Success is a choice

Where else can you announce a pep rally on four hours notice and draw such a large crowd? Kentucky has a coach and something new to celebrate and speculate about. The Lexington Herald-Leader kicked off the excitement Friday with an "extra-edition front page on the hiring of UK basketball coach Billy Gillispie". You can still get a copy if you call their 800 number.

He says he understands the high expectations...

"The expectations are extremely high, as high as they are anywhere in the country," Gillispie said of UK basketball. "But if they give you the things you need to win, and you're expected to win, that's what I want to do.

But does he really understand what he is in for?

Gillispie even embraced the famously surreal UK fan expectations, best illustrated by the caller to Tubby Smith's radio show who said, "We're 22-3, but I'm not giving up."

John Clay says it is a great match and that UK fans are just going to love this guy, his persona and style...as long as he wins. His style is built on some intense man-to-man defense and "boot camp" type condition at the start of the practice season.

The Lousiville Courier-Journal discovered Gillespie a few weeks ago since they were seeded into Louisville's NCAA bracket and ultimately sent the Cards home. Eric Crawford's column this morning is revealing"

What I've found is a guy who has made team managers run sprints for not wiping up sweat the right way.

A guy who wrote the name of all of the players' mothers on the board after a poor rebounding game, then got the attention of several by pointing out that they had gotten as many rebounds as their mothers.

A guy who once was so irritated that his players weren't playing fast enough in a game that he forbade them from running through the entire next day's practice, forcing them to walk the whole way while telling them if they weren't going to run hard in games, they might as well not run in practice.

I read about him storming out of practices in disgust, proclaiming that he couldn't watch another minute, only to have players discover later that he watched the rest from a secret spot.

OK, so maybe this guy is ready for Rupp Arena. But he needs to start figuring out how to hang those banners up there, or this is going to be another short-lived relationship.