I honestly don't know what to think.

I just can't get a read on Billy G. Sometimes I think he knows his stuff, while other times I think he's absolutely lost in space. He probably falls somewhere in-between I guess. There's no doubt the guy loves basketball, and I'm sure he wants to coach here, but I'm not real positive that he's the right guy.

While I think he's getting an education, I'm still not sure that he grasps just what it means to be the head hoss for Kentucky Basketball. It's more than just a coach, it's more than just a job, it's more than just a game...UK fans, which include some of the smartest and most passionate folks to watch the game, also include some of the most head-in-the-sand lopsided rumor-mongering know-nothings too. I guess it's that way with every team, but the sheer number of UK fans makes the odds of seeing one or the other that much greater. I'm dang near convinced that the "digital age" is ruining Kentucky basketball. When 10K+ "fans" all show up at TheCatsPause.com over at the Rivals network after an NIT loss to Notre Dame and run absolutely rampant (for some perspective, about 800 fans showed up on Florida's site the night they won their second national championship...seriously...800...we have that many fans online at 1AM on a Wednesday in the offseason). Then, media members get on there, players, players families, coaches...then so called "journalists" run with it and it becomes "news" that a "reliable source" tells so and so this and that...laughable. It hurts the program, because all of the BS becomes "real" in the eyes of those watching. You end up with ESPN announcers talking about Billy G being out at UK..."done deal"...because they read some hack's post on a message board and run with it. What happens when Daniel Orton (highly touted incoming recruit) reads this crap? What if he pulls back, starts not wanting to make decisions until he sees if all the BS is truly BS? Recruiting is affected, and don't think for a second that it's not. Heck, maybe Billy G is in fact out...maybe it's a done deal...but I trust no one in the media.

Again, I'm not taking up for Gillespie, because I do think he has issues...but those unreasonable Kentucky fans, combined with the digital world we live in, are ruining Kentucky basketball. Perfection is a noble, noble goal...and there's nothing wrong with expecting it...but we make it miserable for anyone who can't attain it all the time. Nobody's perfect. Carolina stalled and went to the NIT...Florida, after 2 national championships, has been to the NIT two years in a row...it happens. Unless there's off the court problems that we don't know about...and there could be...give the guy an honest assessment, tell him how you expect him to do his job, and let him know that after 1 more year if we haven't rounded the corner and start seeing some improvement than it's over. The coaching carousel does not help a program short term. I also think that this notion that any college basketball coach would give his left testicle at any given moment to drop everything and run to coach Kentucky is a farse - That was back then, but this is now.

Not to mention, could you imagine the bad PR involved with paying a basketball coach a $6 million buyout at the same time you're laying off employees and cutting pay at the university because of hard times? Ouch.