Does Gillispie Get It?

The jury is still out on whether UK basketball coach Billy Gillispie is the right person to take the program back to its first Final Four since 1998. But it's not too early to wonder if he truly understands what being the coach at UK is really about.

After Wednesday night's 77-59 beat down at South Carolina Gillispie said, "The world is not ending. No matter how important basketball is to me or anyone else. The world is not coming to an end tonight." Ummm, excuse me coach. That may play well down in College Station, TX (the home of Texas A&M.) But the Big Blue Nation won't go for that. Basketball is king in Kentucky and Wildcat fans are clamoring for a winner. They don't want to hear about the sun rising tomorrow or the flowers will still bloom this spring. They want to know how you plan on returning the program back to prominence.

I'm not willing to say Gillispie is the wrong coach for UK. It's still too early for that. Give him another year to see what he can do with a few more of his own players. But in nearly two full seasons on the job, Gillispie has done some puzzling things. First off, can anyone figure out his rotation? Against the Gamecocks AJ Stewart and Josh Harrellson combined to play 7 minutes. But yet Landon Slone gets 11?? The Cats are 28 games into the season and Gillispie still does not have a set rotation. It's no wonder some of the players have been inconsistent. They get it from their coach. Gillispie should settle on a rotation and live with it, instead of constantly tweaking the lineup.

So here's my question to you. Does Gillispie get what it means to be UK's head coach? Do you have faith he'll restore the program to glory. Let me know what you think.