The entire nation will turn their attention toward Lexington tonight. Rupp Arena will likely resemble a scene out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Fans are likely to see a of barrage familiar faces in former players, and celebrities. It wouldn't even be surprising if a former President was even in attendance. The People v. John Calipari is going to be must watch cinema. If it wasn't for Duke/North Carolina also being tonight, ESPN would likely have wall to wall coverage of the former Kentucky coach, with a camera following him everywhere he goes.
A Kentucky basketball win would taste oh so sweet, but it hasn't been the biggest topic of discussion.
In the grand scheme of what Kentucky is trying to accomplish this season, this game doesn't mean much. The chatter in the lead up has reflected that, most of the storylines this week have been about anything but the 40 minutes of basketball that's to be played between the two teams. Will BBN become "Big Boo Nation," will Kentucky break out the denim, does Calipari get tossed from the game, will Mitch Barnhart and Calipari meet and exchange pleasantries, among plenty of other hypothetical what scenarios. Now, if you were hoping this is where the basketball talk was going to start, sorry to disappoint. If you want to take a stab at guessing who will be the Y tonight, continue reading.
If you find yourself here, and you don't know about the "Y," you can learn about it here.
Top 5 "Y" suspects from least to most likely.
1. Ellen Calipari
According to Wyatt Huff of Sports Illustrated the former First Lady of Kentucky basketball is "under the weather" and won't be making an appearance at the game... a likely story. Given Calipari is now on the opposing sideline, it would be unprecedented for his wife to engage in acts of cheering for the enemy even if she were to make the game tonight. Weirder things have happened though, Mrs. Calipari would get a huge round of applause if given the opportunity. At times it wasn't certain who was more popular, her or her husband.
2. Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino was the catalyst for BBN fully getting on board with the hiring of Mark Pope. Pitino had one of the quickest face turns ever witnessed after rallying the troops last spring. St. Johns having an early game that ended this afternoon gives the former Kentucky coach plenty of time to hop on a plane and make the 9 PM tip in Rupp. With the turbulent relationship that Calipari and Pitino have shared for decades, having Pitino as the Y would be the ultimate troll move... which makes it the second least likely scenario.
3. John Wall
When people look back on the John Calipari era one player always comes to mind... it's always John Wall. He made Kentucky cool again, if you were building a Calipari player in the lab John Wall would be the finished product. Wall would not at all be a surprising addition to the famous half-time routine.
4. Willie Cauley-Stein
Willie Cauley-Stein follows the trend of beloved former Cal players on this list. During his most recent media appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio Willie proclaimed that although he still has love for his former head coach, he is 100% blue. Cauley-Stein would very well get the loudest crowd pop of anybody on this list.
5. Tubby Smith
There is a very good possibility that three of the only four living people on earth that are former Kentucky basketball head coaches will all be under the same roof tonight. Per Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio, Tubby was spotted at Bluegrass Airport this afternoon, and since then multiple reports and photos of Tubby in Lexington have been posted on social media. Tubby Smith ladies and gentlemen has to be your Y tonight, and deservedly so.
Others receiving votes:
Matt Jones, because it would just be absolutely hilarious for a multitude of reasons. Who will be the "Y" tune in tonight to find out.