Article: Gillispie on recruiting

[matt colvin]

UK Basketball: Gillispie goes for 'intangible qualities' in recruiting
By HAL MORRIS
hmorris@amnews.com
LEXINGTON - Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie says "beauty is the eye of the beholder" when it comes to recruiting.

Gillispie was half-joking when he told a crowd at the Kentucky Press Association convention here Friday that UK wants "the best, tallest player that can pass handle, shoot, compete and be a great teammate, and be a great potential college student."

Gillispie looks for intangible qualities as well.

"I think we always try to recruit a player that has a distinct advantage at his position in a certain way. It may be toughness. It may be basketball IQ. It may be size. It may be quickness. It may be a skill," he said, "I think it's important to recruit intangibles. I like to recruit spirit. I think spirit means a lot. I like to be around people who want to go about their daily task in a positive way, and who want to embrace hard work and embrace daily challenges.

"I don't like duds. A dud is a firecracker that won't pop. I like people that want to be around and have fun. I understand there are going to be tough times, and tough times are what's really going to define your legacy as a player and coach and a worker. I don't want people that are going to run from these kind of things.

Gillispie said recruits DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller have those intangibles.




Rest is here: http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=37903&format=html

[scfcats]

I guess BCG considers Alex Legion a dud. I wonder what BCG though of Alex quiting on him, and if that had to do with his "will see" mentality about Alex's return to the team.

I personally like this style, I think positive people really contribute to any "team", basketball or work place.

Good link Matt, thanks.

[Gunsmoke]

Very insightful write-up about Coach. Keep 'em comin'.

[collision course]

i guess this is why we're not chasing after hopson so much.

[poodoo]

I personally like this style, I think positive people really contribute to any "team", basketball or work place.

Good link Matt, thanks.

Thanks from me, too, Matt. Also, I, too, like Coach Gillispie's attitude in this regard.

I think most here know how much I believe in the value of being POSITIVE. :icon_lol: Too, I like how Coach Gillispie values SPIRIT. I feel sure that is a reason Coach Gillispie has heaped quite a bit of praise on Ramel from the start. Too, I think we can all quite easily see Patrick's spirit and competitiveness. :big_grin:

Yes, players can perform quite well without such noticeable spirit, and rather laidback Tayshaun Prince and, to a lesser degree, stoic Rajon Rondo are examples of that, although both players WERE quite competitive in a quieter way and played quite hard and would have scored high with Gillispie in that regard, definitely NOT being considered "duds." :) Yet, noticeable spirit is an ingredient I would notice if I myself were recruiting. :big_grin: I have always LOVED Ramel's enthusiasm immediately loved Patrick's spirit. Further, Coach Gillispie has certainly praised both Liggins and Darius Miller as the type of competitors he wants.

By the way, I have wondered to what degree Randolph Morris and Coach Gillispie would have "clicked." Don't get me wrong. I think Randolph Morris was a really nice young man and a very talented player. Yet, I admit that I sometimes wonder how Coach Gillispie would have reacted to Randolph's sometimes seemingly chewing his gum in a lackadaisical manner out on the court AND if Coach Gillispie could have been able to make Randolph more aggressive (which might have helped him in the NBA, actually, and we did see some improvement in Morris in that regard in his later play here). We'll never know that, but I do know there's an obvious difference between Morris and Patterson. :)

[matt colvin]

Yet, I admit that I sometimes wonder how Coach Gillispie would have reacted to Randolph's sometimes seemingly chewing his gum in a lackadaisical manner out on the court AND if Coach Gillispie could have been able to make Randolph more aggressive (which might have helped him in the NBA, actually, and we did see some improvement in Morris in that regard in his later play here). We'll never know that, but I do know there's an obvious difference between Morris and Patterson. :)

Especially during his sophomore season, there were several instances where I would yell at the television, "somebody take that gum from him so he can focus on the game!" :icon_lol: Randolph's demeanor certainly frustrated me at times, but I realize now that he worked harder than a lot of us probably realize. I just wish he was still here this year.

[poodoo]

Especially during his sophomore season, there were several instances where I would yell at the television, "somebody take that gum from him so he can focus on the game!" :icon_lol: Randolph's demeanor certainly frustrated me at times, but I realize now that he worked harder than a lot of us probably realize. I just wish he was still here this year.

Oh, yes, I do think Randolph still worked quite hard. I was never one to call him "lazy," or anything negative, and I often praised and defended him here during his years at UK.

Reading Gillispie's words about those intangibles, though, I had just immediately thought of how Gillispie would probably not have cared for Randolph's demeanor at times (and, yes, that demeanor somewhat changed his junior year). :icon_biggrin: I suspect he may have demanded that Randolph lose that gum, but who knows! :icon_mrgreen: I also know my husband would sometimes be upset with Randolph for not running back down the floor. I somehow think Coach G would have been more upset! :icon_mrgreen:

As I mentioned on the thread comparing the two players, both are fine young men and fine players. Yet, Patrick seems to have been the one born with a real passion to win. Randolph never seemed to hurt so much after losses (although none of us know what he had been feeling inwardly). In contrast, the pain really shows on Patrick's face, as another poster mentioned. I don't know if Coach Gillispie could have instilled more passion in Randolph and helped him to be more consistently aggressive. Again, we'll never know.

Like you, how I WISH Randolph were still here, out there with Patrick on the court! I think we are immediately serious Final Four contenders, and I really believe it would have been best for Randolph himself in the long run. I suspect some of Coach Gillispie's passion for the game would have rubbed off on Randolph, and even more so, I believe Patrick's passion and competitiveness would have been a positive influence on Morris.

I surely hope no one here had thought my remarks about Randolph had been intended to be unflattering or disrespectful. That had definitely not been my intention. I was always a Morris fan and still check the Knicks' box score each day, hoping to see his name there. I had been merely sharing some sincere thoughts on what Coach Gillispie might have thought about Morris' having, or not having, those "intangibles." Nothing more than that. GO RANDOLPH! :icon_biggrin:

[I. Melvin]

I dunno. PP might have deferred to Randolph at the expense of his development.

More importantly, I think we're seeing Perry Stevenson start his spurt of development that will solve a lot of our problems inside for the next two years.

(I have this vision of Perry with some impressive guns next year after lifting with Patrick for a year ... )