why did bill guthridge retire

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[6], National champion How close did Raleigh come to getting an NFL team? Ford whispered for Hanners to try running 21 defense really sagging off defenders, even inside the 3-point line. Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. The team bus never left at 2 p.m. But there was no questioning the depth of their relationship. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. 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. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. Heck, he might still be the coach at North Carolina. 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. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. If he had, then thats where the what-ifs really go wild. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. Just like Smith, Guthridge found a way to impact his players beyond teaching them offensive and defensive principles. Guthridge became head coach after Smith retired in 1997 and coached the team for three seasons.UNC coach Roy Williams called Guthridge a key . He was extremely special, important to every player, every coach who ever worked here. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. Had it worked out where there wasnt a down year or whatever, maybe things end up differently, Frederick says. He never called me at home, unless it was something dire, Hanners says, but he said, How would you feel about meeting me in the office early on Monday at 7 to go over some things before everyone gets there? Hanners obliged, trying to ease Guthridges feeling that he was somewhat out of touch. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. Neither Davis nor athletic director Ron Wellman would comment on his departure. However, Coach Guthridge served as the perfect replacement as head basketball coach when Coach Smith unexpectantly announced his retirement from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997. 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. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Peterson -- who roomed with Jordan on those early 1980s teams -- said Guthridge kept the program going off the court, with the assistant making him run the school's golf course at 6 a.m. as punishment for once being late. He's a native of Raleigh, N.C. Guthridge led UNC to the Final Four in his first season, but the team fell short of a championship. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. Then he retired, too. 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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. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.. It has to be one of those., Williams talked Thursday night with Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick. 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. Having grown up in North Carolina and gone to school here and worked here, I think it was probably just destiny.. Of course, Smith did retire. Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement at a news conference Friday, The Associated Press has learned. Whatve you got to prove then?. 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. 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 was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. Prior to that, Guthridge served as Smith's assistant coach for 30 years. What happened, happened. When his Tar Heels defeated Tulsa to earn a Final Four berth, the postgame locker room was one of the most emotional in the modern era, due at least partially to the devotion his players had for Guthridge and their joy in relievingat least for a momentthe criticism hed taken during the season. Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement Thursday. He will certainly be remembered for what he did as opposed to what else he might have done. Guthridge had once accepted Penn States head coaching vacancy in the 1970s, only to return to Chapel Hill before his connecting flight to State College. Whether Williams would have returned at that time is impossible to say. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. Says losing Guthridge "is another tremendous loss. But theres another alternate history with extreme on-court implications that might have forced his hand. In 1998, the Bill Guthridge Distinguished Professorship in mathematics was established. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. An assistant to Dean Smith for 30 seasons, Guthridge replaced his former boss when Smith retired in 1997 after 36 years as coach of the Tar Heels. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. 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. Not only did he coach me on the freshman team, he was my coach, another mentor, a friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players. That year, UNC went 34-4, and Guthridge set the NCAA record for wins by a first-year head coach. I wouldve gone to Roy.. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State . Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses, and the weaknesses that he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. He also was head golf coach for the Wildcats. No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. He also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. He led the program to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons at the helm before retiring following the 1999-2000 campaign. 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. Division regular season champion We certainly had no idea; he was still the smartest guy, could recall everything he was seeing.. After graduating from Kansas State, he coached at Scott City High School in Kansas for two seasons before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach for Tex Winter from 19621967. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . 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. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. A longtime assistant to the legendary Dean Smith, he shall be remembered for his three seasons as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. The first is, if Guthridge hadnt wanted the job, would Williams have taken it? 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. End of conversation.. Guthridge said a few weeks ago he planned to stay another five or six years despite intense criticism from fans and alumni after the teams worst regular-season record in decades. He saw his memory issues coming long before the world did. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. And I think he probably had second thoughts, because at what point was it really a danger? My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.. 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. Only different alternate realities. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. 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. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. And for as much as he did enjoy those three seasons, the same obligations that wore Smith down got to Guthridge as well. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. People 20-plus years to Do time is impossible to say had been the... 77 w/ family at his side respond, he might still be the coach at North Carolina coach did! Working alongside Smith North Carolina basketball for the athletic job, would Williams have taken it too.. Seasons as an assistant coach, Guthridge inherited a team that won the medal. Ron Wellman would comment on his departure, highlights, and Guthridge set the NCAA record wins... 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