Named HC at Tarleton State.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...ands-head-coaching-job-at-tarleton-state/amp/
https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...ands-head-coaching-job-at-tarleton-state/amp/
Billy Gillespie
- Thread starter Bill Lowery
- Start date
LEC, Goldfan83, and I were going to offer to chauffeur him around town if he ever came back. Get him a room at the monthly hotel across from Nighttrips. What could have been . . .
He’s a badass coach. I’m happy for him.
He’s a badass coach. I’m happy for him.
The B Clyde Posse was offering round-the-clock detail and recon. Glad he’s healthy and doing what he does best!
Just found this article. It calls the hire "shameful". He gives several examples of Billy's bad behavior. Some of them sound like one side of the story. Then he says nothing changed at Ranger, but fails to give any examples.
https://sports.yahoo.com/tarleton-state-decision-hire-billy-150053996.html?src=rss
https://sports.yahoo.com/tarleton-state-decision-hire-billy-150053996.html?src=rss
Well at least I learned something from that article. Didn't realize Tarelton St. was making the transition to D1 this year.
The story makes Billy sound like Doug Wojcik. I’d still interview him when our next coaching vacancy occurs.
I have been a TU season ticket holder since 1980. I have been a fan since 1970. During those years we have had a number of Assistant Coaches who have moved on and become head coaches at other schools. Nolan Richardson had Andy Stoglin and Scott Edgar on his original staff. Andy was a head coach at a number of schools like Southern University and Jackson State. Edgar later became head coach at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Mike Anderson played and worked with Richardson at Tulsa and Arkansas and then went on to a long career as a head coach. J.D. Barnett's Assistant Coaches included Ron Jirsa, later the Georgia Head Coach, the late Flip Saunders, later coach and General Manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves and for a few months one summer, Tom Izzo, long time head coach at Michigan State. These are just a few of the assistants that came through Tulsa and went on to head coaching jobs elsewhere. Some of their head coaching jobs did not work out. It was nice to see them here and then on a different stage later, however.
You remember Kevin O'Neill too then. He may have been one of our best recruiters too. Would have landed Kevin Pritchard if not for JD. Was Head Coach at Arizona , Marquette, Tennessee, Northwestern, USC, and Toronto in the NBA
Yes, Kevin O'Neill was another one of our Assistant Coaches. He was at Tulsa in 1985-1986. He has had a long career after Tulsa.
Did JD also botch the recruitment of Lee Mayberry or did Nolan win the battle? I believe Lee was committed to TU at one point.
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JD hired Lee's 11th grade coach Lonnie Spencer and Lee committed to TU in his Junior year. Lee had many whisper in his ear not to play for JD and his family marriage to the Richardson family in Arkansas quickly solved that dilemma.
It's ironic how JD attracted such great assistants over the years, many who had much better careers. He also had Tubby on his bench during his entire run at VCU.
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Re: Tulsa recruiting of local players such as Lee Mayberry, Kevin Pritchard, etc. In 1982 TU was a very attractive place. In two years Richardson had won the NIT and taken the Hurricane to the first NCAA Tourney in many years. Recruiting from the Oklahoma high schools was also very good. Three top players in Oklahoma that year were Waymon Tisdale, Mark Price of Enid and Steve Hale of Jenks. I believe that Tulsa was in play for both Tisdale and Price. In the end Tulsa did not get any of the three. Tisdale went to OU, Price to Georgia Tech and Hale to North Carolina. Getting local high school stars to stay home appears to be difficult for TU for some reasons.
Not to mention the dozens of people who claimed both of them as dependents on their taxes. My dad used to do volunteer tax prep up on the North Side. A lot of that going on. Reggie Brooks must have lived with at least 10 Aunties.
I don't know if this was a factor, but prior to the recruiting of Waymon, Nolan said publicly that he was frustrated with the recruiting of local players, and even went so far as to say he didn't know if he would continue to recruit them. He said local players were under constant pressure from friends and family who kept telling them they weren't getting enough playing time or weren't scoring enough, etc. Nolan's comments were triggered by his experience with a McLain HS star, Johnny Craven, who I recall washed out after a year.
If I remember correctly I don’t think Waymon beat Tulsa either.
Tisdale's older brother gave the excuse of hoing to OU that TU didn't have his major, architectural engineering. Wonder what he wound up doing for a living?
Once they lost William, Wayman wasn't coming. TU tried, but I never thought it would happen. Imagine Tisdale on the 84 TU team.
Johnny Craven played decently when he got in as s freshman. I had a class with him at TU. Nice guy. Wore a suit and tie to class. Transferred his 2nd year after scoring 8 points at UNC.
Once they lost William, Wayman wasn't coming. TU tried, but I never thought it would happen. Imagine Tisdale on the 84 TU team.
Johnny Craven played decently when he got in as s freshman. I had a class with him at TU. Nice guy. Wore a suit and tie to class. Transferred his 2nd year after scoring 8 points at UNC.
Whatever happened to Creason Hay. He was a big piece of that BTW team with the Tisdales. Played here for just a short while then disappeared.
William Tisdale was a Tulsa police officer for several years but I believe he has taken a different career path since then. Creason Hay played a year at TU and then a couple of years at Texas-Arlington.
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Sounds like you were there at the time too. Lots of stories about what went on with William's recruitment. I suspect Nolan was livid. But Nolan's son was on William's team too and he had to say the right things.
Corliss Williamson was Nolan's "Waymon". No way he was going to lose him in recruitment at Arkansas.
Hay never did anything in one year at TU. Craven looked good when he got a chance. He bounced around after TU.
In 85 when TU was playing in in NCAA in Albuquerque, in the program I got there it had Craven in the team picture of Nevada, if I remember right. I was kind of excited to get to see him play, but it turns out that he had left the team.
At least TU got Ricky Ross out of the Tisdale and Price class.
In 85 when TU was playing in in NCAA in Albuquerque, in the program I got there it had Craven in the team picture of Nevada, if I remember right. I was kind of excited to get to see him play, but it turns out that he had left the team.
At least TU got Ricky Ross out of the Tisdale and Price class.
I was at the game in Albuquerque also. Got to visit with Coach Valvano for a bit before the game. He seemed like a really nice guy.
You probably remember the Pete Prisco article about Nolan that year too. Prisco was the bravest guy in town...or the dumbest.........
Prisco was an idiot. I remember the Nolan article. Prisco soon after got canned by the Tribune for something I can't mention. Tribune hired my brother to replace him. I followed 4 years later.
I can't believe Prisco is kind of a name nationally now.
Nolan revoltionized TU basketball, and Prisco was ripping him, saying he couldn't coach.
I can't believe Prisco is kind of a name nationally now.
Nolan revoltionized TU basketball, and Prisco was ripping him, saying he couldn't coach.
A lot of garbage was said about Nolan that first year. A lot of it to sell papers to gooners and pokes. A lot of it racist without realizing it trying to sell papers. And even a little not so subtly racist, just to sell papers.
Actually the Prisco article was in Nolan's last year I think when he said something to the effect that Nolan was coaching like a "rock" on the bench implying he had no energy compared to his first few years. I noticed that too in Nolan his last year as he didn't seem as interested in the game. But he had something more important on his mind that Prisco should have been more sensitive about.....His daughter was dying of Leukemia.
Yes, that article was in 85, Nolan's last year. I believe it came out about Nolan's daughter being sick right before the NCAA tourney in 85.
The team peaked when TU had a terrific overtime road win road win in Illinois State's airplane hanger in 85. That place was a nightmare to play at. Didn't play as well after that. Still won the MVC regular season title. Hosted all of its games in the conference tourney, which the highest seed did back then. I loved that format. It gave the best team the advantage in tourney. Made the regular season really matter.
Lost a tough one to Shockers in tourney final a week after TU beat them to win regular season title. TU gets shipped out to Albuquerque, while OU gets to play at ORU in the NCAA. The po'd me. TU had destroyed OU that year, and I believe the teams had about the same record, but OU got more credit and was ranked and seeded higher. And OU gets to play Illinois State in tbe tourney.
The OT win for TU at Illinois State was a classic. Jerry Webber's announcing was memorable. He was such a TU homer. Webber was going nuts down the stretch of the game. Great tv shot of Nolan at end of regulation and in OT. Heard him talking to team during timeouts. He said, "you are going to win this game." Herb Johnson had a funny comment. With a second left in regulation, TU up by one but ISU shooting 2 ft's, Herb said, "And pray like hell he misses."
Herb's taunting Tisdale in the paper before the game, and the two pointing at each each other during the OU game after Tisdale goal tended a Herb shot, was priceless. Herb was still playing pro ball as a player coach in Switzerland at age 50.
The team peaked when TU had a terrific overtime road win road win in Illinois State's airplane hanger in 85. That place was a nightmare to play at. Didn't play as well after that. Still won the MVC regular season title. Hosted all of its games in the conference tourney, which the highest seed did back then. I loved that format. It gave the best team the advantage in tourney. Made the regular season really matter.
Lost a tough one to Shockers in tourney final a week after TU beat them to win regular season title. TU gets shipped out to Albuquerque, while OU gets to play at ORU in the NCAA. The po'd me. TU had destroyed OU that year, and I believe the teams had about the same record, but OU got more credit and was ranked and seeded higher. And OU gets to play Illinois State in tbe tourney.
The OT win for TU at Illinois State was a classic. Jerry Webber's announcing was memorable. He was such a TU homer. Webber was going nuts down the stretch of the game. Great tv shot of Nolan at end of regulation and in OT. Heard him talking to team during timeouts. He said, "you are going to win this game." Herb Johnson had a funny comment. With a second left in regulation, TU up by one but ISU shooting 2 ft's, Herb said, "And pray like hell he misses."
Herb's taunting Tisdale in the paper before the game, and the two pointing at each each other during the OU game after Tisdale goal tended a Herb shot, was priceless. Herb was still playing pro ball as a player coach in Switzerland at age 50.
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