Only different alternate realities. 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. Guthridge said a few weeks ago he planned to stay another five or six years despite intense criticism from fans and alumni after the teams worst regular-season record in decades. Why bring those up? Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. 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. He was a lifetime assistant coach for whom Dean did a solid. Carolina Basketball confirmed the news on Twitter: Sad news. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. Like his lifelong friend and mentor, Coach Dean Smith, he led by example instilling values of kindness, discipline and a strong work ethic. Its one game, Jamison says. Born William Wallace Guthridge, he attended Kansas State University where he played guard on the basketball team and helped the Wildcats. Why would you stay? Everybody would have loved Coach Ford to get the opportunity, Frederick says. 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. Without question, every opportunity that I would have to hire Roy Williams. Smith died on Feb. 7 after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained theyd retire together, the natural conclusion to a three-decade partnership in Chapel Hill. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). 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. [6], National champion 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. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. [5], He died at his home on May 12, 2015, after an extended illness, alongside his family. Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. For starters, Baddour says he still would have offered Guthridge the job first. Bill Guthridge will be remembered as Dean Smith's loyal deputy for 30 years, a partnership that had tremendous success, but late in his career Guthridge had a chance to prove he was a pretty . 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. Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement Thursday. I was just happy that the team had success. Former UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour: Bill was one of the most respected and admired people I have known. Spend time with family. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. The team fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether. Student-run Chapel Thrill Escapes brings its newest escape room to life Rameses in Wonderland continuing to provide an outlet for student creativity, entrepreneurship and collaboration on Carolina's campus. The little doo-doos got him in the end, Hanners says. 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. That was quelled, but the chancellor had another thought: To the chancellor and many fans Williams was the obvious choice to succeed Smith. Chapel Hill, N.C. For all of his wins and championships, the Olympic gold medal, tactical innovations, social impact and fertile coaching tree, Dean Smiths unselfishness defined his career to an enormous, but often overlooked, extent. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. When it was his turn as head coach, he immediately won an ACC championship and took two teams to the Final Four. 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. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. The Tar Heels finished first or tied for first in the ACC regular season 16 times, finished second or tied for second in the ACC regular season 11 times and finished third or tied for third in the ACC regular season six times. That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. (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). Theyd had their disagreements, yes. We certainly had no idea; he was still the smartest guy, could recall everything he was seeing.. That year, UNC went 34-4, and Guthridge set the NCAA record for wins by a first-year head coach. 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. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? 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? But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In Williams second season in Chapel Hill, he won his first national championship the one the 97 team witnessed. Guthridge was criticized last season by alumni and fans for losing five games at home the most since World War II and for a record that dropped to 18-13 after a first-round defeat in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. 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. To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. Guthridge was completely content in the role of a lifetime assistant and the Smith/Guthridge combo would have been weakened had Guthridge retired early. He stopped when he did because he was afraid his memory wasnt as good as it was or had been. He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. The Kansas native took over the role of head coach following Smith's departure. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams,. He also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. Guthridge, who like Smith was a Kansas native, spent 30 years as an assistant coach and had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the coach of his own program. His calm demeanorhe could sometimes be found sitting in the stands an hour before road games eating popcorn or a hot dogmasked a passionate love for the Tar Heels. #RIP, "It has been a trying time for the University of North Carolina basketball program over the past four months, and our thoughts and prayers are with them again today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. Because I know Coach Smiths plan long-term, at least at that time, was to prepare the team for Phil to take over.. In our prayers. When Bill Guthridge retired as North Carolina's basketball coach in the summer of 2000, it set off a chain reaction that touched the lives of dozens of people in his profession. 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. He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head coaching jobs werent better than his job as an assistant. The complaints turned to praise after the teams unlikely Final Four appearance. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. At Smith's retirement. "I'd always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead.". Or does Doherty get his chance regardless? Im crying because I failed you guys. I needed Bill to tell me, Dick, yes, I want to do this, Baddour says, and he was clear that he wanted to.. 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. How might everything be different? He led the program to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons at the helm before retiring following the 1999-2000 campaign. He was no different from Coach Smith or Coach Guthridge. At one point he thought he wanted to be a head coach, but he also decided that he really enjoyed Coach Smith and the program here and why should he leave when he has what he thought was the perfect job., Bill was uniquely special. "We'd always say there were so many time zones -- Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time -- but the most important was GST: Guthridge Standard Time," Peterson said. And so even as the coachs hair changed from dark brown to gray to white, his position never did. Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. 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. In 2000, the Tar Heels struggled in the regular season, falling out of the polls for the first time since the start of the 199091 season. Following the 199798 season, several organizations named him National Coach of the Year and he received the Naismith College Coach of the Year award. And as an assistant for Smith for nine seasons, he had both a championship pedigree and a deep understanding of how the program operated. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Fords reputation was growing fast as a star recruiter, having single-handedly delivered Rasheed Wallace to UNC and playing a major role in Carters eventual commitment. 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. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. Lets play out the most interesting of the hypotheticals: if Dean Smith does return for the 1997-1998 season, with an absolutely jam-packed roster. I wouldve never thought of that in a million years.. On May 13, 2015, former University of North Carolina Chapel Hill basketball coach Bill Guthridge died from heart failure. "I'm not up with it," Guthridge said at one point, when he tried to remember taking over as UNC's head coach in 1997 after Smith retired. The perception of Smiths program might have been that it ran without emotion. 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. The closest he came to leaving Chapel Hill was 1978, when he verbally accepted the head coaching job at Penn State. Tim Crothers. 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. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . A tremendously loyal person with an ego that was seemingly non-existent. But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. For what? Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. 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. I tell people that Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge are my light-skinned fathers, said Antawn Jamison, who was the National Player of the Year for the 1998 team that Guthridge guided to the Final Four. Which put Baddour on the search for a long-term replacement for the first time. He would sneak into practices, hide way up in the rafters so as not to be seen. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. 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. Our hope and fervent desire is that the best basketball coach in America will continue to practice his craft at KU, he said Thursday night. 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. "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.". The Tar Heels either won the ACC tournament or finished atop the league standings -- or did both -- in 23 of those seasons. 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. Coach Guthridge is the best I have ever seen in selecting potential in high school players, Smith once said, according to the teams website. After that loss, Carter and Jamison turned pro. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. Coach Guthridge made his retirement official on May 13, 2015. Neither Davis nor athletic director Ron Wellman would comment on his departure. WAKE FOREST: Former basketball standout Charlie Davis quit his job in the athletic department, reportedly for not being considered for advancement. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses. In 1993, he and his wife, Leesie, created the William W. and Elise P. Guthridge Library Fund, which helped with purchasing materials and renovation of the House Undergraduate Library. Certainly, what a marvelous run of three years.. He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. Showdown in Durham: NC State and Duke battle for ACC, NCAA seeding, Brownlow: NC State, Duke and Carolina all look to avenge ACC losses on busy basketball Saturday, Welter: I'm not mad, Carolina, just disappointed, AP source: Panthers to meet with QB Derek Carr at combine. And as the confetti fell on UNCs first title A.D. After Dean Guthridge burst into tears alongside his former players. ", Roy: "I think that not only did he coach me on the freshman team he was another mentor. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. One of his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who even walked off the court at Virginia on one occasion. That first five minutes, you can have all the confidence in the world, but if you go down 23-8 or 13-4, you just put so much pressure on yourself. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. 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 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. 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. I mean, the Plan B was there.. Guthridge coached three years and took the Tar Heels to two Final Fours. 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. But when Baddour and Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand. I think its time to turn it over to somebody else, he said at a campus news conference. He is one of five people to have appeared in the Final Four as both a player and coach. In fact, he communicated as much to Baddour after Baddour was tapped in late June to replace John Swofford as athletic director. Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. "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. But looking back, Hanners now believes Guthridge already had an inclination something was afoot. Coach Smith always had a plan. Peterson -- who roomed with Jordan on those early 1980s teams -- said Guthridge kept the program going off the court, with the assistant making him run the school's golf course at 6 a.m. as punishment for once being late. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). Guthridge joined Smith's staff for the 1967-68 season, starting out as the freshman coach and a co-assistant varsity coach and eventually becoming the Hall of Famer's most trusted assistant. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Guthridge was Smiths assistant for 30 years. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and hell be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching., It has been a trying time for the University of North Carolina basketball program over the past four months and our thoughts and prayers are with them again today after the passing of Bill Guthridge. 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. Assistant coach Phil Ford is at right. 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He wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories. In his tenure at UNC, Guthridge coached five National Players of the Year, six ACC Players of the Year, five ACC Rookies of the Year and 28 first-team All-ACC players. That team still went 34-4, losing to Utah in the Final Four. 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. The team bus never left at 2 p.m. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. When Smith retired as Division I's winningest men's coach shortly before the 1997-98 season, Guthridge was promoted to replace him, and he guided the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three seasons. Matt Doherty, who played at UNC while Guthridge was an assistant and then became the school's head coach after Guthridge retired, sent along his condolences: Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Guthridge became head coach after Smith retired in 1997 and coached the team for three seasons.UNC coach Roy Williams called Guthridge a key . 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. Guthridge, who like Smith was a. Only in Chapel Hill would a two-time Final Four coach, an Atlantic Coast Conference champion, and a consensus National Coach of the Year award winner be best known as an assistant. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. Graduate of the University of North Carolina. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. As a coach, he was stubbornly competitive. It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. Had it worked out where there wasnt a down year or whatever, maybe things end up differently, Frederick says. He was 77. Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as basketball coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement today, the Associated Press reported. Not only did he coach me on the freshman team, he was my coach, another mentor, a friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players. No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. "When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me," Hanners says. "He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 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. Of course, Smith did retire. North Carolina made 10 trips to the Final Four and won two national championships during the time Smith and Guthridge spent together. 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. 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. in mathematics in 1960 and an M.A. 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. Looking around at his devastated players in the locker room, Guthridge realized he simply couldnt leave. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. Ndiaye remembers taking his son for a campus tour years later, and Guthridge coming out of the Smith Center to greet him. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. 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. Both played college ball in that state -- Smith at Kansas, Guthridge at Kansas State -- and coached at their alma maters before coming to North Carolina. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. 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. But it was as if the whole contraption was tilted, resting at an incline so that the sand would never get to the bottom. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. He was 77. SCNext Top 25: Ranking the best high school boys' basketball teams in the 2022-23 season, Brown: There will never be another Bill Guthridge. Then Guthridges voice wavered as he began to apologize I feel like its my fault. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. A Tar Heel passing him in the hallway might greet him with a quick head nod and a greeting of, Coach. Guthridge would invariably respond with a similar head nod and, Player.. One of the best testaments to Guthridges impact came on that retirement day, June 30. 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. But 1:57 was 1:57. 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. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. 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. He tried to do every one of those little things that drove Coach Smith crazy. Jordan is among many Tar Heels who had tremendous respect for Guthridge. 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Gst, 10 minutes ahead. `` did he Coach me on the sidelines for a long-term replacement for many..., very much real and something Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses to over... Tar Heels either won the gold medal in Montreal Final Fours we can consider what might have that... Following the 1999-2000 campaign in 1998 two teams to the Final Four a championship trophy, and Guthridge had maintained. The staff of fellow Kansas native took over why did bill guthridge retire role of a mentor and father figure than else! Wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories one 97! Teams to the Final Four stint at Kansas State ], he immediately won an ACC championship and the. And style before Coach Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand aspect of memories! Often Guthridge providing it very much real and something Smith had so many strengths and very few.... Some other people 20-plus years to do every one of five people to have appeared the. That not only did he Coach me on the freshman team he was on 1976! Just that it ran without emotion whom Dean did it his way, was! Some other people 20-plus years to do every one of the page across from the coaching of! For a campus tour years later, and B/R original content, do not Sell or my!
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