Should Billy Gillispie get the Matt Doherty treatment?

A once storied college basketball program had entered uncharted waters. 

They missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in years. 

There were former players who questioned whether the coach was the right guy to lead the history-laden program.

There were those who questioned his intense practices and moodiness with the players and public.  There were players that decided to transfer away as a result.  Parents of players weren't happy with his leadership style and expressed their displeasure to the athletic director.  He favored a relentless man-to-man defense and up-tempo offense to the point of defeat sometimes.

There were rumors of high-profile players who wanted to leave the school.

Billy Gillispie and Kentucky?  Nope.  But it sure sounds close doesn't it.

Matt Doherty had moved up the coaching ladder and landed the head coaching job at North Carolina in 2000 after Bill Guthridge retired.  Three years later, he was pretty much told to resign the job at his alma mater after three lackluster seasons.

In his first year, the Tar Heels were 26-7 and earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  They were bounced out of the second round by Penn State.  Sophomore Joe Forte opted for the NBA, citing among other things, his inability to get along with the coach.

Then the flood gates opened.

Disaster struck in Doherty's second season as the Tar Heels finished 8-20 and missed the NCAA Tourney for the first time since 1962.  It was the first 20-loss season in the school's storied history. 

In his third year, Doherty brought in one of the nation's top freshman classes to offset the loss of three players who transferred out.  Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants helped get the Heels off to a quick start and a #12 ranking early in the season.  However, May broke his foot before ACC play began, and UNC stumbled into the NIT and finished with a 19-16 record.

North Carolina and the NIT weren't suited for one another.  And as a result, UNC decided their program and their coach weren't suited for one another either.

Just two weeks after Doherty's resignation, native son Roy Williams was hired away from Kansas to be the new UNC coach.  Two years later, the players that Doherty brought to Chapel Hill helped lead UNC to the national title.

This sounds all too familiar to Kentucky fans as the Wildcats stumble into the SEC Tournament Thursday with a record of 19-12 and will likely have to win the whole thing to avoid missing the NCAA Tourney for the first time in nearly two decades.

Fans aren't happy with the coach because UK is losing more than they are accustomed to.  Neither are some of the parents.  Like Tar Heel fans did with Doherty, they question whether he is in over his head.  They aren't used to the UK coach being a surly sort.  They are used to the Aw Shucks personality of Joe B. Hall. The silky smooth savvyness of Rick Pitino.  The modesty of Tubby Smith.  They aren't used to seeing their coach come off like a hot head in the national spotlight when a female reporter questions his coaching strategy or watching the coach throw his players under the bus in the media.

It's the same fans that criticized Tubby Smith's inability to bring in top recruits and were hailing Gillispie as a recruiting Godsend to a program that no longer seemed to be adding McDonalds All-Americans.  Two seasons after the departure of Tubby to the great white North, Patrick Patterson is the only "Gillispie" player in his starting lineup.  The other four are players Tubby recruited to Kentucky.  Why is it taking "Gillispie" players so long to adapt to "Gillispie's system"?  Are Tubby's leftovers better than some think?  Are Gillispie's recruits just not living up to their hype?

And of course, there is a deeper question that exists.  When Rick Pitino inherited the probation mess that was Kentucky back in 1990, he produced a 20-win season in just two years.  They were a team that would have been in the NCAA Tourney had they not been on probation.  And his very first team did not lose a single SEC home game.  Their improvement was staggering.  You can credit the coach, but you need to also credit the entire coaching staff.

One has to wonder why Kentucky hasn't seem the same type of improvement this season and how much of the blame lies with his staff.  Can you name a single assistant coach on his staff?  Tough one isn't it?

There are those who say firing Gillispie now will set back the program another five years.  It will chase Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks to the NBA.  It could mean stud recruit Daniel Orten will opt to play elsewhere.

But then again, it didn't seem to hurt North Carolina did it?  The biggest question of all is this -- does Mitch Barnhart have a Roy Williams lined up in the shadows?

It should make the next four days in Tampa and the two weeks that follow very interesting.

Comments

[Rob Miracle]

We all know Tubby couldn't recruit, but I don't see Gillispie being any better but for a different reason. Tubby did so much damage to Kentucky's reputation that most coaches are not going to be able to get the right players. Kentucky needs a "Star" Coach.