If, at this point in the season next year, the faithful have not seen marked improvement, Gillispie had better start thinking of his next career move.
Chris Searcy
Harrodsburg
UK has weaknesses
Long term Billy Gillispie is going to be one history's great coaches. If you look at what he did at UTEP and Texas A&M in such a short period of time, it may be without precedent. Both teams were horrible. Texas A&M did not win a single conference game before Billy. His second year they won 20 games and last year they were a championship contender with terrific stats.
That said, his Kentucky start has been a puzzle. For a top team, UK has three obvious weakness that Billy has to overcome, but they should be better than they showed against Gardner-Webb and Indiana.
Weakness No. 1: UK doesn't have a point guard. Bradley is really a shooting guard. Porter and Crawford can't do it. Jasper is the only guy and he's injured.
Weakness No. 2: Besides Patterson, there's no proven rebounding from any front court player.
Weakness No. 3: Ironically, the less talented players, such as Mark Coury, know how to cut and screen and move without the ball while the more talented players such as Crawford and A.J. Stewart are still learning.
As the season goes on, you have believe Gillispie will have UK playing sound basketball. But to contend for an SEC title, they will have to have a healthy Jasper at the point, and Jodie Meeks, who is UK's second best player, as the second go-to guy after Patterson.
Eben Henson
Danville
Low talent
He has the credentials to revive the program. Considering that the talent cupboard was bare, plus two probable starters injured, no way to use the current six weeks to predict anything. He's still trying to figure out what he has and what he can do with a low talent tank. Give him some time. He'll do it.
Carl Hayden
Muscatine, La.
Give coach a chance
"Motormouth (Dick) Vitale" keeps trying to make Tubby Smith out to be such a great coach and says he recruited such good talent. At best, Joe Crawford is one of the most inconsistent players ever at UK. At best, he has never performed under pressure. Even "the great" Tubby Smith couldn't get Ramel Bradley to play well. That leaves Harris, Coury, Stevenson, Porter, Stewart, Carter and Williams to carry the load with Meeks and Jasper hurt.
I don't think anyone can honestly tell me with a straight face that any of Tubby's "leftovers" (except Meeks and Jasper) could play for any top 50 Division I team. That leaves Patterson, and every team in its right mind will triple team him every game.
How in the world can anyone think this team should be performing better than it is. They only have one player, and he is a freshman! Give Gillispie a chance and leave him alone.
Bill Barker
Danville
Future will be better
To right a ship you first have to get her going in the right direction. I feel coach Smith was a good coach, but his double digit losing seasons were the result of not getting the right players to UK. Talent makes an average coach a much better coach.
Gillispie is a bird dog on point. He is a gym rat looking for talent. He is also the "head" man and no player will not put out full effort and get rewarded for it.
This season may not be one of our best but I would wager the following seasons will be better each year as he recruits the players he wants and establishes his work ethic into his players. He is still my first choice over any coach that was considered.
Carl Hardesty
Owensboro
Good job
I see coach Gillispie as inheriting a difficult situation with the talent level down at least "two quarts" and the team hurt by injuries to key players. In that context, he's doing a good job instilling his values and system. I'm very impressed with his recruiting, which ultimately is the lifeblood of the program. There is no doubt in my mind that the program is going to be better in the long run due to his hiring.
Dave Robinson
Cumberland, Maine
Believes in Gillispie
