Update: Gillispie was on the SEC teleconference, and he has a 5 p.m. media opportunity scheduled to discuss UNLV.
This could be an interesting day for several reasons:
- 1) As you might expect, the rumor mill is in need of some coolant. There is quite a bit of speculation that if Kentucky is going to make a decision on Billy Gilllispie’s future it would come before the Cats play its NIT game Tuesday night. The thinking is that if you know the decision, one way or the other, why not go ahead and say before the Cats take the floor? There is also talk that if UK decides to part ways with its coach, the national impact (and criticism) might get lost or lessened in all the NCAA Tournament news. Then again, we haven’t heard anything about a Barnhart-Gillispie meeting, and in fact Gillispie practiced the team Sunday to start preparing for Tuesday.
- 2) Gillispie is scheduled to appear on the SEC teleconference at around 11:20 a.m. today.
- 3) Kentucky says that Gillispie and players will be available to the media today to talk about the matchup with UNLV. The time has not been set.
- 4) It sure looks like the first men’s game in Memorial Coliseum since 1976 will be a sell-out. There were long lines in front of the Coliseum ticket office. Meanwhile, Ticketmaster had only singles in the upper levels remaining this morning. Ticketmaster started selling the tix last night on-line.
IF we were going to fire our coach, then presumably all the ones we would be interested in hiring would still be playing in the NCAA. Why not wait until we lose tomorrow night and the AD can still take action before the thursday/friday action? I don’t see anything gained from firing BCG while you can’t really be interviewing candidates anyway. Especially considering that every day without a coach around here leads to people calling the search “bungled” or “prolonged”.
That’s true. On the other hand, if you’ve decided that Billy is your coach, you need to go ahead and say it as quickly as possible to still the rumor mill.
JOHN, the so-called UK Fans have already fired Billy Clyde Gillispie. Never mind that every decent coach in America turned down the UK Head Coaching position when Tubby Smith was ran out of town, and Billy Clyde Gillispie was number 14 on the list. Billy Clyde Gillispie bravely accepted the challenge. In one month Billy Clyde Gillispie has gone from the Savior Of the UK Basketball Program, to a false prophet. UK Fans are just that, UK Fans. UK Fans are not fans of basketball, only UK Fans. Oh well, Billy Clyde Gillispie will be a good fit somewhere for even more money. Tell Mitch hello for the UK Fans. Good luck with a new coach.
It’s not true that “every decent coach in America” turned down the UK job last time. Fact is, UK hired Billy G. just a couple of days, or less, after Billy D. turned the job down. In fact, that’s one thing you could criticize about the search.
Not all good coaches are taken – Bob Knight has expressed an interest in getting back to coaching instead of announcing if the right situation came along. UK fans would consider all forgiven if Barnhart could score Knight.
Personally, it sickens me that UK Fans are behaving the way they are currently. UK Fans look at the current rather than the future. I mean, if Pitino had gone to UK again instead of Louisville, he would have been fired after the 2nd year, given the standards that we have set for Gillespie!! The man has some great recruits coming next year. Many people are already saying that if our boys stay that we will have one of the best Frontcourts in the nation. Give it time! Nobody is going to be able to save this program in two years from the way it was left to us. Billy G needs more time and I think Mitch will see that. GO CATS!!
JOHN, I think you should take a look at the public telephone records out of Mith Barnhart’s office on the University of Kentucky State Line and the State Owned Cell Phone and you can count the number of coaching staffs which spurned UK.
John, there is no way that UK will fire BCG before he finishes up four years here, more likely five years. Adverse publicity and economics associated with a buy-out plus another three years of down time dictate we give him four years minimum. If UK levied some rigid requirements on his BGC’s coaching style and tactics (zone defenses, game day scrimmages, player dissentions, public and personal conducts) which might not agree with BGC, that might motivate him to navigate back to the southwest before his 4/5 years are up.
Who might be best qualified, available and interested in taking the UK job is the pertinent question. Pitino certainly would not be interested in leaving UL. Calipari readily comes to mind and only because his ConUSA is not highly prized by the left coast media. Travis Ford is being paid well and seems to like OK State so he is probably out. Miss State’s native Kentucky coach can coach but lacks the personality required at UK. So before UK rids itself of BGC, it had better poll the field and see if anyone better might be the rescuer. After mulling all these factors, I can see UK publicly telling its recruits that BGC will be here for years, like him or not.
Throwing up these teasers based on rumor isn’t top-notch journalism Mr. Clay. If Kentucky removed the current coach after only two years, the program would surely suffer for the immediate future, as well as, make Kentucky the laughing stock of the national media. It won’t happen.
Cat fans need to support their team and look forward to a big year in 2010!
John,
I don’t think Gillispie will be out and out “fired” as much as an understanding will be reached for him to step down. Then Lee Todd will control Barnhart’s strings a little more on the next selection. We’ve got to take our time on this one. Let’s be honest with ourselves: Kentucky needs a Pitino clone. So Calipari or Dixon should be our top choice. Anything less just won’t do.
Hey Tre, you’re right if you took that as tease. It’s just that with all the rumors and speculation going around these parts, more than a few thought something (a yeay or nay) might happen on the Billy-front today. Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
I wasn’t worried in the slightest.
You should be Tre. Your team is in the nit.
For all the UK “fans” that want BCG gone, you are pathetic! You have no bussiness calling yourself a fan, if the Coach is fired the program will surely be down for quite some time. People nowadays want results immediately,unfortunately, college basketball isn’t that way. For the mental midgets out there who want Coach Knight, you are not very bright either are you? He has some similar traits that BCG does. BCG should be the Coach for at least one more year. Period. I believe many UK fans still think it is the 90′s! It isn’t so be realistic, the current team wasn’t a contender for the Sweet Sixteen, the entire SEC was down this year. It’s called life deal with it and stop acting like children.
Great quote from the Minnesota AD regarding Tubby – We’re going to enjoy the journey. The ” journey ” is where the rollercoaster begins. So many sports fans want nothing but going 100 miles per hour downhill, piling up victories, leaving teams in your wake. This should be the goal right ? I guess. Herb Brooks had another great, great, quote regarding ” dream teams ” in that they take away ” the dream ” of winning it all. What am I trying to say ? It’s that UK fans are soooo used to winning that they forgot what losing, and not just the big games, is all about, and how to deal with it. You would say Minnesota is used to it, less demanding, etc. True enough. But, that doesn’t mean that the dream isn’t still alive for many of us. Getting there and reaching the summit of that mountain and taking that ” journey ” is what it’s all about. Kentucky needs to discover that again and realize that the top of the mountain is something special, not something to be expected.