Ahh, okay. Thanks, guys.
Ahh, okay. Thanks, guys.
When all is said and done more is said than done.
Did Ford recruit Matt Witt to EKU? That was a career changer.
Gillispie says he 'can't control' whether he'll return to Cats
Says his return is up to superiors
BY BRETT DAWSON • BDAWSON@COURIER-JOURNAL.COMTHE COURIER-JOURNAL • MARCH 23, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- University of Kentucky men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie said yesterday that he loves coaching at UK but stopped short of guaranteeing a return next season, saying that the future is outside his control.
During a news conference to discuss tonight's second-round National Invitation Tournament game at Creighton, Gillispie mostly fielded questions about his uncertain future.
He said he meets "all the time" with athletic director Mitch Barnhart and university President Lee Todd but has not discussed his job status.
Asked if he expects to return next season, Gillispie said he "can't control" that decision.
"Decisions are made (by other people) all the time anytime you work for someone else," he said yesterday. "Shoot, I love it here; I like it here; I like our guys. I'm really excited about our guys coming in, our guys coming back and I don't worry about all those kind of things."
Gillispie has been under fire since his Wildcats (21-13) stumbled down the stretch, losing eight of their last 11 regular-season games and bowing out in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
That collapse snapped a string of 17 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
That has increased the pressure on Gillispie, who is 39-26 in two seasons at UK.
He noted his team's inexperience, saying few teams in college basketball play "at the very, very highest level totally consistently all year long" without seniors who play significant minutes.
Gillispie added that his team had improved "totally" and "dramatically" since its NCAA Tournament snub, citing a "really good stretch of basketball" during Tuesday's 70-60 win against UNLV in the first round of the NIT.
"We're an inexperienced group, and we always just kept hoping and kept hoping and working hard towards (the NCAA Tournament), but I think the finalization really hit hard when we weren't in there," Gillispie said. "I think it's really given them a great chance to mature dramatically, and I think it's going to really pay dividends. I think it's paid dividends already."
"We need to get back to the absolute elite level, and I don't think we're very far from that," Gillispie said.
This is not a dig on you BRM...But, as these quotes actually say nothing at all substantial, it is puzzling why so many media sources are running them like front page news in the last 24 hours. Especially on the eve of a 2nd round NIT game.
Let's recap....
(1) Billy says he "can't control' whether or not he returns to UK next season.
(2) Billy also says "Decisions are made (by other people) all the time anytime you work for someone else..."
I normally expect more from Brett Dawson. That's not exactly scintillating stuff there.
Sorry about misunderstanding your point...
I don't necessarily believe a coach has to have tons of tenure in order to be successful, but Billy G's level of enthusiasm and rapid results made it seem as though he'd be a decent choice for Kentucky. I'm having trouble figuring out how Gillisipie can make a mediocre Texas A&M program a Top 10 team in 2 years but Kentucky gets worse...
Anyway, I'm also not sold on Ford at this time.
In my personal/professional experience dealing with UK sports, I have always found that the most accurate source of information on the program consistenly emerges from their extensive booster network.
I heard multiple confirmations today that two heavy hitter boosters held a high-level discussion last Friday in which a 'blank check' offer was made to a coach to take the job at UK next season.
I am little shocked that so much is leaking about this meeting due to the fact that this coach's team was currently still playing in a post-season basketball tourney.
Is this the Calipari rumor or the Pitino rumor? Or the hybrid Calitino rumor?
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