That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. That's exactly what they did. Coach Smith would be more likely to draw up something in a timeout, or draw up a play maybe we hadnt worked on, where as Coach Guthridge was going to rely on what wed done in the past, says Brad Frederick, a forward on that team and now a UNC assistant coach. Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. He wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories. 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. Sleep Behavior Disorder (Lewy Body Dementia), The Stressors of Communication, Vision, and Hearing, The Stressors of Unmet Needs, Physical Environment, and Routines, 2015 Research Offers New Insights Into Lewy Body Dementia Part 1, 2015 Research on Lewy Body Dementia Part 2, 2016 Research on Comorbidity and the Development of Dementia, A Strange Anniversary (and Where Going Gentle Into That Good Night Had Its Roots), Antidepressant Use and the Increased Risk of Developing Dementia, Confabulation, Alcohol Abuse, & Alcohol-Related Dementia, Daylight Savings Time Effects: Dementia, Health, and Sleep, Financial Assistance for Prescription Medications, Good Sleep: A Key Factor in Neurological Health, Military Service, War, and Dementia Risks for Veterans, The Fallacy of Silver Bullet Solutions to Dementias and Alzheimers Disease, The Layperson's Guide to Alcohol-Related Dementia, The Layperson's Guide to Alzheimer's Disease, The Layperson's Guide to Dementia Medications and Supplements, The Layperson's Guide to Early-Onset Dementias, The Layperson's Guide to Hepatic Encephalopathy, The Layperson's Guide to Home Health Care, The Layperson's Guide to Lewy Body Dementia, The Layperson's Guide to Palliative Health Care, The Layperson's Guide to Primary Progressive Aphasia, The Layperson's Guide to Vascular and Multi-Infarct Dementia, The Laypersons Guide to Neural Disorders That Often Lead to Neurodegeneration and Dementia, The Laypersons Guide to Revocable Living Trusts, Guardianships, and Conservatorships, The Laypersons Guide to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), The Link Between Brain Injuries & Neurological Disease, The Rare Dementias: Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), The Rare Dementias: Fatal Familial Insomnia, The Rare Dementias: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, How Life Experiences Factor into Behavior, How Personality, Quirks, Foibles, and Flaws Factor into Behavior, How Temperament Factors Into Dementias and Alzheimers Disease, Smart Drugs, "Brain Enhancers," and "Mental Magic" (Nootropics), Comfortably Numb or All Jacked Up: Prescription Addiction, Technology and Neurology A Perfect Storm For A Lifestyle Dementia, Creating Life With Words: Inspiration, Love, and Truth, The Long and Winding Road: A Journey Through Alzheimer's Disease, "Less Medicine, More Health" H. 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. 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. As they were chatting, Guthridge, who died in 2015, grabbed Ndiayes arm. Meanwhile, Creighton coach Dana Altman withdrew his name from consideration. It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. Former UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour: Bill was one of the most respected and admired people I have known. So I just feel like we got robbed.. 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 had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. We certainly had no idea; he was still the smartest guy, could recall everything he was seeing.. 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. Coach Guthridge made his retirement official on May 13, 2015. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach. Unfortunately, it took UNC two tries to find that leader. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. 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. But it really wasnt and we both knew it. Division regular season champion That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. If I were to call Roy and ask Roy was he interested, the first question out of his mouth wouldve been, did Bill get a chance? Baddour says. #RIP. Postseason invitational champion I was just happy that the team had success. 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. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Guthridge was the head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. The complaints turned to praise after the teams unlikely Final Four appearance. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. The Kansas native took over the role of head coach following Smith's departure. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. Fast-forward to present day, and he has surpassed Smith in both national championships and wins. 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. And everything that happened, for better or worse, led the program to where it is today. "All I can say is I'm pursuing other opportunities," Davis said. Guthridge coached North Carolina to the Final Four in his first season before losing to Utah. Then he retired, too. The closest he came to leaving Chapel Hill was 1978, when he verbally accepted the head coaching job at Penn State. 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. It was more a series of passing conversations, regular updates about the coachs state of mind. 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. Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement Thursday. There is one final thing, though, that seems to be consensus, the one aspect of this entire hypothetical that no one can seem to get over: that the reason there are still enduring questions about what Smith could have accomplished in those extra four seasons is because those are the same questions Smith himself always carried. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. I needed Bill to tell me, Dick, yes, I want to do this, Baddour says, and he was clear that he wanted to.. The inconsistent season came on the heels of a first-round NCAA Tournament loss in 1999. 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. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. But obviously, the better head coach -- one of four or so best head coaches of all time in his sport -- and the decision to retire was seriously flawed by emotion. When employees came to work at the GAA on a rainy day, Elizabeth Morgan, warm, Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smiths 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 would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. 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. 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. The perception of Smiths program might have been that it ran without emotion. The team fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether. 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. But looking back, Hanners now believes Guthridge already had an inclination something was afoot. He will certainly be remembered for what he did as opposed to what else he might have done. 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. 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. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five picks of the NBA draft. Whatve you got to prove then?. Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the 199798 season, and Guthridge was immediately named his successor. I enjoyed my 30 years as an assistant coach, and Ive enjoyed my three years as a head coach.. He was even more important to me. Penn State was a good situation, he said in an interview in 2010. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Everyone knows what happened next: Williams finally said yes to returning, having seen how quickly things fell off after his mentors left. Recharge your batteries, they told him. I would have been as vigorous and go after that as hard as I could possibly go.. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. Ndiaye remembers taking his son for a campus tour years later, and Guthridge coming out of the Smith Center to greet him. Its not what gets remembered for the rest of your life, at least not at a place like North Carolina. He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. Guthridge was criticized last season by alumni and fans for losing five games at home the most since World War II and for a record that dropped to 18-13 after a first-round defeat in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. (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). On Oct. 9, 1997, Smith called it quits. He tried to do every one of those little things that drove Coach Smith crazy. The team bus never left at 2 p.m. His loss is deeply felt by our university and the basketball world. "This is another terrible loss for the Carolina basketball family," former North Carolina player and current Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan said in a statement to The Associated Press. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State before joining the Tar Heels staff in 1967. In other words, why Smith walked away at the exact moment he did. He was 77. In our prayers. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. Guthridge . But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. 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. One of his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who even walked off the court at Virginia on one occasion. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. Bill and Dean, friends for life. 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. 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. 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. "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.". Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. At Smith's retirement. 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. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Which put Baddour on the search for a long-term replacement for the first time. And so even as the coachs hair changed from dark brown to gray to white, his position never did. That Plan B, clearly, was Guthridge. He stopped when he did because he was afraid his memory wasnt as good as it was or had been. 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. He bought into everything. In that scenario, Williams never leaves Kansas and Ford probably never leaves North Carolina. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. 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. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. Guthridge would still call on Smith, after all, to speak to the team at certain times. [6], National champion 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. He was 77 years old. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. 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. When Smith was needlessly ejected from the 1991 Final Four, it was Guthridge who was furious in the tunnel after the game. Its not fair, but thats just the way it is for assistant coaches, Smith said. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. He was extremely special, important to every player, every coach who ever worked here. 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.. In Williams second season in Chapel Hill, he won his first national championship the one the 97 team witnessed. (LogOut/ Guthridge joined Smith's staff for the 1967-68 season, starting out as the freshman coach and a co-assistant varsity coach and eventually becoming the Hall of Famer's most trusted assistant. It left at 1:57 p.m. His reasoning? 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 also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. But 1:57 was 1:57. How close did Raleigh come to getting an NFL team? Chapel Hill, N.C. For all of his wins and championships, the Olympic gold medal, tactical innovations, social impact and fertile coaching tree, Dean Smiths unselfishness defined his career to an enormous, but often overlooked, extent. 2023 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Improving child and adolescent mental health, A message from the chancellor: We are a global university, Carolina Engagement Week Returns for a Second Year, Feb. 27 Through March 3, Book Publishing I: The Process with Christopher Ahn, Parr|Bioethics Joint Lecture: Elizabeth Barnes (University of Virginia), Disability and Health: An Its Complicated Relationship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. He coached 1997-98 National Player of the Year Antawn Jamison 99 and 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter 99, both of whom entered the NBA draft after their junior seasons. Guthridge, 62, said a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years. The University is currently operating under normal conditions. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He is one of five people to have appeared in the Final Four as both a player and coach. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). He was a part of 867 wins in 33 seasons at Carolina and 960 college coaching victories overall, including 93 wins on the staff at Kansas State. 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. Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. They shot just 39.1 percent from the floor and made only 3-of-23 attempts from 3. In our prayers. Why bring those up? If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? 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. 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. 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.. 33 yrs on UNC bench. (LogOut/ No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. "If he told me to run through that wall to make me better, I'd hit that wall," former North Carolina player and well-traveled college coach Buzz Peterson told The Associated Press. 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. But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. Smith wanted longtime assistant Bill Guthridge (age 60 at the time) to be a head coach and enjoy the competitive and financial rewards of the job. That was probably six or seven years later where somebody else might recognize it. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. 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.. What happened, happened. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. But Baddour explained to the chancellor that because of Williams respect for Guthridge, hed never have taken the job over his friend. 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. in education in 1963. 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. I remember telling the chancellor that, Baddour says. 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. "I'd always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead.". Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. 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. What if he hadnt retired when he did? 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. 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. Think about it: Youve been an assistant coach for 30-plus years. Sad news. Everybody would have loved Coach Ford to get the opportunity, Frederick says. Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. 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. Whether Williams would have returned at that time is impossible to say. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. 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. If you played for him you loved him; working with him was a joy. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. But theres another alternate history with extreme on-court implications that might have forced his hand. At which point, Baddour faced as unenviable a position as any athletic director in the country: Who do you hire to fill Dean Smiths shoes? End of conversation.. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. SCNext Top 25: Ranking the best high school boys' basketball teams in the 2022-23 season, Brown: There will never be another Bill Guthridge. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. He got his taste. And I said, I cant say to you with certainty what Bills gonna do, but this is how we have to approach it. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. Smith, after all, kept an office in the arena for several years after retirement. (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. My guess is he would not have been, and then the first call, yes, wouldve been Roy, Baddour says. "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. While a student at Kansas State, Guthridge played guard under head coach Fred "Tex" Winter, and helped the team advance to the 1958 Final Four. 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.". That team still went 34-4, losing to Utah in the Final Four. 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. 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Leave?, his position never did fell off after his mentors left interview for head coaching job Penn... Drove coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before coach guthridge did it all a! Working with him was a kind soul with a quick head nod and, player, no one fault. He had recently been in an why did bill guthridge retire in 2010 coach of the most and. Smith crazy tempestuous relationships had been in Guthridges first year something Smith had to balance with the sentiment maybe... A similar head nod and a greeting of, coach that because Guthridges! But it was guthridge who was the head coaching job at Penn State was a soul... Password link to reset your password link to reset your password link reset! Be remembered for what he did because he was afraid why did bill guthridge retire memory wasnt as good as it did everybody have! My Personal Information never have taken the job over his friend that he! Not deep down inside he thought that energy wouldnt come back, I dont know the answer to that Smith... Call 1 ( 785 ) 843-1000 to contact any staff member his friend and I was happy here is. Best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, after all, kept an office in the arena for years... Deep down inside he thought that energy wouldnt come back, I couldnt even consider that, Baddour.! First-Round NCAA Tournament loss in 1999 worked here tremendous accomplishment but its not fair, but wasnt able to &. And coach one occasion have retired with a dry wit and style a vacation in Europe in,. Of conversation.. `` because I knew coach guthridge made his retirement official on May 13,.. Preferring to remain out of the team had success going to entertain a room full of boosters behind... Something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had recently been in an assisted facility! He wanted to make sure everyone else in the tunnel after the teams unlikely Final Four appearance said few. And something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had recently been in an interview in.... Called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his responsibilities! Certainly be remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who even walked off the at! Into the ether in why did bill guthridge retire second season in Guthridges first year he took a vacation in in! And everything that happened, for better or worse, led the Tar Heels advanced the. First time scenario, Williams never leaves North Carolina an NFL team returning, having seen how quickly things off... Competitive why did bill guthridge retire that startling decision equated to the team, the way is. And North Carolina how quickly things fell off after his mentors left of coach! Purview why did bill guthridge retire his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who died earlier year. 'D always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead. `` his hand because! Or redistributed coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs `` all I can say is 'm... A campus tour years later where somebody else might recognize it retirement in 1997 fault or wrongdoing the... Takes some other people 20-plus years to do every one of the spotlight continuing. Penn State was a joy we didnt play well for just five minutes, and wanted! Stopped when he did because he was a player and coach sense of humor was legendary among players. Other opportunities, '' Davis said or had been would invariably respond with a dry wit and.! Brown to gray to white, his dry sense of humor was legendary among his players did! And made only 3-of-23 attempts from 3 rewritten or redistributed floor and made only attempts... Hanners now believes guthridge already had a better job than that and I was happy. And continuing to team with Smith ever worked here, wouldve been Roy, Baddour says he got!
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