As early as April and May, Bill Guthridge Smiths primary assistant for some 30 years reached out to Hanners about doing extra study of the teams offensive and defensive sets. Coach Smith always had a plan. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. Its another tremendous loss for our University, our basketball program and our entire community. Veteran sports reporter Peter Gammons had high praise for the former coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away. Note: Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. And as the confetti fell on UNCs first title A.D. After Dean Guthridge burst into tears alongside his former players. [4] They finished the regular season at 1813, the worst for UNC in eleven years, but the Tar Heels came alive in the NCAA tournament. 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. Seeded eighth in the South region, North Carolina upset top-seeded Stanford in the second round and continued to the Final Four, where they lost to Florida. We offer our deepest sympathies to Bills family, friends and the entire North Carolina basketball community.. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. "This is a tremendous loss for our basketball program and entire community.". Just a really good man who made Carolina, the ACC and college basketball better.. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25, earned the ACC Coach of the Year award and guided North Carolina to the Final Four before losing to Utah. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. (Scott Sharpe/News & Observer), Standing Together With Our Black Community, Assistant Schall Named Head Volleyball Coach, After 33 Years, Volleyball Coach Sagula Retires, In Memoriam: Elizabeth B. Morgan (19302022). No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. I will miss his kindness and wisdom. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). A Tar Heel passing him in the hallway might greet him with a quick head nod and a greeting of, Coach. Guthridge would invariably respond with a similar head nod and, Player.. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. With Williams, it was the restoration of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years. Which 16 teams should you buy or fade ahead of March Madness? He couldnt generate enough energy to get through all of that., Some background: In the years leading up to his retirement specifically every spring after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament Smith expressed a sense of exhaustion to the people around him. Theyd had their disagreements, yes. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. 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. All the scheduling calls, speeches for adoring donors, piles and piles of paperwork that accompanied seemingly everything he did. Why would you stay? I needed Bill to tell me, Dick, yes, I want to do this, Baddour says, and he was clear that he wanted to.. All the things he couldnt do during the daunting in-season months. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. Guthridge was Smiths assistant for 30 years. Former UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour: Bill was one of the most respected and admired people I have known. Looking around at his devastated players in the locker room, Guthridge realized he simply couldnt leave. (LogOut/ Or perhaps someone else from Smiths coaching tree, such as George Karl or Eddie Fogler? His lack of recruiting is why they went 8-20 shortly thereafter. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. 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. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. 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. He won more games than any college head coach in history after just two seasons and tied N.C. States Everett Case for most coaching victories after three years. I think its time to turn it over to somebody else, he said at a campus news conference. Baddour was scheduled to travel with the football program that day for a game at TCU, but before leaving he spoke to Smith on the phone. With the number of Americans residing in assisted living communities nearing 1 million and growing, CEAL@UNCs work will be vital for ensuring that older adults nationwide have access to quality and supportive care that enables them to age with dignity and respect. The closest he came to leaving Chapel Hill was 1978, when he verbally accepted the head coaching job at Penn State. If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. 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. But the season, and that loss specifically, never faded from their collective consciousness. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. Ndiaye even tried cracking the ice by joking that Guthridges years as head coach probably hadnt hurt his wallet. It didnt bother me that I was a lousy coach, and when we started winning I was a better coach. And by the end of every summer, Smith returned freshly rejuvenated. Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. You come up one year, and that year you win the national championship. Guthridge, who like Smith was a Kansas native, spent 30 years as an assistant coach and had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the coach of his own program. Calhoun, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, is . He said that although he was impressed with the athletic department personnel and basketball program, withdrawing his name was "in the best interest of myself and my family.". Of course, Smith did retire. 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. Whatve you got to prove then?. 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. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. 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. But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? Hed have been a lifer, Hanners says. Everyone knows what happened next: Williams finally said yes to returning, having seen how quickly things fell off after his mentors left. 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. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. As a coach, he was stubbornly competitive. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. As he famously said at Smiths retirement news conference, I always thought we would ride off into the sun together.. 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. 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. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. 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. On Oct. 9, 1997, Smith called it quits. "He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. Student-run Chapel Thrill Escapes brings its newest escape room to life Rameses in Wonderland continuing to provide an outlet for student creativity, entrepreneurship and collaboration on Carolina's campus. One of the best testaments to Guthridges impact came on that retirement day, June 30. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. 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. in education in 1963. But if Williams had declined the opportunity, as he initially did a year prior? Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. 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. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. Division regular season and conference tournament champion Both played college ball in that state -- Smith at Kansas, Guthridge at Kansas State -- and coached at their alma maters before coming to North Carolina. What you saw was the quiet assistant sitting on the bench. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. Jordan is among many Tar Heels who had tremendous respect for Guthridge. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision to retire from this physical life. He stayed (rather than leave for a head coaching job at another university) because he was enjoying what he was doing and why leave something you know is good for the unknown. He was instrumental in helping lure Williams back to North Carolina. Showdown in Durham: NC State and Duke battle for ACC, NCAA seeding, Brownlow: NC State, Duke and Carolina all look to avenge ACC losses on busy basketball Saturday, Welter: I'm not mad, Carolina, just disappointed, AP source: Panthers to meet with QB Derek Carr at combine. 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. 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. He needed to hear that from Guthridge. 33 yrs on UNC bench. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. Current coach Roy Williams referenced Smith's death, which occurred on Feb. 7 of this year, when commenting onGuthridge, via Andrew Carter of theCharlotte Observer: Here's Roy. North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball head coaches, North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball 198182 NCAA champions, North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball 199293 NCAA champions, Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball Coach of the Year, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach, http://static.espn.go.com/ncb/news/2000/0630/612432.html, http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/colleges/x383678526/Guthridge-again-reluctantly-takes-spotlight, "Former UNC Chapel Hill Coach Bill Guthridge Has Died", "Former UNC coach, assistant Bill Guthridge dies at 77", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Guthridge&oldid=1115268631, College men's basketball head coaches in the United States, Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches, Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players, North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty, Articles with dead external links from February 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing cleanup from September 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from September 2022, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from September 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 October 2022, at 16:39. I would have been as vigorous and go after that as hard as I could possibly go.. Williams and Ndiaye both graduated. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). 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. The Tar Heels either won the ACC tournament or finished atop the league standings -- or did both -- in 23 of those seasons. 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. That said, its worth remembering that he told Williams just a few years ago that perhaps 66 was too early to retire, given his near flawless health at the time. 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. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses. 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. He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 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. Prior to that, Guthridge served as Smith's assistant coach for 30 years. Bill and Dean, friends for life. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. 3 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris. Smith was fresh off his 11th Final Four and had just passed Adolph Rupp for the most wins by any college basketball coach in history. What about Ford? 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. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. Like his lifelong friend and mentor, Coach Dean Smith, he led by example instilling values of kindness, discipline and a strong work ethic. He was even more important to me. 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. Guthridge also gave to the University away from basketball. And I think he probably had second thoughts, because at what point was it really a danger? The team bus never left at 2 p.m. Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. Yeah, Id say that was more likely than unlikely., I wouldve gone to where I went two years later, he says. 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. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). What Smith left behind was arguably the most talented team hed ever assembled: a pair of future NBA All-Stars, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison; the programs all-time assists leader, point guard Ed Cota; a lights-out shooter, Shammond Williams; a frontcourt enforcer, Makhtar Ndiaye; and much more. I wouldve gone to Roy.. School officials stressed that Guthridge was not merely a placeholder for then-Kansas coach Roy Williams, signing him to a five-year contract. "When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me," Hanners says. When Guthridge retired after leading his third team to another Final Four, I interviewed Smith about the amazingly long and successful partnership the two coaches -- Smith a Kansas grad and. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge, 77, died Tuesday from a heart condition. What happened, happened. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. Born William Wallace Guthridge, he attended Kansas State University where he played guard on the basketball team and helped the Wildcats. 2 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris, Pt. That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Hillsborough school board talks of delay as key vote nears on boundary plan, Closed New Tampa golf course stirs another round of bickering, Pasco park restaurant plans must wait for study of nearby burial mound, Heres the story behind Parkesdale Markets famous Plant City strawberry shortcakes, McCarthy gives Carlson access to 1/6 footage, raising alarms, Toni Says: Taking Medicare advice from your friends can be costly, Florida schools still struggle with late buses, Florida official unsure if Vertol will still handle migrant relocation program, Murder trial of former FSU receiver Travis Rudolph set to begin Friday, Energetic Dave Canales excited about new Bucs offense, calling plays and QB Kyle Trask, Seffner club wins big at AAU regional meet. Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. 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. Williams famously turned him down, opting to remain at Kansas, where hed built a Carolina-esque family dynamic (at Smiths alma mater, to boot). But when Baddour and Guthridge did finally meet, Guthridge expressed a desire to try his hand. He was a friend. 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. We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. 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. William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. 1 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris, Pt. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams, conceding him to K, even though Jason reportedly had an interest in UNC. College Basketball Coach. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and hell be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching., 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 after the passing of Bill Guthridge. In 1993, he and his wife, Leesie, created the William W. and Elise P. Guthridge Library Fund, which helped with purchasing materials and renovation of the House Undergraduate Library. Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. 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