My father submitted this to the Lexington Herald-Leader and it was published in the Tuesday, March 31, 2009 edition.
Find an interim coach
Conventional wisdom dictates that the University of Kentucky immediately hire an eminently qualified coach in order to hold on to players and recruits.
Unfortunately, that person might not be available at this time. There may be a way, however, to resume UK's winning tradition while the search continues.
What if someone were to temporarily take the helm, someone who understands UK basketball, has proven himself as a collegian, a professional and as a coach, and has the name recognition and reputation equal to the task?
Such an iconic person could not only restore the luster to UK's storied program, but bring back sound and exciting basketball.
Both Pat Riley and Dan Issel meet these criteria, and they know what basketball means in the Bluegrass. Perhaps one of them would be willing to coach and help while the process of finding a long-term solution continues.
It would be far better to follow either of them than to arrive in the aftermath of controversy.
Whirlwind romances can lead to bitter divorces.
Wayne Collier
Lexington
The only thing that bothers me about the entire search for a new coach to serve as the caretaker for the University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Program is the speed with which it has been conducted. Please do not misunderstand me, John Calipari makes my list of first-tier coaches in America. He has the persona and the coaching moxie to lead Kentucky back to the top of College Basketball. He also has a rivalry with the coaches of UK's biggest rivals (Louisville and Tennessee). Any naysayers at this point wants the Athletics Department to be absolutely sure beyond a reasonable doubt that the right choice has been made.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Before Getting Swept Away
Blogging is something I have wanted to do for quite some time. I registered for this blog two years ago, but never could get my hands around something to post. However, my fanaticism with University of Kentucky Men's Basketball dusted off the cobwebs in my mind hindering me from publishing a post for this blog, Making Sense of It All. Outside of my own vanity and women I have three primary interests: Theology, U.S. History/Politics, Geography and College Sports (primarily University of Kentucky Men's Basketball and Football). So, if you enjoy any of these subjects, you may find this blog interesting. However, please do not anticipate daily posts. I am a working man and the bills must be paid. Thanks for reading and always feel free to disagree.
-- Nate Collier
-- Nate Collier
UK Roster Renovation & Reconstruction
The Herald-Leader published in this morning's (3/31/2009) online edition a link to an article that ESPN Senior Writer, Andy Katz, wrote at this time a year ago when Memphis was slated to play in the National Championship Game. A particular statement in that article stands out with particular relevance now that John Calipari appears to be the next UK coach, "(Calipari) admitted that he recruits players who fit his school. If he were at Stanford, he would recruit players who could be successful at Stanford. But he's not, so he recruits to Memphis -- the same way he recruited to Massachusetts -- by finding players who can succeed at that particular school."
Certainly, UK players fit a certain mold. One does not see UK players wearing headbands or protraying any kind of gangly look out on the court. Regardless of the quality of UK's won-loss record, the program rarely garners a "thug-like" image by how it plays, how its players look or even by how they behave off the court. Furthermore, the UK roster is going to need to undergo major renovation and reconstruction. One of my biggest criticisms of Billy Gillispie would be that he simply had too many players on his team. There were 16 young men who got in a game for UK last year -- three others were redshirted. With only one senior, Jared Carter, UK has 15 returning players and three more waiting in the wings and we are not even yet talking about Daniel Orton, Jon Hood or G.J. Vilarino.
Should Calipari do what everyone now expects and "sign a contract" to come and become the 21st coach of the "greatest tradition in the history of college basketball," ESPN reports that he will likely be able to bring the top three high school players in the nation, according to rivals.com, to Lexington with him (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousin and Xavier Henry). That would escalate the roster to 24 players! The NCAA allows only 13 scholarships for basketball. Now, what UK fan does not want winning basketball? However, does loyalty mean anything? There are guys who have shown a commitment to this program by enduring the rumored harsh mind games of Gillispie. Can UK potentially bring in better players? Yes. Should they? Now that is another question. Whatever happens, one should expect massive defections to occur whoever comes in to take the helm -- few coaches would want even 18 players on their roster.
As for all the recruits from whom Gillispie received verbal commitments. The new coach will have to evaluate those scenarios one-by-one and reserves the right to revoke if he feels that is the right thing to do, but for guys who are already here, that is a different matter. It is easy to overlook the human element in things when it comes to producing winning basketball. These young men have aspirations, they have a mom and a dad and a great opportunity to play at UK before them. Are they less deserving than a blue-chip recruit that could come? College athletics is a business, no doubt about that, but where is the line?
Certainly, UK players fit a certain mold. One does not see UK players wearing headbands or protraying any kind of gangly look out on the court. Regardless of the quality of UK's won-loss record, the program rarely garners a "thug-like" image by how it plays, how its players look or even by how they behave off the court. Furthermore, the UK roster is going to need to undergo major renovation and reconstruction. One of my biggest criticisms of Billy Gillispie would be that he simply had too many players on his team. There were 16 young men who got in a game for UK last year -- three others were redshirted. With only one senior, Jared Carter, UK has 15 returning players and three more waiting in the wings and we are not even yet talking about Daniel Orton, Jon Hood or G.J. Vilarino.
Should Calipari do what everyone now expects and "sign a contract" to come and become the 21st coach of the "greatest tradition in the history of college basketball," ESPN reports that he will likely be able to bring the top three high school players in the nation, according to rivals.com, to Lexington with him (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousin and Xavier Henry). That would escalate the roster to 24 players! The NCAA allows only 13 scholarships for basketball. Now, what UK fan does not want winning basketball? However, does loyalty mean anything? There are guys who have shown a commitment to this program by enduring the rumored harsh mind games of Gillispie. Can UK potentially bring in better players? Yes. Should they? Now that is another question. Whatever happens, one should expect massive defections to occur whoever comes in to take the helm -- few coaches would want even 18 players on their roster.
As for all the recruits from whom Gillispie received verbal commitments. The new coach will have to evaluate those scenarios one-by-one and reserves the right to revoke if he feels that is the right thing to do, but for guys who are already here, that is a different matter. It is easy to overlook the human element in things when it comes to producing winning basketball. These young men have aspirations, they have a mom and a dad and a great opportunity to play at UK before them. Are they less deserving than a blue-chip recruit that could come? College athletics is a business, no doubt about that, but where is the line?
Letter to the Lexington Herald-Leader, 3/22/2009 (Author's Cut)
Billy Gillispie has struggled, in part, because he does not understand his role. He does not report to Mitch Barnhart so much as he answers to the people of Kentucky, who see him as a caretaker of a tradition with which so many of them feel a personal connection. People loved Rick Pitino, not just because he won like Adolph Rupp, but because he let the Big Blue Nation know that he had their concerns at heart. Pitino’s empathy was best displayed by how he communicated with the Kentucky faithful after a loss. He addressed mistakes head-on, preached fundamentals, credited hard work and held 6:00 AM practices – when needed. This reassured knowledgeable Kentucky fans that mistakes were going to be corrected and progress would be made. Coach Gillispie’s resistence to change, curt remarks and public withdrawal have not instilled dedicated fans with confidence. The opposite is true - everyone knows that many of the problems that plagued this team in November remain – nothing seems to have changed for the better. Mr. Gillispie thinks that the team belongs to him and that it is none of our business. He is in error.
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