Received this e-mail from a self-described Aggie, Jamie, who says we need to be more patient with Billy Gillispie.
Jamie writes:
John:I read your column regarding Billy Clyde’s tenure at UK.As an Aggie I can tell you Billy loves players who give it everything they have on the court. Please keep in mind Acie Law was going to quit the team during Billy’s first year at Aggieland, but his parents told him to stay and listen to his coach. Law was a First Team All American his senior year and he thanked Gillispie for helping him work harder to improve.Coach Gillispie gets fired up for players who dive for loose balls and sacrifice themselves each and every play. He also loves defense.I have watched a few UK games this year and I can say I do not see these types of players on this team, and frankly I don’t see many on the current A&M team either due to a difference in philosophy with the current coach compared to Billy.I would give Coach Gillispie two more years to prove himself.
Randy Riggs of the Austin American-Statesman blogs about the interest Aggieland is paying to Gillispie’s travails at UK.
No one can be a true Big Blue Fan unless they are UK Alumni, everyone else is just a poser. Billy Clyde Gillispie is lucky to have anyone come to Kentucky. Lexington Kentucky is a horrible place to live. UK Campus sets in the middle of a war zone, and constantly expands outward into it. The UK Basketball program lost all credibility under Adolph Rupp and his point shaving scandal. Then the Sutton thing, then the Joe Hall ticket scandal, then the CM Newton retirement scandal and now UK has players that can not find time for the classroom. Some great program with high standards. If UK is better than all the other programs it would have very high standards????
S.Smith, I would venture to guess that you know a lot about posing. Hopefully, not as an English teacher. Try to do better next time.
Billy G. has the state of Ky. basketball in an uproar. I feel much of it is on his shoulders. There are a lot of things I wonder about.
1. Why can’t Ky. recruit top recruits and have top recruiting classes anymore.
2. Why won’t Gillespie try playing a few games without having the one hour hard practice before the game?
3. Why would Meeks make the comment about not shooting if Gillespie did not say it. I don’t believe Gillespie, but I do Meeks.
4. Why weaken the schedule next year. It is weak enough the way it is. When Ky. was Ky. the tough schedule (and it was much tougher) did not stop them from being national contenders and national champions those years.
5. I say give him another year and if tremendous improvement is not made start looking for another coach along with another AD.
I could go on for along time but I think I have said enough. It’s time to get Ky. basketball back to being Ky. basketball.