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. Dick, lets talk on Monday, but Im pretty sure Im gonna tell you Monday its time to transition, Baddour remembers. (LogOut/ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. All the things he couldnt do during the daunting in-season months. (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. 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. Former UNC coach, assistant Guthridge dies, Sizing up the player of the year winners in all 32 Division I men's conferences, Tide's Oats takes blame for Miller's 'TSA' intro, Davis within 25 points of tying Maravich's mark, New NCAA president readies for NIL, legal issues, Scheyer makes history as Duke sweeps at home, Tennessee win soured by knee injury to Zeigler, USC, OU, Seton Hall, Iowa in new hoops tourney, Houston, Alabama remain atop AP Top 25 poll. 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. We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. He saw his memory issues coming long before the world did. We certainly had no idea; he was still the smartest guy, could recall everything he was seeing.. He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head coaching jobs werent better than his job as an assistant. He always knew what he was doing.. 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. But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. . Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams, conceding him to K, even though Jason reportedly had an interest in UNC. Ndiaye even tried cracking the ice by joking that Guthridges years as head coach probably hadnt hurt his wallet. He competed in one as a player at Kansas State in 1958, was an assistant coach at 11 before directing the Tar Heels at two as head coach. 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 joined the UNC staff in 1967 after five years as assistant to Tex Winter at Kansas State. 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. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. 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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. 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. 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. 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. He bought into everything. In that scenario, Williams never leaves Kansas and Ford probably never leaves North Carolina. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. He also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. He was 77 years old, Former UNC basketball coach Bill Guthridge passes away at age 77, UNC School of Social Work becomes new home for CEAL@UNC, expand work to advance assisted living. 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. The little doo-doos got him in the end, Hanners says. In Guthridge's final season, he went 18-13 -- at the time, the program's worst finish in decades -- but bounced back in the postseason to reach North Carolina's 15th Final Four before losing in the national semifinals to Florida. (LogOut/ 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. He held tight. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. 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. After a three-year disastrous tenure under Doherty, the University of North Carolina hired Roy Williams from Kansas and got the leadership and gravitas that had characterized the UNC basketball program under Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge. Its funny that were doing this story, Jamison says. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. Guthridge coached three years and took the Tar Heels to two Final Fours. 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. In retrospect, Smiths premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. If Williams had said no, then who might have been offered the job? On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge, 77, died Tuesday from a heart condition. 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. 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. Conference tournament champion. "Mak said he gets this call from his mom: 'Mak, there's this man here in Africa, says he's your coach,' ". We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. 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. Although four years further down the line, theres skepticism Guthridge, at the age of 64 or 65, would still have been interested in taking a crack. 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]. 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. And with Guthridge having gotten his shot, there would have been no issues of whose turn it was. "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. 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.". 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. Hed told reporters he expected to honor the remaining four years on his deal. Hed grow bored of golf, and once that happened, his staff knew hed summoned up the energy for another go-around. Case in point. He was a father figure.". Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? 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. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. As he famously said at Smiths retirement news conference, I always thought we would ride off into the sun together.. It has to be one of those., Williams talked Thursday night with Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 more than just that team, Smith left behind a mound of questions. What burned just below that was a fierce competitor who might sometimes react more like a fan than you would expect. ", Roy: "I think that not only did he coach me on the freshman team he was another mentor. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses, and the weaknesses that he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. For what? He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. I enjoyed my 30 years as an assistant coach, and Ive enjoyed my three years as a head coach.. On the day of Smiths retirement, The Washington Post reported Smith wants his other longtime assistant, former Tar Heels point guard Phil Ford, eventually to become the coach, a source said. Ford was arguably Smiths best player ever, and UNCs all-time leading scorer at the time. Coach Guthridge made his retirement official on May 13, 2015. He was a lifetime assistant coach for whom Dean did a solid. 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. Graduate of the University of North Carolina. Doherty was criticized from the moment he was hired, for breaking somewhat from Smith and Guthridges family dynamic; that scrutiny only intensified in his second season, when UNC bottomed out to a program-worst record of 8-20. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. 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It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. Guthridge . Which 16 teams should you buy or fade ahead of March Madness? 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. When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. At Smith's retirement. He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 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. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. The ones he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. Other opportunities had arisen over time, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant. 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 fact, he communicated as much to Baddour after Baddour was tapped in late June to replace John Swofford as athletic director. The university made a huge misstep when it hired former UNC player, Matt Doherty, a young, untested coach in the league of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and a 180-degreechange from the coaching styles of Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge, as its head basketball coach in 2000, when Coach Guthridge retired. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. 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. On June 30th in 1969, Bill Russell announced his retirement from professional basketball after a 13-year NBA career. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. 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. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. 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. After Coach Guthridges retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. He was 77 years old. 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. Bill Guthridge will be remembered as Dean Smith's loyal deputy for 30 years, a partnership that had tremendous success, but late in his career Guthridge had a chance to prove he was a pretty . Matt Doherty, who succeeded Guthridge as Tar Heels coach and served in that capacity for three seasons, tweeted his condolences Wednesday. Sad news. Hed have been two years into a rebuild at Notre Dame, and perhaps less reluctant to leave. He handed out handwritten notes instead. 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. Following the 199798 season, several organizations named him National Coach of the Year and he received the Naismith College Coach of the Year award. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. "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. 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. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. "This is a tremendous loss for our basketball program and entire community.". 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