Arkansas fired Stan Heath who coached Arkansas to the tournament the past two years. Now, they were just one and done in the tournament. Now they have indicated interest in A&M Coach Gillespie.
But is Arkansas a better job than Texas A&M? Is it a significantly better job than Texas A&M? Where do you go from Arkansas? These were my first 3 questions.
Reports indicate that a press conference announcing Gillispie as Arkansas’ new Head Coach could happen as soon as today. If Gillespie leaves A&M for Arkansas today, you have to wonder how long this has been in the works.
A&M was at the bottom when Gillespie took over. And, Gillespie worked his magic and did a great job recruiting. He turned the thing around. He is a tremendous recruiter. He’s got a great name and reputation in the state of Texas. He could still do very well recruiting Texas kids to go to Arkansas.
At A&M Gillespie will never be the “king” because he is not coaching the “king” sport. He’s done a great job of turning A&M basketball into a bigger draw in College Station. He’s done a great job of creating interest in A&M Hoops. But, all the great work in the world will not turn A&M into a “Basketball School”.
I’m not even saying that Gillespie should or should not stay at A&M. But, if he is going to leave A&M, aren’t there better places for him to go. Once Kentucky hires a head coach there is sure to be a huge domino effect with plenty of prime jobs opening up. Shouldn’t he hang tight and wait to see what happens?