Ill just say this, says Dave Hanners, one of Smiths longtime assistants. Guthridge could deal with Dean's irritability, his need to control the smallest things. Change). With a wealth of returning talent, Guthridge instituted a "six starters" system, whereby the team's top six players, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja, and Makhtar N'Diaye rotated positions in the starting five. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25, earned the ACC Coach of the Year award and guided North Carolina to the Final Four before losing to Utah. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. But against the Utes, the Tar Heels fell behind quickly and were never able to catch up. When Smith was needlessly ejected from the 1991 Final Four, it was Guthridge who was furious in the tunnel after the game. But Baddour explained to the chancellor that because of Williams respect for Guthridge, hed never have taken the job over his friend. He stepped down 2 months later. But the Tar Heels suffered a soul-crushing NCAA Tournament loss that also ended Phil Fords career. That includes two as a head coach at Carolina, 10 as a Tar Heel assistant coach and one each as a player and assistant coach at his alma mater, Kansas State. Doherty was criticized from the moment he was hired, for breaking somewhat from Smith and Guthridges family dynamic; that scrutiny only intensified in his second season, when UNC bottomed out to a program-worst record of 8-20. Whatve you got to prove then?. Smith, after all, kept an office in the arena for several years after retirement. "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. I dont think I have ever heard of anyone that didnt like and respect Bill Guthridge. He wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories. He couldnt generate enough energy to get through all of that., Some background: In the years leading up to his retirement specifically every spring after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament Smith expressed a sense of exhaustion to the people around him. It left at 1:57 p.m. His reasoning? People could misinterpret 2 p.m.perhaps it really meant 1:45, or maybe 2:15. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. WAKE FOREST: Former basketball standout Charlie Davis quit his job in the athletic department, reportedly for not being considered for advancement. Baddour was scheduled to travel with the football program that day for a game at TCU, but before leaving he spoke to Smith on the phone. There were reports that Michigan was interested in him at the time His only drawback was a DUI arrest in September 1998, after which he was temporarily placed on leave. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. But theres another alternate history with extreme on-court implications that might have forced his hand. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. (LogOut/ For 30 of his 33 years at Carolina, Guthridge was the behind-the-scenes guy scouting opponents, making sure players got to class on time, disciplining players, getting the players on the bus or airplane and into the hotel, working with office staff on the smallest of details, and recruiting the latter, unlike many coaches, he said he enjoyed immensely. The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State before joining the Tar Heels staff in 1967. Ndiaye even tried cracking the ice by joking that Guthridges years as head coach probably hadnt hurt his wallet. It was profoundly hard for Coach Guthridge to watch his lifetime friend become forgetful and lose the memories they shared together, not just as the architects of a fantastic and highly-ethical college basketball program, but as friends who regarded each other and their respective families as their own. Try a week on us. At Smith's retirement. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. Coach Smith would be more likely to draw up something in a timeout, or draw up a play maybe we hadnt worked on, where as Coach Guthridge was going to rely on what wed done in the past, says Brad Frederick, a forward on that team and now a UNC assistant coach. MIAMI: Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson acknowledged he has given the school permission to talk to Green Wave coach Perry Clark about replacing Leonard Hamilton. And I said, I cant say to you with certainty what Bills gonna do, but this is how we have to approach it. A longtime assistant to the legendary Dean Smith, he shall be remembered for his three seasons as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. He joined Ohio States Fred Taylor as just the second man in history to lead teams to two Final Fours in his first three seasons as a head coach. Guthridge coached North Carolina to the Final Four in his first season before losing to Utah. One of the things that made (Smith) so special was his ability to be innovative so certainly, I think we would have had some other ways to attack in a game that we struggled, against Utah in the Final Four.. Heck, he might still be the coach at North Carolina. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. But 1:57 was 1:57. Theres no way you could dream, Hanners says, anyone would necessarily do better.. Smith died on Feb. 7 after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories. Guthridge had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the head coach of his own program. He played or coached in 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history. And that brings us full-circle, back to the original what-if: What if Dean Smith had finished out his contract, which ran through the end of the 2000-01 season? From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. He was a lifetime assistant coach for whom Dean did a solid. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. But in hindsight, Hanners says there were clues that everything might not have been like normal. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. The death of Guthridges mother, Betty, 96, two days before the Tar Heels played Tennessee at Knoxville in the NCAA South Regional semifinals also contributed to a difficult season. Guthridge became head coach after Smith retired in 1997 and coached the team for three seasons.UNC coach Roy Williams called Guthridge a key . Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). When his Tar Heels defeated Tulsa to earn a Final Four berth, the postgame locker room was one of the most emotional in the modern era, due at least partially to the devotion his players had for Guthridge and their joy in relievingat least for a momentthe criticism hed taken during the season. After that loss, Carter and Jamison turned pro. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and he'll be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching.". Postseason invitational champion The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. He would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Why would a healthy 66-year-old call it quits and relinquish the chance to coach that team? It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. Theres no right answer, no certainty. Then he retired, too. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. Had McAdoo returned, Smiths team would have been much better positioned to deal with David Thompsons stunning impact on NC State, the ACC and the nation. The picture most Tar Heel fans will have of him is sitting slightly behind Dean Smith, perhaps leaning over to make a point to the head coach. How would his retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a program built on consistency? In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). He saw his memory issues coming long before the world did. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. Had Smith made the logical move and coached on until his 70th birthday -- the route likely to be taken by Dukes Mike Krzyzewski (66) and Syracuses Jim Boeheim (68) -- he would have finished with at least 1,000 wins and possibly two more national titles. Because I know Coach Smiths plan long-term, at least at that time, was to prepare the team for Phil to take over.. when UNC named longtime assistant Bill Guthridge as his successor. But there was no questioning the depth of their relationship. He was even more important to me. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. He was North Carolina basketball, the constant as the new building was built in his honor and the banners in the rafters accumulated, the link from Scott to Ford to Jordan to Stackhouse. Sad news. Coaches, both within the program and across the country, still came calling to Chapel Hill every summer to pick his brains about Xs and Os. However, Coach Guthridge served as the perfect replacement as head basketball coach when Coach Smith unexpectantly announced his retirement from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997. "He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. My guess is that Coach Guthridge probably never came back from that place after Coach Smiths death and I would speculate that Coach Smiths death may have been the final straw of an increasingly-unfamiliar and disconnected life for Coach Guthridge. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". Former UNC coach, assistant Guthridge dies, Sizing up the player of the year winners in all 32 Division I men's conferences, Tide's Oats takes blame for Miller's 'TSA' intro, Davis within 25 points of tying Maravich's mark, New NCAA president readies for NIL, legal issues, Scheyer makes history as Duke sweeps at home, Tennessee win soured by knee injury to Zeigler, USC, OU, Seton Hall, Iowa in new hoops tourney, Houston, Alabama remain atop AP Top 25 poll. (Scott Sharpe/News & Observer), Standing Together With Our Black Community, Assistant Schall Named Head Volleyball Coach, After 33 Years, Volleyball Coach Sagula Retires, In Memoriam: Elizabeth B. Morgan (19302022). The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. But he decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching, the AP reported. He was a friend. Coach Guthridge is the best I have ever seen in selecting potential in high school players, Smith once said, according to the teams website. Without question, every opportunity that I would have to hire Roy Williams. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. It didnt bother me that I was a lousy coach, and when we started winning I was a better coach. Which 16 teams should you buy or fade ahead of March Madness? Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Before their first-round exit in 2021, this was the only time that the Tar Heels failed to win a game in the tournament since it expanded to 64 teams (and dropped first-round byes) in 1985. The possibilities were endless, but Baddour is certain of one thing: keeping things in the family was a must. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. He bought into everything. In that scenario, Williams never leaves Kansas and Ford probably never leaves North Carolina. The inconsistent season came on the heels of a first-round NCAA Tournament loss in 1999. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. [5], He died at his home on May 12, 2015, after an extended illness, alongside his family. North Carolina made 10 trips to the Final Four and won two national championships during the time Smith and Guthridge spent together. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. They made sure we knew it wasnt the most important thing in the world, but that we had been given a talent, and it was our job to use it., The Carolina community mourns the passing of Bill Guthridge, a great coach, devoted friend and loyal Tar Heel. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five picks of the NBA draft. He held a news conference in the bowels of the Dean Smith Center, where he announced his retirement from the game hed given his life to. He was enormously committed to attention to detail and organization, says Dick Baddour, a longtime university administrator who served as athletic director from 1997 to 2011. Its not fair, but thats just the way it is for assistant coaches, Smith said. The announcement came nearly two months after the 6-10 center led the Boston . Later during that conversation, I suggested to Smith that he still had a lot of quality coaching mileage left and that maybe he should consider returning for an encore. Why would you stay? College Basketball Coach. When did Bill Guthridge coach at UNC? Conference regular season champion All the scheduling calls, speeches for adoring donors, piles and piles of paperwork that accompanied seemingly everything he did. Note: Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. Dean Smiths hourglass, it seemed, had an endless amount of sand. Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. The University is currently operating under normal conditions. Hed told reporters he expected to honor the remaining four years on his deal. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. It was more a series of passing conversations, regular updates about the coachs state of mind. In his 33 seasons at Carolina, the Tar Heels won two NCAA championships, in 1982 and 1993; played in 12 Final Fours; won the ACC Tournament championship 13 times; and played in the ACC Tournament championship game a total of 22 times. The ones he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. Penn State was a good situation, he said in an interview in 2010. Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. Which put Baddour on the search for a long-term replacement for the first time. The 1971-72 Tar Heels had finished 26-5 but were upset by Florida State (not an ACC member at the time) in the NCAA Final Four semifinals. "He was my coach, he was another mentor. Unfortunately, it took UNC two tries to find that leader. As early as April and May, Bill Guthridge Smiths primary assistant for some 30 years reached out to Hanners about doing extra study of the teams offensive and defensive sets. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Go play golf. Buffalo Brothers - 1/2 Price Appetizers 4:30pm-6:00pm Monday - Friday, Holliday: State and Carolina headed in different directions for the final two weeks, Brownlow: Angst will be at an all-time high as NC State hosts hated rival UNC, Holliday: Miami puts the Heels back on the bubble, Brownlow: NC State, Duke and UNC all seek to avoid two losses in a row as crunch time hits, Holliday: Pivotal road trips for NC State and Duke, Brownlow: Saturday's matchup marks the beginning of a new Carolina-Duke era, Holliday: Could this be Keatts' best ACC season? That said, its worth remembering that he told Williams just a few years ago that perhaps 66 was too early to retire, given his near flawless health at the time. They shot just 39.1 percent from the floor and made only 3-of-23 attempts from 3. 2023 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Improving child and adolescent mental health, A message from the chancellor: We are a global university, Carolina Engagement Week Returns for a Second Year, Feb. 27 Through March 3, Book Publishing I: The Process with Christopher Ahn, Parr|Bioethics Joint Lecture: Elizabeth Barnes (University of Virginia), Disability and Health: An Its Complicated Relationship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. There is one final thing, though, that seems to be consensus, the one aspect of this entire hypothetical that no one can seem to get over: that the reason there are still enduring questions about what Smith could have accomplished in those extra four seasons is because those are the same questions Smith himself always carried. Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. As things went, by the end of the 1999-2000 season which concluded with a surprise Final Four run, Guthridges second trip in three seasons Smiths right-hand man was finally ready to step away himself. 17 Miami at Cameron Indoor stadium, Report: Sylvia Hatchell made racially insensitive remarks, forced players to compete while hurt, NC State makes NIT, AD Debbie Yow upset Wolfpack not invited to Big Dance, NC State extends Doeren's contract through 2023, UNC women continue on despite Hatchell's absence, Forty years later, the story of '83 never gets old for NC State, Interactive 2023 NCHSAA boys & girls basketball state playoff brackets, What 7 classes could look like in the NCHSAA if realignment amendment passes, Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks: The football team that never won, Raising money for cancer research, playing golf and being a grandparent: Roy Williams dons retirement hat in style, Top sports stories of 2022 from WRAL SportsFan - The Biggest Sports Stories of 2022, Complete HSOT all-state football team revealed, HSOT Watch List: Boys basketball players to look out for in the 2022-2023 season, North Carolina high school sports scoreboard, 'Going to get left behind': NC State, Duke, UNC hope transfer portal delivers for men's basketball teams, If the Los Angeles Lakers stumble to start 2022-23 season, Mike Krzyzewski is waiting in 'retirement', The Fan plays 'Dungeons & Dragons' for ACC realignment, Former NC State AD Lee Fowler on ACC's 2005 expansion: 'It was a crazy 24 hours'. In retrospect, Smiths premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. What if he hadnt retired when he did? The university made a huge misstep when it hired former UNC player, Matt Doherty, a young, untested coach in the league of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and a 180-degreechange from the coaching styles of Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge, as its head basketball coach in 2000, when Coach Guthridge retired. Once, in 1978, he did nearly take the head coaching job at Penn State but he changed his mind at the airport and never thought about leaving Chapel Hill again. But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. #RIP. The Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program is one of the first research programs focused exclusively on addressing the gap in child and adolescent mental health services. Yeah, Id say that was more likely than unlikely., I wouldve gone to where I went two years later, he says. Why bring those up? But the season, and that loss specifically, never faded from their collective consciousness. Coach Guthridge was the right choice to lead the transition to another, younger leader of the famed basketball program at the University of North Carolina. He was 77 years old. When it was announced last week that Smith would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, I could not help but think back to that interview in 2000 while also thinking about what might have been. But more than just that team, Smith left behind a mound of questions. That was the presumption Baddour and the basketball program operated under. Its hard, man. Now Guthridge, 77, is enduring a similarly cruel fate . Recharge your batteries, they told him. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. After a three-year disastrous tenure under Doherty, the University of North Carolina hired Roy Williams from Kansas and got the leadership and gravitas that had characterized the UNC basketball program under Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head-coaching jobs weren't better than his job as an assistant. Did Bill Guthridge win national championship? He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. Bill was a great coach, but he never got enough credit during most of those years. The team fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether. Its often forgotten that he helped engineer the 2000 Final Four run by keeping his team in Charlotte overnight after a disappointing quarterfinal ACC Tournament loss, and pushing them hard in practice on Saturday. The family told team spokesman Steve Kirschner that Guthridge died of heart failure and that the coach had lived with a heart condition the past seven years. In 1998, the Bill Guthridge Distinguished Professorship in mathematics was established. He was 77. Guthridge would still call on Smith, after all, to speak to the team at certain times. What about Ford? North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour has refused to comment directly on Guthridge's contract, saying the school's board of trustees discourages him from talking publicly about such personnel issues. And had Smith gone until age 71 or 72, as did Kentuckys Adolph Rupp, Carolina would have won another 50-60 games and the transition to Roy Williams might have happened seamlessly. Williams and Ndiaye both graduated. . That aspect of his character first surfaced in 1972, when the University of North Carolina basketball coach left Tar Heel fans bewildered by announcing that he wanted junior star forward Robert McAdoo to turn pro rather than return for the 1972-73 season. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. I was just happy that the team had success. Im crying because I failed you guys. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. 1 team in America. Smith was fresh off his 11th Final Four and had just passed Adolph Rupp for the most wins by any college basketball coach in history. A source close to the basketball program, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that Guthridge recently decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching the Tar Heels. Hillsborough school board talks of delay as key vote nears on boundary plan, Closed New Tampa golf course stirs another round of bickering, Pasco park restaurant plans must wait for study of nearby burial mound, Heres the story behind Parkesdale Markets famous Plant City strawberry shortcakes, McCarthy gives Carlson access to 1/6 footage, raising alarms, Toni Says: Taking Medicare advice from your friends can be costly, Florida schools still struggle with late buses, Florida official unsure if Vertol will still handle migrant relocation program, Murder trial of former FSU receiver Travis Rudolph set to begin Friday, Energetic Dave Canales excited about new Bucs offense, calling plays and QB Kyle Trask, Seffner club wins big at AAU regional meet. Earlier this year first season before losing to Utah didnt bother me I... How would his retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a first-round NCAA Tournament loss that also Phil... 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