Billy Clyde to Tech

Yes, loop, I think the agroids are going to have a special kind of hate for the Raiders as soon as Billy Drunk beats them the first time.
 
According to some well-placed Tech buds of mine, this hire has been a done deal for quite some time. Good hire for Tech if Billy Clyde keeps his head on straight.
 
good hire by tech. not at all a surprise.

friend of mine is a big A&M booster. traveled with the women's team, donated a ton of money, and was close with billy when he was at A&M, and maintained that friendship when he went to UK. last time i talked to her was in april of 2009, right after he got canned at kentucky. even then she said that he was going to bide his time, and it was likely he'd take over for tech (if the position opened up).

he'll have them competitive quickly. the level of competitiveness depends on whether he can recruit players with talent who also have the patience to put up with his antics.
 
Joe, can you clear something up or give your opinion of it? I am reading mostly lopsided commentary by your "peers" about this. Did Gillespie do something to the Ags other than bail on them for a much more prestigious program? I know there will still be hurt feelings but some seem to think it's no big deal. Either I missed something or it's still hurt feelings coming up.

I agree with you and others that this is a great hire for them as long as he stays awhile. If he's using them as another stepping stone in short order, not so much.
 
loop, it came out that BCG had been dealing with Arkansas and likely would have ended up there had it not been for Kentucky.

The bitterness is about the realization that he lied through his teeth about how much he loved the A&M job and really was no different than any other coach.
 
what bob said is right.

A&M to kentucky is a no brainer. hell, i dont know that i would have been overly disappointed had he left for arkansas, given their facilities and their basketball history. it was the simple fact that he was flirting with all of them, while parading acie law around and talking about his loyalty to A&M.

behind the scenes, the rumors are that he wanted a committment from the A&M powers that be that they were committed to basketball--he wanted to see the new facilities get started. obviously he wanted more money. byrne (for all of his shortcomings) has said that he'll never lose a coach over money. the cash was there, and we had already broken ground on our practice facility, which was supposed to be good enough (according to billy) to keep BCG around. but it wasnt, and not only did he bail on us, but he basically lied about being committed to A&M while flirting with the hogs and the wildcats. i also think that he seriously considered leaving A&M for the indiana job the year before.

there are also rumors that billy took the kentucky job, and called byrne and asked to see if he could come back. not sure if that's true, but it's been reported in a couple of places.

i equate it also to the bitterness that some longhorn fans have for muschamp...said he was staying, but considered the tenn. job and ultimately took the florida job. on the surface, no one can begrudge him for taking a head coaching job at florida, but there was more to it than that. he was continually saying one thing, and doing another.

that being said, i hold no ill will towards him...i think we landed pretty well on our feet with turgeon. glad billy got a second chance. we'll see if he does anything with it.
 
like a kid in a candy store for Mr. Gillespie. Not a lot to do in Lubbock.. idle hands...
 
Thanks, Bob and Joe, that answered it. I guess I did not pay close enough attention to how he went about it. I'd be pissed at the dude too. All or most coaches tow the company line during the interview, courting and hiring process but it seems like he went overboard.
 
I reckon this means road games at Tech will become much tougher two years from now. Gillispie doesn't play an exciting brand of basketball, but his UTEP and A&M teams were grinders that fought hard on every possession.

His style reminds me of some of the lesser talented grind-it-out teams that find a way to win a game or two in the NCAA tournament before they run into a well coached team with superior talent.

If he wins consistently, he'll leave Tech for a better job.
 
Here I think is a pretty decent comparison. Tom Penders to Texas is similar to Billy Gillispie to A&M. Both took over our programs when they were in the crapper and made them NCAA programs. Both of them had some character issues and aren't well liked by many of our current alumni. I do think (and this is where I stand) we need to still be thankful for what they gave us. I think both of us replaced them with coaches who are good guys and good coaches. Barnes seems to have advanced the program farther than Turgeon, but I'm hopeful he is the guy to do it for us. I think they both are united in their disdain for Scott Drew and his antics.
 
The other thing that I think is good about Barnes and Turgeon is the respect they show for each other, other schools and the game. I think that is the way it should be.
 
my original guess would also be that billy bails for a new job given his history. 2 years at utep, 3 at A&M, and then 2 at kentucky...

but i dont know...maybe this is a reformed billy. tech is giving him a second chance. plus he's a guy who is best suited to coach in texas.

either way, his contract at tech is only for 800k a year. tech is getting a good deal.
 
I think Gillespie is a great addition in The Holy Land (Lubbock). Players who are grinders and hustling on each possession will be appreciated out there. He and Coach Tuberville have some similarities in terms of coaching success and ability to recruit and I think Tech stands to benefit from both.

Cowtown Raider
"That's mighty bold talk for a one-eyed, fat man!!" Ned Pepper to John Wayne in True Grit.
 
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