Jeff Goodman has long had a love-hate relationship with the Big Blue Nation; in all honesty, it's probably about a 75/25 split favoring the latter, but that's the way it goes with analysts and talking heads outside of Lexington. But yesterday on X, Goodman poked the big blue bear, and Cats fans have (and are still actively) responded in spades.
Goodman, in looking through a time machine back to 2012, called into question Kentucky's last national title, as well as John Calipari's only championship win in his entire career. According to Goodman, if North Carolina's Kendall Marshall hadn't been hurt in the 2011-12 season, Kentucky may not have been the team to come out on top.
Nobody is ever pulling for an injury, of course, and we'll never know exactly how that season could've gone down in such an alternate reality. If only Kentucky had played a full-strength Tar Heels team that season, right? That may have decided this argument entirely, actually. Oh well.
A Biting Bit of History for Jeff Goodman
Come on, now. Everybody in the college basketball world remembers Anthony Davis' game-winning block against North Carolina at Rupp Arena. That bone-chiller is one of Kentucky's most memorable wins in their historic run, and Davis' play came with Marshall on the floor.
Naturally, the BBN was quick to remind Goodman of the irony he missed:
If only they didn’t play in the regular season https://t.co/SRcKnJ1oyL pic.twitter.com/sPQGAxCu9B
— B☄️ (@BanteredB_) July 29, 2026
In fact, Marshall played the Wildcats twice. He and the Tar Heels actually met Kentucky in the Elite Eight the prior season, too. Any guesses how that one went down? It was a 76-69 Cats victory, propelled by Brandon Knight's 22 points. It's all in the history books.
Kentucky's Undisputed Greatness in the 2011-12 Season
Again, Kendall Marshall was a one-of-one player who had a nose for playmaking like few others have had since. I'll never knock his impact on North Carolina, and I don't want to act like I know exactly how things would've gone down if he remained healthy.
But for Goodman, a guy with a notorious distaste for Kentucky, to try and tear down a 38-2 team's legendary season on a "what if" is both pretty outlandish and not at all surprising. Although, given the nearly 200 replies on Goodman's post, I'm not sure I even have to say anything more.
One response summed it all up nicely, saying: "What a strange connection to make, and then decide to publish to your own public account... I gotta give it you, you are a generational hater."
When Goodman decides to come back into the light, we'll have some Rupp Arena ice cream waiting on him. But, until then, he may have to get used to digital tsunamis like this from the best fanbase in college basketball.
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