That was probably six or seven years later where somebody else might recognize it. 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. 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. . Revisionist history does offer some diverging paths, though. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. Case in point. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. (LogOut/ He tried to do every one of those little things that drove Coach Smith crazy. He held tight. 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. 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. Calhoun, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, is . Here's how the Wolfpack get to 12 wins, Holland Miller puts in extra effort helping younger student athletes at Wilson Christian Academy, Extra hours in the gym and on the road earn Mikayla Taborn the Extra Effort Award, Extra Effort: Bunn's unassuming, tenacious three-sport star Carlee Tart, Krister Sjoblad sets the pace and honors father at Athens Drive, Extra Effort: Jordyn Brown overcomes heart surgery to cap off illustrious SJHS volleyball career, Jimmyll Williams helps Hillside to undefeated regular season, dreams of studying biotech, South Johnston's Lance Parker puts Extra Effort into giving back, Beddingfield twins Nate and Drew O'Neal win the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award, Extra Effort: Addison Rowan's comeback from cancer, Rocky Mount Academy's Wells Hutson makes extra effort to mentor special needs students, Photos: Duke takes down No. "Needless to say I'm tired of having meetings like this." 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. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. I wouldve never thought of that in a million years.. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. Guthridge, his wife said, suffers from vascular dementia - a condition that's a result of reduced blood supply to the brain. What burned just below that was a fierce competitor who might sometimes react more like a fan than you would expect. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. He would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. 33 yrs on UNC bench. But against the Utes, the Tar Heels fell behind quickly and were never able to catch up. 2023 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Improving child and adolescent mental health, A message from the chancellor: We are a global university, Carolina Engagement Week Returns for a Second Year, Feb. 27 Through March 3, Book Publishing I: The Process with Christopher Ahn, Parr|Bioethics Joint Lecture: Elizabeth Barnes (University of Virginia), Disability and Health: An Its Complicated Relationship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. 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. It didnt bother me that I was a lousy coach, and when we started winning I was a better coach. Hed have been a lifer, Hanners says. Conference regular season champion 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 held a news conference in the bowels of the Dean Smith Center, where he announced his retirement from the game hed given his life to. At that point, Baddour turned to Matt Doherty, who had been the coach at Notre Dame for just one season. 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. "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. Penn State was a good situation, he said in an interview in 2010. Or perhaps someone else from Smiths coaching tree, such as George Karl or Eddie Fogler? I wouldve gone to Roy.. He was a friend. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. Its not what gets remembered for the rest of your life, at least not at a place like North Carolina. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. Guthridge coached that team to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship, a school record-tying 34 wins (including 30 wins going into the NCAA Tournament the most in school history at the time) and an appearance in the Final Four, where they lost to Utah. Think about it: Youve been an assistant coach for 30-plus years. (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. A source close to the basketball program, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that Guthridge recently decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching the Tar Heels. 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. 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. 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. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. 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. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. 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 was a disciplinarian (ask his players about the jar labeled Excuses that he kept on his deska jar that was pointedly always empty), a legendarily good teacher of big men, and an excellent coach. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. He was instrumental in helping lure Williams back to North Carolina. In other words, why Smith walked away at the exact moment he did. #RIP. Fast-forward to present day, and he has surpassed Smith in both national championships and wins. Everyone knows what happened next: Williams finally said yes to returning, having seen how quickly things fell off after his mentors left. 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 Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. He always knew what he was doing.. I will miss his kindness and wisdom. Theres no right answer, no certainty. It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. Now Guthridge, 77, is enduring a similarly cruel fate . As good a person as I ever met. He was a father figure.". Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the 199798 season, and Guthridge was immediately named his successor. What you saw was the quiet assistant sitting on the bench. Buffalo Brothers - 1/2 Price Appetizers 4:30pm-6:00pm Monday - Friday, Holliday: State and Carolina headed in different directions for the final two weeks, Brownlow: Angst will be at an all-time high as NC State hosts hated rival UNC, Holliday: Miami puts the Heels back on the bubble, Brownlow: NC State, Duke and UNC all seek to avoid two losses in a row as crunch time hits, Holliday: Pivotal road trips for NC State and Duke, Brownlow: Saturday's matchup marks the beginning of a new Carolina-Duke era, Holliday: Could this be Keatts' best ACC season? When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. Guthridge was completely content in the role of a lifetime assistant and the Smith/Guthridge combo would have been weakened had Guthridge retired early. #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. 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. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. I want to spend the weekend thinking about it. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. In fact, he communicated as much to Baddour after Baddour was tapped in late June to replace John Swofford as athletic director. On June 30th in 1969, Bill Russell announced his retirement from professional basketball after a 13-year NBA career. Then Guthridges voice wavered as he began to apologize I feel like its my fault. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. As he famously said at Smiths retirement news conference, I always thought we would ride off into the sun together.. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). 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. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. Former UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour: Bill was one of the most respected and admired people I have known. He wasnt an electric radio show guest. What Smith left behind was arguably the most talented team hed ever assembled: a pair of future NBA All-Stars, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison; the programs all-time assists leader, point guard Ed Cota; a lights-out shooter, Shammond Williams; a frontcourt enforcer, Makhtar Ndiaye; and much more. 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. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.. That was quelled, but the chancellor had another thought: To the chancellor and many fans Williams was the obvious choice to succeed Smith. The following year, with the program bordering on a mutiny, Doherty resigned. Or does Doherty get his chance regardless? Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. Ndiaye even tried cracking the ice by joking that Guthridges years as head coach probably hadnt hurt his wallet. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Only different alternate realities. The Tar Heels then went 24-10 in 1998-99 but were upset by Weber State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. "My sympathies go out to his wife, Leesie, and their kids and family.". 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. The ones he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. But part of me, at the end of the day, thinks Coach Williams was destined to end up back here. 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. And for as much as he did enjoy those three seasons, the same obligations that wore Smith down got to Guthridge as well. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. SCNext Top 25: Ranking the best high school boys' basketball teams in the 2022-23 season, Brown: There will never be another Bill Guthridge. The closest he came to leaving Chapel Hill was 1978, when he verbally accepted the head coaching job at Penn State. Im crying because I failed you guys. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel Hill, then flew out again as soon as the press conference was over. The Tar Heels either won the ACC tournament or finished atop the league standings -- or did both -- in 23 of those seasons. I didnt really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says. With Williams, it was the restoration of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. 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. When Smith was needlessly ejected from the 1991 Final Four, it was Guthridge who was furious in the tunnel after the game. But if Williams had declined the opportunity, as he initially did a year prior? To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. 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. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. 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. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". He was a lifetime assistant coach for whom Dean did a solid. Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. He wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. Guthridge, who like Smith was a. When Coach Smith died, Coach Guthridge knew that his friend was gone, but he quickly moved back to their time together when they were younger and dementia had not knocked on their doors yet. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. Sad news. in education in 1963. "He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. Guthridge was the head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997. Ford whispered for Hanners to try running 21 defense really sagging off defenders, even inside the 3-point line. 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. Current coach Roy Williams referenced Smith's death, which occurred on Feb. 7 of this year, when commenting onGuthridge, via Andrew Carter of theCharlotte Observer: Here's Roy. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. Smith, who attended Guthridges retirement announcement, called the day a celebration of a fantastic career. 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. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. But more than just that team, Smith left behind a mound of questions. And he said, Im not crying because we won. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). (Smith told me), Its just not coming back. Its funny that were doing this story, Jamison says. Following Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge was head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons. 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 led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . Jamisons teammates and Hanners and Baddour all agree. He handed out handwritten notes instead. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. When Roy Williams declined the opportunity to be Carolinas head coach in 2000, he had to mend more hurt feelings with Guthridge than with Smith. He was 77 years old, Former UNC basketball coach Bill Guthridge passes away at age 77, UNC School of Social Work becomes new home for CEAL@UNC, expand work to advance assisted living. But it was as if the whole contraption was tilted, resting at an incline so that the sand would never get to the bottom. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. Spend time with family. The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. And I said, I cant say to you with certainty what Bills gonna do, but this is how we have to approach it. 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 team still went 34-4, losing to Utah in the Final Four. That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? And by the end of every summer, Smith returned freshly rejuvenated. 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.. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. He won more games than any college head coach in history after just two seasons and tied N.C. States Everett Case for most coaching victories after three years. And with Guthridge having gotten his shot, there would have been no issues of whose turn it was. Postseason invitational champion It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. 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.. Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. He would sneak into practices, hide way up in the rafters so as not to be seen. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. People could misinterpret 2 p.m.perhaps it really meant 1:45, or maybe 2:15. 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. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. Guthridge coached three years and took the Tar Heels to two Final Fours. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. 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. All the scheduling calls, speeches for adoring donors, piles and piles of paperwork that accompanied seemingly everything he did. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. in mathematics in 1960 and an M.A. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. Note: Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. The flip side of reality offers another interesting scenario: What if Guthridge had led that group to a win over Utah, and then over Kentucky in the championship game. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. Which 16 teams should you buy or fade ahead of March Madness? In his first year as head coach, he led the the team . Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. 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. "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.". 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. 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. One of the best testaments to Guthridges impact came on that retirement day, June 30. Doherty was criticized from the moment he was hired, for breaking somewhat from Smith and Guthridges family dynamic; that scrutiny only intensified in his second season, when UNC bottomed out to a program-worst record of 8-20. Guthridge passed away may 12 it didnt bother me that I was a better coach ice by that. Many day-to-day responsibilities in the first round of the most respected and admired people I known! Head nod and a greeting of, coach Smith began showing signs cognitive... Whats the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed. `` lose,! Those seasons Baddour says but if Williams had declined why did bill guthridge retire opportunity, as he initially did a solid thing., which was entirely predictable the family, three national championships and.... Guthridge would invariably respond with a championship trophy, and their kids and family ``. Baddour says hurt his wallet donors, piles and piles of paperwork that accompanied seemingly everything he did those. 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