with a 9 stack, an apparent path clearing, and an apparent favorable whistle? If you are thinking of backing up the dump trucks in Durham with what remains right now, which appears to amount to giving Coach K less than he had last season, how confident is that going to leave the powers that be feeling, eh?
And to reiterate: Coach Cheapshotashevski, no, no, no, just joking, I mean Coach K appears not in sight of being given a 9 stack again.
A recruit like Ingram, and his posse, have to think this through very carefully. Same with Diallo. Same with Brown and Newman. Even if they all go to UK with Labissiere, or if they all go to Duke, are they going to be good enough as a green wood to beat LSU? It looks kind of doubtful.
This apparent program stacking looks so easy at first, but like all apparent central planning emergent complexity catches up with it at times.
But if all the players remaining were all to go to KU, to go along with all of KU's experienced players, KU might well become the team to beat, even for Nike-LSU!
But Self has to find a 5 to reassure them and he has not done so, at least publicly. But what if he has behind the scenes?
I suspect this is why there are so sooooooo many mixed signals and so much gear shifting going on by the small but important flock of recruits remaining.
I suspect there is real uncertainty about where is best to go to contend with Nike-LSU.
A lot perhaps doubt Coach K can win without a completely stacked deck, which he can't have next season, because, well, it appears that the deck is stacked in Baton Rouge this year.
And many likely suspect now that Cal can't win even with a completely stacked deck, and they know he is NOT going to have a completely stacked deck next season with LSU in conference. Hell, you could give Cal everyone left and IMHO he almost certainly would finish second in the SEC!!!
So this raises UNC and KU into the picture as target programs for the remaining recruits to flock to--to bring strength in numbers to.
But UNC has a black flipping cloud hanging over it, because of the easy course scandal. Remember?
And any, or all, of them choosing UNC pours salt in the Jordan vs. Nike fault line in the greater Nike world.
This means that KU actually could be a face saving path precipitating least conflict and best possibility for beating LSU.
Go, Bill, go!!!!
