The Empire Strikes Back!

by Truzenzuzex on Nov 29, 2007 9:10 AM EST in Media Comment 20 comments

Four games into the season, and the nattering nabobs of negativity have begun, and not just in the local media.

You may recall this post of mine from back in the summer, wondering how long it would take for the media to begin to turn on Billy Gillispie. Turns out, the answer is "5 months."

We commented earlier on the "Gillispie vs. UK" conflict that is being set up by the media with the help of Jerry Tipton's recent article. Now, I'm not ragging on Tipton -- he did what reporters are supposed to do, trying to dig up the reason why Gillipie and UK hadn't finalized the contract by now. As I said before, it isn't that unusual for a coach to go a long time without finalizing a deal, but it isn't altogether irrelevant, either.

Dick "Hoops" Weiss, whom I deeply respect and who's writing I truly enjoy, apparently is just catching up with this story. Dick writes mostly about New York sports, so no particular reason why he should be in the loop about UK and Gillispie, but apparently, a friend of his sent him a clipping from Tipton's article and he writes about it today at his New York Daily News blog. Nothing particularly surprising about this, and as usual, Dick has his facts straight. "Hoops'" article isn't what I'm writing about, though.

What I am writing about is an article by Seth Davis at SI.com containing this blurb, which reads in relevant part:

* I'm not saying it's a huge deal that Billy Gillispie hasn't signed a contract yet at Kentucky. But the revelation that he hasn't sure won't do anything to quell the whispers that Gillispie and athletic director Mitch Barnhart aren't getting along.

Don't you just know when people predicate a comment with "I'm not saying this is important, but ...", you are about to be sold a bill of goods the writer thinks is really, really important? The Damning But strikes again.

This is just the sort of rumormongering that really ticks me off, and such rumors beg many more questions than they answer. What gives these particular rumors sufficient heft to pass along on a national publication's website? In what respect are Gillispie and Barnhart at odds? Is it just over the provisions of the contract, or is there some other reason? Seth apparently wants to leave us with the impression that something more than slightly sub-par basketball is wrong in Kentucky. Why?

I have become aware of a bit of an email campaign against Gillispie that has reached Louisville. It appears to be directed at individuals at middle and upper management levels in several workplaces around town that I work with. These are people, who are often UK season ticket holders, usually fairly well-heeled. Apparently, these emails contain just the sort of rumor Seth Davis passes along, along with other predictable stuff designed to impugn Gillispie's character, i.e. adult beverages, carousing, etc. I won't repeat them. You get the idea, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of you have received similar.

Absent facts, I can't make any kind of conclusion about who is stirring this pot and why. Perhaps it is just the natural resistance to change, perhaps it's just a bunch of kids with too much time on their hands, perhaps some Smith supporters feel like he got a raw deal and are lashing out, or maybe these "rumors" contain more truth than we know. The fact is, we don't know. Given that, why is Seth Davis reporting rumors without any whiff of substantiation? I thought that was purely the province of ... you know, blogs and message boards and suchlike. Aren't journalists supposed to have "ethics" about these things?

I predict the "rumors" will get worse and worse with every big loss (I know, I know, I'm a regular Great Karnak). People who have no other agenda than nitpicking at whoever is the coach will join in, and the rumor-mongers will be emboldened. This is a fact of life. I get more rumors passed to me than most, and I simply refuse to pass them on. But when they start to appear in the media under the rubric of "credibility" that has been granted them by the public, they require comment. In this case, scorn.

Hat tip: Aaron's UK Basketball Blog

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Davis

You should know Tru that Seth Davis is as big a douchebag as Jeff Goodman. He's not a credible journalist in any sense of the word.

Secondly the BBN needs to seriously chill out with negative talk concerning Billy G. Whether Barnhart and him are getting along or not he isnt going anywhere soon. It would be horrific for the UK program and would really set us back to fire a coach so shortly after Tubbygate. Everyone needs to just get behind him and weather the storm that is this season.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Nov 29, 2007 9:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

To be fair ...

I haven't heard anybody talk about firing anyone.

Just general character assassination stuff. Typical, but unfortunate.

by Truzenzuzex on Nov 29, 2007 9:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Unbelievable

You can't work within certain circles of business in Lex without hearing the talk of those emails or the "I heard" crap that originate in those emails. IMO this has more to do with a small group of the "formerly" connected feeling uneasy about change and finding themselves out of BCG's nightlife. If he does go to strip clubs, they are mad he didn't go with them. As long as his assistant coaches and athletic department folks aren't buying $400 bottles of booze for the players WHO CARES what he does as long as it is legal.

Now add that to the overall tepid view of UK in the national (north east) media and you can see why it plays. It is why Tubby at UM is a feel good story as he is 5-0 and has a top recruiting class and at UK, BCG is "not fitting" because we are 4-1 with a team missing two MAJOR impact guys and that if it did not have Paterson and a new attitude from some others would be lucky to be that and he has not officially signed a contract.

If we win 20 I will be shocked. Honestly, at the end of last season I was thinking 17-18 win season and could make an argument for 15. Tubby is an incredible X&O guy and one of the finest humans EVER. That is why he did UK a solid by stepping away when and how he did. He knew what the season was looking like and he tried to protect our rep and was able to protect his from the media that supported him from turning more on UK Program/Fans and adding him too as 2007-8 unfolded in several losses.

Now idiots in the "fanbase" are still crapping on our part.

Crazy!

by wilson452 on Nov 29, 2007 9:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tubby ...

I agree with you on a lot of this.

One correction, Tubby is 3-1 at UM thus far.

The Online home of Big Blue Nation ...

by JL Blue on Nov 29, 2007 10:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Killer

Almost makes my point for me. I don't have allot of time to keep up with much more than the headlines so I have gotten the subliminal impression from somewhere in my periphery that he is doing awesome up there while we are on life support.

Even better.

by wilson452 on Nov 29, 2007 11:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Eh...

... knowing how these things have worked in the past, UK will probably beat one of IU, UNC or UL and then 2/3 of the malcontents will be talking about how Crawford is the second coming of Tony Delk or some such.

It wouldn't be a UK hoops season without a lot of overreacting and nonsense.

The laziness of the media -- in particular the New Media "columnist", who in all seriousness are only a step above bloggers because they're getting paid -- is a problem, however.

There is not a shred of evidence presented (you don't think of all the world, us obsessees wouldn't have gotten wind of a rift between MB and BCG before Seth "Standup" Davis?) thus far that suggests anything is amiss between Gillispie and anyone except a few Internet Heroes out there whose life wouldn't be complete without a few "I just cawl it lak I see eit" moments (on an aside, anytime that phrase is uttered, written, used, immediately disregard whatever that person has said or is going to say, as that person is a tool just looking for a fight).

Gillispie is a tight-lipped individual, clearly, whose relationship with the media is neither as comfy as Rick Pitino, who mastered using the UK media to his advantage until he started looking for pro jobs every weekend, nor as weirdly reverent/schizo as Tubby Smith's.

Any rumors or grumbling you hear coming from Lexington (or Louisville, evne moreso) are garbage.

He's coached 5 games!? Lame.

The Online home of Big Blue Nation ...

by JL Blue on Nov 29, 2007 10:55 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think the source from all of this

stems from the fact that Gillispie and UK have not signed a "contract."

Forget the fact that from my understanding the memo fits all the criteria for a contract, it was signed by both parties, and is a legally enforceable document. It merely serves as a stepping stone to something more concrete.

Once Gillispie does sign the contract, hopefully these rumors subside.

Unless of course we lose all three to UNC, IU, and UL. If that happens, we might as well start hiding away in bunkers because it will get really ugly.

by piketaylor on Nov 29, 2007 12:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

RIP Ralph Beard

Of course, the headline at the dark Twoer involves smearing his name, just like they did with Sean Taylor.

by btcoop71 on Nov 29, 2007 11:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I can't type

*Dark Tower

by btcoop71 on Nov 29, 2007 11:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tubby

I could be really wrong but didnt UM only win something like 9 games last season.

If so 3-1 is really good.

Tubby will certainly build UM into a good team. A Good team. Not a GREAT team.

I think thats to be expected.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Nov 29, 2007 12:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Conjecture ...

Purely based on nothing but Tubby's seemingly renewed sense of confidence/Tubby-love, I think that Smith will do a better job than most UK folks want to admit, if only because the end of his UK tenure was so exceedingly mediocre.

I'd expect with that strong first recruiting class and some media hype, he'll win 20 by next season, compete for the upper half of the Big Ten and get back to the NCAAs.

I don't think he'll be Final Four bound anytime soon, but it's a great fit for him there.

This season, anything over .500 will be considered a victory, and I expect around 17-18 wins and an NIT bid from UM.

The Online home of Big Blue Nation ...

by JL Blue on Nov 29, 2007 1:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Media?

Because of such great resources for information including, but not limited to this one. IMHO "The Media" is competing to hold the market it has. As a result any whiff of a story is jumped on like a pack of wolves on a wounded animal. That being said and see as how I beleive everything I read and hear I think I will go jump off a cliff.

by Idiod on Nov 29, 2007 1:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Are we talking about Seth Davis....

AGAIN! What a shock, the UNC game is looming in the immediate future and "Suck" Davis has to stir the pot before the boys even start tying up their laces. I know that it's somewhat unlikely, but I'd love to send those 'tard-heels back to the Hill with their tail between their legs!

Alright PP, let's see what you got!

Stewart/Stevenson hold on to that G@# D!*# BALL!!!!!

Bradley/Crawford - we know you've got it, so show these young-uns what it's about!!

GO BIG BLUE!!

by bluebloodtoo on Nov 29, 2007 2:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

AMEN!

You must be a psychic, because those are my thoughts exactly!
GO CATS!!!!

by BIGBLUEDAVE on Nov 29, 2007 2:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sat game

I am so unsure of what is going to happen I don't even know how to spin my own head...let alone the things out there about our team and this game. I think anything is possible. The energy to begin the game will set the tone for more than one player. I have my wishes on PP2...he can really feast on this one...his first real one. What better legacy to begin than a big game against UNC and that funny blue uniform. I think Crawford may be the other link and if Stevenson can bring his last game and some improvement....we could pull it off. It seems a long time until 2:00 on Saturday....too much time to just drink....and too much time to think. Maybe I can just sit quietly in some corner.

On a serious note...Beard was a great player and a great Kentucky player. Enough said.

by CAWebb on Nov 29, 2007 6:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

rumor

I got fed a rumor bout BCG over Turkeyday. It was that while former UK coaches RP and TS both donated signed basketballs to various charitable organizations (Komen Foundation for one) around town to be sold at auction and the like, BCG has thus far refused to follow in their footsteps and even refused a direct request from MB to continue this tradition. Nothing but a rumor in my book, but I definitely get the sense BCG will be a radical departure from the kind of behaviour his most recent predecessors displayed in relation to the UK community.

by msnthrop on Nov 29, 2007 7:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rumors

I have been hearing the rumors about Billy's out of control behavior since July. From what I've heard, there is nothing he hasn't done in his short stint in Lexington that would cast him in a positive light.

I thought about all the stories and came to this conclusion. Billy himself said he had arrived at the 'pinnacle' of college basketball. He has put himself in a position where he is earning a great salary. Who would jeopardize a career-defining position by running out of control? Answer: The dumbest man in the USA....I just don't think that Billy fits that profile. JMO

by xgrunt on Nov 29, 2007 10:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Good point ...

and I agree.

by Truzenzuzex on Nov 29, 2007 10:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

EXACTLY

If you went to work and said the top sales guy, who is never in the office because he is out working harder than anyone else, sat at his computer and surfed porn all day everyday you would get fired yourself for being an idiot.

BCG has no agent. If he did he would have signed a contract by now. He is doing the negotiating himself so he has been too busy RUNNING THE TEAM to spend 2 solid months of real man time finalizing a contract. Have you seen the number of commercials he is in around the Lex market? I don't recall seeing Tubby or even Rick in as many. That is a ton of time.

All will be fine in time. (just not this Saturday)

by wilson452 on Nov 29, 2007 11:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rumors Run Amok

Rex Chapman had 4 kids he left behind in Owensboro.

Sam Bowie was smoking weed with Dwight "The Blur" Anderson when Joe Hall walked in on them.

Rick Pitino is returning to UK. He's already signed the contract.

Fran Curci doesn't attend football practice. He flys in on a helicopter for games.

Tubby Smith doesn't run practices anymore. As a matter of fact he doesn't attend many practices. A friend of mine has a friend who attended practice the other day and said Tubby wasn't there, and Rondo told David Hobbs to f___ off, then walked out of practice.

Rick Pitino's mistress was sitting directly behind Joanne at a UL game.

Billy Donovan is coming to UK. It's a done deal.

Rick Pitino is satan.(Oh, that happens to be true)

All of the above are just a sampling of rumors I have heard over the last 30 years or so. These are just the ones I can remember. There were many more.

I use to get mad when I would here a negative rumor about a coach or player. Now though, I just laugh.

If one puts 15 seconds of thought into most rumors one hears, one quickly realizes that they are patently ridiculous. I know 5 year olds who have a better grasp of reality than the morons who start, and spread the putrid garbage being spewed out of the mouths of so-called UK fans.

When did rumor-mongering become almost sport-like?
My theory is that coaches are so much more ubiquitous than they used to be. Constant local news coverage, ESPN, Fox Sports, sports talk radio, etc etc, have conspired to make our coaches celebrities. Now their every movement is followed, and analyzed by the masses. At a program like Kentucky, where basketball is king of all things, the spotlight is painfully blinding.

From this, when discontent sets in, rumors suddenly spring up like Chuck Hayes going for an offensive rebound. Unsatisfying results coupled with gross overexpectations seems to lead certain "fans" to invent reasons for perceived poor performance.

A sane, logical person has trouble wrapping their brain around the utter stupidity one must possess to believe, and then pass on such refuse.

I may laugh off rumors such as what we're hearing now, but I still don't like the people who spread the garbage.

Fans should be discussing the merits of this team. Their progress. UNC. When the hell do Meeks and Jasper come back? Patterson is a monster: These should be the subject of converstaion, not some of the talk currently heard.

by Ken Howlett on Nov 30, 2007 12:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs