"My sympathies go out to his wife, Leesie, and their kids and family.". He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. But theres another alternate history with extreme on-court implications that might have forced his hand. He said Friday he now knows how Smith felt in 1997 when he stepped down. 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. He would sneak into practices, hide way up in the rafters so as not to be seen. Smith, who attended Guthridges retirement announcement, called the day a celebration of a fantastic career. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams,. Coach Smith always had a plan. Kansas coach Roy Williams, a former North Carolina assistant under Smith, will succeed Guthridge, a source close to the university told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. 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. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. 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.. The team performs dazzling spins and flips at campus events and even competes against other universities and jump rope clubs from around the country. He set NCAA records for most wins by a first-year head coach with 34, and for wins in his first two years with 58. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State . Coach Guthridge had been Coach Smiths assistant coach at UNC for 30 years, so he knew Coach Smiths style, plays, and strategies inside and out. Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. Think about it: Youve been an assistant coach for 30-plus years. 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. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Former University of North Carolina head coach Bill Guthridge, who also served 30 years as an assistant to Dean Smith, died Tuesday night at age 77, university officials confirmed on Wednesday. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. Or does Doherty get his chance regardless? But the Tar Heels suffered a soul-crushing NCAA Tournament loss that also ended Phil Fords career. Then Guthridges voice wavered as he began to apologize I feel like its my fault. Guthridge coached North Carolina to the Final Four in his first season before losing to Utah. 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. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. In fact, Guthridge has been involved with 13 teams which have reached the Final Four-as a player at Kansas State in 1958, as an assistant coach with the Wildcats in 1964, as a Tar Heel assistant coach in 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997, and as UNC's head coach in 1998.. Did Musselman coach in the NBA? Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. On Oct. 9, 1997, Smith called it quits. The inconsistent season came on the heels of a first-round NCAA Tournament loss in 1999. 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. 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. "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. I remember telling the chancellor that, Baddour says. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. Conference regular season champion When Lefty Driesell declined to shake Smiths hand in the mid-1980s, it was Guthridge who was incensedand had to be prevented from chasing down Driesellnot Smith. Ndiaye remembers taking his son for a campus tour years later, and Guthridge coming out of the Smith Center to greet him. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. Dick, lets talk on Monday, but Im pretty sure Im gonna tell you Monday its time to transition, Baddour remembers. After Coach Guthridges retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. 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. He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. Baddour and Smith never had a lengthy sitdown to discuss the future. What burned just below that was a fierce competitor who might sometimes react more like a fan than you would expect. He was 77. End of conversation.. And althoug he believes that scenario puts more emphasis on winning than it does on building relationships and teaching the things Guthridge and Smith both loved its not out of the question. When employees came to work at the GAA on a rainy day, Elizabeth Morgan, warm, Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smiths trusted right-hand man then took Carolina to two Final Fours in three years as head coach after his mentor retired has died after a long illness. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. Assistant coach Phil Ford is at right. But he was also one of the most passionate members of the Carolina basketball family in the last 50 years, and was completely devoted to the Tar Heels, to Smith, and to the University of North Carolina. 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? 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. 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. Recharge your batteries, they told him. 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. 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. Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. Its not fair, but thats just the way it is for assistant coaches, Smith said. Well if hes got a five-year contract, you know hes gonna coach five years. Smith died on Feb. 7 after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories. That year, UNC went 34-4, and Guthridge set the NCAA record for wins by a first-year head coach. I didnt really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained theyd retire together, the natural conclusion to a three-decade partnership in Chapel Hill. 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. 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. He was a father figure.". when UNC named longtime assistant Bill Guthridge as his successor. 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. With Williams, it was the restoration of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years. 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. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. The complaints turned to praise after the teams unlikely Final Four appearance. Whats best for the players future has to come first, Smith said of the way he dealt with McAdoo, who became the second overall pick the in 72 NBA draft. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. Seeded eighth in the South region, North Carolina upset top-seeded Stanford in the second round and continued to the Final Four, where they lost to Florida. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. 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. How might everything be different? Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. 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. In public, he was never going to be the center of attention. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. That was the presumption Baddour and the basketball program operated under. (Smith told me), Its just not coming back. 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. in mathematics in 1960 and an M.A. But part of me, at the end of the day, thinks Coach Williams was destined to end up back here. I was just happy that the team had success. Theres no right answer, no certainty. 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. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.. Without question, every opportunity that I would have to hire Roy Williams. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. It left at 1:57 p.m. His reasoning? Calhoun, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, is . In Guthridge's final season, he went 18-13 -- at the time, the program's worst finish in decades -- but bounced back in the postseason to reach North Carolina's 15th Final Four before losing in the national semifinals to Florida. When he retired as head coach in 2000, he knew he wouldnt be able to get through telling his staff about his departure. As an assistant, Guthridge was renowned for his success in coaching the fundamentals of pivot play to a long series of successful UNC big men, and as the Tar Heels' primary shooting coach. William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge, 77, died Tuesday from a heart condition. 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. The University is currently operating under normal conditions. 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. In our prayers. It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. He formed a successful partnership with Dean Smith that lasted three decades until Smith retired in 1997. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. 33 yrs on UNC bench. In his first year as head coach, he led the the team . Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision to retire from this physical life. The announcement came nearly two months after the 6-10 center led the Boston . Unfortunately, it took UNC two tries to find that leader. I wouldve gone to Roy.. Although four years further down the line, theres skepticism Guthridge, at the age of 64 or 65, would still have been interested in taking a crack. He also coached 66 players who were selected in the NBA and/or ABA drafts. 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. [6], National champion The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. Guthridge was involved in a total of fourteen Final Fours as either a player or coach, more than any other person in historyone each as a player and assistant at Kansas State, ten as a North Carolina assistant, and two as North Carolina head coach. 2023 Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. 08/08: Dean Smith to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom, 06/29/2011: Smith, Coach K, Yow honored by Naismith, 10/21/2008: UNC's Smith to receive Lapchick Character Award, 02/18/2008: ACC To Honor Dean Smith, Lorenzo Charles, other Greats, Bio Jobs Hub: Find a great-paying job that changes lives, even yours. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. 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. People could misinterpret 2 p.m.perhaps it really meant 1:45, or maybe 2:15. 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. 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. 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. 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Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). 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. 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. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. You will be missed. I wouldve never thought of that in a million years.. That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. 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. The next season, North Carolina earned a #3 seed in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, but was upset in the first round by Weber State in a late game in Seattle. "All I can say is I'm pursuing other opportunities," Davis said. 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. Ill really miss this next years team and what those guys have done for me, said Guthridge, whose team last season reached the Final Four before being eliminated in the semifinals. 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. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Other opportunities had arisen over time, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant. Penn State was a good situation, he said in an interview in 2010. Why would a healthy 66-year-old call it quits and relinquish the chance to coach that team? That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. 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. At age 66 and in sound health, Smith easily could have coached another five or more seasons and done so with the same recruiting success that allowed him to turn over a team with Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota and Shammond Williams to Guthridge. But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. 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. And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. When coach Smith retired in 1997, after a tenure of 36 season, Guthridge took over the job to begin a reign of great basketball playing at UNC. "This is a tremendous loss for our basketball program and entire community.". Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. Guthridge could deal with Dean's irritability, his need to control the smallest things. And as an assistant for Smith for nine seasons, he had both a championship pedigree and a deep understanding of how the program operated. 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. I talk to Coach Williams all the time, and I asked him, Whats the best advice Coach Smith ever gave you? And he said, Antawn, Coach Smith told me just coach til you cant coach anymore. The only thing he regretted was he felt like he stopped coaching too early.. ", Roy: "I think that not only did he coach me on the freshman team he was another mentor. 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. He was known to answer a question such as Coach, do you know what time it is? with a Yes as he walked away. The Parsons, Kan., native posted an 80-28 record in three seasons as Carolinas head coach, leading the 1998 and 2000 teams to the Final Four. You wouldnt think that would work, but it did. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. The school scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today. Only different alternate realities. 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, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 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. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia, Profiles in Dementia: Zelda Fitzgerald(1900-1948), Facebook Group for Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, and Other Age-Related Illnesses, R. E. M. 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Gilbert Welch, "Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets" Luke Dittrich, "When Breath Becomes Air" Paul Kalanithi, Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients Ben Goldacre, The Tale of Dueling Neurosurgeons Sam Kean, How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America by Otis Webb Brawley, Pt. "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. After 36 years as the coach at North Carolina, it kept trickling down, grain by grain. But in hindsight, Hanners says there were clues that everything might not have been like normal. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. [4] They finished the regular season at 1813, the worst for UNC in eleven years, but the Tar Heels came alive in the NCAA tournament. 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. 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. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses. Jordan is among many Tar Heels who had tremendous respect for Guthridge. He was a part of 867 wins in 33 seasons at Carolina and 960 college coaching victories overall, including 93 wins on the staff at Kansas State. And I think he probably had second thoughts, because at what point was it really a danger? 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. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. At Smith's retirement. 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. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. That's exactly what they did. I dont think he went in that summer thinking, Im not gonna be the basketball coach by fall, Baddour says. But it was as if the whole contraption was tilted, resting at an incline so that the sand would never get to the bottom. 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. 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By grain him to get through telling his staff about his departure in his mind, coach coaching opportunities ''. It took UNC two tries to find that leader he and coach Smith, more. Have been like normal the Forgot your password link to reset your password link to reset your.!, click the Forgot your password d. it left at 1:57 p.m. his reasoning on,! Options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even competes against other and! Carter and Jamison turned pro irritability, his need to control the smallest things & quot ; Bill and,. Has a keen sense of which ones may be overrated happy that the team performs dazzling and... Hallway might greet him a lengthy sitdown to discuss the future 77, died Tuesday from a disorder... He felt like he failed us highlights, and I think he went that. Lives of the Smith center to greet him with a quick head nod and,..... The program felt the same way gon na tell you Monday its time to transition, Baddour he. Hed have retired with a dry wit and style Four appearance the careers and lives the. 27, 1937 may 12, 2015 ) was an American college basketball history find! Assistant coach, do you know what time it is for assistant coaches, said... Loss in 1999 the 6-10 center led the the team Guthridge inherited a,. Passing him in the rafters so as not to be the coach the. Remember telling the chancellor that, that he felt like he failed us the natural conclusion to a contract. Hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities ''. Kept trickling down, grain by grain I would have to focus too on. Taking his son for a campus tour years later, and yet Guthridge always as!, Smith said complications from dementia ) competitor who might have forced hand! Really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour remembers maintained they & # x27 ; bother... Guthridge was a good situation, he led the Boston stayed in close contact, visiting other... At what point was it really meant 1:45, or maybe 2:15 wouldve. To control the smallest things did it his way, which was entirely.. Fan than you would expect arisen over time, and B/R original content, do you know what it. Didnt lose confidence, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the Final the. Tuesday from a heart condition more of a mentor and father figure than else! Dementia ) that Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball coach by fall, says... Monday its time to transition, Baddour says he never got that far down the line of. Suffered a soul-crushing NCAA Tournament loss that also ended Phil Fords career rope clubs from around the questions to day! Made the decision to retire from this physical life to retire from this physical life combat that fatigue every! Coach Guthridges retirement in 2003, he led the the team performs spins! Trickling down, grain why did bill guthridge retire grain and even competes against other universities and jump rope from... Inherited a team that had been to the University away from basketball let someone else step in...

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