Razorback Basketball & Football
Posted by rexfiles on April 4, 2008
There are rumors that Billy Gillispie is out at UK whether he takes the job at OSU or not. And that is causing some nervousness among Razorback fans. Gillispie is not a good fit at UK. His skin might be a little thin and his style does not hearken back to Pitino. UK fans are never satisfied, and they think that they are the center of the basketball world. Their arrogance is only eclipsed by UT football fans. Getting off to a slow start this year was extremely damaging to his credibility, and even though he did a great job in conference (and somewhat quieted the critics), not winning a tourney game turned up the heat. Of course, no one should feel sorry for Gillispie, he brought this on himself. He left the Razorbacks at the altar last year in order to take the newest suitor, Kentucky. So he gets what he deserves.
The reason his possible ouster from UK makes UA fans nervous is obvious. We don’t want to lose Pelphrey. Obviously if the UK job is open, he will be a candidate. I was hoping Gillispie would last 5-6 years before getting sick of UK fans, because if the ‘Cats wanted him then, it would mean that he had taken the UA program back to elite status. But if he were to leave after only one year on the job, the recruiting losses could really set us back.
Pelphrey has done a good job his first year and appears to have a firm grip on the program. He has good discipline, seems to be bringing in a good class, and has the support of the fans. To take an underachieving, senior-laden team that had no mental toughness to the tourney and win a game is a great accomplishment. The 6 are still the most disappointing class to ever wear a Razorback uniform, and Sonny Weems is the only senior who gave his best every game, all year and got the most out of their talent. All the rest (even Charles Thomas, who played very well late) never got the most out of their talent. So we Razorback fans hope that Gillispie stays at UK for a long time. Pel looks better in Red than Blue anyway.
On another note, our other new coach has begun spring practice. Bobby “Easy Come, Easy Go” Petrino had his first practice with the football team, and even with the rain, the excitement is palpable. In two minutes of talking about the QB’s feet, shoulder position, and hips, he showed that he pays more attention to detail than H did with his QBs passing techniques. I like H, and wish him well (except Oct 25) but it was time for him to move on. He had divided the state to the point that the damage was irreparable.
Bobby runs a tight, no nonsense, no idle talk, practice, press conference, you name it. It is all business. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether it’s true or not, and I would say that it is, it feels like you get twice as much accomplished in his practices because of the pace. That is a GREAT thing. While I wish that he had handled leaving Hotlanta differently, it is a good thing for the UA to have him.
Last Word: Good job to AD Jeff Long. He has transitioned well, made good decisions, and handled the backwards politics that surrounds the UA very well. If donations continue to be strong, you can deduce that he has hit a home run. I just hope that his frustration with certain parties does not push him to look at other jobs like he did earlier this year. Jeff, well done.
