really loves the town, made friends… taking the high road

did you try that one, it is the only one I can get to work

MB and LT could take lessons.

I know he’s probably still stressed being fired and all. But in a sense maybe he feels like the pressure is off him now.

He could just as easily rip UK, Todd and Barnhart, the media, etc. I mean the guy just got FIRED from his dream job.

they looked bad enough on their own yesterday with no one’s help

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090328/SPORTS03/90328010

I don’t buy the fact that no one asked him to change anything during the past two years.

I would say at this point, it’s a FACT.

one of their own. Sitting him up for failure, imo.

But as a COACH, he has yet to prove himself.

If Ford is chosen, EXPERIENCE-WISE, an equal or maybe worse choice than Gillispie. But that’s IMO, of course yours is different. He has more years experience coaching though.

He has been a head coach for what, nine years, and he has only won one more game in the NCAA than I have. Heck, I am an alumnus, hire me. I’ll be cheaper too.

I don’t think that Mitch can afford another gamble like Ford would be. He needs to bring in a proven coach.

… that perception is that, quite frankly, they came away looking like politicians. Mitch Barnhart may connect well to big time boosters, but every time I hear him under difficult circumstances, I have an uncontrollable desire to want to go wash my hands.

I thought Dr. Todd did not look like a man in charge, and he should have been. He looked to me like he had basically turned it over to Barnhart and was repeating talking points.

The opening statement was just an abomination of the English language. Someone could have proofread it.

If he had just simply WON MORE GAMES this year, he’d still be our head coach.

… they SHOULD be all over whoever is coaching. :-)

ANOTHER “bad” hire (don’t think Gillispie was ‘bad’ per se, but obvious Mitch hired him w/o doing serious homework) would cost Mitch his job as well.

… did not mean for it to come out that way. People like him often have difficulty communicating exactly what they mean.

It was purely used as a damning excuse. In a rational world, they would have asked him to explain that comment to the media and moved on.

Gillispie comes across as an intelligent man, to me. He has a simple and straightforward manner of speech and a Texas accent.

I suppose that many of my relatives in Eastern Kentucky also would sound “like Gomer Pyle” to you.

… you are reading Barhnart’s thoughts. :-)

That’s something I would have expected him to say.

I think Gillispie will be wildly successful eventually, if given time to grow and develop, and I will cheer for him wherever he goes (while continuing to cheer the the ’Cats, of course).

I have a strong feeling that we will come to regret this decision in a few years. Many already regret it, but I think the program will realize it made a terrible mistake down the road.

And I hope I’m right. Gillispie deserves a NC trophy, even if it’s not with our Cats.

I don’t really see that person out there.

I would settle for a good coach that wins games and can get along with the administration.

Did Pitino do this for you? Tubby? What is the “personification” of the program? Pitino, Tubby, and Gillispie were all VERY different people. Pitino and Tubby were “synonymous” with UK, but for VERY different reasons. Gillispie could have gotten there, just in a different way than any of the others.

we need a coach that will win, the best representative of the state possible will be hated if he goes 0-1 in the tournament over the next 2 years like BCG

… that he felt any kind of pressure to hold back. I think it is against his principles to come out and say bad things about people. I have never ever seen him do that, or heard of him doing it other than to get a player’s attention, something all coaches do.

Styling him as simply political in this case, even when it is clear that is not his way, seems unfair to me.

With Anthony Grant going to Bama the VCU job might be a perfect fit for Gillispie.

But it had better be someone HIGH CALIBER or it’ll be another mess

But not with his Barnhart problem.

I think Keightly provided a buffer for Gillispie to the administration. As in, the administration dealt with Keightly, and Keightly dealt with Gillispie.

Losing Keightly was a costly loss for Gillispie. This year, without Keightly, Gillispie had to deal with Barnhart on his own.

Gillispie shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. He was the same before he came to UK as he is now. That should have been noticed BEFORE he was hired.

and I CERTAINLY don’t want Pelphrey.

If Barnhart had admitted " I made a mistake" (which he did) that would’ve just opened up another huge can of worms

However, Gillispie may not go away quietly. UK could have handled the contract issue better. If there is a lawsuit, the focus will change.

Have you been in either PR or politics. I could not have said that any better.

Fortunatus, your PR/politcs background is showing. Best post yet on the press conference.

I thought UK’s press conference went fine, mainly because it short, somber, and without drama. And yes, Mr. Barnhart and Dr. Todd sounded like poiticians, but that should be expected considering that a press conference announcing the dismissal of the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of Kentucky is probably one of the most political press conferences that could occur in our Commonwealth.

I liked Dr. Todd’s quip about all the folks that chastise him for not fully appreciating what UK Basketball means to Kentucky and the Big Blue Nation…

Maybe someone in his newsroom will notice, and decide he needs to be freed up for other opportunities.

Not such a great game coach in my opinion.

Don’t want him. Just a gut feeling coming thru the tv.

Is how the players have acted and handled this from the very beginning. They never threw coach under the bus and seemed to me like they were behind him until the end. They worked hard but they weren’t told the right things to do on the court. Hats off to the players and my wish is they get someone who will give them every opportunity to win next year. Which is exactly what they deserve. IMO

our players, especially Meeks and PPat, are first class people. I’ve been so happy with how they have conducted themselves. I wish I could let them know that in person.

But both have used up their eligibility. The article didn’t say much about coaching.

Always ask yourself, “Who’s interests are being served?”

There is always more than one side to every story. Trust in that, and you will be properly skeptical. I’m not saying that the story isn’t true, I am saying that there is always more to it than meets the eye.

Many people have sources that they trust. What you most often don’t know are the sources’ sources’ sources, which could reveal both their motivation for passing the rumor and its intended target or purpose.

Who’s interest is being served by this? Why was this not reported earlier? Never believe a rumor, even from a person you trust.

Good advice for everyone, trust me — I have a reliable source. :-)

… and I will give you the same advice I gave Wild Weasel above. Always ask yourself, "Who’s interests are being served?"

There is always more than one side to every story. Trust in that, and you will be properly skeptical. I’m not saying that the story isn’t true, I am saying that there is always more to it than meets the eye.

Many people have sources that they trust. What you most often don’t know are the sources’ sources’ sources, which could reveal both their motivation for passing the rumor and its intended target or purpose.

If you will read The Cats Pause thread to which you have been referring, the site moderators have allowed certain people to pass along unverifiable rumors as fact, and then added comments to certain ambiguous ones to the effect of, “that is true.” They have not themselves described these events, nor explained how they know them. Instead, they set up a scenario to provide this information by allowing others to obtain and pass these rumors, people who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet, and supported them strategically. If these were true as stated, and witnessed, why would they not put their name to the story. Further, why would any athletic administration allow a coach to be employed even one day after performing some of these alleged acts?

The Cats Pause, as is Matt at KSR, is little more than an adjunct to the UK Sports Information department. Do you believe for a moment that Mitch Barnhart is not trying to save his own bacon by creating a situation where the public will be persuaded that the firing was absolutely necessary? Do you believe him incapable of making sure that happens by using others who depend upon sources within the athletic department that he controls? Do you further believe him incapable of having begun this process some time back?

Without the good will of the UK AD, The Cats Pause is just like the LHL. Same with KSR. If you uncritically accept the information there, you are doing yourself an injustice.

I recall to you the movie, “Absence of Malice,” one of my favorite movies of all time. Sally Field, playing the reporter Megan Carter, was asked by her editor if a story were true. Her response was, “No. But it’s accurate.”

Beware “The truth” in situations like this. It often isn’t.

He is a politician. He got where he is primarily on the strength of working back-channels.

Ask yourself this question — If all these stories are true as stated, where the hell has the administration been for so long? Further, where has the mainstream media been all this time? This is a story worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Why, during his final press conference, did nobody ask about player mistreatment? Surely that would have been highly relevant.

I tell you why you haven’t seen stories from the MSM — laws against libel.

Tipton wrote something about this last year, regarding Dusty Mills. It was largely dismissed as sour grapes, because it undoubtedly was. There is more to every story than you read in a rumor, and Gillispie isn’t even able to defend himself.

What makes me suspicious? Four words — common sense and logic.