Alexander: What if Tennessee’s Rick Barnes hadn’t turned down UCLA?

LEXINGTON, Ky. — There is this peculiar quirk that is not limited to sports but comes up fairly frequently in such conversations, exemplified by the words, “What if?”

What if the ball had bounced one way, instead of the other? What if the official had actually been in the proper position to make the call?

Or what if Coach B had taken a particular job, instead of Coach A?

We’ll never know the answers, of course, because you only get a first chance once. But the question was particularly intriguing Saturday night here...