He formed a successful partnership with Dean Smith that lasted three decades until Smith retired in 1997. For what? In 1998, the Bill Guthridge Distinguished Professorship in mathematics was established. That Plan B, clearly, was Guthridge. Guthridge was the head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. And everything that happened, for better or worse, led the program to where it is today. Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? Theres no way you could dream, Hanners says, anyone would necessarily do better.. 33 yrs on UNC bench. Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. 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. 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. 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. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams, conceding him to K, even though Jason reportedly had an interest in UNC. But the Tar Heels suffered a soul-crushing NCAA Tournament loss that also ended Phil Fords career. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. Were the best North Carolina team that never won a championship. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). 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. He's a native of Raleigh, N.C. Guthridge led UNC to the Final Four in his first season, but the team fell short of a championship. And I said, I cant say to you with certainty what Bills gonna do, but this is how we have to approach it. He knows where he is and who he is, but it's often difficult for him. I wouldve never thought of that in a million years.. Case in point. Guthridge, who like Smith was a. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. He stepped down 2 months later. 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. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. At Smith's retirement. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. What you saw was the quiet assistant sitting on the bench. They made sure we knew it wasnt the most important thing in the world, but that we had been given a talent, and it was our job to use it., The Carolina community mourns the passing of Bill Guthridge, a great coach, devoted friend and loyal Tar Heel. 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. You come up one year, and that year you win the national championship. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. 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. He has a keen sense of which ones will be very good players and which ones may be overrated. In public, he was never going to be the center of attention. ", Roy: "I think that not only did he coach me on the freshman team he was another mentor. That includes two as a head coach at Carolina, 10 as a Tar Heel assistant coach and one each as a player and assistant coach at his alma mater, Kansas State. 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. 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. Guthridge would still call on Smith, after all, to speak to the team at certain times. The announcement came nearly two months after the 6-10 center led the Boston . 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. And as the confetti fell on UNCs first title A.D. After Dean Guthridge burst into tears alongside his former 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. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. The people who knew him best werent surprised he went to two Final Fours in three seasons.. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. WAKE FOREST: Former basketball standout Charlie Davis quit his job in the athletic department, reportedly for not being considered for advancement. Try a week on us. 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. In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision to retire from this physical life. Matt Doherty, who succeeded Guthridge as Tar Heels coach and served in that capacity for three seasons, tweeted his condolences Wednesday. (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). You will be missed. 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. Williams famously turned him down, opting to remain at Kansas, where hed built a Carolina-esque family dynamic (at Smiths alma mater, to boot). 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. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. 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. 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. [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. 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 . We ended up beating em easily, and I thanked him later for it, Hanners says. He led the program to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons at the helm before retiring following the 1999-2000 campaign. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. 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. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. He was 77. 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. [6], National champion But in hindsight, Hanners says there were clues that everything might not have been like normal. 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. . 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. He was my friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players," current UNC coach Roy Williams said. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. He played or coached in 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history. 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. That possibility isnt one Baddour had previously considered. 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. Then there are the other options from Smiths tree: Karl and Fogler and even Larry Brown. But he decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching, the AP reported. Think about it: Youve been an assistant coach for 30-plus years. 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. 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. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision it was time for him to retire from this physical life. All rights reserved. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. The school scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today. Guthridge had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the head coach of his own program. He also coached 66 players who were selected in the NBA and/or ABA drafts. Only different alternate realities. Kansas chancellor Robert Hemenway said the school was privileged to have Williams. I was just happy that the team had success. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. [5], He died at his home on May 12, 2015, after an extended illness, alongside his family. 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. He had interviewed for the Texas job, which went to Rick Barnes, after the 1998 season, after all. I didnt really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says. "He was my coach, he was another mentor. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Coach Guthridge made his retirement official on May 13, 2015. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Revisionist history does offer some diverging paths, though. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. The University of North Carolina has lost a dear friend, as haveI, andIknow that we will all miss him greatly., Im extremely saddened by the passing of Coach Guthridge, aka Coach Gut, especially coming so close to the loss of Coach Smith. (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. Guthridge also gave to the University away from basketball. Had it worked out where there wasnt a down year or whatever, maybe things end up differently, Frederick says. He directed UNC to the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship and was named the ACC Coach of the Year. 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. My guess is he would not have been, and then the first call, yes, wouldve been Roy, Baddour says. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. 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.. So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. Just like Smith, Guthridge found a way to impact his players beyond teaching them offensive and defensive principles. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. 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