Billy Gillespie ... we should just shut the program down if we really plan on hiring him.

How many more Tony Barnone / Melvin Watkins / Kermit Davis's can we stand?!?!

Gillespie's record as a head coach:

HIGHSCHOOL:
15-15 copperas cove
15-15 new braunsfles
18-13 nb
13-18 Killen Ellison
21-12 KE
32-6 KE

6-24 UTEP
22-5 UTEP

This guy has a 0.500 coaching record - 8 seasons of head coaching experience - 6 years of which are highschool ball.

YEAH - not saying this guy is not a decent coach - BUT IS HE REALLY BIG 12 MATERIAL AT THIS POINT?

Gah we better hire someone who has had success in a major conference - or solid pro experience.

If we are going to keep clowing around with these types tho - we should just throw in the towel.

Biggest of the Big : Bob K.

Bob Knight wouldnt come here and we wouldnt hire him!

Who ?

Gillispie doesnt really excite me. I think if we hired him it would be comparable to Byrne hiring Collier at Nebraska. He would probably improve our team but we would finish in that 8-12 range most years and maybe occassionally jump to 7th place.

[This message has been edited by eyemstoopid (edited 3/4/2004 12:59a).]

If we hire Gillespie, we better not be paying him very much to start with. He definitely needs to prove himself. We should be able to better.

Is $800,000 too much?

JDL

That's a poorly formed argument and your recap of his records disproves your conclusion. Everywhere he's been for more than one year has seen an improvement in year two over year one. Killeen Ellison improved significantly from year one to year two, and even moreso from year two to year three. if you're going to argue he's not the guy that's fine, but you should take the records down from that post because they make you look bad.

To knock Gillespie because of his record at Copperas Cove high is weak. More important than his high school record is the fact that he is from Texas, coached in Texas, and understands Texas basketball at the high school. He heavily recruited Texas at the Juco level and then at his stops at Baylor, Tulsa, and Illinois. He spent 8 yrs as the top asst for Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois. And, when he got the opportunity to be a head coach, he's turned UTEP into an NCAA tournament team. Also, you can throw out his first year at UTEP. He took the job 3 wks before the opening game when the UTEP coach stepped down/was fired.

Don't knock Collier, with a win on Saturday, Neb is NIT bound...

Gillespie is 3 wins away form the biggest turnaround in NCAA history. He knows TX high school BBall, and has the relationships to hit the ground running in recruiting. He has real credibility when it comes to getting a recruit to buy into his system because of his record on turning things around.

I say hire the guy. Quickly.

http://www.utepathletics.com/mens.basketball/gillispie.htm

Gillispie may not be one of the Top 10 coaches in America, but he would be a hugh step-up for us! Lon is going to UNLV, Larry will not be hired because of ....., etc., etc.!

Are our expectations so low for our program that we are satisfied with this guy? Would we have accepted a Head Football Coach from UTEP?

This guy has absolutley no sizzle as far as I am concerned, and the substance doesn't impress me either.

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Are our expectations so low for our program that we are satisfied with this guy? Would we have accepted a Head Football Coach from UTEP?

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jefe95, it becomes a credibility issue when you compare the hiring practices of our basketball program with our football program! It's apples and oranges friend, and while it may not seem fair that's reality.

jefe95

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This guy has absolutley no sizzle as far as I am concerned, and the substance doesn't impress me either.

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For the record, were you impressed when Melvin Watkins was hired? Since you are looking for sizzle and substance, who would you go after?

What that has happened in the last 10-15 years of Aggie basketball that would convince a coach with sizzle that we are committed to basketball? Reed is not configured for basketball. Academically we do not support our athletic departments well (except college of Ag-thank you). Our coach couldn't even get a key to Reed arena so the team could practice. Bill has put out the feelers to the big names, and I bet he has been snubbed many times. We can say we will support the program all we want, but to a coach that has comparable options (Kruger), it is just a lot of hot air. I don't know if we are going to sign Gillespie, but if we do I bet we've exhausted a lot of high profile names first. If we do hire Gillespie there are some major differences between him and Melvin:

Knows Texas high schools and coaches
Was an assistant at a major program under a major coach.
Turned around a program instead of sustaining a good program.

I'm not sure if he is the answer, but he may be the highest potential/upside candidate that we can get our hands on for less than what we pay Fran (the basketball coach will not get more than Fran). There are no guarantees.

Was he at Tulsa at the same time Blair was? I wonder if the conversation with Self in renewing their friendship might have also been to get an opinion or two on Gillespie if it is true that Gillespie is our main target at this time.

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Is $800,000 too much?

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If he is currently only making $150000, then yes, $800000 is too much. I think at best you shouldn't in any industry more than triple someone's salary in one jump. From a financial standpoint, that doesn't make sense. Financially, you should only pay him as much as it would take to get him here. If he is making $150000, then $600000 would be plenty to get him to come unless someone is offering him more which I'll bet they aren't...

I don't believe Blair was ever at Tulsa was he?

Nolan Richardson would be worth $800,000.00.

I don't know if he is the right guy for the job, but I do like the fact that all of his high school experience is in Texas.
He'll have a head start in recruiting over our last three coaches.

Zone

For the record, I was impressed with Melvin. He recruited in the heartland of Kentucky, Duke and NC, and had his UNCC team in the sweet 16. He was a young coach, great potential, and had some proven skills. Not sure when the train derailed.

I don't claim to know basketball, and I can't even venture a guess as to who is available, but when a name is thrown out and discussions usually coontain two phrases "Who...From Where?"....I don't think that's what this program needs.

Tech certainly got some sizzle last year in Knight, and some substance as well, despite this years record. It saddens me to think that our basketball program sucks so bad we can't even get a "name" coach in here. (in no way siggesting that we should hire Bobby Knight).

And A&O, why is that? Different standards..? We expect top notch competitiveness from football, but basketball, just don't go through another season 0-16? hmmm...

Maybe there's a good coach lurking out at Snook if that's what we want. I bet we can get a good rate on that one.

What this program needs and what it can get may be two different things. 2 Mil might get you a great coach, but we are not going to pay that. I have heard 1.5 Mil was not enough to get anyone with "sizzle". Gillespie seems to have a lot of Upside. Is there another "up and coming" coach with ties to Texas?

jefe

Tech has a recent history of good hoops that A&M does not. They had a 30 win season just a few years ago before Knight. They have fan support that is considerably better than ours is. Their academics are easier than ours, particularly when it comes to admitting JCs. But all that aside, Knight to Tech was lightening in a bottle, I don't think you'd advocate looking for that to happen would you?

I'm not saying Gillespie is the guy, I'm saying that this job isn't Tech and we aren't going to hire Bobby Knight or anyone of his caliber.

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They had a 30 win season just a few years ago before Knight

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Even more of a reason to go after James Dickey.

Gig 'Em

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Not sure when the train derailed.

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I'm not sure when it was ever on track.

My opinion on this is pretty simple:

Baby Steps!

1. You get a coach to gain some success in building the program. With a core of talent and some success, that coach (Billy or whomever) may move on to greener pastures (high profile college team or NBA). But, this coach will give A&M respect in the coaching circles.

2. Then, you go out and spend the $$ to get a high profile coach to put you over the top and help get you some of the elite talent.


Personally, I don't think I high profile coach will takeover a program with minimal funding, mediocre facilities, a losing record, etc. If that coach did you would have to pay out the rear in a salary. This is why you take baby steps to getting the high profile coach. Who knows the next coach hired could turn A&M and his coaching credentials into a high profile team.

The good part about Gillespie is that he is a native Texas. This means he can recruit Texas with some success. He also may be able to recruit areas like Illinois and Oklahoma because of his past recruiting in those areas. In addition, with Billy you might get a native Texan coach who remains, like Metcalf did, and gives the basketball program the most important thing - stability.


Just my two cents! But, I have seen this before at other programs that have built themselves up after entering the cellar of the NCAA basketball level.

hey

understand that you dont become a somebody for being an assistant. you people who arent giving gillespie a chance are retarded. im not saying he IS going to be awesome, but he could be you dont know. heres a little something from a guy named bill self...hes at ku right now, you may have heard of him...anyway, heres a little thing from his bio on kusports.com...

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At Oral Roberts, Self's first team managed just six victories in 1993-94. The win total increased to 10 the following year. In his third season, Self guided the Golden Eagles to an 18-9 record.

In 1996-97, ORU registered a 21-7 mark and made the school's first postseason tournament appearance since 1983-84, receiving an invitation to the NIT. Prior to his appointment at ORU, Self spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.

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im just making a point that if bill self was doing this from 00-04 instead of 93-97 yall would be whining about the next melvin and we would be lucky to have him. i know you are all tired of melvins and barones etc, but this guy was under self, hes done a very good job, and to write him off like you are is just stupid.

If the try to sell us Billy Gillespie - they are just trying to sell us Kermit Davis, Tony Barone, and Melvin Watkins - same product - different name.

Enough with this.

WE NEED A BLUE CHIP BASKETBALL COACH!

Billy Gillespie would be a great hire in my book. Some of you people need to loan me some of the stuff your smokin.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/colleges/8113274.htm

Another decent article about Gillespie. He doesn't knock my socks off, but he definately has some positive points. His relationship to Texas High Schools seems really positive.

JDL

Name the guy. Money aside, who do you think we CAN get? Don't be unrealistic, name a guy that you think would come to A&M and produce that wow factor.

We need Gillespie--now.

I think Gillespie would be a good hire.... we need a Texan and someone who can recruit in this state!

Let me cast my vote in for Gillespie. I'm amazed that some of you think we could bring in a big name coach just by virtue of us being Texas A&M. Amazing.

TF

Gillespie...now