This could be the saddest post yet written on this blog, which is really saying something considering how the last five years have gone for the basketball program. But here we are. For the sake of this exercise, let's assume that what we all read between the lines in yesterday's letter from Debbie is accurate: we were banking on either Shaka Smart or Gregg Marshall taking the job and whiffed on both. Our backup plan, such as it was, has completely disintegrated and we are in scramble mode. This puts us perilously close to the Tim Miles/Mike Lonergan tier of coaching candidates.

To recap what the various possible saviors have done to this point...

Said no:

Shaka Smart (VCU)

Sean Miller (Arizona)

May have declined; ain't coming, whatever the case may be:

Gregg Marshall (Wichita State)

Taken:

Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee)

Brian Gregory (Georgia Tech)

Billy Gillispie (Texas Tech)

Na ga da:

Chris Mooney (Richmond)

Chris Mack (Xavier)

Mike Brey (Notre Dame)

Which leaves us with...

Blaine Taylor (ODU)

Keno Davis (Unemployed)

Darrin Horn (South Carolina)

Tubby Smith (Minnesota)

Tim Miles (Colorado State)

Mike Lonergan (Vermont)

Assorted Dukies (Stanford, Unemployed, Harvard)

Let's pretend that one of these fellows would in fact be willing to accept a huge raise to take our horrible no good very good job and relocate to one of the best places to live in the country. Which, I'll grant you, is a stretch. This is a difficult climate in which to work, and by that I mean the ice in the RBC Center makes it a tad chilly in there most of the time. But two million dollars buys a lot of sweaters. Who you taking?