How mad were fans when Billie Gillispie was hired?
- Thread starter 6andahalf
- Start date
We weren't mad... he was a young upcoming coach. Wasn't a slam dunk hire like we wanted but we thought he'd grow into the job.
They weren't, a big crowd at his introductory press conference cheered so loud that they drove Billy G to drink!
I wasn’t mad but I was confused and not really confident.
He beat UofL in the NCAAT so it lulled us to sleep.
We weren't mad really. We were glad that Tubby was gone and looking forward to a new coach. At the time, Gillispie was a hot up and coming coach. He coached a really solid Texas A&M squad to a sweet 16 with a win over Pitino's Cards in Rupp Arena. He had a solid record of turning programs around at UTEP and A&M and was on Self's staff at Illinois I believe.
I remember not really knowing a ton about him but still excited to get somebody new in here. In hindsight, of course, he was an awful hire.
I remember not really knowing a ton about him but still excited to get somebody new in here. In hindsight, of course, he was an awful hire.
I believe most were “ok” with it. Like others said, not a slam dunk Billy Donovan hire, but was a solid up and comer who just ended up flopping.
That week a UT fan asked me what I thought about the hire. The only thing I could come up with was, “I hear he likes basketball.”
The hope was he’d be up to the task.
The hope was he’d be up to the task.
The Billy G hire was well received on this board. At the time, can’t really blame anybody. He was a hot name in the coaching ranks.
Everyone was excited! He had resurrected a couple programs and just came off a sweet 16 appearance after finishing the year ranked top 10 in the country. Had a few really good recruiting classes in a row and was showing promise. Want to know who knocked his team off in 2007 before he took the Uk job????
Cal and Memphis……
Cal and Memphis……
I think his drinking issues were known in Texas but for some reason Mitch either didn’t vet him well enough or had to make a hire. Who knows. He did beat RP in the NCAAT in Rupp.
people weren't mad at all, he was killing it at tamu and beat louisville in rupp in the tournament
I should also add that everybody really thought we we were getting Donovan, so he was always seen as a second or third choice. I remember some people wanted Cal at the time as well, but nothing like two years later when we actually hired him.
Mitch panicked when the Donovan deal went south and jumped on the first decent hire he could get.
Mitch panicked when the Donovan deal went south and jumped on the first decent hire he could get.
He also said something to the effect, he wanted 5 stars backing up 5 stars. He also quickly turned into a sick tyrant ... ask Perry Stevenson.
We kind of have that now, with a dude that can't coach for crap.
He was a hot coach at the time. known as a program builder turning around several mediocre programs. Known for his drive on the recruiting trail and being a tough coach. Plus he had just beaten Louisville in the tournament. He was single and at least I thought it was the perfect marriage because I thought he would immerse himself in everything Kentucky basketball. Little did I know he he was married to the bottle…unfortunately. Boy was I wrong
Last edited:
I actually think Mitch partially gets a bad rap for that hire. From a basketball perspective, at the time, he was definitely an up and comer with a ton of potential. It was his personal stuff that should've never gotten by the search committee or whoever he hired to do that stuff.
I don't remember anyone being mad. There was a lot of "anything's better than what we had" talk.
Not mad at all.
His Acie Law team was great and had sent Pitino home crying which was a big plus at the time.
People I discussed it with at the time were kind of universal in thinking we’d gotten “The Other Billy” and we’d have felt more confident with Donovan, but this guy didn’t look like chopped liver. Then came the talk that he was unmarried because he just wanted to live basketball 24/7 and a lot of people really did start to get kind of hopeful. That hit a boil when he signed Patrick Patterson.
His Acie Law team was great and had sent Pitino home crying which was a big plus at the time.
People I discussed it with at the time were kind of universal in thinking we’d gotten “The Other Billy” and we’d have felt more confident with Donovan, but this guy didn’t look like chopped liver. Then came the talk that he was unmarried because he just wanted to live basketball 24/7 and a lot of people really did start to get kind of hopeful. That hit a boil when he signed Patrick Patterson.
I'll never understand the hire. Barnhart panicked. Us UK fans though threw ourselves behind him and tried to support him even as he gave us every reason not to.
Billy was a dawg until he saw the ladies and the bottle was everywhere.
I wasn't mad but I looked at my college roomate when we hired him and said "This isn't going to work." It didn't.
It also didn't help that after Donovan turned us down there were like hourly reports (or what felt like hourly reports) on ESPN and the like that announced other coaches weren't interested. That's where the "Rick Barnes has taken his name out of consideration" meme comes from. So it just made Gillespie seem like he was probably well down the list when he was chosen, which was bad PR.
There were some who wanted Cal and Donovan turned us down but most were happy with BCG. Hindsight is 20/20, but UK avoiding the Derek Rose academic issues made it worth waiting on Cal.
Acie Law is one of my favorite non-UK players of all time.
Acie Law is one of my favorite non-UK players of all time.
I remember many fans were elated that anyone other than Tubby was hired to sit in that chair. There were a few detractors, but most people were on board with the hire.
It became apparent early in Gillispie’s tenure that it was a poor fit.
The first year was odd - we had a losing record OOC with losses to Garner Webb, San Diego, Houston and UAB, but went 12-4 in the SEC and Billy won SEC COTY. We squeaked into the tournament as an 11-seed and got beat by Tom Crean in the first round.
Second year was a complete shit show and he had very minimal fan support following a Senior Night home loss to an abysmal UGA team that sealed our NIT fate.
It became apparent early in Gillispie’s tenure that it was a poor fit.
The first year was odd - we had a losing record OOC with losses to Garner Webb, San Diego, Houston and UAB, but went 12-4 in the SEC and Billy won SEC COTY. We squeaked into the tournament as an 11-seed and got beat by Tom Crean in the first round.
Second year was a complete shit show and he had very minimal fan support following a Senior Night home loss to an abysmal UGA team that sealed our NIT fate.
I was mad because it came off as a rush/panic hire. Billy Donovan had just won back to back titles at Florida and rumors were that we were going to get him. Kentucky contacted him, but he declined the offer. If you follow the timeline though it seems like once Donovan said no, Mitch made the first hire he could find.
• April 5th, 2007- Kentucky requests permission to speak with Donovan.
•Morning of April 6th, 2007- Kentucky speaks with Donovan. Donovan declines offer. Barnhart then says the University will take its time and be patient in the search for the next coach.
• Evening of April 6th, 2007- ESPN Sports Center has Billy Gillespie quoted as saying He would accept the Kentucky job if offered to him.
• Late April 6th/ early April 7th, 2007- Gillespie flies into Lexington to speak with Mitch and University president about job.
• April 7th, 2007- Gillespie is introduced as new coach.
Sounds like a rush hire to me.
• April 5th, 2007- Kentucky requests permission to speak with Donovan.
•Morning of April 6th, 2007- Kentucky speaks with Donovan. Donovan declines offer. Barnhart then says the University will take its time and be patient in the search for the next coach.
• Evening of April 6th, 2007- ESPN Sports Center has Billy Gillespie quoted as saying He would accept the Kentucky job if offered to him.
• Late April 6th/ early April 7th, 2007- Gillespie flies into Lexington to speak with Mitch and University president about job.
• April 7th, 2007- Gillespie is introduced as new coach.
Sounds like a rush hire to me.
One thing people forget was how damn awful he was as a human.
He wasn’t just “old school” he was psycho. We all know the story of making a certain player walk instead of taking the bus. Guys like PP recalled how his practices were just absurd.
There’s a reason he’s not a coach anymore in the big time, regardless of the bottle.
Guy was a pure prick and from the get go was not the personality this university needed. That’s on Mitch. He knew that.
He wasn’t just “old school” he was psycho. We all know the story of making a certain player walk instead of taking the bus. Guys like PP recalled how his practices were just absurd.
There’s a reason he’s not a coach anymore in the big time, regardless of the bottle.
Guy was a pure prick and from the get go was not the personality this university needed. That’s on Mitch. He knew that.
Not mad at all, he was a hotter name and had just beaten Louisville. Supposed to live and breathe basketball. We didn’t know he was a total drunk nutbag though.
It sucked. but honestly, you get a gold star for almost spelling Billy Gillispie correctly. First time i've seen the "Billie". Usually it's the last name that gives people the most trouble so it's refreshing to see the first name murdered a bit.
Man rupp was crankin when we lost to garner Webb. Rupp was cranking the next year when we lost to Miami and vcu. Memorial was cranking when we went to the nit. It was a low risk hire. The man’s contract was on a napkin and a memorandum of understanding
I thought maybe he would work out. Tubby stopped recruiting and AC Earl lit up UL in the NCAA Tournament that year. He was up and coming. Sometimes you just don’t know. The contract thing was kind of odd if I recall correctly.
