Could John Calipari Pull a Lane Kiffin and Leave Kentucky After One Year?

1. Kentucky beats Cornell, West Virginia, Duke and Syracuse to win the National title. Calipari’s first. But instead of giving the credit to Cal for coaching – despite the “dribble drive offense,” he’s still more known for his recruiting than being an X’s and O’s guy – it all goes to the Fab 4.

2. At the NBA draft lottery in lovely Secaucus, the Nets win the No. 1 pick. Yes, we’re aware that the team with the worst record in the league hasn’t gotten the No. 1 pick since 2004.

5. [Peering inside the mind of Cal] This Russian cat is offering to double my salary, making me the 3rd highest paid coach in the NBA after Phil and Larry! I get total control, I get my main man John Wall, and now that I’ve ditched my agent for Worldwide Wes, LeBron is totally within reach! Maybe if I convince Prokhorov to buy LeBron’s marketing company so his crew gets paid, it’ll be enough to draw LeBron to the Swamp!

And … scene.

Chances everything falls into place? Less than 5 percent. (It could all fall apart Thursday if Kentucky loses to Cornell.) A source near the program assures us that it is very, very, highly unlikely Calipari is going anywhere. And while that source says Calipari does harbor NBA dreams – to prove his doubters wrong; in 2 1/4 years coaching the Nets in the 1990s, he was unimpressive and the New York media beat him up pretty badly – it’d take a glamor job along the lines of the Lakers or Celtics to woo him from Lexington, where the people love him and he’s a rockstar. Pulling a Lane Kiffin seems like a super-duper longshot … like Cornell winning four more games and capturing the National Championship.

But it certainly would be interesting if the first few dominoes fell into place, wouldn’t it?