In 2004, Billy Gillispie landed the perfect job. He was hired as the head basketball coach at Texas A&M. The year before the Aggies went 7-21 and didn’t win a single conference game. Now, the Aggies haven’t always been this bad at basketball, but they haven’t been anywhere near a basketball powerhouse either. Until Gillispie got there. He completely changed that entire program in 3 short years. In his freshman year they improved their win total to 8 games in conference play, going 8-8. His overall record improved to 21-10. The following year, despite losing their best player, Antoine Wright, Gillispie managed to lead the Aggies to a 10-6 conference record and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12. They even received an at-large bid to the Conference Tournament. NCAA, a place it hadn’t been since 1987. In the first round, the Aggies defeated Big East champion Syracuse.
If you’re reading this right now and saying to yourself “wow, the Aggies were rolling,” then you’re not alone. I’m thinking the same to myself. However, for sustained success, a coach must be able to recruit. And that’s exactly what Gillispie was doing. In 2004 he signed Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk, as well as Josh Carter in 2005. Those 3 guys, along with Acie Law, who were in place before Gillispie got there, really brought A&M basketball to the fore. . Then came Donald Sloan, Bryan Davis, and Derrick Roland in 2006. In that 2006-2007 season, the Aggies won 13 conference games and finished second to Kansas, whom they beat at Allen Fieldhouse. At one point they went on a 21 game winning streak at home and finished the regular season ranked #7 in the Associated Press poll. A&M made it to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in school history. Everything was PERFECT for Billy Gillispie. What has followed in the last 5 years can perhaps best be described as an epic collapse in his name.
Gillispie was offered and accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky. It seemed at the time that the Aggies were rising to the top of college basketball in dizzying fashion, while Kentucky was, by their standards, a mediocre team. But instead of riding the hot horse, Gillispie chose to go where he thought the grass was greenest. Two years is all Gillispie had before Kentucky lost patience with him. But in hindsight, that’s not what stands out to me after a coach has such a short and unsuccessful tenure at a particular school. It is remembering the press conference in which he was hired by that school that makes me laugh so much. A huge crowd gathered on campus to rejoice and celebrate the man who would save Kentucky basketball. I really don’t need to say more. Just watch the video and enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eezDrCtXlnI