Rick Pitino recently sat down for a podcast interview with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. That is a sentence I never thought I would type. But it's 2026, and these things happen all the time. The conversation they had touched on one of the most painful "what-ifs" in college basketball history: the 1997 National Championship game and Derek Anderson's ACL.
The 1997 heartbreak that ruined a potential Kentucky basketball dynasty
We all know the story. Pitino brought Kentucky back from the dead, won the title in '96, and had the Cats rolling at 35-4 in '97. But star guard Derek Anderson tore his ACL.
By the time the Final Four rolled around, Anderson had made a miraculous physical recovery. He was medically cleared. He was practicing. But when the ball tipped against Arizona, he was stuck to the bench, save for two technical free throws. Why? Pitino finally gave the exact reason.
"Whatever you think, Coach."
Pitino told Beshear that two days before the title game, DA practiced and absolutely "killed everybody." He looked fully ready to guard Miles Simon (who ultimately torched Kentucky for 30 points).
After practice, Pitino pulled Anderson into the trainer's room.
"I said, 'DA, awesome practice. That was great... 'Are you ready?'" Pitino recalled. "And his response to me was, 'Whatever you think, Coach.' And that really bothered me. I know he's going to be a lottery pick. He's coming off an ACL, record-breaking time coming back... His response wasn't, 'I'm ready to go.'"
Because Anderson hesitated, Pitino made a fateful decision that changed college basketball history.
"At that point, I said, you know what, we're gonna beat Arizona without him," Pitino said. "I wanted to protect his career, and I decided not to play him."
1997 title game is the ultimate "What-If"
"I honestly believed we would beat Arizona without him."
That confidence proved to be misplaced. Arizona took down Kentucky in overtime, 84-79. Miles Simon won the Most Outstanding Player award, and Kentucky’s chance at a back-to-back title-winning dynasty slipped away.
Pitino left for the Celtics shortly after. Tubby Smith came in and won the '98 title with "The Comeback Cats."
But if DA had just looked Pitino in the eye and said, "I'm playing," we probably beat Arizona. We probably win three national championships in a row. And maybe, just maybe, Pitino never leaves for the NBA.
It is crazy to think that the entire trajectory of Kentucky basketball was changed by the phrase: "Whatever you think, Coach."