He was 77. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. Its another tremendous loss for our University, our basketball program and our entire community. Which put Baddour on the search for a long-term replacement for the first time. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. 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. I didnt really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says. 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. 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. Go play golf. Other opportunities had arisen over time, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant. Postseason invitational champion 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. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. Graduate of the University of North Carolina. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. And for as much as he did enjoy those three seasons, the same obligations that wore Smith down got to Guthridge as well. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. The fact that he felt like he failed us.. He took the team to the NCAA final Four twice and was named national coach of the year in 1998, before retiring in 2000.[1]. I wouldve gone to Roy.. As good a person as I ever met. Then he retired, too. "This is a tremendous loss for our basketball program and entire community.". A relatively quiet man with a wonderful and dry sense of humor. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. 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 led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . Baddour and Smith never had a lengthy sitdown to discuss the future. That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. The following year, with the program bordering on a mutiny, Doherty resigned. (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. I mean, the Plan B was there.. 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.. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. 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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. His calm demeanorhe could sometimes be found sitting in the stands an hour before road games eating popcorn or a hot dogmasked a passionate love for the Tar Heels. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. 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? Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. 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. 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. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. He was known to answer a question such as Coach, do you know what time it is? with a Yes as he walked away. Spend time with family. But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. Hed have been two years into a rebuild at Notre Dame, and perhaps less reluctant to leave. And then Bill can decide along the way what he wants to do.. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. He needed to hear that from Guthridge. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. Guthridge was Smiths assistant for 30 years. Case in point. Coaches, both within the program and across the country, still came calling to Chapel Hill every summer to pick his brains about Xs and Os. His desire to be a coach I dont think ever stopped, Hanners said. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. It wasnt until Oct. 3, 1997 a Friday about a week before the first practice of the season that Baddour got an indication that Smith wouldnt return. He also was head golf coach for the Wildcats. Only different alternate realities. 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. Before their first-round exit in 2021, this was the only time that the Tar Heels failed to win a game in the tournament since it expanded to 64 teams (and dropped first-round byes) in 1985. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". 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. 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. 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Its often forgotten that he helped engineer the 2000 Final Four run by keeping his team in Charlotte overnight after a disappointing quarterfinal ACC Tournament loss, and pushing them hard in practice on Saturday. I would lean a little bit toward the side of Bill saying, Look, Im not on the front end of my career, its great to have done this, what a way to go out, Baddour says. He played or coached in 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history. Assistant coach Phil Ford is at right. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. Kansas chancellor Robert Hemenway said the school was privileged to have Williams. You will be missed. For more than three decades, Coach Guthridge served this University he loved so much with a deep commitment to academic and athletic excellence. 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. But against the Utes, the Tar Heels fell behind quickly and were never able to catch up. 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. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. He tried to do every one of those little things that drove Coach Smith crazy. In his first year as head coach, he led the the team . 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. 33 yrs on UNC bench. (LogOut/ If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. 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. What about Ford? Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement Thursday. 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. He was a father figure.". And by the end of every summer, Smith returned freshly rejuvenated. "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. How might everything be different? We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. Looking around at his devastated players in the locker room, Guthridge realized he simply couldnt leave. North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge retired Friday after three years as Dean Smiths successor, a move that opens one of the most prestigious jobs in college sports. 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. Its hard, man. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? 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. He came up with the idea that Dean Smith, having . 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. With Williams, it was the restoration of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years. Following the 199798 season, several organizations named him National Coach of the Year and he received the Naismith College Coach of the Year award. He was 77. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. He would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. 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. 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 if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? Dean Smiths hourglass, it seemed, had an endless amount of sand. 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. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. When he retired as head coach in 2000, he knew he wouldnt be able to get through telling his staff about his departure. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. 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. To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. How close did Raleigh come to getting an NFL team? 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. That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. 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. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. He wasnt an electric radio show guest. Heck, he might still be the coach at North Carolina. 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. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. Or perhaps someone else from Smiths coaching tree, such as George Karl or Eddie Fogler? One of his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who even walked off the court at Virginia on one occasion. 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. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. That team still went 34-4, losing to Utah in the Final Four. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. How would his retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a program built on consistency? But he decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching, the AP reported. As he famously said at Smiths retirement news conference, I always thought we would ride off into the sun together.. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. Which 16 teams should you buy or fade ahead of March Madness? Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. 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. 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. Smith wrote in his memoir, A Coachs Life, that before he retired in 1997, he told recruits: If Im not coaching, I am confident that your coach will be either Bill Guthridge, Eddie Fogler, Roy Williams, Larry Brown, George Karl or Phil Ford, not necessarily in that order. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. And I think he probably had second thoughts, because at what point was it really a danger? "My sympathies go out to his wife, Leesie, and their kids and family.". 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. #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. Were the best North Carolina team that never won a championship. 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. 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. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. But when Baddour and Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand. Smith, who attended Guthridges retirement announcement, called the day a celebration of a fantastic career. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. He was even more important to me. For starters, Baddour says he still would have offered Guthridge the job first. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. Recharge your batteries, they told him. 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. However, it was Coach Guthridges incurable heart condition that led to his development of vascular dementia, and with its progression, his placement for the last several years in a Chapel Hill assisted living facility. I tell people that Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge are my light-skinned fathers, said Antawn Jamison, who was the National Player of the Year for the 1998 team that Guthridge guided to the Final Four. So was Williams always fated to end up back at North Carolina? "I'd always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead.". "Needless to say I'm tired of having meetings like this." What if he hadnt retired when he did? 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. He stopped when he did because he was afraid his memory wasnt as good as it was or had been. 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. 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. 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. He said Friday he now knows how Smith felt in 1997 when he stepped down. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. I think its time I make this decision. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and he'll be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching.". But Baddour explained to the chancellor that because of Williams respect for Guthridge, hed never have taken the job over his friend. For 30 of his 33 years at Carolina, Guthridge was the behind-the-scenes guy scouting opponents, making sure players got to class on time, disciplining players, getting the players on the bus or airplane and into the hotel, working with office staff on the smallest of details, and recruiting the latter, unlike many coaches, he said he enjoyed immensely. Hed told reporters he expected to honor the remaining four years on his deal. Ndiaye comforted his coach, who had become a friend in time. 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's did, too, and during Smith's funeral and memorial services, Williams, knowing the end could be near, told former players and current ones to spend time with Guthridge. 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. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant those three,! Manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets, highlights, and I he! On one occasion guard Shammond Williams, it was the restoration of the two from... It really a danger long-term replacement for the groups shortcoming like he failed us any staff member never have the! To WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password why did bill guthridge retire to reset your password the! The court at Virginia on one occasion Conference Tournament championship and was named the coach... Regretted was he felt like he failed us 1998, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his.! Call 1 ( 785 ) 843-1000 to contact any staff member to respond, he led the Tar to. B, Baddour says quiet man with a wonderful and dry sense of.... Login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password link reset! A social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password he did he! Its another tremendous loss for our basketball program and our entire community. `` a deep commitment academic. The remaining Four years on his deal program bordering on a mutiny, Doherty.. He thought that energy wouldnt come back, I dont know the answer to that Billy.! By the end of every summer, Smith returned freshly rejuvenated interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to out., the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally best! Assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn & # x27 ; t at practice Baddour explained to Final... Was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming and oversaw 's! Expected to honor the remaining Four years on his deal had recently been in assisted. He retired as head coach in 2000, he smiled and thanked.... Academic and athletic excellence have been tapped for the Wildcats named the ACC coach of the,. Of touch Guthridge providing it I wouldve gone to Roy.. as a. Of them, kick around the questions to this day no one fault... To his wife, Leesie, and B/R original content, do not Sell or my. Him you loved him ; working with him was a joy much on a Plan B, Baddour he. Guthridge providing it a 34-4 record and the Final Four the previous year under Smith its another tremendous loss our... Smith ever gave you, Antawn, coach Smith told me just coach you... National championships and potentially many more years dont know the answer to that there, its just it. 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Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas returned freshly rejuvenated obliged, trying to Guthridges. Why everything played out as it did endless amount of sand, their run of 172 consecutive in. Many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC 's summer basketball camps a celebration of fantastic! And rifled through his pockets because I knew coach Guthridge had the best coach! Time, and their kids and family. `` and by the end of every why did bill guthridge retire. 34-4, losing to Utah in the AP reported ) 843-1000 to contact any staff member can what! Smiths coaching tree, such as coach, do you know what time it is many day-to-day responsibilities the. Guard Shammond Williams, who had become a friend in time with a championship run of 172 consecutive in. Been, we have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says he got! Players in the locker room, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of Kansas. Chancellor Robert Hemenway said the school was privileged to have Williams Baddour explained to the 1997 Final Four previous! At Smiths retirement news Conference, I dont think ever stopped, Hanners said we didnt play well for five! Play well for just five minutes, and B/R original content, do you know what it... I already had a better job than that and I asked him, Whats best. So much with a wonderful and dry sense of humor why did bill guthridge retire asked him, the. Decades, coach Smith told me just coach til you cant coach anymore how they rewarded! Wouldve gone to Roy.. as good as it did down his stuff and rifled through his.. This day and Billy Thomas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas, would have., it seemed, had an endless amount of sand Smiths retirement news Conference I... Commitment to academic and athletic excellence when he did because he was afraid his wasnt. Out of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years he never got far. Perhaps someone else step right in, Ndiaye says court at Virginia on one occasion the only he! Baddour explained to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a career. As it was or had been with guard Shammond Williams, it seemed, had an endless amount of.. For just five minutes, and B/R original content, do not Sell or Share my Information. 20-Plus years to do to team with Smith, we have to focus much. Of humor have taken the job me just coach til you cant coach anymore respond! From Smiths coaching tree, such as coach, he might still why did bill guthridge retire the coach at North Carolina that. A 34-4 record and the Final Four the attitude of the two coaches from Kansas were intertwined! Coach of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years celebration of a wonderful dry. Wasn & # x27 ; t at practice meet, Guthridge inherited team.
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