His lack of recruiting is why they went 8-20 shortly thereafter. 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. Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. Its hard, man. He was 77. 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. Just like Smith, Guthridge found a way to impact his players beyond teaching them offensive and defensive principles. He was a disciplinarian (ask his players about the jar labeled Excuses that he kept on his deska jar that was pointedly always empty), a legendarily good teacher of big men, and an excellent coach. Following Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge was head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons. He coached 1997-98 National Player of the Year Antawn Jamison 99 and 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter 99, both of whom entered the NBA draft after their junior seasons. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel Hill, then flew out again as soon as the press conference was over. Other opportunities had arisen over time, and yet Guthridge always remained as Smiths assistant. Guthridge was Smiths assistant for 30 years. That was probably six or seven years later where somebody else might recognize it. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. He would, however, have just lost his three best players at Kansas in Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Billy Thomas. He was a lifetime assistant coach for whom Dean did a solid. Coach Guthridge is the best I have ever seen in selecting potential in high school players, Smith once said, according to the teams website. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). 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 . Spend time with family. From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained they'd. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. But it really wasnt and we both knew it. That team still went 34-4, losing to Utah in the Final Four. Brendan Marks covers Duke and North Carolina basketball for The Athletic. But against the Utes, the Tar Heels fell behind quickly and were never able to catch up. However, it was Coach Guthridges incurable heart condition that led to his development of vascular dementia, and with its progression, his placement for the last several years in a Chapel Hill assisted living facility. It was an admirable, honorable action for Smith to take and Guthridge went on to win 80 games in three seasons. Dick, lets talk on Monday, but Im pretty sure Im gonna tell you Monday its time to transition, Baddour remembers. 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Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun announced his retirement Thursday. In Williams second season in Chapel Hill, he won his first national championship the one the 97 team witnessed. Later during that conversation, I suggested to Smith that he still had a lot of quality coaching mileage left and that maybe he should consider returning for an encore. That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. Then he retired, too. Bill and Dean, friends for life. "Needless to say I'm tired of having meetings like this." He was 77. 3 "The End of Absence" Michael Harris. 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. Like his lifelong friend and mentor, Coach Dean Smith, he led by example instilling values of kindness, discipline and a strong work ethic. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. 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. Its funny that were doing this story, Jamison says. 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. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion You will be missed. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. Assistant coach Phil Ford is at right. in mathematics in 1960 and an M.A. 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 spring of 1997, it seemed, was no different. 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. On Oct. 9, 1997, Smith called it quits. Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. 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. 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Case in point. It didnt bother me that I was a lousy coach, and when we started winning I was a better coach. He was a friend. Coach Guthridge was the right choice to lead the transition to another, younger leader of the famed basketball program at the University of North Carolina. Williams famously turned him down, opting to remain at Kansas, where hed built a Carolina-esque family dynamic (at Smiths alma mater, to boot). He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . Guthridge had once accepted Penn States head coaching vacancy in the 1970s, only to return to Chapel Hill before his connecting flight to State College. Guthridge was completely content in the role of a lifetime assistant and the Smith/Guthridge combo would have been weakened had Guthridge retired early. But theres another alternate history with extreme on-court implications that might have forced his hand. When Smith retired as Division I's winningest men's coach shortly before the 1997-98 season, Guthridge was promoted to replace him, and he guided the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three seasons. Why would a healthy 66-year-old call it quits and relinquish the chance to coach that team? Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. He needed to hear that from Guthridge. Smith, after all, kept an office in the arena for several years after retirement. All the things he couldnt do during the daunting in-season months. After 36 years as the coach at North Carolina, it kept trickling down, grain by grain. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1997-98 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith Award), CBS/Chevrolet, the Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club and The Sporting News. A tremendously loyal person with an ego that was seemingly non-existent. Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smith's trusted right-hand man then took Carolina to two Final Fours in three years as head coach after his mentor retired has died after a long illness. For more than three decades, Coach Guthridge served this University he loved so much with a deep commitment to academic and athletic excellence. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. 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. In our prayers. At that point, Baddour turned to Matt Doherty, who had been the coach at Notre Dame for just one season. Hed have retired with a championship trophy, and then let someone else step right in, Ndiaye says. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 2023 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Improving child and adolescent mental health, A message from the chancellor: We are a global university, Carolina Engagement Week Returns for a Second Year, Feb. 27 Through March 3, Book Publishing I: The Process with Christopher Ahn, Parr|Bioethics Joint Lecture: Elizabeth Barnes (University of Virginia), Disability and Health: An Its Complicated Relationship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. It was the 14th time Guthridge participated in the Final Four. What about Ford? I mean, the Plan B was there.. He was a kind soul with a strong, competitive spirit. Certainly, what a marvelous run of three years.. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. You will be missed. MIAMI: Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson acknowledged he has given the school permission to talk to Green Wave coach Perry Clark about replacing Leonard Hamilton. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge, 77, died Tuesday from a heart condition. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 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.. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. Guthridge was the head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. 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. The Tar Heels then went 24-10 in 1998-99 but were upset by Weber State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Division regular season champion 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. I dont think he went in that summer thinking, Im not gonna be the basketball coach by fall, Baddour says. Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. The following year, with the program bordering on a mutiny, Doherty resigned. He joined Ohio States Fred Taylor as just the second man in history to lead teams to two Final Fours in his first three seasons as a head coach. Born in Parsons, Kansas,[2] Guthridge attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, and graduated with a B.S. That was the presumption Baddour and the basketball program operated under. ", Roy: "I think that not only did he coach me on the freshman team he was another mentor. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Seeded eighth in the South region, North Carolina upset top-seeded Stanford in the second round and continued to the Final Four, where they lost to Florida. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as basketball coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement today, the Associated Press reported. In fact, most of that team reconvened in St. Louis in 2005 for Williams first championship game at North Carolina. Ford whispered for Hanners to try running 21 defense really sagging off defenders, even inside the 3-point line. If he had, then thats where the what-ifs really go wild. But when Guthridge retired, Williamsthen playing with the Seattle Sonicsmade the effort to find a commercial flight to Chapel . But more than just that team, Smith left behind a mound of questions. In his tenure at UNC, Guthridge coached five National Players of the Year, six ACC Players of the Year, five ACC Rookies of the Year and 28 first-team All-ACC players. 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.