Billy Gillispie and Travis Ford

by Ken Howlett on Apr 18, 2008 12:07 PM EDT in Commentary

Billy Gillispie spoke about the speculation of the past few weeks concerning Oklahoma State's interest in hiring him as their next head coach. What I find interesting is the denial that no "decision-makers" contacted him. As Tru notes in his thoughts on the matter it seems as if someone called on behalf of the university, but Gillispie did not take the bait. Good for him, and good for UK.

Also, I think it is very revealing of Gillispie's character that he did not want to publicly issue a statement amid all of the swirling rumors for fear of "disrespecting" the OSU program. It proves that one can be tough as a twice-cooked pork chop, yet still be courteous. Unlike some other SEC coaches.

It is purely "backward" speculation, but I feel OSU did not want to be turned down by another high profile coach after native son Bill Self decided to keep his National Championship trophy close by. OSU AD Mike Holder probably decided it prudent to direct an "interested party" to discreetly contact Gillispie to gauge his interest in the position. Evidently Gillispie showed no interest, which speaks well for his current state-of-mind concerning his time in Lexington.

In my view, Travis Ford and OSU are both winners in the final analysis. By hiring the Madisonville native, Holder gets a true up-and-comer from the coaching ranks with a proven ability to revive downtrodden programs. Ford, in only 5 years, took an EKU program that was floundering badly and turned them into an NCAA Tournament team. UMass had struggled since John Calipari left for the New Jersey Nets, but Ford took the Minutemen to two consecutive postseasons. Oklahoma State certainly doesn't qualify as "downtrodden", but they have experienced a dip in their rate of success over the last few years. If Ford holds true to form it won't be long before OSU is challenging Kansas and Texas for supremacy in the Big 12. From an unabashed Travis Ford admirer, here's hoping Ford can beckon the ghost of Henry Iba to aid in the revival.

Odd indeed: After Leonard Hamilton, Eddie Sutton, and Sean Sutton, Ford is the fourth head coach in a row with strong ties to UK to matriculate to OSU.

Thanks for reading, and go Reds!

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Complete agreement

I think the whole thing has shaken itself out for the best. Now I'll just continue crossing my fingers and waiting to hear about Jasper's status...

As a totally off-topic aside, since the news feed has dropped to the second page I didn't know where to post this. The local paper had this story on Andre Woodson coming back to talk to the kids at North Hardin (where he went to school) before their CATS testing. It really speaks well to the development he went through as a man during his time at UK.

http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/articles/2008/04/18/sports/sports01.txt

by chirop1 on Apr 18, 2008 2:11 PM EDT 0 recs

OSU Perspective

Hello again from Oklahoma. The continued UK-OSU ties are interesting. I was on this board a few days ago talking about Boone Pickens and the Gillispie rumors and then we up and hired Travis Ford the next day. Before then, I didn't really know much about his coaching career, but the more I looked into him, I liked what I saw. Then came the introductory press conference yesterday. What an impressive guy! He really "wowed the crowd" and said all the right things. There were plenty of doubters, but he's already started winning them over. From all reports, the players really took to him as well. That is exactly what us OSU fans and the players need right now after three tumultuous years. We are already looking forward to next year and seeing what Coach Ford can do. Regarding Gillispie, what a wonderful thing to do out of respect to OSU when the easy thing to dispell the rumors would have been to make a statement. I always enjoy the chats on this board as your fans are so knowledgable about college basketball and your respect toward the OSU program is appreciated.

by OSU Cowboy on Apr 18, 2008 2:27 PM EDT 0 recs

Thanks ...

for coming by again.

I'm really happy to hear that Ford made such a positive impression, that is just great news. My opinion is that with the solid program that is OSU along with it's vastly superior resources and facilities, he aught to far surpass what he did at UMass.

I read several Oklahoma news articles today, and it seems that most of the press is willing to give him a chance, although there was a lot more reporting done about the rift created by the Sutton firing than I would expect after a new coach was hired. There must be a lot more bitterness over that than I supposed.

But here's hoping all that passes quickly. Believe it or not, there is still significant, lingering, bitter debate over Tubby Smith here, and he has been gone for almost a full year. I dearly hope OSU doesn't suffer recriminations that long, but the newspapers today didn't leave me very encouraged about that.

I am confident Travis will do you guys proud. Fan support will really help that transition, and the OSU fans have handled this turmoil about as well as anyone can expect.

Thanks again for stopping by, and we would appreciate updates from time to time if you are so inclined. We really enjoy getting perspective from the teams that our former players wind up coaching.

by Truzenzuzex on Apr 18, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

Echo Tru

I just wanted to echo Tru's thoughts on your participation here at ASoB. It's great to hear from the fans of other schools, especially when they are cordial as yourself.

Don't be a stranger.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 18, 2008 3:04 PM EDT up 0 recs

Other fans

I always like to hear other fans prospectives. They always have a diiferent view point which is good to hear because it makes you think outside of your program.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Apr 18, 2008 3:55 PM EDT 0 recs

Travis...WOW

http://www.kentucky.com/232/story/380436.html

by kykat51 on Apr 18, 2008 9:06 PM EDT 0 recs

Numbers that make you go "Hmmmmm"

Who was it around here that said T.Boone Pickens DIDN'T control the OSU hiring process... but my money says no public servant comes up with those numbers on his own.

by chirop1 on Apr 18, 2008 11:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

Not Out of Line

Since OSU's coffers are pretty well-healed right now because of TBP's overall huge donation of $165M a while back, he didn't have to personally lay out any extra to make this hire. But, if you look at what other coaches have been getting, I don't think what we are paying Ford is out of line. Keno Davis got seven years at $1M per at Providence and he's much less of a proven quantity than Ford. He had one good year at Drake and then got smoked in the NCAA by a lower seed and still got that kind of money. OU right down the road here just raised Jeff Capel to $1.3M/yr after having really only one good year and he has less head coaching experience than Ford.

by OSU Cowboy on Apr 18, 2008 11:52 PM EDT 0 recs

Likewise,

I didn't really flinch when I saw the numbers. In fact, I sat there scratching my head for a minute when I first saw the numbers because I didn't know if they were shocked because the contract was too much or too little. After all the numbers being thrown around before for other coaches, I figured that whoever got fired was getting at the very least $1mil/yr, and with all do respect to Ford, I didn't see how it could be considered way too low. I agree, the deal seems right into line with what should have been expected.

by cdnWildcatfan on Apr 19, 2008 12:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

Actually ...

I totally agree. I think this is right in line with the market value for that position, and Ford's experience. His next move up was going to be in the $750k - $1M range no matter where he went, and for a school with the stature of OSU and today's payscale, I'm thinking this money makes good sense.

Plus, it sends a message that OSU is going to pay its coaches well. I have no problem with it. He was well underpaid at UMass, and now he may be just slightly overpaid, but by no means embarrassingly so.

by Truzenzuzex on Apr 19, 2008 12:33 AM EDT up 0 recs

I agree.

1.3 mil per year is about what I expected, to be honest. I thought maybe between 1 and 1.5 mil..

I predict, in 4-5 years he'll be commanding double that figure.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 19, 2008 2:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

I Hope You Are Right

If Ford can command double the salary in 4-5 years, that will mean he has been very successful at OSU.

Realizing that there are certainly better jobs that fall in the spectrum between OSU and UK, do you think Ford will be content to stay at OSU and continue to build his reputation and bide his time waiting for the UK job to open up, or do you see him making one more move on the way up?

by OSU Cowboy on Apr 19, 2008 11:57 AM EDT 0 recs

Ford

I can offer no special insight, but based on what some other coaches have done, I would have to say that him staying at OSU depends on his success, and who may come-a-callin'. I think Ford is very ambitious, but sometimes coaches can be too ambitious for their own good. Hopefully Ford is smart enough to realize this.

Doubled salary-- I am implying that I think he will be very successful in Stillwater.

by Ken Howlett on Apr 19, 2008 3:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Coach Ford

I am not sure what all you have read about him other than his resume, but I saw the video on one of the websites of his introduction as the new head coach, and he was extremely enthusiastic with his new position.

He is very energetic in his job, just as he was as a player for Ky.

I think the fan base you have is a big plus considering that when he played at UK, Rupp Arena was almost always filled to capacity...plus the UK fan base travels well to away games. That means a lot to a coach and to the players themselves...makes a huge difference.

I have no doubt that he will give his all and more!

I hope the doubters can get through the Sutton debacle and not hinder his first season.

by kykat51 on Apr 19, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

Hopefully

Ford can do whatever he wants for as long as he wants and it won't matter much to UK fans because we will finally have a coach (aka BCG) that has been very successful and makes it very clear he isn't interested in leaving Lexington at all. But I guess in a dream world, UK would be so freakin' good that Ford would come home just to be an assistant - oh yeah, I don't have a genie in a bottle tho.
On the other hand, if Ford somehow ended up coaching at UK, I think his Pitino-esque style of play would make him an ENORMOUSLY popular coach in Lexington.
Regardless, I hope Ford does well in Stillwater.

by cdnWildcatfan on Apr 19, 2008 11:44 PM EDT up 0 recs