The Billy Clyde Gillispie years

#26
#26
i am sure he is a good ole boy, but the fishbowl in Lexvegas was probably a little too crowded.
 
#27
#27
The good part is pointing out UK hypocrisy . Coach Cal was viewed as too dirty according to several media reports when the job came open. That how they landed on CBG. Talk to a Kentucky fan now and they suddenly forget that.
 
#28
#28
volfanhill said:
The good part is pointing out UK hypocrisy . Coach Cal was viewed as too dirty according to several media reports when the job came open. That how they landed on CBG. Talk to a Kentucky fan now and they suddenly forget that.
Click to expand...

Mitch Barnhart thought he should be the biggest name on campus and wanted to handle the deal himself, and well UT fans know how that usually turns out. Boosters/alumni stepped in with Cal.
 
#29
#29
TXA&M07 said:
That story is true too.


Billy took the Cadillac we provided to the airport in Dallas in the middle of the night, parked it only paying for an overnight space, and bought a one way ticket to Kentucky. Weeks later, TAMU gets a bill from a wrecker/impound yard for storage and towing fees.

He did reach out to our AD shortly after taking the job up there but cooler heads couldn't prevail and like with you guys, he refused to "sign on the dotted line". That prevented him from returning.


As for the drinking and all that, Billy enjoyed himself a lot. After wins especially. A handful of places took care of him really well. They had a number to call when it was time for him to go. One of my good friends now, was one of those guys on the other end of that phone. Billy likes blondes, but had beer goggles from time to time too.

He carried cash but rarely ever had to use it. His "fun" money was spent on any and everyone around him that treated him well and allowed him privacy. You'd order a drink and ask for your tab and get told that Coach got it already. His way of thanking you for not bugging him that night. After a loss, he wanted to go out but didnt want to talk to fans.

He's haunted by demons IMO. There is a lot of anger upstairs with him and some regrets whether he'd admit to them or not. He is however a kind man. There are more stories but that's a good sample.
Click to expand...

I miss BCG. We had us some games when he was the coach at A&M didn't we? Never knew him when he was on staff at Baylor but he is still well thought of around Central Texas after stops in B/CS, Waco and two high schools in Killeen.

He and Scott Drew used to evaluate players together at AAU games...seemed to like each other. Wish Scott could get him on staff now but I doubt the administration would go for that. They would make one hell of a coaching/recruiting duo.
 
#30
#30
Lot of fun in those years BUBear. You and I had it good back then.

Not to prod you but "the baptism" may be my favorite basketball moment.
 
#31
#31
Of course those were Turgeon's boys but still. That rivalry really began during BCG's tenure.
 
#32
#32
TXA&M07 said:
Lot of fun in those years BUBear. You and I had it good back then.

Not to prod you but "the baptism" may be my favorite basketball moment.
Click to expand...

No what you mean about "the baptism", damned near caused a riot lol.

I liked AJ Walton and Quincy Acy blowing kisses to the Reed Arena crowd after our final series game during The Year Of The Bear.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=euGcxSkeZfc
 
Last edited:
#33
#33
Pretty good read. I'm surprised things turned out the way they did at UK for him. I always thought he was a pretty decent coach going all the way back to his UTEP days. Maybe the bright lights and the stage was just to big for him at UK. He coached at 4 different schools and took 3 of them to the NCCAT. He was 148-108 over all with 4 NCCAT appearances in 8 years of coaching.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top