LEXINGTON, Ky. — Life can be sweet for a Kentucky men’s basketball coach who wins, especially in March and April, with a seven-figure salary and endorsements among the tangible rewards.
The intangibles include selfie requests from blue-clad Wildcats fans and the occasional sightseers who drive slowly past their house as if a celebrity lives there because, well, it’s Kentucky.
The downside is sometimes harsh criticism from fans on social media and sports talk shows after losses, with recruiting strategy, rotations, substitutions and, of course, X’s and O’s under some of the most intense scrutiny in the game. It can border on personal if a pattern develops, which generally happens with any coach, but perhaps more so given the storied status of the Wildcats ‘ program.
Eight NCAA tournament titles and nearly 2,400 victories leave no room for error and nowhere to hide at a destination job.
“The pressure you feel there as a coach is relentless, but that’s what makes it the best job and the worst job all on the same day,” said ESPN basketball analyst and former coach Jimmy Dykes, recalling an observation by Eddie Sutton — Kentucky’s head coach at the time — in the late 1980s when he was there as an assistant.