Comments on: Kentucky is a great job, if you like insane expectations and a rabid fanbase

By: Middle East Jobs

Middle East Jobs — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:04:32 +0000

test

By: CoveyDale

CoveyDale — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:02:40 +0000

you're looking at the body of work while ignoring the (only) major factor as to why Davis lasted so long here in Bloomington:

Billy Gillispie went to the NIT in his 2nd year.
Mike Davis went to the National Championship game of the NCAA Tournament in his 2nd year.

apples and oranges my friend.

By: CoveyDale

CoveyDale — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:02:40 +0000

By: q95

q95 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:04:49 +0000

i agree only with your last comment. let me summarize what you have accurately expresssed concerning m. davis' 6 years at iu. six seasons in which we recorded double digit losses. an overall win percentage of less than 60%. an overall in conference win percentage of roughly 57%. a win percentage in his last three years of less than 55%. not to mention the fact that we were unable to land any of the 5 mcdonald all americans from indiana that came along under davis' tenure.

i stand by my earlier comments that davis was not capable, as a close review of his record indicates, of returning the program to the elite ranks and that is why he was let go.

By: ALH_00

ALH_00 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:04:48 +0000

Mike Davis won 23 games in year one (interim) and made the NCAA tourney...year two, the Hoosiers won 20, and played for a national title. I don't think anyone thought that Mike Davis was "way over his head" at that point. Year three, he won 20, and again got the Hoosiers into the NCAAs...after losing some NBA talent, and senior leadership.

In year 4, he only won 14, and only won 15 in year 5, missing the NCAA both seasons. Finally, despite getting the Hoosiers back to the NCAA's in year 6, Davis resigned.

So, Davis had four of six seasons in the NCAAs, yet was still "run out of town" after missing the NCAAs two consecutive seasons. If indeed Gillespie is being "run out of town" in Lexington, it would seem strikingly similar to what Davis endured in after the 2004-05, and into the 2005-2006 season. The only difference to me is that Davis, unlike Gillespie, had a (relatively) proven track record of achievement.

My point is that we (IU Fans) view b/ball exactly like UK fans, and exactly like fans at every other perennial powerhouse in any other major sport. We expect to win a vast majority of the time. We expect to get to, and excel in, post-season tournaments (or bowls), and we are relentless advocates for change at the first signs that our expectations are not being met.

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:37:54 +0000

Oh that was NICE…..
Ouch….

By: MikeyD

MikeyD — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:49:34 +0000

i would think that a number of big east coaches wouldn't mind getting out of the meat grinder and giving it a go at a storied program. will be interesting to see what happens.

By: MikeyD

MikeyD — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:46:00 +0000

it's DRIVEL you ding-o-ling. rekun yuze edgukaydid from kintukie?

By: indianajoe

indianajoe — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:35:12 +0000

hell if I was a coach I would go there in a heartbeat and tank on purpose. Getting paid six mil for being a bad coach sounds ok to me.

By: dale11

dale11 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:32:48 +0000

Nice, kelin. that gave me a good laugh.

By: Taskmaster75

Taskmaster75 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:05:36 +0000

I'm pretty sure that Tubby is laughing at Kentucky right now while he takes his top recruiting class and has a great young team coming in next year.

By: q95

q95 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:26:25 +0000

if nothing else, this situation involving billy g. points out significant differences between how b/ball is viewed at uk vs iu. even after it became abundently clear that m. davis was way over his head and not capable of leading our program, we still had to endure this guy for 5 years. on the other hand. billy g's job is in serious jeopardy after only 2 seasons. by many standards, billy's performance wasn't nearly as bad as m. davis. in this respect, uk's program is still light years ahead of ours.

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:26:16 +0000

Bryan one kid at my sons daycare said if Billy is gone he is opening up his recruiting again……

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:31:48 +0000

There's got to be more to this than what's been seen publicly. Gillispie comes off as a horses ass in most interviews, but I can't imagine firing a guy for being rude to an ESPN reporter. Unless the guy is a jackass to fellow coworkers, and has most of his team on the verge of transferring, I can't imagine UK pulling the trigger so soon.

Of course, does this mean we stand a chance at winning next years game? I've also read that most of his recruits would reconsider if he's gone (next year's class, I've no clue about the 10 year-olds Billy has signed). Any chance we try to make a play for any of them?

By: aerialM

aerialM — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:24:47 +0000

I have to agree, it was a small ray of sunshine for me this season to look south and see what UK has become. It kills them that Pitino has Louisville where they are. It kills them that someone with ties to the school (Donovan) actually said “no” to them. My guess is they make a 2nd major push towards Billy Donovan and when he says “thanks but no thanks. again” they'll push for guys who they'll probably not get (Calipari? Nope. Izzo? doubtful) and then make a run at Travis ford. That'll be interesting. He's only been at OK ST one year and I don't think too many people take T. Boone Pickens' money and then walk away with their reputation in tact…in the end, UK has done this to themselves. anyone who knows how it works at UK knew Gillespie wasn't going to be the guy. He's got questionable character and is stubborn…which is fine if you're going 31-3 but not so good if you're 20-14.They fire him now and what kind of message does that send? What does a new coach think “ok, welcome to kentucky. great facility, great fan base, upper tier salary…I've got two years or I'm packing my bags.” – I'm a rubbernecker & can't wait for them to whiff on Donovan and Izzo and everyone else and we can hear “ladies and gentlemen, the new coach of your kentucky wildcats: lon kruger!”

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:09:22 +0000

Alex…
I heard on the radio the college guy from Fox say, there is a presser tomorrow sending Billy on his way….they want to talk to the other Billy in Florida, Izzo ofcourse and T-Ford……

I think they would have a shot at Fergunson, again…I don't think he wants to be in the shadow of this LN teammates anymore so L'Ville is out……IU was on his list, his did didn't like the drama with Sampson…….would take DF over Teague in a 10 out of 10 times…good kid, good family, good attitude on the court….

By: Hardwood83

Hardwood83 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:06:00 +0000

I hope he stays for another year or 2 and completely runs them into the ground. He’s a bung-hole that is way over his head. I love it.

By: ALH_00

ALH_00 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:55:59 +0000

There's no need to do any homework to realize that Gillespie isn't getting the job done at UK. If you are a UK fan, as I'm assume, you should just admit your frustration is with your underachieving b-ball team and not “the media”. Quit crying on a rival fan blog; pretending this is the Lexington Herald-Leader.

By: jgongora86

jgongora86 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:44:06 +0000

I think a ugly record in one of the premier programs forces the issues. But you forget that alumni donors are fans, and they were the ones who wanted Tubby out ( who I think did a great Job) and they got their wish. Now those same alumni want billy out as well. If anyone is the idiot, I think its you for being so naive.

By: q95

q95 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:07:30 +0000

i understand billy's job is safe. you see, this guy is catholic. he gave up coaching for lent…ouch.