Billy Clyde to Arkansas?

**Strikeout King** · 01-07-2010, 05:14 PM

What about Billy Clyde taking over for John Pelphrey at Arkansas at seasonâs end? Of course, this is all just one foolâs opinion at this point, but he does seem to be one desperate fool. With Pelphrey really struggling to put a quality product on the floor, multiple disciplinary issues and a dwindling crowd at Bud Walton, it should be no secret that Pel is on the hot seat. ADâs can typically stand losing a few games until the program gets on track, but when a team regresses like Arkansas has, the solution always seems to be to stick it to the coach. It wouldnât shock me in the least if Pel is let go after this season as the calls for his head are growing stronger by the day.

This is where one genius from hogcountryonline.com had the brilliant idea of hiring Billy Gillispie as a replacement at seasonâs end, showing such a breadth of understanding of the BCG/UK situation in saying:
[INDENT]Kentucky let him go because, well, they donât like being challenged and by all accounts Gillispie was not shy about his disappointment in not having a contract signed. You really canât blame him.
[/INDENT] Of course, this is a sore spot for most Kentucky fans. Pel is one of our own and weâve watched like proud papas as heâs ascended the coaching ranks. Heck, some wanted him to be UKâs head man after BCG was fired. But he has struggled lately at Arkansas. Is it time for him to go? Perhaps. But should be be replaced by Gillispie? Well, I wouldnât wish that on my worst enemy. Unless Duke wanted to hire him. I would be ok with that. Definitely.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=40563

**theVILLE** · 01-07-2010, 05:17 PM

Why hire billy G then???He takes programs backwards too..Pel is a great coach he just has a bunch of thugs that he cant keep out of trouble

**BlackcatAlum** · 01-07-2010, 05:20 PM

When John Pelphrey has his whole team actually healthy or eligible then they're competitive with just about everyone in the country. i.e. Texas just Tuesday night.

IMO, Billy Clyde coaches someone in Texas like SMU, etc.

LClion4life · 01-07-2010, 07:10 PM

Billy G did well at Texas A&M and UTEP before coming to UK. He is a coach that is fit for schools that don't have the high expectations and are acceptable of 20-12 seasons, at UK he just couldn't handle the pressure. I think that he wouldn't do bad at Arkansas just because they aren't an elite basketball program and would appreciate him as long as his teams won 20 games a year and got into the NCAAs.

**Stardust** · 01-07-2010, 07:13 PM

theVILLE Wrote:Why hire billy G then???He takes programs backwards too..Pel is a great coach he just has a bunch of thugs that he cant keep out of trouble

What? Name all the programs that he took backwards? UK and, and, and, hmmm, who else???? Get your facts then come back and post something accurate

**Stardust** · 01-07-2010, 07:15 PM

LClion4life Wrote:Billy G did well at Texas A&M and UTEP before coming to UK. He is a coach that is fit for schools that don't have the high expectations and are acceptable of 20-12 seasons, at UK he just couldn't handle the pressure. I think that he wouldn't do bad at Arkansas just because they aren't an elite basketball program and would appreciate him as long as his teams won 20 games a year and got into the NCAAs.

Good post, well thought out. BCG may not have been the right guy for the job, but he didn't tear this program down. It was already down. UK needed to bring in someone to recruit. Tubby was a decent recruiter and a good X's and O's guy, just didn't bring in the 5*s

OldTymer · 01-07-2010, 07:23 PM

Why would ANYONE hire this guy?? He's an obvious jerk with an obvious drinking problem and not someone that any parent would want their sons to play for.

**LWC** · 01-07-2010, 07:53 PM

Stardust Wrote:Good post, well thought out. BCG may not have been the right guy for the job, but he didn't tear this program down. It was already down. UK needed to bring in someone to recruit. Tubby was a decent recruiter and a good X's and O's guy, just didn't bring in the 5*s

Bogans, Stone, Prince, Carruth, Rondo, Morris, Crawford (at least SOME of Patrick Patterson)......

I am not sure if all are 5-star but they were pretty highly regarded. I think the REAL problem was his recruiting was the class of 2003 and 2005. I also believe an overlooked problem was Azubuike leaving early. Also another problem was the failure of Josh Carrier and Brandon Stockton.

Either way, Tubby is not the recruiter that Pitino before him or Calipari is after him.

~~Hoot Gibson~~ · 01-07-2010, 07:54 PM

Call me crazy but I just do not see an AD whose basketball program is already in turmoil because of disciplinary problems adding an alcoholic coach to his list of headaches.

**Real Badman** · 01-07-2010, 08:42 PM

As long as he never has ties with UK, I could care less where he coaches.

**Benchwarmer** · 01-07-2010, 08:53 PM

real badman Wrote:as long as he never has ties with uk, i could care less where he coaches.

i agree

**LeeCoUKFan** · 01-07-2010, 08:56 PM

Stardust Wrote:What? Name all the programs that he took backwards? UK and, and, and, hmmm, who else???? Get your facts then come back and post something accurate

Good point, he turned UTEP around and had them in the Top 25 for the 1st time in a long time when he was there and he turned around the Texas A&M program as well. But he hit a bump at UK other than that he has been an excellent coach.

UnderArmour24 · 01-07-2010, 09:51 PM

theVILLE Wrote:Why hire billy G then???He takes programs backwards too..Pel is a great coach he just has a bunch of thugs that he cant keep out of trouble

I agree. If they think they are struggling with Pel then they will really struggle with Billy G

ImagineThat! · 01-08-2010, 12:05 AM

I'm personally a Pelphry fan and would rather have Pelphry...Gillispie can coach, he proved that at UTEP and Texas A&M, although he was obviously not the right guy for UK...IMO Gillispie would not be the right choice to clean up disciplinary problems

**Stardust** · 01-08-2010, 12:09 AM

ImagineThat! Wrote:I'm personally a Pelphry fan and would rather have Pelphry...Gillispie can coach, he proved that at UTEP and Texas A&M, although he was obviously not the right guy for UK...IMO Gillispie would not be the right choice to clean up disciplinary problems

Cmon, lot's of thing have been settled over a few drinks.... :biggrin:

ImagineThat! · 01-08-2010, 01:46 AM

Stardust Wrote:Cmon, lot's of thing have been settled over a few drinks.... :biggrin:

LOL!!! But, then again, ole Huggs has been know to have a few and he has done well with discipline in Morgantown. BCG may have learned a lesson, but I would still take Pelphry. He's an Eastern KY boy and one of the Unforgettables. Those four guys hold a special place in my heart.

**BigBlueBobcatFan** · 01-08-2010, 10:00 AM

I wouldn't want to play for Billy Clyde thats just a decision that was well really easy to make
he is not good in the spotlight and is incapable of handling the media as he is shown in numerous interviews with reporters heading to the locker room and even with ESPN. It would not surprise me if he was a little tipsy at some of the games because of how he squatted on the sideline smiling from ear to ear just rocking ever so slightly. That would be a really hazardous condition for the razorbacks to hire him.

**BelfryPride** · 01-08-2010, 10:30 AM

Like someone said, Billy G is a great hire for a basketball program that does not have one or more of the following:

1. High Expectations
2. The greatest and most knowledgeable fanbase in the world
3. Urgency to win
4. Tradition

Billy just carries too much baggage, I kinda feel sorry for him in a way, he brought it all on himself. He is just not a good fit for a well established program.

**theVILLE** · 01-08-2010, 03:05 PM

Stardust Wrote:What? Name all the programs that he took backwards? UK and, and, and, hmmm, who else???? Get your facts then come back and post something accurate

That was my point..He took UK backwards in two seasons..He is not a major
D-1 coach!!!

Augie Garrido · 01-08-2010, 03:36 PM

It will be a huge risk for a College to hire Billy G anytime soon. His off the court image is certainly tarnished and given all that transpired at UK, an AD would have to be in rebuild mode.

If Pelphrey can sustain and weed out those student-athletes, who can't focus on staying out of trouble, he can succeed. Not easy to compete in the SEC or any conference, when you open tryouts result in key minutes being played in a game.

**theVILLE** · 01-08-2010, 03:39 PM

Courtney Fortson was arguably the best PG in the SEC last season besides downey and he couldnt stay focused off the court

**Stardust** · 01-08-2010, 04:19 PM

theVILLE Wrote:That was my point..He took UK backwards in two seasons..He is not a major
D-1 coach!!!

STOP! He took UK backwards, I'll agree that he could not handle the BIGGEST college basketball job in the country. He did not take EVERY program backwards!

The UK job has exasperated the personal demons that he has. But his track record prior to UK was of a coach that can take over a program and bring them to national prominance. I completely disagree with everyone that is only bsing his capabilities with how he handled the UK job. UK and BCG were bad fits, but if he gets his life straightened out (which I am not sure he can now), he can take a program and make them better. He has already proved that elsewhere.

If he cleans up, he can coach somewhere like Arkansas. Now, I for one am not wanting him to coach at Arkansas. Two reasons: 1) I do not want to see Pelprey lose his job there. 2) BCG will have motivation to beat UK, not the other way around. He has nothing to lose against UK, UK has a lot to lose to a coach that they picked wrongly to take the job should they lose to him. I don't want him in the SEC.

I'd rather see him go back to the Big 12 and whack on some of those teams.

**Scotty doesn't know** · 01-08-2010, 11:09 PM

Dont think it will happen. I think he will end up in Texas somewhere (like someone has already said). He can not crack under big time pressure again. Arkansas will be looking for a new direction not a HUGE question mark. So I do not think that they will go that direction.

**Stardust** · 01-08-2010, 11:26 PM

^ Arkansas has already made the UK connection, they may not want to go that way again

HAIL PIKEVILLE! · 01-09-2010, 02:57 AM

I dont care where BCG coaches next. But this presents an interesting ?. If Pelphrey is fired from Arkansas. Would he take an assistants job at UK if Cal offered him one? Id like to see that personally.

**Stardust** · 01-09-2010, 09:10 AM

HAIL PIKEVILLE! Wrote:I dont care where BCG coaches next. But this presents an interesting ?. If Pelphrey is fired from Arkansas. Would he take an assistants job at UK if Cal offered him one? Id like to see that personally.

I'm pretty confident that he would look for a head coaching gig again. Only from a monitary standpoint, but he could never make the salary as an assistant, even at UK, that he can as a head coach.

**theVILLE** · 01-10-2010, 10:20 PM

Stardust Wrote:STOP! He took UK backwards, I'll agree that he could not handle the BIGGEST college basketball job in the country. He did not take EVERY program backwards!

The UK job has exasperated the personal demons that he has. But his track record prior to UK was of a coach that can take over a program and bring them to national prominance. I completely disagree with everyone that is only bsing his capabilities with how he handled the UK job. UK and BCG were bad fits, but if he gets his life straightened out (which I am not sure he can now), he can take a program and make them better. He has already proved that elsewhere.

If he cleans up, he can coach somewhere like Arkansas. Now, I for one am not wanting him to coach at Arkansas. Two reasons: 1) I do not want to see Pelprey lose his job there. 2) BCG will have motivation to beat UK, not the other way around. He has nothing to lose against UK, UK has a lot to lose to a coach that they picked wrongly to take the job should they lose to him. I don't want him in the SEC.

I'd rather see him go back to the Big 12 and whack on some of those teams.

I can agree but as major D-1 i was saying like UK, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Syracuse..I agree he is a good coach..he can take teams that have no other way to go but up and take them to the tournament..thats all im giving him