Gillispie Gone, Let him leave in peace

Gillispie has been let go.

Fired.

Gone.

Sent back to Texas.

Fans are thankful. Happy for the ugly disparture. But what fans don’t realize is the fact that these public figures are human, have families, and feelings.

What happened on Friday is life: people get fired. And looking straight from the facts, Gillispie wasn’t the right fit. He did not want to be an ambassador for the state. He wanted no part in the “Celebrity-like” status that came with the job. He also missed the tournament and had a dismal second half of the season.

Okay. There is merit in the firing.

But the aftermath is sickening and cynical.

Following a meeting with players, Billy Gillispie headed to the Joe Craft Center to clear his belongings; the University gave him and his staff a 5 pm deadline for removing their belongings. As he walked to the building the man was hounded by reporters.

The newly unemployed coach attempted to walk through the crowd of reporters, cell phone to his ear.

When asked questions, he politely said, “Give me some respect, I am on the phone.”
Unrelenting reporters continued to follow the coach, to the point where Gillispie went into a sprint to his offices, one reporter in toe attempting to block his path.

The reporter in toe asked, “You are not really going to run from me are you Bill?” This is the same reporter that after the Gardner Webb game two years ago asked if the coach thought the team played hard. And when Gillispie replied, “Ya they always play hard”, the reporter responded with a disgust of “Wow!”

Reporters need to be objective and take the emotion out of what they are covering.
I can relate a little to GIllispie and sympathise with his departure.

The people he had to deal with; the people who cover Kentucky athletics, are also fans and have an emotional attachment to the team and prgram. So when things go bad, those reporters are the ones who are on the message boards ranting, raving, and using their credentials to bash a subject they should be covering with some objectivity.

Kentucky media needs to take a step back and reevaluate the people they hire to cover things. Fans are not objective. They are emotional. They have a “Raa, Raa” attitude and are not objective.
The chasing down of Gillispie and almost being confrontational and sense of entitlement to chase a newly unemployed person is wrong.

Being a reporter/fan is obnoxious. To use your microphone and camera to “stick it to a guy” that has no ill-feelings your way is wrong.

Kentucky might stay in this down swing of basketball, until things change. Change needs to begin at every level. Take the emotion out media. Cover things objectively. Don’t act bigger than you are.

Getting fired is tough for anyone regardless of title. Lay off.

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors…

Bye bye Billy G? Two years, a missed NCAA appearance, and lack of personality appears to have Kentucky’s second year head men headed out of Lexington with an overall 40-27 record.

Billy GIllispie’s relationship with fans, media, and boosters was strained from the very beginning. This Texas man was hard to read, hard to approach, and hard to get a read on. He was a man of his convictions, going through full length practices on game days, and blowing off national media halfimte interviewers—Jeanine Edwards. The embarrassments and hard headedness has his bags packing and the University has just sent out a press release---

There will be a 4:30 Press Conference announcing a new head coach for the winningest program in basketball. The rumor mill has been churning for quite some time about who exactly will be the new coach.

Names of John Calapari from Memphis, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, and a hopeful Rick Pitino of Louisville. But all these were mere names, as the announcement takes place today, the coach has to be out of the season….

So, early indications are the the Wildcats have nabbed the man they wanted two years ago. Billy Donavan of the Florida Gators appears to be the next head coach. But this is merely speculation.

The announcement takes place today at 4:30 pm.

Ding, Ding Round 2

The Kentucky Wildcats head to Omaha, Nebraska to take on the Creighton Bluejays of the Missouri Valley Conference Monday night.

The Bluejays are no slouch of an opponent as they have only lost seven games all season and tied for first in their conference with Northern Iowa. The Bluejays have won 12 of their past 13 games and are led by the conference’s Player of the Year, Booker Woodfox. Woodfox spent his season averaging 15.7 points a game and ranked 2nd in the nation in three point shooting percentage hitting an astounding 47.6% of his attempts.

Not only will the Cats have to focus on stopping Woodfox for a chance at victory, they will also be fighting against history. Since the NIT was trimmed down to 32 teams three years ago, the team with home court advantage has won 60 games and lost only 14. For the Wildcats to make a run through the rest of the bracket, they will have to do it on the road…a road which teams before have not fared so well.

In the breaking down of this game, Kentucky is a “Big Boy” in a power conference taking on a mid-major with what is supposed to be lesser talent.

The winning of the game hinges on the Cats mindset and play. The NIT is not a premier tournament, nor is there any real kudos for winning the whole thing, but a win is a win and extra games can build for the future. So if the Wildcats are looking to build, it must continue tonight.

Tip Off at 7 p.m EST