Gillispie Watch - An Inside Look....

[Vinsane]

This is the first I commented on the situation... You can't give a guy two years and expect him to deliver, I'm sorry, in the college game the minimum should be three to four years. It takes time to build up recruiting pipelines. And with the rise of Louisville that doesn't help matters as the Wildcats are being outdone by the Cardinals and the state of Kentucky is becoming red.

He was given the short end of the stick IMO and Kentucky as a whole is showing no class in sending him out the door so soon. 300+ teams in College Basketball, 65 with tournament bids, 32 with NIT. That leaves 200+ teams that are not being talked about in March. Kentucky should of been grateful that they were still in the headlines as a NIT team.

 

[Bear Pand]

Yeah I don't see why anyone would want to play or coach in that environment.

I thought I was the only one who noticed Gillispie pretending to be on the phone. From the guy doing the chasing:

2) For those of you who think my decision to chase Billy Gillispie after his firing was poor judgment, you're probably right. My rationale at the time was that Gillispie walked right by the media, claiming to be on his cell phone. I was going to keep following him until he got off the phone. He never uttered a single word on the phone while I was behind him.

lol

 

[Bomberooski]

That video is why Mark Few will never leave Gonzaga. NOTHING close to that would ever happen to him here.

 

[Bear Pand]

Let's talk potential replacements, listed in order..

1) Billy Donovan - Once again, he's numero uno on the list. He is the unanimous first choice. Will he say no to UK twice? Yes, he issued a statement, but you never can believe what these coaches say these days.
2) John Calipari - There will be an internal fight inside the athletic department. Some love him...some look to his UMass days. Depending on which side wins will determine if he is offered or not.

Now, if we get past those two guys, then we enter into a whole bunch of guys who will all be listed as #3...
3a) Jay Wright - Was in the running two years ago, but don't expect him to be hired. Burned some bridges two years ago, when after agreeing to talk to the UK admins, stated in the media that he had no interest in the UK job before even talking to the university.
3b) Rick Barnes - Was also a finalist two years ago. Some think he was offered the job, others don't. I don't personally think he was. Probably would've been coach at UK had Kevin Durant not waited to make his NBA declaration. Can't see UK dipping back into the state of Texas.
3c) Tom Izzo - I think he's the best coach in this group, but would he really want to leave Michigan State? One national media member who knows Izzo well says he guaranteed that Izzo would've gone to UK two years ago if offered.
3d) Travis Ford - He's the hometown guy. The former UK player looks like a shoe-in, but not so fast. He's made a lot of enemies in the UK family, and I don't think he would accept if he was even offered the job.
3e) Thad Matta - My friend in the Lexington media says he's the one to look out for. The UK admins love his recruiting and they love his coaching. Expect him to get a lot of consideration.
3f) Jamie Dixon - He's taken Pitt to six straight NCAA tournament bids, and helped Ben Howland turn both Northern Arizona and Pitt around.
3g) Sean Miller - He's a risk, but with his youth and enthusiasm, I think could really spark the fanbase. He's able to haul in good recruits despite being at Xavier, and I think if you put him at UK, he could really kill it on the recruiting trail.

Don't deserve any of these guys IMO

 

[Herm]

Considering virtually every recruit wants no part of Kentucky, the new coach should have no problem using the handfuls of scholarships he will have in the upcoming seasons, and that's after the mass exodus that will happen in Kentucky with some of the players already on the roster that will likely leave.

Only a short matter of time now until both UNC and Kansas pass Kentucky in all time wins. It will probably happen next season.

Not one player on this roster will leave because Gillispie was fired, it was reported at least 5 players would leave if he was retained though.

 

[Herm]

Anyone who thinks they can come into a National Power school in football or basketball and just "be a coach" is fucking retarded. Coaching is about 33% of the job, you have to recruit like a champ, and at some schools most importantly represent the school, talk to alumni, booster groups, kiwanis clubs,host fundraisers,etc.

BCG just wanted to coach and nothing more, you have to put on the happy face and represent the school at these functions as well. Did you see BCG on many endorsements and commercials in his time in KY? NO

Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith had many commercials on local tv and endorsements, billboards, and such throughout the state. They were both good to media and alumni groups and prospered during their tenure in Lexington.

 

[Sportsbuck]

Kentucky fans expect way too much.

 

[Bear Pand]

They also have their priorities out of order. Why does it matter if a coach does all of that extracurricular stuff when they aren't even serious title contenders? Purdue has a better program than Kentucky at the moment and thats pretty embarrassing. I wish nothing but the worst for their fanbase they need to be humbled.

 

[Herm]

Way too much. Not to mention, if you're going to coach Kentucky, you're going to have to coach along with administration, alumni, boosters, the fanbase, and the player's parents.

This is hilarious and the usual response by someone who listens to what National Sportswriters have to say. 99% of the basketball & football coaches in the nation go through that. Kentucky has become villainized over the last 20 years for the same things that go on at every other big sports school.

Any coach, at a BCS conference school especially, has to do much more work than just coach. Thats actually a very small part of the job these days.


The powertrip dictator style works when you are winning championships and making final fours regularly, that doesnt go so well when your teams underachieve with plenty of talent on the team.

Bruce Pearl is on the hotseat with some Tennessee people now. I cant understand it, he took that team from nowhere to being relevant again. He is a great fundraiser for the University and is always willing to do whatever the school asks him. So why would it surprise anyone that Billy G, who was a dick to most involved with the program, is fired after two subpar seasons.

 

[Herm]

Im a realist, i understand that my beloved team will not be National Championship contenders every year. However i do expect a program with that much tradition to be better than a 4 seed in the NIT. The SEC had a very below average year and it was ludicrous for Kentucky to tank like they did late in the season. BCG's antics and sheer refusal to change his ways were the reason for the collapse.

It has came out now that Gillispie HATED that Jodie Meeks scored 54 vs UT. He would order Meeks not to shoot and run plays where he had no chance of scoring out of spite. He wasnt appreciative that one player was playing so well. That sounds like a great coach to you huh?