Today it was announced that Texas Tech men's basketball coach, Billy Gillispie, would not be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the Texas Tech men's basketball program. Instead, he will worry about his recent health problems. Gillispie was hospitalized on August 31 and held there for six days for what was rumored to be high blood pressure. Ironically, the day Gillispie was taken to the hospital was also the day he and Texas Tech athletic director, Kirby Hocutt, were to meet about his mistreating players. Today's announcement also comes just days after Hocutt ordered Gillispie to stay away from the team until the two met about the mistreatment allegations.
The 'allegations' must be true as it was the players that told Hocutt nine days ago that they were concerned with the way Gillispie treats them. This comes after Tech already reprimanded Gillispie and an assistant in January for an overage of practice hours last fall. The Red Raiders' star forward, Jordan Tolbert, has already came out and said that he refuses to play for Gillispie. Tolbert seems to be the voice of the entire team that is fed up with Gillispie's coaching style, which they say includes a lot of breaking down but not a lot of building back up. The team said they loved the assistants though and that they only had a problem with Gillispie. This of course means nothing because if Gillispie is fired, usually the assistants leave with him or are not brought back by the new coach coming in.
This is not the first time Gillispie's extreme style has gotten him into trouble. Gillispie was fired after a successful run at Kentucky in 2009 for mistreating not only players but also staff members in the athletic department. Former Wildcat and New York Knick, Josh Harrellson, said that Gillispie had become so angry at him that he once instructed him to sit in a bathroom stall during a halftime talk and then instructed him to ride back to Kentucky in the equipment truck. He seems to have brought this tough love tactic with him to Texas Tech, and the players not only disagree with it, they won't tolerate it anymore. The reason Texas Tech thought he might have changed his ways is because he took two years off taking care of his late mother and working for multiple charitable organizations.
While hiring Gillispie seemed like slam dunk hire, Hocutt should have known that coaches don't change their coaching style, much like a player doesn't change his jumpshot, especially if it has worked in the past. Coaches need to win. Winning is the only job security a coach has, and if a coach has found a way that makes him and his teams successful then he is going to use that method. Could he tweak his tough love approach to include more positive reinforcement? He could, but it is clear he doesn't want to as his problems have resurfaced after just one season coming off his coaching hiatus. The Texas Tech team did not respond to his style though as the team was a miserable 8-23 (1-17 in Big 12).
So what's next for Billy Gillispie and Texas Tech? Well, my guess is that when Gillispie and Hocutt finally have that chat, Hocutt is not going to like what he hears. He already has an incentive to fire Gillispie as the players are firmly against him. The meeting is just to give Gillispie a shot at defending himself, but when multiple players say that they are concerned with a coach's style then it's usually true. Gillispie will be fired in the coming weeks and one of his assistants will replace him as interim head coach as it would be fruitless to start a coaching search with the season right around the corner. The players will be happy because they'll see that their athletic director has their back. The team could then surprise in the Big 12 as happy players tend to play better than unhappy players. And the players should be more than happy because it looks like Gillispie is good as gone.
References
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8365791/texas-tech-red-raiders-billy-gillispie-no-longer-making-decisions-team-focus-health
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8362335/texas-tech-red-raiders-jordan-tolbert-says-want-coach-billy-gillispie-back
http://sports.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/57303/jordan-tolbert
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8321914/mutiny-texas-tech-coach-billy-gillispie-draws-complaints
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/2641/texas-tech-red-raiders
No comments:
Post a Comment