next to Buzz as his assistant coach?
Lord knows we can afford it and yes I hope so.......realistically he will just sit on the metaphorical sidelines till another gig opens up.
Gillispie will be hired somewhere as a HC in the aftermath of the domino effect that's about to happen. If not, I would think he'd be a "consultant" to someone's staff while he sits out a year while waiting for a HC job to open up.
Quote from: lurch91 on March 27, 2009, 08:44:06 AM
Gillispie will be hired somewhere as a HC in the aftermath of the domino effect that's about to happen. If not, I would think he'd be a "consultant" to someone's staff while he sits out a year while waiting for a HC job to open up.
Billy is an alcoholic that has been kicked out of numerous bars at kentucky. He has some major issues that he needs to deal with. He won't be at marquette thats for sure.
Furthermore, he has a reputation for being an alcoholic on the kentucky campus so this isn't some unsubstantiated rumor either. How do I know this well I have a family member that goes to kentucky and there this is smoke there is fire.
Quote from: thatman32 on March 27, 2009, 08:57:44 AM
Billy is an alcoholic that has been kicked out of numerous bars at kentucky. He has some major issues that he needs to deal with. He won't be at marquette thats for sure.
Furthermore, he has a reputation for being an alcoholic on the kentucky campus so this isn't some unsubstantiated rumor either. How do I know this well I have a family member that goes to kentucky and there this is smoke there is fire.
Well, that's proof enough for me.
I have no idea if it is true or not, so I'm not denying it. But I think you're making fairly serious accusations on fairly flimsy evidence. "Having a reputation" of something and "where there is smoke..." are pretty much a text book examples of "unsubsantiated rumors."
There are rumors on every campus about every coach and not all them are true, particularly the ones about high-profile coaches that are not doing well and are new on campus. I'm not saying I know anything about Gillespie, but take the rumors at UK with a grain of salt.
Quote from: AlumKCof93 on March 27, 2009, 09:23:00 AM
There are rumors on every campus about every coach and not all them are true, particularly the ones about high-profile coaches that are not doing well and are new on campus. I'm not saying I know anything about Gillespie, but take the rumors at UK with a grain of salt.
For example, pictures of Larry Eustachy got out 7 years ago, but in today's camera phone/digital camera culture, there's no pictures of Gillespie.
The rumors for Gillispie are not UK specific. They occurred while he was at A&M, UTEP and Tulsa. He's even been arrested for DUI more than once.
http://www.kentucky.com/601/story/36115.html
I'd love to see the "numerous" bars in Lexington that kick the head coach of Kentucky out the door. That's just nonsense.
He may have a drinking problem, but unless he's puking on himself any establishment would benefit from having him as a patron. If he was that drunk, they'd just call him a cab. They wouldn't "throw him out."
Sometimes I wonder if people actually believe the stuff they post.
I'd be leery of bringing in Gillispie as an assistant. He's supposedly an excellent recruiter, but it's unlikely that he'd be an assistant for more than a year or two before getting another head coaching position. He could end up building relationships with recruits on behalf of MU but then "stealing" those recruits once he has his new gig.
Sometimes I wonder why "Thatman32" stole "That Guy"'s name......
I don't think he considers coming to Marquette either if/when he is let go.
When did Gillispie turn into Jason Rabedeaux?
Quote from: Strokin 3s on March 27, 2009, 09:53:43 AM
Sometimes I wonder why "Thatman32" stole "That Guy"'s name......
i too have wondered the same thing. That Guy was a lively change of pace around here... don't know why Thatman had to take the name. I wonder where That Guy has been, he is well over his 1 week ban for calling the boxer boys D-Bags.
Quote from: wardle2wade on March 27, 2009, 09:55:13 AM
I believe it is also common knowledge that UK hired a driver for him after the first few months of him taking the job. "Where there's smoke, there's fire" is probably fairly accurate here..
Again, I have no personal knowledge, so I'm not denying anything. But there are rumors (and now some second hand -- at best-- accounts) that Billy likes to party. In my mind (your mileage may vary) this is far from proof of the underlying statement that I was responding to: "Billy is an alcoholic."
Assuming these rumors are true and they were true at A&M, its interesting to consider where MU would be right now if UK hired Crean instead of Gillespie. Buzz wouldn't be the coach, but maybe we'd have recruited better and had that extra guy this past year?
Hello boys....Im baccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!
Ive been quietly waiting in the wings to make my reappearance. Lets just say Scoop admin really know how to make a guy feel bad for calling a group of dbags "dbags".
Being banned from Scoop for a week really changed my life. I've spent most of my time off reflecting on life and how I can become a better person. It took a lot of soul searching, but at the end of it I guess I just realized im still a drunk prick who is going to do all that he can to ruffle some feathers around here.
ThatMan32 - really? Are you serious? Im hoping this is just a coincidence.
Im not going to get everyone all hot and bothered on this thread. As it doesn't really seem like the time or place. However, Ill be creeping around the board looking for a good time to chime in....most likely replying to one of the Golden Eagle alum/student posters who feels it necessary to have "Warrior" somewhere in his screen name.....yoink yoink yoink.
THAT GUY
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on March 27, 2009, 09:24:59 AM
For example, pictures of Larry Eustachy got out 7 years ago, but in today's camera phone/digital camera culture, there's no pictures of Gillespie.
Bingo.
If Billy was really going out that much, you have to believe it would be captured somewhere.
Enough with the ad hominem remarks; Gillespie may be a lot of things but its not clear that he has a drinking problem, at least publicly for that matter. Keep your unfounded rumors that could bring libel charges to yourself....
Call it just a hunch, but observing and listening to Buzz these past 360 days, he appears to be a very loyal and grassroots man. Coupled with the fact that BG is likely to receive a buyout of around 6 mil, the smart money says Gillispie is on the MU bench for a year or two.
Quote from: That Guy on March 27, 2009, 10:14:47 AM
Hello boys....Im baccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!
THAT GUY
That was more interesting when...
1. Manny said it.
2. PRN said it.
I didn't even know you had left, but I am glad you enjoyed your vacation. ;)
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on March 27, 2009, 09:24:59 AM
For example, pictures of Larry Eustachy got out 7 years ago, but in today's camera phone/digital camera culture plus a ridiculously insane fanbase in a small town, there's no pictures of Gillespie.
fixed
Quote from: That Guy on March 27, 2009, 10:14:47 AM
Hello boys....Im baccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!
Ive been quietly waiting in the wings to make my reappearance. Lets just say Scoop admin really know how to make a guy feel bad for calling a group of dbags "dbags".
Being banned from Scoop for a week really changed my life. I've spent most of my time off reflecting on life and how I can become a better person. It took a lot of soul searching, but at the end of it I guess I just realized im still a drunk prick who is going to do all that he can to ruffle some feathers around here.
Bring it, Dude.
ThatMan32 - really? Are you serious? Im hoping this is just a coincidence.
Im not going to get everyone all hot and bothered on this thread. As it doesn't really seem like the time or place. However, Ill be creeping around the board looking for a good time to chime in....most likely replying to one of the Golden Eagle alum/student posters who feels it necessary to have "Warrior" somewhere in his screen name.....yoink yoink yoink.
THAT GUY
If anyone believes that Billy Gilespie, the freaking head coach at KENTUCKY, would be an assistant anywhere, much less at MU for BUZZ WILLIAMS, is absolutely nuts. I hope there is no seriousness to this thread
Quote from: That Guy on March 27, 2009, 10:14:47 AM
Hello boys....Im baccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!
I actually had this in mind when I said it.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-KKYfQ8n8Q
Not Manny or PRN...
Randy Quaid at his finest
Fellas, Billy Gillispie is above an MU assistant position. It's not a matter of if we should take him. He's accomplished more than our sitting coach and is an architect of two rebuilding projects, he'll probably swap spots with Travis Ford if he wants to coach next year.
For the sake of argument, I'm deleting what you can find all over the internet...
Can I say that?
No. Teal is like a teflon shield.
If BG doesn't take a head gig or decides to take a year off, I could see him working as a consultant and stopping by some MU practices to help the team work on some things. But I don't see him taking a full fledged assistant job.
Or maybe ESPN can hire him to work the broadcast team with Erin Andrews, they seem to have good chemistry.
Quote from: MU_B2002 on March 27, 2009, 10:22:06 AM
That was more interesting when...
1. Manny said it.
2. PRN said it.
I didn't even know you had left, but I am glad you enjoyed your vacation. ;)
i thought of randy quaid when he said it also... who cares about manny and people actually read PRN's posts... hmm learn something new everyday
Let's be honest. If Deane and Dukiet could find head coaching gigs after getting the boot at Marquette, Gillispie won't have any problem getting offers, it's just whether or not those offers will be from schools he'd evern consider.
But with a seven figure buy-out, my money is on him taking a year off as a "consultant" rather than taking the HC job at a clear sub mid-major program.
Quote from: Litehouse on March 27, 2009, 11:27:32 AM
Or maybe ESPN can hire him to work the broadcast team with Erin Andrews, they seem to have good chemistry.
I believe it was actually Jeannine Edwards who shot down Billy's advances and was then treated rather rudely by him during an interview.
Quote from: lurch91 on March 27, 2009, 12:01:15 PM
But with a seven figure buy-out, my money is on him taking a year off as a "consultant" rather than taking the HC job at a clear sub mid-major program.
What makes you think he would have to take a "Mid Major" job. The guy didn't coach Western Kentucky or Indiana State to sub .500 records. The guy is the head coach at KENTUCKY. He turned Texas A&M program around, he has been a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award 3 times, he has been the Big 12 coach of the year twice and the SEC coach of the year once. He went 6-24 in his first year at UTEP and then his second year he turned them into a 24 win NCAA tourney team. Since then he has only had 1 team win less than 20 games, when he won 18 in his first year at Kentucky. AND SOME OF YOU THINK HE IS GOING TO TAKE AN ASSISTANT JOB OR THE BEST OFFER HE IS GOING TO GET IS FROM A MID FREAKING MAJOR?!?!?!?!
get a clue. if he wasn't at Kentucky, they guy keeps his job and is still seen as one of the better coaches in the country.
I don't know jack about Billy Gillespie's alcohol intake... but there's some seriously libelous stuff in this thread. I'm no lawyer, but I think it would be wise for the mods to lock and delete this thread post haste. Libel isn't something to mess with, particularly when you're talking about a guy with lots of money sitting in the bank and nothing to do for the next year...
Quote from: mikeDEANmeminger on March 27, 2009, 12:46:35 PM
AND SOME OF YOU THINK HE IS GOING TO TAKE AN ASSISTANT JOB OR THE BEST OFFER HE IS GOING TO GET IS FROM A MID FREAKING MAJOR?!?!?!?!
get a clue. if he wasn't at Kentucky, they guy keeps his job and is still seen as one of the better coaches in the country.
Dude, if you read my post I was saying Gillispie leaving Kentucky wasn't like Deane or Dukiet leaving MU, eventhough they were both able to land HC jobs the next season oafter MU dumping them. Gillispie will land a HC job, IF HE wants it. If Miller leaves Xavier in the Donimo effect, then I could see Xavier offering Gillispie, but would Gillispie feel above the Xavier job?
Personnally, I think he lands at Missouri if that position becomes "available".
Quote from: Tribby on March 27, 2009, 12:52:10 PM
I don't know jack about Billy Gillespie's alcohol intake... but there's some seriously libelous stuff in this thread. I'm no lawyer, but I think it would be wise for the mods to lock and delete this thread post haste. Libel isn't something to mess with, particularly when you're talking about a guy with lots of money sitting in the bank and nothing to do for the next year...
There is nothing that could get anyone sued for libel here.
Quote from: Tribby on March 27, 2009, 12:52:10 PM
I don't know jack about Billy Gillespie's alcohol intake... but there's some seriously libelous stuff in this thread. I'm no lawyer, but I think it would be wise for the mods to lock and delete this thread post haste. Libel isn't something to mess with, particularly when you're talking about a guy with lots of money sitting in the bank and nothing to do for the next year...
Truth, opinion and the fact that BG is a public figure (actual malice required) are pretty good defenses to libel Tribby.....and I am a lawyer, though I haven't played one on TV...
Quote from: Lighthouse 84 on March 27, 2009, 01:00:24 PM
Truth, opinion and the fact that BG is a public figure (actual malice required) are pretty good defenses to libel Tribby.....and I am a lawyer, though I haven't played one on TV...
Whatever, it's not my ass.
Quote from: Tribby on March 27, 2009, 12:52:10 PM
I don't know jack about Billy Gillespie's alcohol intake... but there's some seriously libelous stuff in this thread. I'm no lawyer, but...
"Excuse me, can I just stop you right there?
Oh, I don't have anything to say... I just wanted to stop you there"
If any of this is libel, Rupp arena will lose half their season ticket holders... check out UK's message boards with 12000 fans who are on at any given time. Their BG claims borderline to the point of aburdity, and they sure have malice. That being said, I don't think any of this is libelous.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, but did stay at a Hampton Inn in Boise this week.
This isn't about a right to privacy.......this is about attacking someones character. Yes he is a public figure; and no that doesn't make it alright to go around making statements with third party information. If you publicly make a comment that intentionally damages their character then the the said comments are to be considered libelous.......which if you are alleging in a public domain that based upon unconfirmed sources that BG is an alcoholic damn skippy its effing libelous!!
Quote from: StillAWarrior on March 27, 2009, 10:09:26 AM
Again, I have no personal knowledge, so I'm not denying anything. But there are rumors (and now some second hand -- at best-- accounts) that Billy likes to party. In my mind (your mileage may vary) this is far from proof of the underlying statement that I was responding to: "Billy is an alcoholic."
It's more than local gossip, there were published news reports that the Kentucky establishment did not like Gillespie's "single life." I agree that calling the guy an "alcoholic" is a bit of a stretch. One recent Marquette coach had similar "issues" with alcohol and going out to the campus bars to the point where the University had to intervene.
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on March 27, 2009, 01:46:58 PM
This isn't about a right to privacy.......this is about attacking someones character. Yes he is a public figure; and no that doesn't make it alright to go around making statements with third party information. If you publicly make a comment that intentionally damages their character then the the said comments are to be considered libelous.......which if you are alleging in a public domain that based upon unconfirmed sources that BG is an alcoholic damn skippy its effing libelous!!
Nope.
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on March 27, 2009, 01:46:58 PM
This isn't about a right to privacy.......this is about attacking someones character. Yes he is a public figure; and no that doesn't make it alright to go around making statements with third party information. If you publicly make a comment that intentionally damages their character then the the said comments are to be considered libelous.......which if you are alleging in a public domain that based upon unconfirmed sources that BG is an alcoholic damn skippy its effing libelous!!
File that in an affidavit and see what happens
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on March 27, 2009, 01:46:58 PM
This isn't about a right to privacy.......this is about attacking someones character. Yes he is a public figure; and no that doesn't make it alright to go around making statements with third party information. If you publicly make a comment that intentionally damages their character then the the said comments are to be considered libelous.......which if you are alleging in a public domain that based upon unconfirmed sources that BG is an alcoholic damn skippy its effing libelous!!
The only people that care that you're a lawyer or a law student are you and your mother. It lost its cache when Raymond Burr died.
Quote from: LancesOtherNut on March 27, 2009, 02:52:50 PM
File that in an affidavit and see what happens
Whether it would stand up in a court of law, you're probably right, it wouldn't. That said, it's pretty clearly an ad hominem attack (and a very poorly factually supported one at that)... things don't have to be illegal for them to be wrong. Let's just leave the unsubstantiated character attacks to the classy folks of Lexington, shall we?
Quote from: Tribby on March 27, 2009, 03:14:21 PM
Whether it would stand up in a court of law, you're probably right, it wouldn't. That said, it's pretty clearly an ad hominem attack (and a very poorly factually supported one at that)... things don't have to be illegal for them to be wrong. Let's just leave the unsubstantiated character attacks to the classy folks of Lexington, shall we?
i heard Tribby was making advances towards marquette cheerleaders and getting drunk in campus bars...
see, you can substitute anyones name in there and the statement holds the same meaning... which is zero.
Quote from: MU gimp ONE on March 27, 2009, 03:20:33 PM
i heard Tribby was making advances towards marquette cheerleaders and getting drunk in campus bars...
see, you can substitute anyones name in there and the statement holds the same meaning... which is zero.
Apples to oranges.
Substitute Father Wild's name. And then assert it to strangers as accepted fact, not as hypothetical argument. Then we'll see if it holds any meaning.
But if you say it in teal, you are golden.
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on March 27, 2009, 01:46:58 PM
This isn't about a right to privacy.......this is about attacking someones character. Yes he is a public figure; and no that doesn't make it alright to go around making statements with third party information. If you publicly make a comment that intentionally damages their character then the the said comments are to be considered libelous.......which if you are alleging in a public domain that based upon unconfirmed sources that BG is an alcoholic damn skippy its effing libelous!!
I think you were referring to another poster (I never said the word alcoholic or anything close), but I have to disagree anyways. I wrote that I think BG enjoys spirits. I think the Pope likes church. I think Joan Rivers likes talking. I think Mike Tyson likes jail. etc etc etc
Now if an AstroVan pulls up to my place with the Pope, Joan Rivers, and Mike Tyson in it, I may take it back and agree it's libelous... mostly because I'm afraid that Mike Tyson will bite my ear off. (Is that libelous too?)
Otherwise, they are opinions based off public info, like BG's DUI and published reports that he has a driver. With that info on record, I don't know if anything discussed here would be considered unjust to BG. Naturally, being unjust is a stipulation for libel.
Btw - Having a driver is an intelligent idea, not a knock on him. I scratch my head every time I read about a famous person with a DUI.
Apologies for helping hijack this thread.
Quote from: 4everwarriors on March 27, 2009, 10:19:58 AM
Call it just a hunch, but observing and listening to Buzz these past 360 days, he appears to be a very loyal and grassroots man. Coupled with the fact that BG is likely to receive a buyout of around 6 mil, the smart money says Gillispie is on the MU bench for a year or two.
That wouldn't be the smart money. And where would the open spot come from? If your scenario played out, Buzz would have to "run off" an assistant coach. Don't we kill the guy who used to work here for doing exactly that?
Quote from: Cadougan's Maple Leaf on March 27, 2009, 07:32:31 PM
That wouldn't be the smart money. And where would the open spot come from? If your scenario played out, Buzz would have to "run off" an assistant coach. Don't we kill the guy who used to work here for doing exactly that?
Only things I could think of would be if Layer or Benford were to take a head job somewhere.
Either way, it's highly unlikely. There will be several solid BCS-level programs that'll gladly take Gillispie (Oklahoma State if Ford leaves, NC State if they fire Lowe, for example). I don't think he'll be hurting for a head job.
I wouldn't mind seeing BG at the end of our bench.....maybe he could bring a big man to MU (Daniel Orton?)
I never meant to imply Gillispie wouldn't get other offers. What I do think is likely to happen is that he would take a pass for the next season and essentially hook up with a familar face and friend in Buzz while waiting to pick his next coaching gig.
Buzz had a chance to join Billy at UK instead of TC. Maybe there is a reason...like their lifestyles or motivational behaviors don't jive. Doesn't mean they aren't friends.
Sending some recruits Buzz's way is another thing.
The only way I could see BG assisting Buzz is if he gets the $6 Mill buyout from UK and doesn't like the quality of the jobs that are available this year. If he "sits out" a year, he has plenty of time to hand pick his next head coaching job.
Quote from: 4everwarriors on March 27, 2009, 06:31:46 AM
next to Buzz as his assistant coach?
Makes your bud Crean seem like a wallflower.
http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=16364
So its now completely over. With his Saturday morning press conference in Lexington, the Billy Gillispie era ended for the Big Blue Nation. Its hard to know exactly how Gillispie will be noted in the grand history of UK basketball. This is a program that went nearly 45 years with two coaches and now has had 2 in three years. Of the six coaches in the modern era, 4 won national championships, one was successful before probation, and then there is Billy. In thirty years, how will we look back on the two tumultuous years the man from Texas had as head of the monster known as Kentucky basketball? We likely wont know that for some time, but what we do know is that for the second time in three years, UK will be back on the search for a new basketball coach. However this time, the search will be much different....more deliberate, less centralized and even more crucial. The Gillispie era has ended but the all-important search for his replacement has just begun.
However before we completely close the book on Gillispie, I do think it is important to recognize how we got here. No matter what Digger Phelps, Michael Wilbon or any other national talking head may say, this decision had little to do with wins and losses. This was simply the case of an individual who was not well-suited to be the basketball coach at Kentucky. While he had moderate success on the floor, off the floor he was a Matt Doherty-like disaster. He never felt comfortable doing the things it takes to succeed here and his authoritarian personality rubbed almost everyone in the wrong way. If you win at Bobby Knight in the 1970s-like levels, you can act that way....but if you win Bobby Knight in the late 1990s-like levels, you cant.
Below are the Five moments that I think led to Gillispie's downfall. This decision to remove Billy Clyde was not a quick one....it built slowly over time, with each mistake building on the other. Over time the total conglomeration made it too difficult to retain him, and a move had to be made. There is a lot speculated about what happened and when, but in my view and from the information that I know, these were the ultimate causes:
(1): Interpersonal Relationships with Administrators, Boosters and Staff
From very early on in Gillispie's tenure it was clear that this was a man who would do things his own way and answer to almost no one. Within his first two months on the job, it is rumored that he and Mitch Barnhart began frequently bumping heads, almost exclusively over the inability of Gillispie to accept the secondary parts of the UK job. Within his first two months, he refused various meetings with influential alumni, cancelled a 60 year tradition of the Kentucky coach speaking at the Lexington Rotary Club, refused mutiple requests to do "program building" appearances at various in-state events and generally balked at doing all things that were not basketball related. He showed from the very beginning that he was here to do one thing and one thing only, and that was coach basketball....a job description that unfortunately does not work in Lexington.
In addition, Gillispie turned off many around the UK athletics office with his attitude and style. I have spoken with numerous UK employees who talked about the tension that all felt with Gillispie in the building. Whereas most who work for UK are part of a family atmosphere, there was a sense that Gillispie was rocking the cradle on how things were done. This led to a situation in which Gillispie had very FEW supporters among influential administrators, boosters and staff. All wanted Kentucky to win, but when losses mounted, there were few willing to go to bat for an individual that they had no particular fondness for. That lack of support, which began from Gillispie's early days here made it much easier to make a change that very few would passionately disagree with.
(2) Derrick Jasper:
It cannot be overstated the impact that the Derrick Jasper situation had on the UK program. Derrick Jasper was a player loved by his teammates and all of those around the program. Jasper is a great kid and the type of player that helps a team both on and off the court. Derrick came to Kentucky for Tubby Smith, and was skeptical of staying in Lexington when a change in leadership occurred. But Gillispie sold Derrick on the idea of being the cornerstone of the new program, and Jasper decided to stay. However from the very beginning, the marriage was doomed to failure. Derrick is a very soft-spoken, mild-mannered kid who doesnt take over criticism well (much like Jodie Meeks). Gillispie's style of coaching, which includes tremendous criticism and pitches to a player's manhood destroyed Jasper's confidence and made him very uncomfortable in practice and games.
Jasper was also of course dealing with his injury that continued to linger. Derrick did not want to return to the court, but after a trainer gave the opinion that he could, Jasper found himself playing again. I have never gotten a clear story on how Jasper ended up on the court (some say Gillispie pressured him into playing, some say that Jasper felt he had to when given the clearance from the trainer), but what is clear is that Derrick regretted his decision to come back. After returning, those close to Derrick have told me that Gillispie challenged the young man a great deal on his "toughness" and if he was going to keep "letting his injury be an excuse." The treatment turned Jasper off and he made the decision to transfer....thus taking away Kentucky's best point guard prospect and, potentially even more importantly, a teammate that was well-liked. This team with Jasper on it is a different basketball team, but Gillispie only has himself to blame for Derrick's departure.
(3) The Media Problems:
For a long time, Gillispie's prickliness with the media has been known. Since early in his tenure, his decision to mock a question or belittle and individual for saying something he disagreed with (usually with a smirk on his face) was known to all that covered him. Usually he would apologize after such a comment (as he did with me), but no one in the media had a "warm and fuzzy" relationship with him. And then came what I believe was the turning point for the perception of Gillispie, the Jeanine Edwards interviews. What happened in those interviews has been dealt with ad nauseum but three things happened as a result of those interviews.
First, for the first time since Gillispie had arrived, some in the public started to wonder if their beloved coach was actually a jerk. I have heard countless people, particularly women, ask if he was like that normally and question whether that public face should be the coach of the UK basketball program. Second, many in the media thought he crossed the line and it became the cause of the day to blast Gillispie and his attitude when the losing started. Most knew Edwards as a sweet, harmless reporter and seeing her treated poorly led the media to sense blood and begin questioning his attitude at other occasions. And third, it became a direct slap in the face for the Administration. After the first Edwards interview, the administration asked Gillispie to apologize and be careful what he did in the future. He did apologize, but then one week later at the Florida game, he was once again rude, an action that my sources around UK say INFURIATED Mitch and Lee Todd. The thought went that if knowing people were watching and that he needed to be on his best behavior, he STILL couldnt be polite, what hope was there for the future?
Even after all of those Jeanine Edwards issues, Gillispie then made another mistake that older UK fans still bring up to me all the time.....he was perceived as being rude to Tom Leach. Leach, who is one of the nicest men I know, was accused by Gillispie of trying to get him to "turn on his players" just days after Gillispie threw Perry Stevenson under the bus like none other in a post game press conference. Many fans who heard that, which include a lot of the most influential and wealthy UK fans who listen to Tom on their drive home from Rupp, felt that he had crossed the line with someone they consider like family, the UK play by play announcer. Even when Leach said he took no offense (a classy move on his part), the damage was done and the reputation of Billy Gillispie as a jerk stuck for many in the Big Blue Nation. Win and be a jerk and people may forgive you....go to the NIT and be a jerk, and it is time for a change.
(4) PLAYER RELATIONSHIPS
While all of the above are very important, the most significant factor in the downfall of Billy Gillispie was his relationship with the players. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that with only a couple of exceptions, the players simply did not like their coach at all. With a group of young men who were extremely tight as a group, every slight and verbal assault on a teammate became an assault on them and over time, the players simply had no affection for the man in charge. Over the course of a season, countless acts occurred that ruined team chemistry and individual confidence. I am sure there are many more than this, but just a few that I know for certain:
— Coach told Jodie Meeks in a number of games to stop shooting and decried him for his selfishness, even during his 54 point performance in Knoxville. He told Meeks he should quit on a number of occasions and even threatened to kick him off the team in his last game ever, in South Bend during the NIT.
— At halftime of one game, he forced a player to sit in a bathroom stall with the door closed during the entire break because he said he couldnt stand to look at him.
— On more than one occasion, when a young player went into his office to ask for advice on how he could get better, he returned from the office having been berated by the coach and crying as he returned to Wildcat Lodge.
— On one road trip, a player who had been injured but was deemed to be too "soft" by the Coach was told to walk to the hotel from the arena, and only after teammates said that they would be get off the bus and walk with him, was he allowed back on.
— On another road trip, a player who felt the criticism was so strong that he locked himself in a room crying, while the team bus waited outside.
These are just a few of the countless incidents, which in total made the team a gloomy group. Some individuals could handle the criticism and some were not targeted with nearly the same amount of vigor. But the totality of the criticism piled up and led to a team that was tight, afraid to make any mistake and left with no feelings of positivity to their coach. Had Gillispie returned, it is not an exaggeration to say that six to seven players may have left....including names that UK simply could not afford to lose. While no one has ever said this to me officially, the thought of that type of mass player exodus likely would have meant another year of mediocrity or worse next year....which means Gillispie would have been in hot water AGAIN. He simply could not have survived that.
On this site, we hinted at such issues during the year, but out of respect for the players and the team still playing, did not go into detail. But the evidence was there. Remember Dusty Mills and his comments to Jerry Tipton about the way he was treated? Derrick Jasper took heat for going to UNLV and was called a host of names by UK fans for his lack of toughness. Former players who were privy to a lot of those issues such as Kenny Walker, Bobby Perry and the unnamed Jeff Goodman source were LAMBASTED on message boards for speaking out about these very issues. What that showcased to me is that while we say we want to know everything about our program, we do not want to know bad news. Mitch and Lee knew about this and much, much more I am sure. Many fans, while ignoring the info they had been given and blaming the messenger, and not knowing a great deal of the other parts of the situation, nevertheless criticized those making the call. Hopefully that will be a situation that we attempt not to repeat going forward.
(5) The Final Straw:
At the SEC Tournament, I wrote on a live blog that "Billy's commment about not being an ambassador may be the final straw." In hindsight, I am even more confident that was the case. After the Ole Miss game, when Billy said he had "not signed on to" be am ambassador for the program, just days after Mitch Barnhart had publically made it clear that was part of the job description....well that was lights out for Billy Clyde. I spoke with someone who was around Lee Todd when he found about this quote and said he was "beyond upset" when he heard it. For a guy who was already on the brink to express that level of cluelessness as to what this job entails....well it meant he likely had to go.
FINAL
I believe this decision has been made for ten days or so and was just finalized and made public yesterday. It is a shame that it had to occur as there are parts of Gillispie's personality, particularly his passion for the game, that could have been great here in Lexington. But at the end of the day, when your view on the program is different than the administation and when your relationship with players is as it was, it will be hard to succeed.....especially when you arent winning. Jodie Meeks came out this morning in the student newspaper and said that he respected Gillispie but that this was a "good decision." After following this team for two years, interacting with nearly everyone involved in the program and seeing what I have seen, I think Jodie's words are spot on. Gillispie is a good Coach and I think he will have success, but he cooked his own goose here. Kentucky needs a Coach who embraces the enormity of the program and succeeds at every facet of it, that was not Billy and the time for change had come.
Likewise I can't believe there is any chance of BG being on the bench at Marquette as an assistant. He is still getting rave reviews every report of seen of a "great coach who just wasn't the right fit" at Kentucky. However, if the bond with Buzz really were that strong, I would jump at it looking at the list of recruits he had coming in at Kentucky. Of course, I know the standard in releasing players from commitments is to release them under the condition they don't follow the old coach or go within the conference, so I guess none could really follow him to Marquette even if that happened - and again - I can't believe there is any chance of that actually happening.
Funny comments about coaches at other schools drinking on campus . . . I think Mike Deane was their role model.
Quote from: bamamarquettefan on March 29, 2009, 01:38:43 AM
Of course, I know the standard in releasing players from commitments is to release them under the condition they don't follow the old coach or go within the conference, so I guess none could really follow him to Marquette even if that happened - and again - I can't believe there is any chance of that actually happening.
Nick Williams followed TC to It's Indiana.