Billy Gillispie is on the brink of blowing his last chance

Billy Gillispie is a train wreck, and I take absolutely no pleasure in saying that.

Whether it is forcing Josh Harrellson to spend halftime of a game against Vanderbilt sitting in a bathroom stall, mocking Derrick Jasper for being out with microfracture surgery to the point that Jasper feels he has to transfer, his multiple run-ins with sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards (which may have stemmed from Gillispie being rejected by Edwards in a bar), or his well-documented drinking (and driving) problem, there is nothing about this guy that makes him seem like an appealing person to be around.

But he can coach.


Billy Clyde rebuilt two programs in Texas. He turned UTEP from a 6-24 team to a 24-win NCAA Tournament team in the span of one season. That got him to Texas A&M, where he laid the groundwork for the Aggie's current success despite taking over a team that went 0-16 in the Big 12 the year before he got there.

That ability to coach -- and ability to turn around dormant programs in Texas -- is the reason the guy who epically flamed-out at Kentucky was able to land the head coaching gig at Texas Tech. From a basketball perspective, the fit doesn't get much more perfect than that. But, as I wrote back in December (*pats self on back*) when the first rumblings of Tech's interest in Gillispie came to like, "if you hire Gillispie, you're not just hiring the basketball coach. You're hiring Billy Gillispie the person as well. Do so at your own risk."

According to Sports by Brooks, the Gillispie era at Tech is off to a horrendous start. Longtime basketball secretary Leslie Hartline has quit; Gillispie's already on his third person in that position in four months. So did trainer Jon Murray, who held that position for 13 years. Most notably, however, was a situation involving assistant coach Chris Beard. Beard, who was re-hired as an assistant after losing the position when Pat Knight lost his job, quit recently after "heated altercations with the irascible and intractable Gillispie, the final of which was physically broken up by Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt."

Keep in mind, all three of those people survived Bob Knight's tenure in Lubbock.

Also keep in mind we've ignored the fact that he was bilked out of millions in two different Ponzi schemes.

When does Gillispie reach the point of no return?

What coach is going to want to work for him? What kid is going to want to play for him? How long until he makes headlines for a drinking-related offense? Is his drinking -- Brooks not-so-subtlely hints that he hasn't gotten control of it -- the cause of the tension he's created?

Hocutt had to have known something like this was coming. He knew that hiring Gillispie was a huge risk, but he hired him because there was a chance -- and still is -- it can pay huge dividends. Like I said, Gillispie can flat out coach, but he's broken as a person. Whether that means he's an alcoholic or just simply a miserable guy, I don't know.

What I do know is that he needs to make a change, and make a change quickly.

Because if he flames out at Tech, who is going to give him another chance?
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Derrick Jasper's intriguing decision to return to Billy Gillispie

One of the more intriguing stories to emerge during the holiday weekend was that Derrick Jasper, the former Kentucky and UNLV forward, was taking a position as a graduate assistant on Billy Gillispie's staff at Texas Tech.

Jasper was recruited to Lexington by the previous staff, but he played for Gillispie for at Kentucky. Players that are looking to get into the coaching world hit up their former coaches all the time. That isn't unusual.

What is unusual in the circumstances in which Jasper left UK to transfer to UNLV. After his freshman season, Jasper had undergone microfracture surgery on his knee, which is one of the most serious operations an athlete can have on their knee. It can take upwards of 18 months for the knee to correctly heal, but Gillispie pressured Jasper to get back out on the court after six months, playing 20 games his sophomore season.


Jasper transferred after his sophomore season, citing a desire to be closer to his California home, but most speculated that the move was a result of a disconnect between the coach and the player. (Ironically, Gillispie was run out of Kentucky after Jasper's transfer to make room for John Calipari.) That knee never quite got healthy, as Jasper battled nagging injuries over his two years with the Running Rebels.

Jasper, however, told the Las Vegas Sun that he doesn't hold any grudges.

"I think that was blown out of proportion a bit," Jasper said. "We had a good relationship. It wasn't bad. It was me wanting to get closer to him. I wouldn't be going back to work for him if I didn't believe he was a good guy.

"A lot of (the return from the knee injury) was just me trying to get back early enough to help my team. That's all in the past now. I'm just looking to the future."

The future does look bright. Jasper will be earning a salary at Texas Tech while also having the courses he will take towards his master's degree paid for. It also isn't a bad coaching gig, either. Prior to taking the Kentucky job, Gillispie turned both UTEP and Texas A&M from the bottom of their respective leagues into NCAA Tournament teams. In UTEP's case, it only took him one season to make a 6-24 team into a 24-8 team.

Being associated with that kind of success at Texas Tech certainly wouldn't be a bad thing for Jasper's coaching resume.
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Billy Gillispie seems like a pretty miserable guy

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about Billy Gillispie and a possibility that he could replace Pat Knight at Texas Tech.

I was against this idea. Why? Because, as I wrote, "Gillispie seems like a such a miserable person."

In that post, I linked to some of the past stories that came out about Gillispie. Well, Matt Jones of KSR got a former player to come on his show and talk about some of these instances. Check it out. Its pretty wild stuff:


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Could Billy Gillispie replace Pat Knight at Texas Tech?

Billy Gillispie built his reputation by rebuilding two Texas programs.

In '02-'03, his first season as a head coach with UTEP, the Miners went just 6-24. But Gillispie brought in a stellar recruiting class, and went 24-8 in his second season, leading UTEP to the NCAA tournament. That improvement caught the eye of Texas A&M athletic director Bryan Byrne, who hired Gillispie to fill the void left when Melvin Watkins was forced to resign following a 7-21 season (he went 0-16 in the Big XII).

In '04-'05, his first season in College Station, Gillispie led the Aggies to a 21-10 record and an 8-8 finish in the Big XII, the second consecutive season he orchestrated college basketball's biggest turn around. Despite losing Antoine Wright to the draft, the Aggies were better the next season, going 21-8, 10-6, while earning their first ranking in 25 years and their first trip to the dance since 1987. They ended up knocking off fifth seeded Syracuse in the first round, before losing to LSU on a late three.


Things only got better in '06-'07, Gillispie's third season at A&M. The Aggies went 13-3 in the conference and finished second behind Kansas. They were ranked in the top 10 much of the year, getting as high as sixth in the polls. In the tournament that year, A&M reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Memphis by one. Gillispie received his second Big XII coach of the year award in three seasons.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald speculated on Wednesday that Billy Clyde could be a guy that Texas Tech would look to hire if they decided to get rid of Pat Knight.

From a basketball perspective, the hire seems to be a perfect fit. Gillispie has the track record to prove he is capable of turning a program around quickly. The flame out at Kentucky? Pin that on Gillispie's inability to handle the bright lights of Lexington.

It makes sense. Its a fit.

But I still wouldn't do it.

Because Gillispie seems like a such a miserable person.

Whether it is forcing Josh Harrellson to spend halftime of a game against Vanderbilt sitting in a bathroom stall, mocking Derrick Jasper for being out with microfracture surgery to the point that Jasper feels he has to transfer, his multiple run-ins with sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards (which may have stemmed from Gillispie being rejected by Edwards in a bar), or his well-documented drinking (and driving) problem, Gillispie is not the kind of coach that I would allow my 18 year old son to play for.

Let's say that Pat Knight does get fired this offseason. Gillispie has to be one of the first guys that they look at, if for nothing else than his track record in building programs in the state of Texas.

But keep in mind, if you hire Gillispie, you're not just hiring the basketball coach.

You're hiring Billy Gillispie the person as well.

Do so at your own risk.
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Billy Gillispie to DePaul?

Do you remember what I wrote yesterday about Nolan Richardson and Billy Gillispie?

No?

Well, in summation, my point was that Nolan Richardson was never going to get another job unless he made people believe he was going to play by the rules. It doesn't matter if he actually will, but simply making a potential employer believe you aren't going to be a pain in the ass is the first step towards getting a job offer.

Billy Gillispie, on the other hand, was telling everyone what they wanted to hear in interviews. He was making them believe that he was new man. Whether or not he's decided t lay off the booze is a completely different story.

And now Gillispie, not even five months off his latest DUI arrest (I believe that's three, if you're scoring at home), is rumored to be a candidate for the DePaul job.

Seriously.

Billy Gillispie made people think he was ready to play by the rules, and may end up getting a job out of it.

Why can't Nolan Richardson?

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Nolan Richardson will get hired if he lets people believe he is changed

Mike Freeman wrote an interesting column yesterday about Nolan Richardson and why the former Arkansas coach never got another chance in the industry.

I mean, the guy's resume speaks for itself. He reached three Final Four with the Razorback, winning a national title in 1994. He has over 500 career wins. He is the only coach to win a JuCo national title, an NIT title, and an NCAA title.

But Richardson also had issues. Namely, he got himself in trouble by running his mouth.

In 2002, Richardson railed against the Arkansas fans and administration for being mistreated during his time there because he is black. He challenged athletic director Frank Broyles to fire him, and Broyles took him up on that challenge.

Richardson hasn't coached in the college ranks since them while watching guys like Todd Bozeman, John Calipari, Bobby Huggins, Bobby Knight, and the Suttons get job after job.

And as you would expect from Richardson, he had no problem airing his grievances with Freeman:

I've been asked by friends if I've been banned from college basketball all these years for being outspoken. I'd have to say yes. Anyone can see that

I'm sure that after what happened to me at the University of Arkansas, I became, in the eyes of the guys who do the hiring and firing in college basketball, an uppity guy. I don't apologize for how I conducted myself at Arkansas. I was not a 'Yes sir, no sir' type of man. All these years, athletic directors, I think, see me as someone with baggage. But look around. Look at some of the coaches who have gotten hired since I was let go. If I have baggage, what do they have?

The difference is perception. Black coaches, we're judged as a group, and judged more harshly. White coaches are judged individually and usually more leniently.

No matter how well they did the white power structure in college basketball mostly ignored them. If McLendon had been white, he'd have been a star in the coaching world. If all the great coaches in basketball history like Knight or [John] Wooden had been black, they'd be nobodies

Therein lies the exact reason that no one has rehired Richardson despite the fact that he doesn't have a laundry list of arrests and NCAA violations, like the coaches mentioned earlier.

Regardless of the color of your skin, I think we can all agree that Richardson is a difficult coach to deal with. But he is far from the only coach that is difficult to deal with and far from the only coach with baggage.

The difference?

Those other coaches make an effort to hide their baggage. They try to sell themselves as changed men. Working to get a head coaching position is like trying to land any other job. An employer isn't going to want to hire you, regardless of how well you can do your job, if they think that you are going to be a headache. They aren't going to want to hire you if they believe you have a history, baggage if you will.

Why do you think there are all these warnings for college graduates to be careful what they put on their facebook or myspace pages?

You want to give a potential employer the best possible first impression. Do those quotes sound like Richardson has changed one iota? If you were an AD, would you want to risk hiring a coach that has no qualms with giving quotes like that to a national media outlet, especially when the "knock" on that coach is that he has a tendency to speak out?

I'm not saying its fair or right or just. I'm not saying that Richardson wouldn't be great if he were to get another college gig. I'm just saying that's how it is.

Compare what Richardson said to another recent interview with another disgraced coach.

Billy Gillispie has as much baggage as any coach in recent memory. From multiple DUI's to idiotic halftime interviews, Billy Clyde hasn't exactly been what one would call a stand-up guy. But he is looking to get back into the college coaching ranks, and take a look at how he is putting himself out in the media:

I'm pulling for [Kentucky]. To be able to do what they have done so quickly, no one has more respect for that than me, because I have been part of that [at UT-El Paso and Texas A&M]. I think they made a smart move [in hiring John Calipari]. It affected me a little bit, but I will bounce back.

I met a lot of great people there and I don't have any ill will toward Kentucky. The Kentucky fans are as good as there is in the history of sport. I got fired from the job, but I understand how the business works.

I think it's been a great year for me. I've been on the fast track for a long time professionally. I never had a chance to take a deep breath. I've forced myself to become educated in a lot of different areas because of some of the mistakes I've made, and I think I've used my time wisely. I think I've enriched myself as a person and helped myself as a coach. I don't know that this is not one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.

For all I know, Gillispie could have given that interview between swigs of Jack from his flask. But reading that interview and the quotes pulled from it make you believe that he is changed, that he is no longer drinking, realized he was an ass, and is ready to re-enter the coaching profession with a new approach.

You can't say the same about Richardson's interview.

Billy Gillispie is a good coach, but he doesn't compare to Nolan Richardson, who is to the "40 minutes of hell" defense what John Calipari is to the "dribble-drive motion" offense.

But I would bet anything I own that Gillispie will get a job before Richardson.
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Billy Gillispie settles his lawsuit against Kentucky

Billy Gillispie and the University of Kentucky have settled the lawsuits they filed against one another back in May. If you remember (and how could you forget), Gillispie was run out of town, literally, after two seasons in which he alienated an underperforming team by impersonating Bobby Knight.

So how much did Kentucky have to fork over?

$2,984, 536.07. Plus $265,463.93 in lawyer fees.

Do a little bit of math, and Kentucky is essentially spending over $7 million this season on basketball coaches: $3.25 million to get rid of Gillispie, and almost $4 million to land Calipari. That's a big chunk of change for a school to spend on just their head basketball coach.

The settlement also had an agreement in which both Billy Gillispie and the University of Kentucky are not allow to "disparage" each other.

Which means that Gillispie can finally rid himself of the state of Kentucky.

Oh wait...
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Hmm, maybe this is why Billy Gillispie isn't coaching anymore

I love hard-ass, no nonsense coaches. You have to love a coach that can get a player to give everything he has every second he is on the court.

They will scream at you. They will yell at you. They will pull you off the court after 15 seconds if you aren't playing the way that they want you to play.

If you make a mistake, you'll pay for it. Miss a defensive assignment, and you're running an extra suicide in practice. Curse at a referee, and the whole team may run. Play lazy, uninspired basketball, and the next practice you might don football pads.

Billy Gillispie wasn't exactly the best motivator.
(photo credit: The Nasty Boys)

But players don't leave everything on the court because they are afraid of the coach. They don't dive on the floor or take a charge because they are worried about losing their spot in the rotation or that they are afraid to make a mistake. They do it because they believe it will help them win. They listen to the coach because they believe he will make them a better player.

Moreover, when a kid is playing not to make a mistake is when he will make the most mistakes. To succeed as a basketball player (and as an athlete in general, really) you must be able to make trained reactionary decisions.

The ball got swung to the other side of the court? Jump to the help side. That guy beat his man? Get to the charge spot. My defender's overplaying me? Cut backdoor.

These are all split second decisions made by players as taught to them by their coach and learned through hundreds (or thousands) of repetitions in practice. Because the best coaches not only tell you what they want you to do, they teach you the best way to it.

How does all of this involve Billy Gillispie?

On Tuesday, Kentucky.com posted an article chronicling an incident between Josh Harrellson and Billy Gillispie during the Wildcats trip to Vanderbilt. Apparently, Gillispie was not happy with the way that Kentucky, and specifically Harrellson, played during the first half. So as a punishment, Harrellson had to sit in a bathroom stall during the halftime speech. Then, Gillispie sat him for the entire second half of a 77-64 loss before making him ride home on the team's equipment truck as opposed to the team bus.

And if you believe some of the things floating around UK message boards, this is far from the only incident of Gillispie humiliating a player.

Personally, I do not believe that this is still a successful method of coaching (maybe there is a reason that Bobby Knight, Gillispie's idol, is now working at ESPN). For starters, this is not how you build a rapport with your team. After two season's worth of embarrassment, is it any wonder that the Wildcats finally quit on Gillispie at the end of last year?

As a coach, if you want to get a player's best effort, convince them that it will make them a better player and a more appealing pro prospect. Don't try to scare them into playing hard. Isn't the pressure of playing major college basketball enough? Should a coach really add to that by making his team worried about committing a turnover?

Josh Harrellson is prepared to run through a wall for Coach Cal.
(photo credit: Kentucky Sports Radio)

The biggest issue I have isn't with the actual punishment that Gillispie doled out. It wasn't illegal or an NCAA violation, so if that is what Gillispie felt was the method of motivating his team, well, to each their own. Look where it got him.

My biggest issue is with these quotes from Harrellson:

"I didn't play the way he wanted me to play."

And how did Gillispie want Harrellson to play?

"I don't know," [Harrellson] said. "He never told me. Just play stronger, I guess."

It is one thing to punish someone for not doing what you want them to do. It is another thing to punish a kid when he doesn't know what you want him to do. But to never explain to the kid what you looking for from him, even after the fact?

What did I say before?

"The best coaches not only tell you what they want you to do, they teach you the best way to it."

Maybe that is why Gillispie is currently unemployed.

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Billy Gillispie checks into rehab

We're a little late on the uptake (just stepped off of a plane an hour ago), but Billy Gillispie has checked himself into rehab after being arrested a third time for DUI on August 27th. He will be headed to Texas to the John Lucas Center, which happens to be the same place Michael Beasley is going.

This is a good thing for Gillispie, and for more than one reason. For starters, he clearly needs the help. During his tenure, there were numerous rumors and stories going around regarding his behavior when he was on the sauce, and that is leaving out hi three DUI arrests.

Billy Gillispie checks into rehab.

And for what its worth, I'm sure that admitting you have a problem and checking into rehab can only help with his most recent DUI (although I doubt it helps his case against Kentucky).

But this is a college basketball blog, which means that we care the most about the hoops aspect. By checking into rehab, Gillispie may have just saved what is left of his career. I mean, this guy turned around two downtrodden programs (UTEP and Texas A&M) before heading to Lexington. Despite what Big Blue Nation may believe, Gillispie is an excellent coach. It is the reason that you hired him with such fanfare back in 2007.

But I don't know if I can think of a situation in which a coached flamed out as badly as Gillispie did at Kentucky (maybe Matt Doherty at UNC). It was epic. Whether it was the high profile that comes with holding that position, the pressure to win, the booze, or a combination of the three, it is clear that Lexington and Gillispie just wasn't a good fit.

Between his meltdown in the last three months at UK and his affinity for alcohol, Gillispie is currently untouchable for AD's looking to hire a coach..

His ability as a coach, however, should still be there. Hopefully, he can make a quick and full recovery, both in regards to his health and his public image, and get back on the sidelines.

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Has Kentucky made up with Jeannine Edwards?

All summer long, Gary Parrish has been doing a segment on his blog called "Tweet of the Day".

Me? Well, I've been trying to hold off on becoming a member of the Twitterati for as long as possible. Which is why I really appreciate what Parrish is doing, because I come across gems like this:

"If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for our Women's Clinic on Oct 7th. Special Guest is Jeannine Edwards."

-- Kentucky coach John Calipari

Don't get it?

One of the multitude of reasons Kentucky rushed Billy Gillispie out the door was because of his apparent inability to conduct a sideline interview. Who was the other party during those two interviews?

Jeannine Edwards.

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Billy Gillispie gets another DUI

For the third time in his semi-illustrious coaching career, Billy Gillispie has been arrested and charged with a DUI. He was pulled over last night around 2:45am by Lawrenceburg, KY, police.

In 1999, he was arrested and charged with a DUI in Oklahoma, but later plead guilty to a lesser charge. In 2003, he was arrested for suspicion of DUI while in his first year with UTEP, but those charges were later dropped.

So Billy Gillispie has a drinking problem. I think we all knew that by now. I guess the bigger question now is will this guy A) figure out some way to get his life together and B) ever get another coaching gig again?

He's a notorious drunk that now has three DUI arrests. He has not idea how to handle the media, whether it is camera crews or sideline interviews. He made it abundantly clear that he cannot handle the pressure that comes with coaching a team in the spotlight.

There are some things that BCG does well. At both UTEP and Texas A&M, he was able to turn around struggling programs very quickly, getting to the NCAA tournament with both teams. He is an excellent defensive coach that has developed a solid reputation as a recruiter.

But with all the baggage and the question marks, is it worth it to risk hiring him?

Hey, things could be worse for Gillispie. He could be this guy.
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This has been one hell of an off-season

The NBA Draft is just 15 days away. The deadline for early entrants that haven't signed with an agent to pull out of the draft is next Monday, all of five days away.

But how much have you read about the Draft - which prospects could go where, potential trades on draft night, who is hurting/helping their stock with workouts - over the last few weeks?

Seriously, go through the archives of your favorite basketball blogs and major media outlets. How much has been written about the Draft?

Not a lot. Why?

A big reason is that this college basketball off-season has turned into a season of the OC. And I'm not talking about the first or second seasons, that were at worst watchable and at best awesome. I'm talking about the fourth season, when Marissa had been killed off and Cohen had become played out and predictable.

All kidding aside, can you remember an off-season with anywhere close to this much drama?

It started while the NCAA Tournament was still going on, when Yahoo! Sports released a report accusing UConn and hall-of-fame head coach Jim Calhoun of pretty serious recruiting violations. The report stated that, among other things, the Huskies had well surpassed the allowed number of phone calls while recruiting Nate Miles and that they knowingly used former student manager and (aspiring?) NBA agent Josh Nochimson as a go-between for Miles and Ater Majok.

A hall of famer that coaches a team that has won two titles in the last decade (and reached this season's Final Four) being accused of major recruiting violations is a big deal, and usually would be enough to keep the college hoops world talking through October.

But this year, we were just getting started.

The next saga to play out was in the state of Kentucky, where Billy Gillispie failed to get the Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament a year after being bounced in the first round. Of course, this was unacceptable in Big Blue Nation. After much speculation, Gillispie was fired by the university, but not before he was infamously chased through the UK basketball offices by a reporter.

That wouldn't be the end of Gillispie, as he sued Kentucky for $6 million for breach of contract. Kentucky counter-sued because, among other reasons, Gillispie never in fact signed a contract.

With arguably the best job in all of college basketball available, rumors began flying as to who would replace Gillispie in Lexington. It was fitting that Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart would choose John Calipari, the very man he passed over for Gillispie two years ago because of the "baggage" that Coach Cal carried (food for thought for you Kentucky fans singing Coach Cal's praises. Say Barnhart gave Cal the job in 2007 instead of Gillispie, and Cal was able to bring Derrick Rose with him to Kentucky. All this talk of NCAA sanctions would be involving your school instead of Memphis. Good decision by Barnhart? But I digress).

Cal's first order of business? Dismantle his loaded recruiting class at Memphis and redirect them to Lexington, where he has managed to put together the most talented team in the country. In his wake, however, he left Memphis a program without a star player or a legitimate head coaching candidate.

Perhaps the strangest storyline of this off-season was how much trouble Memphis and Arizona had filling their head coaching vacancies. Memphis was reportedly interested in, well, everyone - from Baylor's Scott Drew, to Missouri's Mike Anderson, to USC's Tim Floyd, and everyone in between - before finally settling on up-and-comer Josh Pastner. Arizona was rebuked by a number of candidates, including Pitt's Jamie Dixon and USC's Tim Floyd (yes, Arizona was desperate enough to offer the job to Tim Floyd, more on him in a bit), before they inked Xavier's Sean Miller ... after Miller initially rejected their offer.

Back to Cal, the most important by-product of his move to Kentucky was that, for the second time in his coaching career, he left a school with a slew of NCAA allegations hanging over their head.

Those NCAA allegations were, and still are, quite a story all by themselves. First, news broke that Derrick Rose may have been ineligible for the 2007-08 season. Why? Because someone else allegedly took his SAT's for him. Then, word came out that Rose may have had his grades changed when he was in high school. Specifically, he had a D changed to a C on the transcripts that were sent to colleges.

Of course, Coach Cal knew nothing about it (which, for you cynics, may have actually been true).

Then, word gets out that not only was Robert Dozier not allowed in Georgia because of his SAT's (apparently, after scoring a 1260 on his first test, Dozier's score was flagged, and he scored a 720 on the next attempt), but Doneal Mack was not allowed into Florida because of questions involving his SAT scores.

Could anyone on that Memphis team even spell Final Four?

Coach Cal wasn't the only coach in bluegrass country to make a splash in the national headlines. You can't forget about Rick Pitino, who called the FBI on Karen Sypher, the estranged wife of a former Pitino colleague, after she attempted to extort him out of $10 million. She was interviewed by a local TV news station, but her claims were so incredible (and, apparently, unbelievable) that journalistic integrity said they could not report them until the claims could be verified.

I would love to know what Sypher claims happened. She has since been indicted on extortion charges.

And then we have Tim Floyd. Not three months ago, Tim Floyd was living the dream. After reaching the second round of the tournament (his third straight trip to the dance), Floyd had a roster full of talent set to return and a great recruiting class set to come in.

But then everything started to unravel. First, Renardo Sidney was denied entrance into USC for a multitude of reasons, the majority of which involve Sidney possibly being ineligible for college hoops. He eventually signed with Rick Stansbury at Mississippi State.

Then, came the bombshell - Yahoo! Sports confirmed that Louis Johnson, a former associate of Guillory and Mayo, said, under oath nonetheless, that he saw Floyd hand Guillory an envelope full of benjamins. The players must have known that this was coming, because even before the May 12th article was posted online, USC was hemorraging players. Daniel Hackett, Demar Derozan, Taj Gibson (who hasn't hired an agent, but is almost guaranteed to stay in the draft at this point), and Marcus Johnson all went pro. Noel Johnson, Lamont Jones, and Solomon Hill all withdrew from their commitments/LOI's to USC.

Things were so bad at USC, that Floyd was looking at possibly having to start Percy Miller, aka Lil' Romeo, who had come to USC as a package deal to land Derozan as an under the radar prospect.

And yesterday, the icing on the cake. Floyd stepped down as head coach at USC, leaving the school, in mid-June, without a head coach and with a roster that is half-full. It may be a while before we see USC back in the dance.

I still haven't mentioned stories like Isiah Thomas' hiring at FIU, the Jeremy Tyler-Nick Calathes-Terrence Oglesby trek abroad, the fact that Lance Stephenson - a top 10 recruit, a program changing talent, and a kid that went toe-to-toe with OJ Mayo as a HS freshman - has still yet to find a program that is willing to take on his baggage, or the spat that Paul Hewitt and Steve Cohen had over the NBA's age limit.

And everyone thought Brandon Jennings going to Europe was a big deal last summer.




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Billy Gillispie runs from a TV crew

I'm sure you have seen it by now, but here is some pretty hilarious footage of a Louisville television crew chasing Billy Gillispie for an interview.



Why would anyone want to coach at a place like this? Oh yeah, tradition. That's right. Got it.

In other news, Coach Cal is out of the running for the UK job, saying instead that "Memphis is where I want to coach". Continue reading...

Breaking: Billy Gillispie is out at Kentucky

According to sources for WHAS 11 in Louisville, Gillispie is gone. From the release:

After WHAS11 broke the story around 9:30 P.M., UK’s Sports Information Department issued a statement saying:

“UK men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie has not been fired. There have been no meetings between Gillispie and UK officials today and there is no scheduled press conference for tomorrow”

Again WHAS11’s sources saying Billy Gillispie will not be the head coach of the Kentucky men’s basketball team next year.

More on this as it comes out. Many people are saying the decision will come as early as tomorrow, but we are also hearing that Mitch Barnhart, the Kentucky AD, wants to be sure he has a candidate lined up to replace BCG.

This is all conjecture at this point, but we have yet to hear one rumor (that was not from the University) saying Gillispie is going to get a third season in Lexington.

UPDATE: Gillispie is out. Our question now: who does Kentucky hire? We are hearing they make a run at Billy Donovan, but Tom Izzo and John Calipari have also been mentioned.

UPDATE II: Billy Donovan has withdrawn his name from consideration for the UK job. So will Coach Cal or Izzo bite? Will UK end up with Rick Barnes or Jay Wright? Travis Ford is probably a guarantee signing, but from what I've read, it seems like UK wants a more established coach. Ford is a UK alum and just took an Oklahoma State lacking a true big man to the second round of the dance.

Anthony Grant should be another name to keep in mind but, like I said, I get the feeling that UK wants a more established coach. They already whiffed on hiring an up-and-comer. Continue reading...

Anthony Grant: Wait on that Alabama offer

VCU's head coach and longtime Billy Donovan assistant Anthony Grant is the new hot coaching prospect in the college basketball ranks.

Rightfully so. Since he got the job before the 2006-2007 season, the Rams have gone 76-24 and 45-9 in the CAA, winning three straight regular season conference titles and two tournament titles. And let's not forget about their upset of Duke in the 2007 tournament. Before that, he was an assistant to Billy Donovan for 11 years, ten of them at Florida where he helped build a team that reached three Final Fours and won two titles.

Hell, he was the guy that was going to replace Donovan at Florida in 2007 had Billy not pulled out of the deal with the Orlando Magic.

If he was ever going to leave VCU, now would probably be a good time. His star point guard, and possible first round draft pick, Eric Maynor is graduating, and who knows if sophomore Stretch Armstrong Larry Sanders will be returning to school (Draft Express has him projected as a lottery pick in 2010).

Anthony Grant has probably coached his last game for VCU.
(photo credit: sptimes.com)

(Ed. Note: Funny story we've heard about Sanders - he didn't start playing organized ball until his sophomore year in high school, and in his first varsity game, he scored on the wrong basket at the start of the second half because he didn't know they switched ends. His quote about it was "My IQ for the game was very low". You can't make this stuff up.)

Grant's name has been mentioned at a number of schools with openings - Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama, who apparently are willing to offer Grant $2 million a year.

All three schools are a step up from the CAA. All three schools will be able to throw some dollars at him.

But Grant may want to wait a few days before signing anything.

There may be a much more appealing job opening up.

Kentucky lost to Notre Dame in the Elite 8 of the NIT tonight, ending a disappointing season for the Wildcats. After starting the year 16-4 and SEC play 5-0, the Cats tumbled, losing 8 of 11 to end the season with a 19-11 record, just 8-8 in the SEC.

What makes it all the worse is that Kentucky had two of the best players in the conference on their roster. Jodie Meeks was being talked about as a national player of the year candidate after he put up a school record (for Kentucky none the less, that means something) 54 points against Tennessee earlier in the season.

This is bad news. Kentucky is not a place that tolerates losing. Tubby Smith, who had won a national title in 1998 with the Wildcats, was run out of town because, among other things, of subpar recruiting and the fact that he hadn't reached a Final Four in nine seasons after winning the title. Smith had reached four more Elite 8's, won four more SEC regular season title as well as four more SEC tournament titles, but that wasn't enough.

So is a first round exit and NIT Elite 8 enough?

If you believe Jeff Goodman, then Billy Gillispie may have coached his last game in Lexington. We touched on this pretty extensively a few weeks back, so I'll give you the short version. All coaches deserve a grace period. Two years is just flat out not enough time to prove your worth as a coach. You need time to get in your players and teach them your system, and regardless of whetheror not you have all-americans on the court, if they are not buying into the way you want them to play, as a coach you are not going to succeed.

But it is more than just results with Gillispie. By all accounts, the guy is a prick. He has problems dealing with the media and doesn't know how to handle his players (how many UK players have left the program?) or the administration. Oh, and he may be an alcoholic.

When a program is winning, you can handle a coach with questionable ethics and personal skills, just as a struggling program is less likely to fire a coach when he is a great guy. But when a coach is losing and is disliked by, well, everyone (?), that coach is going to have a very short leash.

Which is why Grant should hold off on making a decision on where to head next.

If Gillispie is, in fact, let go by Kentucky, most are suggesting that the Wildcats will take a run at Billy Donovan. Donovan's Gators have gone to two straight NIT's, and if Nick Calathes turns pro this spring, a third straight NIT may be a reach.

The idea of Donovan taking the Kentucky job is not that much of a stretch. And if Florida wanted Grant in 2007 after just one season as a head coach, is it not reasonable to assume they would still want him when he is the hottest commodity in college hoops?

And if Donovan passes on the Kentucky job, is not reasonable to assume the Wildcats next option would be to go after "the next Billy Donovan"?

So Coach Grant, if you read this: wait a few days before making any decisions. Continue reading...

Is Billy Gillispie on the Hot Seat?

Billy Gillispie is known for his ability to turn around a down trodden program. That is why, after just five years of head coaching experience, he managed to land one of the top six coaching positions in the country (personally, I would say that, in no particular order, Indiana, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and UCLA are the best six jobs in the country).

In '02-'03, his first season as a head coach with UTEP, the Miners went just 6-24. But Gillispie brought in a stellar recruiting class, and went 24-8 in his second season, leading UTEP to the NCAA tournament. That improvement caught the eye of Texas A&M athletic director Bryan Byrne, who hired Gillispie to fill the void left when Melvin Watkins was forced to resign following a 7-21 season (he went 0-16 in the Big XII).

In '04-'05, his first season in College Station, Gillispie led the Aggies to a 21-10 record and an 8-8 finish in the Big XII, the second consecutive season he orchestrated college basketball's biggest turn around. Despite losing Antoine Wright to the draft, the Aggies were better the next season, going 21-8, 10-6, while earning their first ranking in 25 years and their first trip to the dance since 1987. They ended up knocking off fifth seeded Syracuse in the first round, before losing to LSU on a late three.

Things only got better in '06-'07, Gillispie's third season at A&M. The Aggies went 13-3 in the conference and finished second behind Kansas. They were ranked in the top 10 much of the year, getting as high as sixth in the polls. In the tournament that year, A&M reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Memphis by one. Gillispie received his second Big XII coach of the year award in three seasons.

Why am I telling you all this?

To prove a point.

As I said before, Gillispie's reputation is to come in and turn around a struggling program. (ED. NOTE: Yes, UK has not missed a tournament since 1991, but this is Big Blue we are talking about - they haven't won an SEC regular season title since '05, they haven't won the SEC tournament title since '04, their last Elite 8 was in '05, and their last Final Four was in '98. That is unacceptable in Lexington. So while it is all relative, I think it is safe to say that, right now, this Kentucky program is "struggling.") It is now his second year at UK, and the Wildcats still are not right.

One of their biggest issues is that they are wildly inconsistent. Last season, UK lost to Gardner-Webb, San Diego, and Houston as they started out the season 7-9. But Gillispie got his troops to rally around Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley as they won 11 of their last 13 games, finished second in the SEC at 12-4, and earned an at-large bid.

This season, UK started out the season with back-to-back losses (including to VMI in the opener). Gillispie looked like he had, once again, gotten his guys to rally around Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson as the Wildcats won 16 of their next 18, including an 18 point drubbing at rival Tennessee where Jodie Meeks set the UK scoring record by going for 54 points.

But in the last month, the Wildcats have been a completely different team. They have lost six of nine, Jodie Meeks as been unable to get the clean looks he was getting earlier in the season, and the team seems to be in turmoil.

So what has happened to this Kentucky team that as recently as two months ago was ranked in the top 25?

If you agree with former Kentucky Wildcat Mike Casey, then you probably lean towards blaming Gillispie (if you don't know who Mike Casey is, read up here). From an interview Casey gave to A Sea of Blue:

ASOB -- Coach Gillipsie has now coached 60 games at UK. What type of job do you think he's doing so far?

Casey -- "First of all, I think he's in over his head. I think he has no clue as to what's going on in the game."

"I just don't think he knows what it means to coach at UK. I hate to say it, but a change has to be made, and soon, or we're going to lose what UK is all about. Ask (Richie) Farmer, or (John) Pelphrey, or (Deron) Feldhaus what it means to play at Kentucky. Ask them what that "Kentucky" across their chests means. Somehow we've let that go. If we lost we came out fightin' mad; we weren't going to lose two in a row. It's beyond me why (Mitch) Barnhart and (Lee) Todd put up with it."

ASOB -- With the way the season is turning out, can you tell us what type of pressure the players are under?

Casey -- "They're under tremendous pressure because of the prestige ... getting embarrassed on national TV. This (the South Carolina game) isn't the first time."

Casey isn't the only person who has been critical of Gillispie of late. John Steven's of Rush The Court recently wrote a column critical of Gillispie's efforts in Lexington. So did Joe Biddle of the Tennessean (while I sense a bit of sour grapes coming from a Tennessee writer, he does make some legitimate points).

It seems like the consensus is that Gillispie has not yet lived up to expectations, but if you believe the commenters at CatsPause.com and A Sea of Blue, most UK fans are still with holding judgement.

Here is my take on the situation. Gillispie is clearly a surly guy, and if rumors are to be believed, he is an asshole as well (things like stiffing a waiter when his meal gets comped, being obnoxious to media members, hitting on everything that walks - again, rumors, but you never really know). Gillispie still has not signed a contract with Kentucky, and it is believed the reason is that UK requires a morals clause in every contract that he refuses to sign.

But since when is a coach required to be a nice guy?

Bobby Knight sure didn't seem like a pleasant guy to be around during his coaching tenure. Adolph Rupp is notorious, almost legendary, for being one mean son of a bitch. What about Jim Calhoun? How nice of a guy is he?

The difference is that while those three are tough and demanding, they didn't drive away players: Derrick Jasper transferred to UNLV during the summer; Alex Legion left for Illinois after just one semester with Gillispie; DeAndre Liggins refused to re-enter a game against Kansas State in Liggins' native Las Vegas, but Gillispie played him 30 minutes to next game; and now AJ Stewart, who quit the team on Feb. 26th after playing just three minutes against South Carolina, only to rejoin the team the next day.

That leads me to believe that all is not well in the house that Rupp built.

One of the major issues harped on from what I've read is the way he handles his players. One issue recently has been Gillispie calling out Stewart and Kevin Galloway for their defense against LSU on the last play of the game. Watch it here:



I'm not sure exactly what Gillispie wanted, but judging by Stewart's (#15) reaction, I assume that Gillispie told them he wanted to switch every screen. The issue here is that Galloway (#3) never got screened. He was able to fight over the top and was never touched by Tasmin Mitchell.

So what are these players supposed to do? One player is assuming that he is switching every screen, his man goes to set a screen, so he switches. The other player never gets hit, so he doesn't switch.

I think the blame falls on both Gillispie and the players. Obviously, the players need to communicate there. Stewart, if he is switching, needs to be yelling switch loud enough for Galloway to hear him. Galloway needs to be aware enough to know that the play is for his man to run off a ball screen, and that if a screener is near, he needs to make the switch.

But it also is Gillispie's fault. Part of the job of a coach is to get your players prepared for any situation that may arise. Clearly, Gillispie didn't. So while he does have a right to criticize his players for not communicating, he should not be doing it in a public forum and he should also be taking some of the blame.

Regardless of how he handles his team and his players, Gillispie's biggest issue is still on the court. The Wildcat's simply do not have a point guard that can play in the SEC. Liggins has not yet lived up to his potential, while Michael Porter is simply not very good.

How bad as the Wildcat's PG play been? Of the 341 teams in D1, UK turns the ball over more than 337 of them.

It is pretty easy to argue that UK really has no one outside of Meeks and Patterson. Guys like Liggins, Darius Miller, Kevin Galloway, and Perry Stevenson have shown some promise, but none of them appear ready to play significant minutes at the high-major level. I'll give Gillispie the benefit of the doubt here, as I assume he expected Jasper to be handling the PG duties.

So should Gillispie be on the hot seat?

In a word, yes. He is coaching at Kentucky, and like it or not, Big Blue Nation has absurdly high expectations for their Cats. Regardless of the reasons, he has yet to get the team relevant nationally. Until he does, fair or not, he will be on the hot seat.

But personally, I believe he should be given a bit of a grace period. Let him get his recruits in so he can play his system. Gillispie is a great recruiter, and has thus far landed a solid recruiting class for 2009 (two top 50 signees thus far).

If we are still having the same discussion three years down the road, then maybe it will be time for UK to make a move. Continue reading...

Little Diddy About Billy and Jeannine...

I bet you thought this story had no more legs. I mean, we've written about it here and here.

Ryan Parker managed to keep this one going, as he wrote a little diddy about Billy and Jeannine.



Continue reading...

Billy Gillispie vs. Jeannine Edwards Round 3

Billy Gillispie and Jeannine Edwards don't get along. At all. Already this season they have had two, how shall I say this ... awkward encounters during sideline interviews at the half. Suffice to say Gillispie does not seem to be a fan of hers. Just watch:

Gillispie vs. Edwards Round 1:



Gillispie vs. Edwards Round 2:



Now I don't really see anything wrong with the questions that Edwards asked. I am not a huge fan of the halftime interview, but in both instances Edwards seemed to be asking informed, relevant questions.

So why is Gillispie reacting like this?

Sports by Brooks may have the answer:

A source recently told me that Gillispie made a past, amorous advance at Edwards which was subsequently denied by the ESPN reporter. I have no more details than that. But again, I have confirmed that Gillispie did make clear to Edwards that he was interested in spending some quality time with her away from the court. And she shut him down.

Take this for what its worth - a website quoting an unnamed source. If this is in fact true, I would question the intelligence of ESPN sending Edwards to cover Kentucky games every Tuesday.

Speaking of which, Kentucky plays Vanderbilt tonight on ESPN at 9. Any guesses as to who is doing sideline for that game?

Yup, Jeannine Edwards. Continue reading...

Billy Gillispie loves sideline interviews

Remember two weeks ago when we posted the video of Billy Gillispie being interviewed by ESPN sideline reporter Jeanine Edwards? Edwards asked him a question about how Ole Miss was shutting down Jodie Meeks, Gillispie responded by telling Edwards that she asked "a stupid question". Watch:



Well last night, during the Kentucky-Florida game, Edwards once again interviewed the coach before halftime. It didn't go to well this time either.



Gillispie's disdain for Edwards is palpable during this interview. He says he can't hear her on the first question, then totally disregards her what she asks and goes off on his own tangent. I'm not sure why Gillispie would dislike Edwards, but I do find it funny that Edwards is clearly trying really hard to impress Gillispie with her question.

To be honest, I think the whole idea of halftime interviews are kind of dumb. The interviewer is much more likely to catch an attitude from the coach than they are to get a straight answer. And rarely, if ever, does the coach say something insightful or something of substance.

Does a national TV audience really need to see someone that has that job because they are nice on the eyes (not because of their knowledge of the sport) try to have an intelligent conversation with the some of the game's greatest minds? I sure don't.

While we are on the subjectn did anyone see what Holly Rowe was wearing during the Mizzou-Kansas game? I'll try to dig up a picture (not finding it right now)n but she had on a leather jacket. Really? Was she doing sideline for Orange County Choppers? It was Big Monday on ESPN. Do it up a little bit, Holly. Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Terrico White of Ole Miss on Patrick Patterson and Perry Stevenson, and Billy Gillispie puts Jeannine Edwards in her place

Patrick Patterson averages 2.0 blocks per game. Perry Stevenson averages 2.2. Ole Miss freshman Terrico White dunked on both of them last night.



In case you missed the game, Billy Gillispie had a pretty funny halftime interview, where he tells ESPN sideline reporter not Erin Andrews, so who cares Jeannine Edwards that she asked "a really bad question".

Continue reading...