Is Billy Gillispie officially a bust?
Combing over news articles this week, one in particular really jumped out. It was a story by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil, entitled “Once-mighty Kentucky says it would accept an NIT bid.” In it, O’Neil reports that Kentucky’s Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had reluctantly agreed to participate in the Wildcats’ first NIT appearance in 30 years should they not be able to run the table in Tampa and secure the SEC’s automatic berth. The article concluded with this little nugget: “If Kentucky ends up in the NIT and hosts a game, the first round will have to be played in Memorial Coliseum because of high school state playoffs scheduled for Rupp Arena.” The indignity of that last line, for the winningest college basketball program in the history of the game, is simply remarkable. Coach Billy Gillispie’s brief tenure in Lexington could be quickly coming to an end. Keep in mind, this is the same coach that produced near miraculous turnarounds at not one, but two schools – UTEP and then Texas A&M before
