After taking some time to really soak
it in, it seems that both the Texas Tech men’s basketball program and Billy Clyde
Gillispie have hit the proverbial home run with this
hire. On paper for both parties, this situation just works. And here’s why.
BCG is a down-home, West Texas native,
as many witnessed during the public press conference on Wednesday at United
Spirit Arena. He is truly a straight-from-the-cuff, always honest and friendly
individual — traits we West Texans are proud to hang our hat on.
Additionally, he’s hard working, and family and goal-oriented. So BCG has found
a perfect fit at Texas Tech University.
With that said, TTU is ridiculously
fortunate to land such a proven, award-winning coach. BCG’s
positive coaching traits are innumerable, so let’s take a second to list a few
of them out. This is by no means an exhaustive list:
— Billy is not just a good
recruiter; he’s one of the best in the country. And the fact that he’s had two years
of solid recruiting since his last coaching gig will obviously benefit Tech’s
future scholarship classes. Our current level of recruiting has improved, but it’s
obvious that it can be taken to the next level.
— Billy is a friendly guy, and
don’t discount how beneficial this can be for a struggling program. He’s going
to be out in the public, shaking hands and kissing babies. So people like this
guy, and hopefully that’s going to translate into a rocking USA. Our city will
want to support a likeable person.
— Bottom line, Billy’s a winner.
A defensive-minded coach, his teams historically are tough and physical. The
mindset he instills in his players has allowed him to turn around both the UTEP
and the TAMU programs quickly. Additionally, he’s 3-time conference coach of
the year.
So to wrap this up in a nice little
package, both TTU and BCG come out as winners in this situation. Tech WILL
see resurgence in our program, and Gillispie will
prove yet again that he’s more than capable of turning a struggling program
into a perennial NCAA tournament contender.