hokie07 11 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 ESPN is reporting that Kentucky will fire Billy G. at a 4:30 press conference. Lofty expectations for a mediocre program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhs7695 185 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) If that's the way they want to do it, then I'm sure people will look at the A.D. for hiring Billy to begin with. I read this morning that UK fans were calling into Gillespies' show last night asking him to move on. Talk about a slap in the face. Was UNC doing that to Doherty before he was let go? BTW, Hokie07, "mediocre" program? What program has more wins then any other in NCAA basketball? Edited March 27, 2009 by bhs7695 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Simply put, Gillespie's biggest problem was that while he may be a good x's and o's guy, but he failed to understand the public persona part of the job. The job makes you the most famous person in the state and you have to deal with media demands and p.r. demands that come with the territory. To me the fault of this all falls with an AD who picked a coach who was not prepared for the public scrutiny that comes with the job. I hope that this time they put together a screening committee that understands the unique pressures of this kind of job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokie07 11 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) If that's the way they want to do it, then I'm sure people will look at the A.D. for hiring Billy to begin with. I read this morning that UK fans were calling into Gillespies' show last night asking him to move on. Talk about a slap in the face. Was UNC doing that to Doherty before he was let go? BTW, Hokie07, "mediocre" program? What program has more wins then any other in NCAA basketball? Sorry, I should have worded that a bit differently. Kentucky is a storied program and does have some great history, but I think that their fans are holding on to what little bit of the past they can. I compare UK basketball to Alabama football. Up until the hiring of Nick Saban, the Bama fans lived vicariously through Bear Bryant and his accomplishments, and I believe it's the same story in Lexington in with UK fans and Rupp. Alabama football is on the map, and Kentucky basketball may very well soon be on its rise also if they can keep someone at the helm. The bottom line is that outside of Patterson and Meeks, UK doesn't have any players that are competitive enough for them to contend seriously on a national level. Gillespie wasn't even given the chance to bring a few of his own recruiting classes on the court, much less turn the program around. It isn't like they were playing in the Final Four last year. I think what this mostly boils down to is spite. They are spiteful that Tubby Smith led Minnesota to the NCAA Tournament almost as soon as he was shown the door in Lexington, and Billy G. couldn't match that. It's funny that you mention the 8-20 Carolina season under Doherty because that was the gift that catapulted Kentucky into the lead for most wins in history for a program. But counting tonight and the possibility of 3 more games after this one, UNC has the opportunity to cut the game lead in half. Watch out next season! ;) Edited March 27, 2009 by hokie07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldgeneral 10 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Bobby Knight said he would only come back for the right job. Can't imagine one any more right for the General. Sean Miller of Xavier might get an interview. Who else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JJBrickface Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Is John Beilein a potential candidate for UVA or UK? I seriously doubt that he would leave Michigan after two years but he has ties to UVA and Kentucky is a great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 All-time wins as of today: Kentucky - 1,988 North Carolina - 1,980 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvuraiders 10 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Is John Beilein a potential candidate for UVA or UK? I seriously doubt that he would leave Michigan after two years but he has ties to UVA and Kentucky is a great job. I feel they hire tech's greenberg he is a great x and o's guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhs7695 185 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) Sorry, I should have worded that a bit differently. Kentucky is a storied program and does have some great history, but I think that their fans are holding on to what little bit of the past they can. I compare UK basketball to Alabama football. Up until the hiring of Nick Saban, the Bama fans lived vicariously through Bear Bryant and his accomplishments, and I believe it's the same story in Lexington in with UK fans and Rupp. Alabama football is on the map, and Kentucky basketball may very well soon be on its rise also if they can keep someone at the helm. The bottom line is that outside of Patterson and Meeks, UK doesn't have any players that are competitive enough for them to contend seriously on a national level. Gillespie wasn't even given the chance to bring a few of his own recruiting classes on the court, much less turn the program around. It isn't like they were playing in the Final Four last year. I think what this mostly boils down to is spite. They are spiteful that Tubby Smith led Minnesota to the NCAA Tournament almost as soon as he was shown the door in Lexington, and Billy G. couldn't match that. It's funny that you mention the 8-20 Carolina season under Doherty because that was the gift that catapulted Kentucky into the lead for most wins in history for a program. But counting tonight and the possibility of 3 more games after this one, UNC has the opportunity to cut the game lead in half. Watch out next season! ;) I've said this before about being quick to make a change, be careful what you wish for. Gillespie had a pretty solid rep for being a great recruiter. He also had a very solid class coming into Lexington next season. Another problem I read about was his off the court relationship with higher ups with UK, including doners, not to mention his relationship with the media at times in Lexington. Couple that with more losses at home in consecutive seasons since Rupp was the head man with a spoiled fan base that has a lot of money. Not good. I have a friend that lives in Lexington and he believes it was more the off the court things then the losses on the court that led Kentucky down this path. I will agree with you about the "sour grapes" in the aftermath of Tubby. The Big Blue Nation is still having trouble with losing Pitino which is understandable, but that was ten years ago. Need to move on. You could make the same complaint about UNC when they fired Doherty after his third season. Wasn't he the one that brought Sean May and the rest to Chapel Hill? They really didn't give him much of a chance either. Kentucky won't be down long. I think they will look to what they call "Kentucky Blood" first in Travis Ford or John Pelphrey. I just hope Ashley Judd is OK with this. I'm here if she needs a hug. :-) Edited March 27, 2009 by bhs7695 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I feel they hire tech's greenberg he is a great x and o's guy And we'll even throw in Stinespring as an added bonus for their football program...:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokies4Ever 23 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 And we'll even throw in Stinespring as an added bonus for their football program...:D I second that motion by the GMan!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Is John Beilein a potential candidate for UVA or UK? I seriously doubt that he would leave Michigan after two years but he has ties to UVA and Kentucky is a great job. Beilein is in UVA's "top-tier" of coaching hopefuls, meaning the Top 5 that Craig Littlepage would like. Though, I really don't see him leaving Michigan. However, I think UK deserves whatever befalls them. Shows them right for firing a great coach in Tubby Smith. Kentucky got too irritated: basically, "the Second Round isn't good enough" for that high, lofty program. So they fired a coach who was a lock to get to the NCAAs every year and brought in a coach that couldn't make the Final Four of an NIT. Great work, Kentucky. I hope they never get back to the NCAAs. I really do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 From a Lexington, KY paper John Clay / Herald-Leader columnist When you make a mistake, you correct it. You correct it, and you move on. As quickly as you can. Hiring Billy Gillispie was a mistake. Someone didn't do their homework. Someone had the wrong idea about who they were getting. But what's done is done. Troubled waters under a very big and costly bridge. After two years, Kentucky realized it had the wrong guy to head its basketball program. And if you have the wrong guy, you have to correct it and move on. Even if it turns out to be a $6 million mistake. To be sure, under ordinary circumstances, 24 months is not long enough to judge the merits of a coach. The coach hasn't yet had time to recruit his own players. He hasn't had enough time to fully implement his system, his ideals. Even in basketball, in which the numbers are lower and it takes less time for a turnaround, two years is generally considered an unfair measuring stick. But not in this particular instance, not this job, not this coach. Fact is, Gillispie was a bad fit. Maybe he didn't do his homework, either. Maybe he didn't realize the enormity of the job, the fish-bowl feel, the rabid fan base. Maybe he was unaware of the added responsibilities that come with heading up the sport's winningest program. Maybe he didn't realize there were aspects he was ill-equipped to handle. Gillispie is a shy person, for one thing. He's not all that comfortable around others, especially people he doesn't know. He doesn't easily discuss topics outside his comfort zones of basketball, and horse racing, and baseball. He's not a conversationalist. He wants to stick to coaching, and recruiting, and watching his game tape. That's why he canceled a speaking engagement to the Rotary Club, ending a 60-year tradition. Adolph Rupp spoke to the Rotary Club. So did Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith. All those guys won national titles. But Billy Gillispie, who has never been farther than the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, didn't have the time. You don't do that. You don't cold-shoulder advertisers, or ignore boosters, or treat your bosses like you're the one who's really the boss. You especially don't do those things when you're losing to the likes of Gardner-Webb, San Diego and VMI. You don't do those things when your team suffers the most lopsided conference loss in school history (93-52 last year at Vanderbilt) or loses to a bad Georgia team on Senior Day, or becomes the first in 18 years not to make the NCAA Tournament. Is Billy Gillispie a bad basketball coach? He proved to be a good coach at Texas A&M. He squeezed every drop out of last year's team during the SEC season. Though stubborn to a fault, he has the skills and knowledge to coach the game. But he's a flawed coach, far too flawed to handle a job of this size. In that respect, he was in over his head. Mitch Barnhart must shoulder the blame for hiring Gillispie in the first place. It was his undertaking, his call. Yes, Gillispie was a lauded hire at the time, but hires are ultimately judged at the end, not the beginning. And any hire that ends this way, after two years, is not a good hire. But even smart people make bad hires. I was talking the other day with a friend, a Kentucky native who has risen through the ranks to become the president and CEO of a national insurance company. I asked him what you do if you've hired someone for an important job and, after a short time, it becomes obvious to you that you've made a mistake. "You correct it," he said. "And you move on." That's what UK is doing. It's the right thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue5Ramblin 10 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Tom Izzo from Michigan State could be the next coach at Kentucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 As a UK alum, I could not complain. Strong X & O guy, who can recruit and runs a clean program. He should also be able to handle the other expectations. But if I were him, I would just stay put. He has a national championship, a manic fanbase, and dominates a major conference year in and year out, makes the elite eight with regularity and is paid well; why leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I think Jeff Capel will have a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy10 10 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Not a chance Izzo goes....If it isnt Calipari I think it will fall to Sean Miller at Xavier.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldgeneral 10 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Does anyone not think Bobby Knight would go for this. He said he would only come out for the right job. How would this not be the right job. Granted, we don't know how long he would be there, but still a good fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue5Ramblin 10 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Izzo wanted to go before they hired Gillespie 2 years ago, but Kentucky said they wanted someone younger. If he doesnt I think that it will be Xaviers coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokie07 11 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Does anyone not think Bobby Knight would go for this. He said he would only come out for the right job. How would this not be the right job. Granted, we don't know how long he would be there, but still a good fit. Knight doesn't have the time or the patience to put up with the Kentucky fans and/or administration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Knight doesn't have the time or the patience to put up with the Kentucky fans and/or administration. Do not forget that UK fans hate him as much or more than Pitino. One beat them on a regular basis and the other left for 'greener' pastures then came back to coach their other arch-rival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megadeth 10 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 if anything they will go after someone who is beloved by the UK fanbase as in Travis Ford. Gillespie didnt have the fans on his side Ford did as a player and he would as a coach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Pitino suggested him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I'm not sure Ford is ready for such a high-profile job, see Matt Doherty at Carolina. And I'm not sure the Kentucky fanbase is going to be happy with anything less than a big-time name as the new coach. They cannot afford to strike out on another hire because the Kentucky program is losing more and more luster. They've been struggling in the recruiting game for a number of years now, well before Tubby was ran out of town. More so though, it has been over 10 years since their last Final Four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy10 10 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 The majority of the UK fanbase DOES NOT want Ford. They want Calipari. If the job doesnt go to him then they will turn to Sean Miller if all other older, established coaches pass. I personally think Calipari will end up in Lexington. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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