That's right folks I have a new man crush. To sum up the list it currently consists of Chuck Hayes, Tom Brady, Jack Bauer, and Billy Clyde Gillispie (note the spelling, I have misspelled it in the past and for that, Billy, I apologize.)
- What a great time in the Bluegrass! Only at Kentucky can you announce that you will have a pep rally for the newly inked men's head basketball at 9 am and have about 2000 people attend that pep rally at 12 pm, during the work week, on Kenneland's opening day. You can say Kentucky fans are imbalanced or demand too much from their coach, but there is NO other program with that type of support.
- Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we feel that Billy was a "good"
backup plan to Eddie Munster at the beginning of the coaching search. After hearing him speak at the pep rally and ensuing press conference, he was THE choice maybe even above Eddie Munster. That's right, folks, I said THE choice not the backup. Sour grapes you say? I say no. Hear me out here: Eddie would have loved to come to UK and would have had a statue erected in his honor if he could get us back on the right track. BUT, he has already reached the top of the mountain, twice. Maybe he is not as driven as he once was. Maybe that magical class he landed in '04 will never be repeated and he will go back to being a terrible postseason coach as was his reputation previous to the last 2 seasons. I don't know but it is to be considered. - There has not been a press conference in which the coach won over the fans and reporters since TCFEBUK (the coach formerly employed by UK) manned the podium. He commanded attention with his personality and "aw shucks" attitude. Questions were answered with clever responses, people were laughing, and most importantly all of big blue nation was buying every word that he was selling. Don't fool yourselves, folks, being a great salesman is one of the top qualities for being a great college basketball coach. No one does it quite like TCFEBUK, and it is something that Tubby Smith struggled with. Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we believe it is the ultimate reason Tubby Smith was never quite embraced by UK fans. Many claim it was race, but UK fans only see one color when it comes to their head coach: blue. TCFEBUK is a master of the PR game and Tubby was not, let's hope that Billy Clyde's audition is the rule and not the exception during his tenure here at UK.
- The national media hates UK. I'm not sure why, but there are many people that have been waiting in the weeds assuming we were not going to land Eddie Munster and they have begun to pounce. Maybe it is because of Coach Rupp and his alleged racist past, but no one wants to see UK succeed. Bad news national media: Billy Clyde is here to stay and will not stop until he hangs some banners in Rupp Arena. One of his assistant's at Texas A & M was quoted as saying he wasn't sure where coach lived because he never saw him leave the office. Also, the national media is quick to report that not only did Eddie Munster turn us down, Rick Barnes also did. This is despite the fact that there is NO EVIDENCE TO THIS BEING TRUE. It appears that UK may have asked for permission to talk to Barnes, and Barnes complied, but when it became apparent that Billy Clyde was our man and not Barnes, he pulled his name out. Does that sound like Barnes turned us down to you? I cannot wait for Billy Clyde to shut all these talking heads up.
- Here are some moments from the press conference/pep rally. When asked what type of player he recruits, Billy said the biggest, fastest, quickest, best shooting, smartest player you can get. If they aren't as tall as you like, you go down a couple of inches. Also when asked about being the second or third choice for the job, Billy replied he was just hoping he was in the top 7 or 8. Also when being introduced Billy Clyde used the word "honored" about 7 or 8 times. In case you haven't figured it out, I love this man.
- To address Coach Gillispie's previous brushes with the law, let me say this: anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car after drinking is an idiot. It's one of the most irresponsible things a person could do. However, he was never convicted of a DUI in either instance and I am willing to give him a second chance. And coach, if you have too much to drink and need a driver my phone # is: 270-929-2921.
- Sam Bright, after being asked about Gillispie's hiring said that "I still feel like Eddie Sutton should have been the man. His first time around at UK he was misunderstood and I think he is the most underrated coach in UK history. I think I am going to become a Louisville fan like my father now"
