The Fall of Kentucky

[geraldsneighbor]

I think Kentucky firing Gillespie -- which it will -- has a lot more to do with his attitude and behavior than it does with just wins and losses. People in the Commonwealth are not happy with his boorish antics, especially considering he's won nothing -- and lost, in Rupp, to teams that Kentucky has never lost to before, teams like Gardner Webb, Virginia Military Institute, and Houston. If you're Bobby Knight, and are winning and are a legend, then, fine, maybe your cocky, arrogant, and loutish behavior with fans, the media, etc. can be overlooked. (I love Bobby Knight, BTW.)

Not at Kentucky, though, not when you've done absolutely nothing, save for taking the program to its first NIT appearance in 20 some years, losing in the SEC Tournament quarter finals for the second straight season, losing 14 games in a single season, the most in decades.

Gillespie will turn out all right. He'll go on and win big somewhere, and probably make a Final Four one day. But he just wasn't the right fit in the fishbowl that is Kentucky Basketball. That type of spotlight is only for a select few, and he ain't one of them.

Goodbye, Billy.

Reports have said that the university has really went after Pitino in the last few weeks, which makes it even more obvious that, no matter what Billy G did to end this season, he was out the door all along. What a story that would be if Rick said yes. Yikes! UK would be back in a heartbeat.

I doubt that happens, though. Rick's been there, done that.

Starting with that 6 million dollar buyout he will get...yes he will be okay.

[mus074]

Basketball:Football

UK:ND

[roywhite]

Basketball:Football

UK:ND

Yes and no. Pressure, fanatical following...yes

Notre Dame seems to have more concern with academics for student/athletes and is more concerned about rules and avoiding scandals (though they've had a few).

Kentucky---we don't really care how you win; just win.

Just my opinion. I don't mind seeing either program losing a few, but ultimately it helps the sport to have strong programs at each location.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Donovan to Kentucky. Grant to Florida. Could we see some kids opting out of their LOI at Florida?

I bet Grant wouldn't believe it had actually happened until Donovan set up his new office without crying a river and returned yet once more.

[Dukiedevil]

Billy G at NC STATE. They might as well have kept Herb Sendek. I do not see any difference.

Huge difference. Herb was a classy guy. I live in Lexington and one of the biggest problems Billy Clyde has had is his interaction with the public. Now if he was 30-5, they may let it slide, but when you come across as a boorish lout to the press and public in general AND lose 10-15 games a season, you are in big trouble.

The other problem is that people hate his style of play even more than Tubby's. The "If anyone shoots other than Patterson or Meeks, you'll be running laps" offense was fairly easy to figure out after a couple of months. He is great at teaching D, but his offense leaves a bit to be desired. Reminds me a lot of the criticism for our women's program actually...

[FireOgilvie]

from the sporting news:

"Should Gillispie be let go, Kentucky could make an attempt to hire Florida coach Billy Donovan, but Travis Ford of Oklahoma State may be the more realistic candidate, the Louisville Courier-Journal speculates. "

the only thing about that I wonder is if t. boone will open the pockets up for basketball as he did for football and try to keep ford

I think they definitely need to get rid of Gillispie... but I think Travis Ford would actually be a step down. He really hasn't done much in his career except get a talented group at OSU to the 2nd round in his first year... that doesn't exactly scream out "Kentucky Head Coach Position." OSU has a mediocre record and he didn't recruit any of them... Even his work at Eastern Kentucky and UMASS was somewhat underwhelming. There have to be at least 20 better qualified candidates out there... I wouldn't put Ford anywhere near the top of my list if I was the UK AD.

[BD80]

...Per Wildcat insider sites, Gillespie is already in negotiations with North Carolina State, and could be heading there within weeks. ...

Hmmmm. Let's see. Billy Clyde gets fired this week. Has a job lined up, but doesn't sign a contract for a couple of weeks.

Recruiting rules do not necessarily apply to an out of work coach. Billy comes to Raleigh to discuss with John Wall their mutual opportunities at NC State. Perhaps he calls a couple other high school seniors that haven't signed LOIs. Let's say he buys a few dinners.

Then Billy signs his contract with NCSU.

Billy wouldn't do that, would he?

[gotham devil]

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...lly-D-s-future

Rumblings in the Bluegrass State have Billy Gillispie out as Kentucky basketball coach as soon as Friday, with Florida coach Billy Donovan already agreeing in principle to become his hand-picked successor.

A private plane was tracked from going to Gainesville to Mt. Juliet, Ky. (a small airport outside of Lexington) to South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday. Of course, that plane could have been carrying equine supplies. Or it could have been carrying Florida coach Billy Donovan and Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart.

[shoutingncu]

From Parrish:

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports...71764/14230077

[Duvall]

From Parrish:

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports...71764/14230077

Sources have said UK would like to have a replacement lined up before it moves on Gillispie, that the ideal scenario has the school introducing its next head coach less than 48 hours after Gillispie is asked to resign. More than likely, that means athletic director Mitch Barnhart is spending today trying to determine -- through intermediaries, of course -- if Florida's Billy Donovan will really jump, and if he won't then the next two likely candidates are Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Memphis' John Calipari, both of whom are still coaching their teams in this NCAA tournament and thus unavailable for the time being.

Yeah, that can't possibly go wrong.

Calipari at Kentucky? In a way, it's almost too perfect.

[blueprofessor]

Yeah, that can't possibly go wrong.

Calipari at Kentucky? In a way, it's almost too perfect.

Apparently 6 KY players demanded the AD fire BCG and that he was a drunkard...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...ould-have-been

Best--Blueprof

[FireOgilvie]

Apparently 6 KY players demanded the AD fire BCG and that he was a drunkard...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...ould-have-been

Best--Blueprof

I don't trust articles that can't spell the topic of the article correctly. "Billy Gillespie." It's Gillispie. Also, Bleacher Report articles can be written by anyone (I believe)...

[dukeballer2294]

Since this pertains a little bit to Billy Donavon can some1 explain exactly what happened with him in the NBA. I thought it was he wanted to leave Florida signed a contract with Orlando then came back and resigned with Florida but that does not make any snese. Can some1 explain

[BlueintheFace]

Apparently 6 KY players demanded the AD fire BCG and that he was a drunkard...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...ould-have-been

Best--Blueprof

The drinking and womanizing have been documented on the kentucky boards ad nauseum. You never know what is true and what is false, but one thing is for sure... a WHOLE LOT of UK fans think some of those stories are true.

[blueprofessor]

The drinking and womanizing have been documented on the kentucky boards ad nauseum. You never know what is true and what is false, but one thing is for sure... a WHOLE LOT of UK fans think some of those stories are true.

Any background ?
Best--Blueprof

[GustavLooming]

BCG hasn't done anything at UK that he didn't do at TAMU - he just did it on a much bigger and more visible stage - in wildcat basketball country instead of 0 - 16 aggieland.

Rumors of drunkenness? check.

Snarky responses to interviews? check.

Players in the doghouse with no way to get out? check.

Screwing the the players' minds/kicking them out of practice and/or the locker room? check.

Just a good ol' boy who only needs a handshake instead of a contract? check.

Now, if the rumors are true and he's gone from UK, we'll have to find out if he actually has the decency to say goodbye to his players in person or he goes with the tried and true of texting them the news that he won't be back.

[BlueintheFace]

Any background ?
Best--Blueprof

Not sure about that. I know Liggins QUIT THE TEAM for a day or two this season... that ain't common folks. Other than that, I'm not so sure.

[Mal]

I hope Tubby's getting a nice, long smile out of all this.

Maybe Kelvin Sampson's available?

Seriously, I see this as the time for Donovan - things were too weird and tense a couple years ago for him to step in. A large portion of the rational segment of Kentucky's fanbase didn't want to see Tubby go. They also hadn't hit rock bottom (or a reasonable facsimile by UK standards) so there wasn't quite the opportunity there to burn it all down and start over the way you want with a couple years' leeway. Now there is. He'll be seen as a savior now, rather than a mild improvement over a coach who would have been considered wildly successful at pretty much any other program in the country.

If he doesn't work out, I agree with someone else upthread that Ford just doesn't seem right right now. Other names suggested, like Izzo and Calipari, seem like pipedreams at this point. Guys who've been around that long, while their reputations might lead to a toning down of criticism from the fanbase, probably don't want the risk involved at this point in their careers.

Totally idle speculation with no basis, as I wait the 62 minutes until tip, but has anyone discussed Few yet? Matta? I know Few's name always pops up everytime anything east of Boise opens up. Matta might seem a good fit. He's certainly gotten talent in at Ohio State, and the results have been pretty good, too, other than the inability to keep guys around for more than a year.

[78Devil]

Is there any possibility that they would go with a young coach from a good, clean program -- like an assistant from Duke?

[FireOgilvie]

Is there any possibility that they would go with a young coach from a good, clean program -- like an assistant from Duke?

No way in Hades.