Ill just say this, says Dave Hanners, one of Smiths longtime assistants. The first is, if Guthridge hadnt wanted the job, would Williams have taken it? Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. The next season, North Carolina earned a #3 seed in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, but was upset in the first round by Weber State in a late game in Seattle. "He was my coach, he was another mentor. For what? Kansas coach Roy Williams, a former North Carolina assistant under Smith, will succeed Guthridge, a source close to the university told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. in mathematics in 1960 and an M.A. But he decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching, the AP reported. Division regular season champion 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.. I really believe thats exactly what happened.. (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). In 1998, Guthridge inherited a team that had been to the 1997 Final Four the previous year under Smith. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. He was a father figure.". But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? Without question, every opportunity that I would have to hire Roy Williams. Guthridge, his wife said, suffers from vascular dementia - a condition that's a result of reduced blood supply to the brain. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. Following the 199798 season, several organizations named him National Coach of the Year and he received the Naismith College Coach of the Year award. Which put Baddour on the search for a long-term replacement for the first time. But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997. And althoug he believes that scenario puts more emphasis on winning than it does on building relationships and teaching the things Guthridge and Smith both loved its not out of the question. But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. 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 . He got his taste. 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. Smith died on Feb. 7 after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories. He formed a successful partnership with Dean Smith that lasted three decades until Smith retired in 1997. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Our hope and fervent desire is that the best basketball coach in America will continue to practice his craft at KU, he said Thursday night. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. Fords reputation was growing fast as a star recruiter, having single-handedly delivered Rasheed Wallace to UNC and playing a major role in Carters eventual commitment. 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. One of his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who even walked off the court at Virginia on one occasion. On Oct. 9, 1997, Smith called it quits. In other words, why Smith walked away at the exact moment he did. Guthridge didn't bother to recruit Jason Williams,. Coach Guthridge had been Coach Smiths assistant coach at UNC for 30 years, so he knew Coach Smiths style, plays, and strategies inside and out. I talk to Coach Williams all the time, and I asked him, Whats the best advice Coach Smith ever gave you? And he said, Antawn, Coach Smith told me just coach til you cant coach anymore. The only thing he regretted was he felt like he stopped coaching too early.. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel . Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. Bill Guthridge was a gentleman coach, but a fierce competitor, and an incredibly loyal member of Dean Smiths staff for three decades, said UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me," Hanners says. North Carolina made 29 NCAA tournament appearances in Guthridge's 33 years on the staff and finished no worse than third in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings every year -- with 16 first-place finishes and 10 more in second. Elizabeth A. Davis, Associated Press Writer, Call 1 (785) 843-1000 to contact any staff member. 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. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. . That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. Both played college ball in that state -- Smith at Kansas, Guthridge at Kansas State -- and coached at their alma maters before coming to North Carolina. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . (Smith told me), Its just not coming back. He won more games than any college head coach in history after just two seasons and tied N.C. States Everett Case for most coaching victories after three years. After Coach Guthridge's retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. #RIP, "It has been a trying time for the University of North Carolina basketball program over the past four months, and our thoughts and prayers are with them again today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). In fact, he communicated as much to Baddour after Baddour was tapped in late June to replace John Swofford as athletic director. The ones he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. 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. Im like, Coach, we won it, congrats! Jamison remembers. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. What about Ford? So I just feel like we got robbed.. That was quelled, but the chancellor had another thought: To the chancellor and many fans Williams was the obvious choice to succeed Smith. A relatively quiet man with a wonderful and dry sense of humor. Frederick said he wanted to emphasize to Williams how strongly the university, the community, the people in the state of Kansas and all of our alumni and fans feel about him continuing as the Jayhawk coach forever.. Im crying because I failed you guys. After Smith retired in October 1997, then-athletic director Dick Baddour elevated Guthridge to the top job. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. Matt Doherty, who played at UNC while Guthridge was an assistant and then became the school's head coach after Guthridge retired, sent along his condolences: Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. 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? I remember telling the chancellor that, Baddour says. 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.. 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. Guthridge didnt need the change, just wanted to know if he had it. Guthridge coached North Carolina to the Final Four in his first season before losing to Utah. Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. But more than just that team, Smith left behind a mound of questions. 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. If Bill Guthridge doesnt look familiar to you as a UNC-Chapel Hill head basketball coach, theres a very good reason for that. It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. Having grown up in North Carolina and gone to school here and worked here, I think it was probably just destiny.. 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. "You get old." Bill and Dean, friends for life Smith. 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. Making the Final Four is a tremendous accomplishment but its not what you chase. At Smith's retirement. Baddour was scheduled to travel with the football program that day for a game at TCU, but before leaving he spoke to Smith on the phone. 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. "Because I knew Coach Guthridge had the best interest for you and wanted to see you succeed.". Now Guthridge, 77, is enduring a similarly cruel fate . 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. That was the presumption Baddour and the basketball program operated under. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. My guess is that Coach Guthridge probably never came back from that place after Coach Smiths death and I would speculate that Coach Smiths death may have been the final straw of an increasingly-unfamiliar and disconnected life for Coach Guthridge. 17 Miami at Cameron Indoor stadium, Report: Sylvia Hatchell made racially insensitive remarks, forced players to compete while hurt, NC State makes NIT, AD Debbie Yow upset Wolfpack not invited to Big Dance, NC State extends Doeren's contract through 2023, UNC women continue on despite Hatchell's absence, Forty years later, the story of '83 never gets old for NC State, Interactive 2023 NCHSAA boys & girls basketball state playoff brackets, What 7 classes could look like in the NCHSAA if realignment amendment passes, Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks: The football team that never won, Raising money for cancer research, playing golf and being a grandparent: Roy Williams dons retirement hat in style, Top sports stories of 2022 from WRAL SportsFan - The Biggest Sports Stories of 2022, Complete HSOT all-state football team revealed, HSOT Watch List: Boys basketball players to look out for in the 2022-2023 season, North Carolina high school sports scoreboard, 'Going to get left behind': NC State, Duke, UNC hope transfer portal delivers for men's basketball teams, If the Los Angeles Lakers stumble to start 2022-23 season, Mike Krzyzewski is waiting in 'retirement', The Fan plays 'Dungeons & Dragons' for ACC realignment, Former NC State AD Lee Fowler on ACC's 2005 expansion: 'It was a crazy 24 hours'. The team bus never left at 2 p.m. 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. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. That first five minutes, you can have all the confidence in the world, but if you go down 23-8 or 13-4, you just put so much pressure on yourself. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. 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.