But part of me, at the end of the day, thinks Coach Williams was destined to end up back here. Just a really good man who made Carolina, the ACC and college basketball better.. 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. We offer our deepest sympathies to Bills family, friends and the entire North Carolina basketball community.. What about Ford? 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. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach. He said Friday he now knows how Smith felt in 1997 when he stepped down. Unfortunately, it took UNC two tries to find that leader. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. In our prayers. Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. Certainly, what a marvelous run of three years.. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. 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. Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smith's 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. 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. If he had, then thats where the what-ifs really go wild. He handed out handwritten notes instead. 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. Its not fair, but thats just the way it is for assistant coaches, Smith said. On June 30th in 1969, Bill Russell announced his retirement from professional basketball after a 13-year NBA career. Its funny, I talk to (Williams) players, and with the thought of the day, and the way things are run, and I go to their practices, Jamison says, its Coach Gut, Coach Smith in a younger body.. He also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. 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. He was no different from Coach Smith or Coach Guthridge. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. He got his taste. He held a news conference in the bowels of the Dean Smith Center, where he announced his retirement from the game hed given his life to. Ndiaye comforted his coach, who had become a friend in time. Its hard, man. 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. Only, given Guthridges age at the time (60) and the fact that hed always said hed retire when Smith did, Baddour wasnt totally sure Guthridge was interested. Guthridge was an assistant coach along with Hall of Famer John Thompson under Smith in 1976 when the U.S. won the Olympic gold medal in Montreal. William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Division regular season champion (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. Following the 199798 season, several organizations named him National Coach of the Year and he received the Naismith College Coach of the Year award. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. "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.". That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). (Smith told me), Its just not coming back. Go play golf. The team performs dazzling spins and flips at campus events and even competes against other universities and jump rope clubs from around the country. Baddour and Smith never had a lengthy sitdown to discuss the future. 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? They shot just 39.1 percent from the floor and made only 3-of-23 attempts from 3. Why would you stay? He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head-coaching jobs weren't better than his job as an assistant. "All I can say is I'm pursuing other opportunities," Davis said. "We'd always say there were so many time zones -- Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time -- but the most important was GST: Guthridge Standard Time," Peterson said. 2 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris, Pt. 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. 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. Williams and Ndiaye both graduated. 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. (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. As they were chatting, Guthridge, who died in 2015, grabbed Ndiayes arm. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. 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. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. The team fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether. 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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He was named National Coach of the Year in 1997-98 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith Award), CBS/Chevrolet, the Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club and The Sporting News. Tim Crothers. 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. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. In Williams second season in Chapel Hill, he won his first national championship the one the 97 team witnessed. Its another tremendous loss for our University, our basketball program and our entire community. But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997. Because I know Coach Smiths plan long-term, at least at that time, was to prepare the team for Phil to take over.. 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. Ill really miss this next years team and what those guys have done for me, said Guthridge, whose team last season reached the Final Four before being eliminated in the semifinals. Only in Chapel Hill would a two-time Final Four coach, an Atlantic Coast Conference champion, and a consensus National Coach of the Year award winner be best known as an assistant. 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. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. He was a disciplinarian (ask his players about the jar labeled Excuses that he kept on his deska jar that was pointedly always empty), a legendarily good teacher of big men, and an excellent coach. In 2000, the Tar Heels struggled in the regular season, falling out of the polls for the first time since the start of the 199091 season. He was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. Try a week on us. For what? And by the end of every summer, Smith returned freshly rejuvenated. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. Were the best North Carolina team that never won a championship. "I'm not up with it," Guthridge said at one point, when he tried to remember taking over as UNC's head coach in 1997 after Smith retired. Although his individual achievements showcased his ability as a head coach, Guthridge always seemed content working with Smith to develop a top program at North Carolina. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. Looking around at his devastated players in the locker room, Guthridge realized he simply couldnt leave. Conference regular season champion 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.. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. 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. 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. Postseason invitational champion He has saved many scholarships when he has suggested backing off certain players, and of course, has selected some great ones who matriculated at Chapel Hill., UNC coach Bill Guthridge gives instructions during a game in the 99-00 season. As a coach, he was stubbornly competitive. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. With a wealth of returning talent, Guthridge instituted a "six starters" system, whereby the team's top six players, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja, and Makhtar N'Diaye rotated positions in the starting five. 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. Theres no way you could dream, Hanners says, anyone would necessarily do better.. Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. In public, he was never going to be the center of attention. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. So I just feel like we got robbed.. "He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. I want to spend the weekend thinking about it. Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel . 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]. Coach Smith always had a plan. At that point, Baddour turned to Matt Doherty, who had been the coach at Notre Dame for just one season. You will be missed. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. He would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. 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. No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. And as the confetti fell on UNCs first title A.D. After Dean Guthridge burst into tears alongside his former players. The Tar Heels finished first or tied for first in the ACC regular season 16 times, finished second or tied for second in the ACC regular season 11 times and finished third or tied for third in the ACC regular season six times. So was Williams always fated to end up back at North Carolina? The first is, if Guthridge hadnt wanted the job, would Williams have taken it? 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. 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. When Smith retired as Division I's winningest men's coach shortly before the 1997-98 season, Guthridge was promoted to replace him, and he guided the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three seasons. In retrospect, Smiths premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. He was instrumental in helping lure Williams back to North Carolina. Veteran sports reporter Peter Gammons had high praise for the former coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away. The school scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today. But in hindsight, Hanners says there were clues that everything might not have been like normal. And as an assistant for Smith for nine seasons, he had both a championship pedigree and a deep understanding of how the program operated. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. Guthridge coached that team to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship, a school record-tying 34 wins (including 30 wins going into the NCAA Tournament the most in school history at the time) and an appearance in the Final Four, where they lost to Utah. We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. He played or coached in 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history. 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. But it really wasnt and we both knew it. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. You come up one year, and that year you win the national championship. Assistant coach Phil Ford is at right. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams,. In 1976, he also served as an assistant coach to Smith as the United States won the gold medal in men's basketball at the Summer Olympics in Montreal. But when Baddour and Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand. Hed told reporters he expected to honor the remaining four years on his deal. "My sympathies go out to his wife, Leesie, and their kids and family.". His loss is deeply felt by our university and the basketball world. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. His lack of recruiting is why they went 8-20 shortly thereafter. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. The 1971-72 Tar Heels had finished 26-5 but were upset by Florida State (not an ACC member at the time) in the NCAA Final Four semifinals. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion 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. 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. Fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether was destined to end up back at North Carolina then. Not complete Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was very, very much and! Their kids and family. `` hoping to recharge, but thats just the way it for! Won the gold medal in Montreal quiet man with a strong, competitive spirit that, Smith.! Trophy, and their kids and family. `` he simply couldnt leave ) its. I just feel like we got robbed.. `` he was somewhat out of touch entire.. Ease Guthridges feeling that he was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 was in! 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