A lot of people are suggesting that Kentucky is the "big time" of college basketball because, frankly, the fans have no other reason to cheer, so they rally around the basketball team like other mediocre schools rally around football.

I submit that isn't the most important factor in terms of Billy D establishing a the most meaningful legacy for himself.  Going to UK would be a very 20th century move.

I asked myself a question. Why did Wayne Gretzky go to LA?  Why didn't he take his show to Montreal, with all its tradition?  Montreal certainly had a bigger fan base, greater fan support, and more enthusiasm for the game of hockey.  Gretzky did this to expand the popularity of sport of hockey, to bring it to new markets and make it more accessible to more people unfamiliar with the sport.

I believe there are two universities, two head coach positions in college basketball, that will ultimately do the same thing for this sport.  These schools are Texas and Florida.  Three other schools will be important, too: Tennessee, North Carolina, and one of either Georgia / Georgia Tech.  Students cannot improve the popularity of college sports -- it has to be the coaches and the programs (a different situation than the NBA).  My belief is that college basketball can be wildly popular in Florida and Texas even though football remains unbelievably popular, too.  One does not have to give up football to love basketball -- especially at programs like Texas and Florida.

It is my belief that dual football-basketball powers from the "traditional" football schools is a force that is here to stay.  The money from football makes this possible.  I do not mean Kansas or Kentucky disappear from national prominence in basketball.  What I do mean is that the seemingly natural advantage of history and tradition -- an advantage that cannot be copied -- will not be a barrier to programs like Ohio State, UF, U$C, Texas, and Tennessee to becoming top 10 basketball programs every year. 

So -- will Billy be the guy who leads UF and the dual-sport program into a new era of college athletics, where college basketball becomes much more popular in the south?  Will he be the icon who brings UF into the hearts of this populous state, the largest state in the SE?  I believe there are only 2 jobs in the country that can create this -- Texas and UF. 

It would be ideal for college basketball -- as a sport and institution -- if North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and one of the Atlanta-oriented schools had big and consistent winners every year.  This would be great for TV, better for the general popularity of the sport, and best for the game of basketball in general.  No offense to other schools, but it simply isn't as good if Syracuse, UConn, Kansas, Indiana, and Kentucky are the best college basketball programs. 

It doesn't matter, for the future of college basketball, how many people go to Midnight Madness in Lexington. What does matter is having these most significant southern universities being rallying points for the sport.  Will Billy be the guy who takes UF there, or will he watch from Lexington as someone else (eventually) does this using what Billy D proved could be done?

Being the UK coach is a 20th century glory.  Expanding the horizons of college basketball into the major markets of the south is 21st century glory.  I bet Billy chooses UF -- maybe for very different reasons than this -- and in doing so he becomes the face of basketball in this part of the country for many, many years.  His legacy will be one of increasing the popularity of the entire sport, not just of building a great program at one school.

He will be like Gretzky in this regard.