UK basketball just turned upside down
It happens during every NCAA Final Four stretch, the coaching roller coaster gets underway and it’s always a wild ride.
This time, for UK fans, the ride was a completely upside down trip.
First, after another first round loss in the Dance, UK fans were livid and wanted Calipari out of the picture, at least a large faction did.
Then, UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart, with Cal at his side, announced that the long-time men’s basketball coach would be around for the 2024-25 season.
Big Blue Nation seemed to buy in fairly quick, willing to give the coach a chance to turn things around.
Finally, on the eve of the NCAA Championship game, of which UK was six games removed from, the UK sports world started buzzing with word that Calipari was talking with another school and it seemed that he would be leaving UK and headed to another school with a new five-year contract.
The big buzz was that Cal was going to Arkansas, another SEC school.
That’s just college sports folks – it’ll be ok – maybe.
I’m just hoping Mitch hires better than time before last and finally breaks the long-time cycle of UK basketball coach hires, which has for two cycles followed the “great, good, drunk” pattern.
I’m ready for two greats in a row.  We’ll see how it pans out.

WKU hires from within,
Martin Cross will still be on the bench
Word came last week before the official announcement that Western Kentucky University would be naming its assistant coach, Hank Plona, as the next Hilltopper Head Men’s Basketball Coach.
With Plona moving up, Clinton County native Martin Cross will remain on the bench as a WKU Assistant Coach, which is great news for local fans.
Cross, the son of David and Jennifer Cross, of Albany, has been a member of the WKU Men’s Basketball staff since the 2012 season when he began as a Student Manager for the Hilltoppers, moving up the line on the bench to Video Coordinator, Associate Director of Basketball Operations, and finally to his role for the past two years as an Assistant Coach.
Congrats Martin.

In the meantime –
March Madness is over – stop on by