Success--And Failure--Starts At The Top, Including Kentucky

After covering sports professionally for the better part of a decade and a half, I have learned a few things along way--some good, some bad, but all enlightening.

And if I have learned anything, I have learned that success and failure starts at the top. There has never been a great team or program without great leadership, and vice versa.

Think about all the celebrated teams through the years, in any sport, and each of them not only had competent coaches, but they were also guided by skilled general managers and owners or athletic directors and school presidents.

Lakers, Celtics, Yankees, Dodgers, Steelers, 49ers, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Notre Dame Football, UCLA Basketball. You name a great franchise or program, and I will show you impeccable management.

But the flipside is also true. There has never been a perennial loser that didn't have misguided direction.

Kentucky Basketball is, of course, one of the all-time greats in college basketball--a program others used as a model to build their own championship contender. However, the last several years have seen a decline in both results and leadership.

Most fans always look to the coach when placing blame for a team's shortcomings, and while that may be suitable for game-to-game situations, I believe that if a team struggles over a period of time, the responsibility ultimately falls upon the coach's boss.

Since Mitch Barnhart replaced C.M. Newton protégé Larry Ivy in the summer of 2002, he has been faced with two pivotal moments in the basketball program's history.

Towards the end of Tubby Smith's tenure at UK, a small portion of the Big Blue fan base started making noise about the team not reaching the Final Four since Tubby guided the Cats to the NCAA title in 1998, despite three other Elite Eight appearances.

(Editor's note: In 1999, the Cats lost to a Michigan State team, led by the heralded "Flintstones", which would win the title the following year. A red-hot Marquette team, featuring future Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade, knocked off UK in 2003. And two years later, Kentucky once again lost to Michigan State in a double-overtime thriller--still one of the best games in NCAA Tournament history.)

Did Tubby deserve some criticism? Sure. Was it fair for people to call for his job? Absolutely not.

This was a time where Barnhart should have done two things: 1) come out publicly stating that Tubby wasn't going anywhere no matter how much noise a few ignorant fans made and 2) tell Tubby that he needed to stop being so loyal to some of his assistants and replace them with more capable recruiters and player developers.

Barnhart did neither, and as a result, the win-loss records continued to decline and the Tubby bashers grew in number. Having grown tired of the ridiculous criticism and the perceived lack of appreciation and support, Tubby unexpectedly left UK to take the head coaching job at Minnesota.

That move presented Barnhart with his second pivotal moment. Who do you get to replace a national championship coach at Kentucky?

The choice was obvious: former Rick Pitino understudy Billy Donovan, who had just won back-to-back championships with Florida.

And Billy D was totally down for a relocation. He was about to lose four NBA draft picks off that 2-time championship team, meaning it would be quite the rebuilding project over the next couple of seasons. Perhaps more importantly though, no matter how successful he was on the court, Florida basketball would always play second fiddle to Florida football.

So getting Donovan to come to Lexington would be easy, right? Not for Barnhart evidently.

A former employee of the UK Athletics Department tells me that Barnhart completely dropped the ball on the deal. Bungling the negotiations so badly, it appears, that Donovan was somewhat concerned about the leadership and cooperation, or lack thereof, he would get from the administration.

Donovan decided to stay in Gainesville after receiving a nice pay increase and other goodies from Florida AD Jeremy Foley, who once again proved why he is one of the best ADs in the country.

Barnhart compounded this mistake by not having a backup plan. He seemed to have no idea who to pursue once Donovan turned him down. Thus, he was forced to scramble to find a coach who could not only succeed at the highest level, but also handle the ambassador-like responsibilities of being Kentucky's head coach.

Just two weeks after Tubby's departure, he ends up settling for Billy Gillispie, a coach who had only once finished first in his conference and had never made it past the Sweet 16. Really? That's the pedigree of a Kentucky basketball coach?

(Editor's note: In his second year at UTEP, Billy G led the Miners to the WAC regular season championship. That team lost its opening round game in the NCAA Tournament. Three years after taking over at Texas A&M, Billy G got the Aggies to the Sweet Sixteen. That team featured future first-round draft pick Acie Law, a player Gillispie did not recruit to College Station. Gillispie's 5-year combined win-loss record as a head coach before coming to Kentucky was 100-58!!)

As much criticism as Billy G deserves for the debacle of a season the Cats put together this year, Barnhart deserves as much, if not more.

But the buck doesn't stop there. Remember, you can always trace everything, both good and bad, all the way to the top. And the top at UK is the President's office.

Lee Todd said he wanted to "change the culture of Wildcat athletics" in 2002 by hiring Barnhart, who became the school's first AD since 1934 without any previous ties to Kentucky as either a player, coach or staff member.

(Editor's note: I won't even mention Barnhart's ties to border-rival Tennessee).

First, I wasn't aware that the program's culture was in need of a makeover. I thought Newton did a remarkable job of renovating the athletics department after the Chris Mills-Emery Delivery scandal.

But if you are going to go that route, then you have to hire the right person. Kentucky is a national basketball power. It needs an AD who not only understands that concept, but fully embraces it.

Instead of going to another school featuring a commitment to having a national basketball presence like North Carolina, Kansas or UCLA, President Todd hired Barnhart away from a very regional school in Oregon State. The Beavers hadn't been relevant on the national basketball scene since Gary Payton left campus in 1990, and it's a stretch for me to even type "relevant".

(Final editor's note: UNC, KU, and UCLA have combined for seven Final Four appearances during Barnhart's tenure at Kentucky.)

So in "changing the culture of Wildcat athletics," President Todd changed the basketball program from a national power into a regional one. You hire a regional AD, you get a regional head basketball coach, and that's exactly what Billy Gillispie's career suggested he was before he came to Kentucky, and that's exactly what he's proven since he's been there.

Only an ill-prepared athletics director couldn't see that then or now, and you can say the same for the school president who would hire such an AD.

Big Money Boosters Want Pitino Back at UK

Earlier tonight, one of my colleagues told me that Arizona was hot on the trail of Rick Pitino. UA school officials thought he would be the perfect choice to replace outgoing legend Lute Olson--the same man, of course, who stopped Pitino from winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1997.

Arizona was prepared to pay $2 million or more for Pitino to move to the desert.

However, in pursuit of details on that story, I stumbled across this stunner: Pitino could very well be on his way back to UK!

Earlier tonight, Pitino hosted two of Kentucky's biggest boosters. I won't divulge the names of those who attended, but I will tell you that one is huge in the banking business, the other in coal.

According to multiple sources, the boosters traveled to Louisville to persuade Pitino to come back to Lexington and try to fix the mess created by Mitch Barnhardt and Billy Gillispie.

Initially, Pitino was pushing Travis Ford for the job, but the boosters said no. They were adamant about wanting Pitino, and only Pitino. So much so, that they said he could have anything he wanted. "Name your price" was a frequent response from the boosters.

Now, don't get too excited just yet. Pitino did not accept the offer, but he didn't turn it down either. After first being reluctant to even listen to any offers, Pitino gave the boosters the impression that he would seriously consider it before ending the meeting.

And if it was up to Pitino's staff at Louisville, which includes Steve Masiello, Walter McCarty, and Richard Pitino (all with ties to Lexington), he would have said yes during the meeting. Word is that Pitino's assistants are really pushing for him to take the job.

And why wouldn't they? Besides going back to the place were Pitino reached the pinnacle of his career, it would also be much easier to win SEC titles every year as opposed to the jam-packed Big East. If the money is truly as good as I am hearing, it would be a no-brainer for Pitino to go back to UK.

However, that doesn't mean he will take the job. I wouldn't be shocked if he did, but I would be somewhat surprised. Nonetheless, I seriously doubt anything official would come out until after the NCAA Tournament anyway.

But anybody remember when Roy Williams was grilled by Bonnie Bernstein about leaving Kansas for North Carolina after losing the NCAA title game to Syracuse in 2003?

Could we witness a similar scene this year in Detroit? UK fans can only hope!

Interesting Rumors Around The UK Program

Currently, I am at Staples Center hosting the halftime and post-game shows for the Clippers game tonight against Golden State-- while also sneaking inside for a peek at the Lakers game against Philly.

But I wanted to pop on real quick because I am hearing some very interesting talk about Billy Gillispie leaving Kentucky as well as the man some big money boosters are trying to get to replace him.

Stay tuned because more details will be coming shortly.

But first I have to tell the fans how Baron Davis is doing while facing his former team.

Billy G Will Never Change

UK fans forced Tubby Smith out of Lexington because of what was happening--and not happening--on the court, only to replace him with a guy who has produced much worse results on the court and has been a jerk off of it.

And oh yeah, by the way, he's making more than both Tubby and Rick Pitino. Last time I checked, both of those guys won a national championship.

In some regards, I think it's fitting actually. Typical case of people needing to be careful what they wish for. They wanted Tubby out, and look what they got.

You pick the cliche--"the grass is not always greener on the other side" or "you don't know what you've got until it's gone"--because they both apply.

But this situation is bigger than Billy Gillispie. This is about the program, which is always bigger than the coach.

At the PAC-10 Tournament championship game, I spoke to a former coach who knows Billy G really well. He proceeded to tell me that Gillispie doesn't care what people say about him. He just wants his money and he won't change his ways for anybody. John Clay confirmed as much in a recent column in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Kentucky made a mistake in hiring Gillispie in the first place. An obvious realization to just about anyone, but that mistake should not be compounded by allowing him to stay on the job.

The Sign of the Apocalypse For UK Basketball

If you still need more evidence as to why Kentucky should fire Billy Gillispie, check out this e-mail I received from a close friend in Lexington. I am withholding the name to protect my friend's anonymity.

I mean it's one thing to lose games and be a jerk in the process, but running off former players is blasphemous.

"Yo, the whole program is a JOKE! They do not reach out to former players AT ALL! In fact, they charge them for tickets. Here's what I don't get: If you are an athlete at UK and get a DUI, you get your scholarship taken away (see Desmond Allison). If you have 2 DUI's they hire you to be the Head Basketball Coach and pay you more than Tubby and Rick. Hypocrites bro! All former players are now migrating to Louisville games where they get in for free, hang with Jurich in his suite and get treated like they should.....with respect. It starts with Barnhart. I worked with the man and as we all know, you can't bring in too many outsiders to run this program. It is and will always be run by the Blue Bloods. Instead of trying to run them off, work with them. Whew....I'm done."

Billy G Needs To Go

So this is what it has come to? Both Western Kentucky and Morehead State locked up automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, and Louisville could very well end up with a number one seed, yet Kentucky--the team with the most NCAA wins in history--is headed to the NIT? The freaking NIT? Seriously?

Well, that's it. Enough is enough. Billy Gillispie needs to go!

Even though I thought it was a mistake by Kentucky to hire Gillespie to replace the under-appreciated Tubby Smith, I gave the man the benefit of the doubt. Not because I personally saw potential in his abilities, but because Texas coach Rick Barnes and Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel both assured me that Gillispie was capable of being the coach UK needed.

Maybe they were trying to hype up the Big 12 or maybe they simply didn't want to bad mouth Gillispie, but either way, they were wrong. Gillispie is about as far away from being the coach UK needs as Chris Brown is from being Time's Man of the Year.

Not only is the team under performing--NBA execs tell me both Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson have a future in the pros--but the program has no sense of direction. Can you tell me what style of play the Cats are supposed to be playing? And if you do know, can you please tell the players, because they obviously have no clue either.

And if that alone wasn't bad enough, Billy Gillispie treats people--including diehard UK fans--as if they don't matter.

Dana O'Neill wrote recently on espn.com that "(Gillispie) is perceived as prickly, aloof and guarded, a lunch pail of bad personality traits in the fishbowl that is Kentucky basketball... He has been brusque with the media, both local and national, and his rude dismissals of ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards have been a hot topic in Kentucky. He is not one to engage in small talk with anyone, brushing into and out of meeting rooms, locker rooms and breakfast rooms with a purposeful stride."

Tubby Smith was never like that, and although Rick Pitino was a bit leery of UK fans in the beginning, at least he was winning!

Gillispie acts like a jerk--oftentimes for no apparent reason--but can't beat Georgia at home. Nobody likes an asshole, especially one headed to the NIT!

I agree with Kenny Walker and others back in the Bluegrass, who are calling for Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart to do something drastic: recognize that he made a mistake and fire Billy Gillispie after just two seasons on the job.

Fan morale could be at an all-time low, and player morale seems to be even lower. Both deserve better.

The job at Kentucky is certainly not made for everyone, and it's readily apparent to me that it certainly wasn't made for Billy Gillispie.