The perception of Smiths program might have been that it ran without emotion. The following year, with the program bordering on a mutiny, Doherty resigned. Just like Smith, Guthridge found a way to impact his players beyond teaching them offensive and defensive principles. Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement at a news conference Friday, The Associated Press has learned. Guthridge, who like Smith was a. He said that although he was impressed with the athletic department personnel and basketball program, withdrawing his name was "in the best interest of myself and my family.". But Guthridge, who died Tuesday at 77 of heart failure, was not just one of the best college basketball coaches of all time, he was an unfailingly decent man who displayed a rare degree of. That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. He was known to answer a question such as Coach, do you know what time it is? with a Yes as he walked away. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Guthridge went 80-28 from 1997 to 2000 before retiring in June 2000. He competed in one as a player at Kansas State in 1958, was an assistant coach at 11 before directing the Tar Heels at two as head coach. William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . He was instrumental in helping lure Williams back to North Carolina. Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. Suggestion to Return DismissedWhen Guthridge retired after leading his third team to another Final Four, I interviewed Smith about the amazingly long and successful partnership the two coaches -- Smith a Kansas grad and Guthridge from Kansas State -- had enjoyed. On May 13, 2015, former University of North Carolina Chapel Hill basketball coach Bill Guthridge died from heart failure. 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. We offer our deepest sympathies to Bills family, friends and the entire North Carolina basketball community.. Or perhaps someone else from Smiths coaching tree, such as George Karl or Eddie Fogler? You will be missed. But it really wasnt and we both knew it. He got his taste. He was no different from Coach Smith or Coach Guthridge. I needed Bill to tell me, Dick, yes, I want to do this, Baddour says, and he was clear that he wanted to.. For starters, Baddour says he still would have offered Guthridge the job first. But when Baddour and Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand. You come up one year, and that year you win the national championship. And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. How might everything be different? Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. He stayed (rather than leave for a head coaching job at another university) because he was enjoying what he was doing and why leave something you know is good for the unknown. Whatve you got to prove then?. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. Think about it: Youve been an assistant coach for 30-plus years. When did Bill Guthridge coach at UNC? "All I can say is I'm pursuing other opportunities," Davis said. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Some fans criticized Guthridge last season when the Tar Heels went through a four-game losing streak in January and entered the post-season with 13 losses. He was even more important to me. My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.. Its not what gets remembered for the rest of your life, at least not at a place like North Carolina. Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. He has saved many scholarships when he has suggested backing off certain players, and of course, has selected some great ones who matriculated at Chapel Hill., UNC coach Bill Guthridge gives instructions during a game in the 99-00 season. Its one game, Jamison says. 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. Only, given Guthridges age at the time (60) and the fact that hed always said hed retire when Smith did, Baddour wasnt totally sure Guthridge was interested. He was 77. He never called me at home, unless it was something dire, Hanners says, but he said, How would you feel about meeting me in the office early on Monday at 7 to go over some things before everyone gets there? Hanners obliged, trying to ease Guthridges feeling that he was somewhat out of touch. In his first year as head coach, he led the the team . Smith wanted longtime assistant Bill Guthridge (age 60 at the time) to be a head coach and enjoy the competitive and financial rewards of the job. As good a person as I ever met. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. Fast-forward to present day, and he has surpassed Smith in both national championships and wins. He will certainly be remembered for what he did as opposed to what else he might have done. 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. He previously worked at The Charlotte Observer as a Carolina Panthers beat reporter, and his writing has also appeared in Sports Illustrated, The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun. Of course, Smith did retire. That was quelled, but the chancellor had another thought: To the chancellor and many fans Williams was the obvious choice to succeed Smith. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. That was the presumption Baddour and the basketball program operated under. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. Heading into what would have been the fourth year of a five-year contract, Guthridge compiled an 80-28 record, but had not received an extension. 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. North Carolina made 29 NCAA tournament appearances in Guthridge's 33 years on the staff and finished no worse than third in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings every year -- with 16 first-place finishes and 10 more in second. 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. Like his lifelong friend and mentor, Coach Dean Smith, he led by example instilling values of kindness, discipline and a strong work ethic. [5], He died at his home on May 12, 2015, after an extended illness, alongside his family. While a student at Kansas State, Guthridge played guard under head coach Fred "Tex" Winter, and helped the team advance to the 1958 Final Four. He also coached 66 players who were selected in the NBA and/or ABA drafts. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. "Though he was a head coach for a short time, he gracefully carried on a culture and legacy that many thought could not be perpetuated.". 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. Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the 1997-98 season, and Guthridge was immediately named his successor. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. After those brief flirtations with head coaching positions, Guthridge settled in as UNC's top assistant, right up until Dean Smith suddenly retired in October of 1997. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. But obviously, the better head coach -- one of four or so best head coaches of all time in his sport -- and the decision to retire was seriously flawed by emotion. 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. 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. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. Carolina Jump Rope is making their fellow Tar Heel rethink what it means to jump rope. Guthridge also gave to the University away from basketball. A tremendously loyal person with an ego that was seemingly non-existent. Bill Guthridge is best known in Chapel Hill as an assistant coach to Dean Smith, but that isn't the complete picture of the legendary coach. "He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. Ford whispered for Hanners to try running 21 defense really sagging off defenders, even inside the 3-point line. From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. Im like, Coach, we won it, congrats! Jamison remembers. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. How would his retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a program built on consistency? Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. 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What you saw was the quiet assistant sitting on the bench. He came up with the idea that Dean Smith, having . Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. 3 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris. 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. (LogOut/ He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. In 1976, he also served as an assistant coach to Smith as the United States won the gold medal in men's basketball at the Summer Olympics in Montreal. Bill was a great coach, but he never got enough credit during most of those years. Guthridge could deal with Dean's irritability, his need to control the smallest things. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach. Or does Doherty get his chance regardless? [6], National champion He was 77. With the number of Americans residing in assisted living communities nearing 1 million and growing, CEAL@UNCs work will be vital for ensuring that older adults nationwide have access to quality and supportive care that enables them to age with dignity and respect. That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. Guthridge was Smiths assistant for 30 years. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. (Jed Jacobsohn / ALLSPORT via Getty), Theres a world where Ford got his chance to be UNCs head coach, and maybe still would be in that position. Its another tremendous loss for our University, our basketball program and our entire community. Hed been given a five-year contract when he took over for Smith, because the administration feared recruits would stop coming if they thought Guthridge could retire at any moment. I would have been as vigorous and go after that as hard as I could possibly go.. Smith died on Feb. 7 after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories. Why would you stay? It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. It wasnt until Oct. 3, 1997 a Friday about a week before the first practice of the season that Baddour got an indication that Smith wouldnt return. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". As a coach, he was stubbornly competitive. Coach Guthridge played an instrumental role in the programs success as an assistant under Dean Smith for three decades before making his own name as a head coach in leading North Carolina to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. As he famously said at Smiths retirement news conference, I always thought we would ride off into the sun together.. Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. Smith wrote in his memoir, A Coachs Life, that before he retired in 1997, he told recruits: If Im not coaching, I am confident that your coach will be either Bill Guthridge, Eddie Fogler, Roy Williams, Larry Brown, George Karl or Phil Ford, not necessarily in that order. Bill Guthridge was a gentleman coach, but a fierce competitor, and an incredibly loyal member of Dean Smiths staff for three decades, said UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. Whether Williams would have returned at that time is impossible to say. Try a week on us. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. In five years on Winter's staff, Guthridge helped lead the Wildcats to a 9343 (.684) record, a pair of Big Eight Conference crowns, and the NCAA Final Four in 1964. He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. Although his individual achievements showcased his ability as a head coach, Guthridge always seemed content working with Smith to develop a top program at North Carolina. 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. College Basketball Coach. 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He said to me, I have felt this way before, but in the early fall, Ive always gotten the energy back, and I expect that thats gonna happen, but I do want to alert you to the possibility that it might not. Whether or not deep down inside he thought that energy wouldnt come back, I dont know the answer to that. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. The possibilities were endless, but Baddour is certain of one thing: keeping things in the family was a must. He said Friday he now knows how Smith felt in 1997 when he stepped down. 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. 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. He always knew what he was doing.. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. When it was his turn as head coach, he immediately won an ACC championship and took two teams to the Final Four. "I'm extremely saddened by the passing of Coach Guthridge, aka 'Coach Gut,' especially coming so close to the loss of Coach Smith," Jamison, who was national player of the year during Guthridge's first season as coach, said in a statement. His loss is deeply felt by our university and the basketball world. In that July or August period, when Coach Smith basically told Coach Guthridge for the very last time in his life, Im not ready, Im not gonna do it again, then I think Coach Guthridge told him at that point that hed really like to try, Hanners says. As he would prepare for a basketball practice or game, he was equally intense about attention to detail in scheduling or whatever.. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses. His legacy lives on in each of the players who were privileged to call him Coach and countless Tar Heels and people across the nation who admired him. So was Williams always fated to end up back at North Carolina? He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 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. The only people who came to know about that line of succession, so to speak, were Baddour, Smith, Guthridge and then-chancellor Michael Hooker, who expressed some concerns about Guthridges age early on. I dont think he went in that summer thinking, Im not gonna be the basketball coach by fall, Baddour says. 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. Other opportunities had arisen over time, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant. It has to be one of those., Williams talked Thursday night with Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick. He still had four seasons remaining on his contract, enough to carry him to the summer of 2001. Frederick said he wanted to emphasize to Williams how strongly the university, the community, the people in the state of Kansas and all of our alumni and fans feel about him continuing as the Jayhawk coach forever.. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State . On the day of Smiths retirement, The Washington Post reported Smith wants his other longtime assistant, former Tar Heels point guard Phil Ford, eventually to become the coach, a source said. Ford was arguably Smiths best player ever, and UNCs all-time leading scorer at the time. He was 77. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. When Guthridge retired after leading his third team to another Final Four, I interviewed Smith about the amazingly long and successful partnership the two coaches -- Smith a Kansas grad and. In our prayers. 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. He was and has been overshadowed and a bit lost in the shuffle of UNC basketball coaches by his lifelong friend, former UNC head coach Dean Smith (1961 to 1997), and current UNC head coach Roy Williams, who was an assistant coach along with Guthridge at UNC from 1978 to 1988. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. 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.". I was just happy that the team had success. Guthridge . At that point, Baddour turned to Matt Doherty, who had been the coach at Notre Dame for just one season. The University of North Carolina has lost a dear friend, as haveI, andIknow that we will all miss him greatly., Im extremely saddened by the passing of Coach Guthridge, aka Coach Gut, especially coming so close to the loss of Coach Smith. But Baddour explained to the chancellor that because of Williams respect for Guthridge, hed never have taken the job over his friend. What burned just below that was a fierce competitor who might sometimes react more like a fan than you would expect. Guthridge was an assistant coach along with Hall of Famer John Thompson under Smith in 1976 when the U.S. won the Olympic gold medal in Montreal. I would lean a little bit toward the side of Bill saying, Look, Im not on the front end of my career, its great to have done this, what a way to go out, Baddour says. The Tar Heels either won the ACC tournament or finished atop the league standings -- or did both -- in 23 of those seasons. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1997-98 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith Award), CBS/Chevrolet, the Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club and The Sporting News. The University is currently operating under normal conditions. By the way, Dean Smith basically forced UNC to hire Guthridge, his long-time assistant, when El Deano suddenly retired in October 1997, just before the beginning of the hoops season. Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams,. He was my friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players," current UNC coach Roy Williams said. Fast-Forward to present day, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant to fruition your Facebook account back I... I 'm pursuing other opportunities, '' Davis said means to Jump.! Turned to Matt Doherty, who had been the coach at Notre Dame just... And UNCs all-time leading scorer at the time have taken the job over his friend a fan than would! Sense of which ones May be overrated teaching them offensive and defensive principles from heart failure Heel rethink it. What else he might have been that it ran without emotion Williams respect for Guthridge,,! Be the basketball coach, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 ( 785 ) 843-1000 to contact any member. To remain in Chapel Hill basketball coach Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed a! 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