Kentucky BB Head Coach Position

[fourteenandoh]

I'm just glad to see that Thad isn't on the list.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

hes done.

that being said. und football, iu basketball, uk basketball. all epic programs floundering. programs that kids (recruits) today have never seen as "good" teams in their memories. (granted iu made the finalls in what 02) but none of those teams are the teams most of us grew up with. the powerhouses the were. the expectations of those guys are in place with inferior facilities and a shrinking state population wise.

 

[fourteenandoh]

hes done.

that being said. und football, iu basketball, uk basketball. all epic programs floundering. programs that kids (recruits) today have never seen as "good" teams in their memories. (granted iu made the finalls in what 02) but none of those teams are the teams most of us grew up with. the powerhouses the were. the expectations of those guys are in place with inferior facilities and a shrinking state population wise.

you still can't discount the fact that kids in indiana and kentucky grow up to play hoops at their respective state schools. its in the culture so i don't think it will go away quite as easily as your post says.

 

[BrutusBobcat]

you still can't discount the fact that kids in indiana and kentucky grow up to play hoops at their respective state schools. its in the culture so i don't think it will go away quite as easily as your post says.

Pitino at L'vile can't be helping things for either school. Matta has also raided just about every ounce of talent in Indiana as well. In order to breathe, you need air.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

you still can't discount the fact that kids in indiana and kentucky grow up to play hoops at their respective state schools. its in the culture so i don't think it will go away quite as easily as your post says.

you have the ville, memphis raiding kids, and then you have und return to a pulse in basketball, purdue, matta has plucked from the state etc. they dont carry the weight outside of the state. im not saying they are dead. im saying theyll need the right guy to put the paddles on the chest of the program. not some slick guy who allegedly runs around lexington schmoozing, boozing, trying to hook up with coeds, skinny dipping in area pools late night etc...

 

[jlb1705]

Louisville under Pitino relies more on kids from NY and the northeast than it does on kids from KY.

Prime example: Pitino went for Sebastian Telfair while a pretty good PG from Louisville (Rajon Rondo) ended up at UK.

Regardless, even if UK is ending up with leftovers they should be able to beat VMI 10/10.

I'm not sure I buy that UK has been down so long that nobody remembers they were good. They had a two championships and a handful of final fours in the previous decade. Even in the seasons that got Tubby Smith run out of town they were winning conference titles in the regular season and tournament, and getting #1 and #2 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

I agree that it wasn't that long ago when UK was a power, but I'm in my 40's, nowhere near a teen anymore. I'm not sure that a teenagers (most at least) memories go back far enough to remember UK'd success.

UF, UT and even LSU have had some very good years and been in the limelight more than UK recently, and Pitino has his monster down the road in L'ville. I think UK can and probably will return to a power, but it will be a tough sell to an established coach (IMHO at least the three mentioned) to leave a successful program where they are loved and respected and have built a safe solid foundation and have won championships (or come darn close) to coach at a place where boosters, fans and administrators fire guys who win championships.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Louisville under Pitino relies more on kids from NY and the northeast than it does on kids from KY.

Prime example: Pitino went for Sebastian Telfair while a pretty good PG from Louisville (Rajon Rondo) ended up at UK.

Regardless, even if UK is ending up with leftovers they should be able to beat VMI 10/10.

I'm not sure I buy that UK has been down so long that nobody remembers they were good. They had a two championships and a handful of final fours in the previous decade. Even in the seasons that got Tubby Smith run out of town they were winning conference titles in the regular season and tournament, and getting #1 and #2 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

how many 15-16 year olds (in basketball you are recruiting kids at that age) remember the last decade? 1998 title? they would have been what just out of diapers? dont get me wrong that stretch in the early-mid 90s was awesome. that being said kids that age dont remember that at all. maybe some kid brought up in lexington, or some kid whose parents are UK fans, not the average kid on the street whose living room you have to go into.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

UK mum on coach's status | KentuckySports.com

University of Kentucky assistant coach Tracy Webster was seen packing up his office in the Craft Center on Thursday.
Spring cleaning? Confirmation that UK had pulled the plug on the Billy Gillispie era?
It remained hard to be 100 percent certain the day after Kentucky's season ended in a 77-67 defeat at Notre Dame.
On his final radio show of the season, and possibly of his tenure as UK coach, Gillispie made several references to next season.
When host Tom Leach asked Gillipsie about his status, the coach said, "Just went to work (and) do what we normally do."
This "daily routine," as Gillispie called it, did not include any meetings with UK president Lee Todd and Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart.
"I don't know of anything different," Gillispie told Leach. "When they tell me something is different, then I'll do something different."
Earlier this month, Barnhart noted his desire to meet with Gillispie after the season to discuss "adjustments." That plan took a hit when Gillispie sounded uncompromising during an interview at the Southeastern Conference Tournamen
...
After the Notre Dame game, Gillispie asked that the team's locker room be cleared of everyone except players. When reporters later entered, no one would say whether the coach had revealed his job status.
UK is expected to hold a news conference Friday to announce its plans for the coaching position.
Meanwhile, rumors swirled — often crisscrossing each other in logic-defying arcs — about a possible successor to Gillispie.
There were at least four supposed sightings of Florida Coach Billy Donovan in Central Kentucky. This came as a surprise to his father, Bill Donovan, who said his son had taken a break and gone to the beach. "To the best of my knowledge," the elder Donovan said.
There was also talk that Kentucky was set to hire Oklahoma State Coach Travis Ford, who combined savvy and competitiveness as a UK player in the 1990s. Then there was speculation that Barnhart was traveling to Phoenix to meet with Memphis Coach John Calipari.
...

 

[jlb1705]

how many 15-16 year olds (in basketball you are recruiting kids at that age) remember the last decade? 1998 title? they would have been what just out of diapers? dont get me wrong that stretch in the early-mid 90s was awesome. that being said kids that age dont remember that at all. maybe some kid brought up in lexington, or some kid whose parents are UK fans, not the average kid on the street whose living room you have to go into.

The first half of this decade though Kentucky was having a level of success that isn't too dissimilar from what Memphis and L'ville have been enjoying lately, and were accomplishing things that would be cause for celebration at all but a very select few programs. Even if you don't count the stretch of very good - not great seasons UK had in the early 2000s, does it really matter all that much? The kids Pitino has been recruiting to Louisville don't remember Denny Crum or Wes Unseld. The kids Calipari has been recruiting to Memphis don't remember Penny Hardaway or Calipari's 1996 UMass team w/ Marcus Camby. Yet they are able to bring in good players and get the job done on the court. They can make the tournament, get high seeds, and not lose season openers to VMI.

UK doesn't suck right now because they haven't been to a Final Four this decade. They suck because their program is infested and surrounded by imbiciles and they've created a dysfunctional situation that no quality coach wants to be a part of, despite all the tradition and resources.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

The first half of this decade though Kentucky was having a level of success that isn't too dissimilar from what Memphis and L'ville have been enjoying lately, and were accomplishing things that would be cause for celebration at all but a very select few programs. Even if you don't count the stretch of very good - not great seasons UK had in the early 2000s, does it really matter all that much? The kids Pitino has been recruiting to Louisville don't remember Denny Crum or Wes Unseld. The kids Calipari has been recruiting to Memphis don't remember Penny Hardaway or Calipari's 1996 UMass team w/ Marcus Camby. Yet they are able to bring in good players and get the job done on the court. They can make the tournament, get high seeds, and not lose season openers to VMI.

UK doesn't suck right now because they haven't been to a Final Four this decade. They suck because their program is infested and surrounded by imbiciles and they've created a dysfunctional situation that no quality coach wants to be a part of, despite all the tradition and resources.

that was exactly my point...

 

[Jake]

This Gillispie thing is destined to be a train wreck. Think about it: it took a very experienced Texas A&M team (5 of the top 7 scorers were either juniors or seniors, a rarity in college basketball these days) just for him to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and finish second in his conference. That season (again, I reiterate that it was Gillispie's best) would be considered a failure at UK and would have Wildcat fans calling for his job.

Good call.

 

[Jake]

So how soon until Travis Ford is hired? Sure, they'll go down the list of big names first, but unless those guys have lost their minds they'll stay put and the former UK point guard will come back home.

 

[Steve19]

It sounds a lot like Kentucky is about to get the same jolt of reality that the Notre Dame and Michigan football teams got.

 

[IronBuckI]

So how soon until Travis Ford is hired? Sure, they'll go down the list of big names first, but unless those guys have lost their minds they'll stay put and the former UK point guard will come back home.

IMO, they'd be better off going directly at Ford. The man played at Kentucky for 25 years, so he' knows the culture, and he's proven that he can coach. UK ego won't let them refrain from going after Petino and Donovan again, but it would be better for everyone if they just hired Ford right now.