why did bill guthridge retire

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. All the things he couldnt do during the daunting in-season months. Hed grow bored of golf, and once that happened, his staff knew hed summoned up the energy for another go-around. (LogOut/ Smith and Guthridge had long maintained theyd retire together, the natural conclusion to a three-decade partnership in Chapel Hill. (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. He still had four seasons remaining on his contract, enough to carry him to the summer of 2001. 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 really believe thats exactly what happened.. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.. 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. To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. But in hindsight, Hanners says there were clues that everything might not have been like normal. Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. You will be missed. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. 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? 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. But the Tar Heels suffered a soul-crushing NCAA Tournament loss that also ended Phil Fords career. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. Veteran sports reporter Peter Gammons had high praise for the former coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away. If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? 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. One year against Laurinburg, Hanners squad was down about 18 with under nine minutes to play; suddenly, he felt Ford come up behind him. Whatve you got to prove then?. "He was my coach, he was another mentor. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. "My sympathies go out to his wife, Leesie, and their kids and family.". He held tight. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). In public, he was never going to be the center of attention. Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the 1997-98 season, and Guthridge was immediately named his successor. 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. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel . In retrospect, Smiths premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. On May 13, 2015, former University of North Carolina Chapel Hill basketball coach Bill Guthridge died from heart failure. From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. We offer our deepest sympathies to Bills family, friends and the entire North Carolina basketball community.. As he would prepare for a basketball practice or game, he was equally intense about attention to detail in scheduling or whatever.. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. He was 77 years old. 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. The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. That was probably six or seven years later where somebody else might recognize it. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. "From cultivating a global mindset across campus to partnering with researchers across the world, we make connections that strengthen our state and establish Carolina as a leading global public research university.". 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. That team reached the Final Four and almost reached the title game even though Jamison and Williams missed 22 field-goal attempts in a 65-59 semifinal loss to Utah. 3 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris. My guess is that Coach Guthridge probably never came back from that place after Coach Smiths death and I would speculate that Coach Smiths death may have been the final straw of an increasingly-unfamiliar and disconnected life for Coach Guthridge. A relatively quiet man with a wonderful and dry sense of humor. And for as much as he did enjoy those three seasons, the same obligations that wore Smith down got to Guthridge as well. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. Thats impossible to know, but Williams was also returning a top-five team, one that was expected to compete for a championship in its own right. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. If he had, then thats where the what-ifs really go wild. 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. Guthridge also gave to the University away from basketball. 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. Some fans criticized Guthridge last season when the Tar Heels went through a four-game losing streak in January and entered the post-season with 13 losses. He came up with the idea that Dean Smith, having . Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses, and the weaknesses that he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. 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. Like his lifelong friend and mentor, Coach Dean Smith, he led by example instilling values of kindness, discipline and a strong work ethic. Spend time with family. But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? The complaints turned to praise after the teams unlikely Final Four appearance. What happened, happened. The possibilities were endless, but Baddour is certain of one thing: keeping things in the family was a must. 1 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris, Pt. "If he told me to run through that wall to make me better, I'd hit that wall," former North Carolina player and well-traveled college coach Buzz Peterson told The Associated Press. It left at 1:57 p.m. His reasoning? 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. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. 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. At Smith's retirement. 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. He saw his memory issues coming long before the world did. 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. The Blue Sky Scholars Program gives scholarship support to middle-income parents and students from North Carolina. 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. College Basketball Coach. But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997. Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. The school scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today. 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. It didnt bother me that I was a lousy coach, and when we started winning I was a better coach. 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? Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. He needed to hear that from Guthridge. Its one game, Jamison says. 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. Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. That year, UNC went 34-4, and Guthridge set the NCAA record for wins by a first-year head coach. Coach Smith always had a plan. 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. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. He tried to do every one of those little things that drove Coach Smith crazy. As things went, by the end of the 1999-2000 season which concluded with a surprise Final Four run, Guthridges second trip in three seasons Smiths right-hand man was finally ready to step away himself. 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. But against the Utes, the Tar Heels fell behind quickly and were never able to catch up. Carolina Jump Rope is making their fellow Tar Heel rethink what it means to jump rope. 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. Having grown up in North Carolina and gone to school here and worked here, I think it was probably just destiny.. Frederick said he wanted to emphasize to Williams how strongly the university, the community, the people in the state of Kansas and all of our alumni and fans feel about him continuing as the Jayhawk coach forever.. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. I wouldve never thought of that in a million years.. My guess is he would not have been, and then the first call, yes, wouldve been Roy, Baddour says. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. 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. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. But Baddour explained to the chancellor that because of Williams respect for Guthridge, hed never have taken the job over his friend. I would have been as vigorous and go after that as hard as I could possibly go.. What if he hadnt retired when he did? Guthridge had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the head coach of his own program. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. Only different alternate realities. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. 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. He is one of five people to have appeared in the Final Four as both a player and coach. 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. He was like Coach Guthridge in that both of them loved and bled Carolina blue so much that they never wanted to leave the program.. 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. 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. "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. 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. 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. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. If I were to call Roy and ask Roy was he interested, the first question out of his mouth wouldve been, did Bill get a chance? Baddour says. in education in 1963. Theres no way you could dream, Hanners says, anyone would necessarily do better.. 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. 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. And then Bill can decide along the way what he wants to do.. Sad news. On the day of Smiths retirement, The Washington Post reported Smith wants his other longtime assistant, former Tar Heels point guard Phil Ford, eventually to become the coach, a source said. Ford was arguably Smiths best player ever, and UNCs all-time leading scorer at the time. Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. Panthers add Parks Frazier as passing game coordinator, Duke finishes 16-0 at home after 71-67 win over N.C. 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