What you saw was the quiet assistant sitting on the bench. North Carolina made 29 NCAA tournament appearances in Guthridge's 33 years on the staff and finished no worse than third in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings every year -- with 16 first-place finishes and 10 more in second. He previously worked at The Charlotte Observer as a Carolina Panthers beat reporter, and his writing has also appeared in Sports Illustrated, The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun. No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. What about Ford? William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. Guthridge was completely content in the role of a lifetime assistant and the Smith/Guthridge combo would have been weakened had Guthridge retired early. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. Its another tremendous loss for our University, our basketball program and our entire community. When Coach Smith died, Coach Guthridge knew that his friend was gone, but he quickly moved back to their time together when they were younger and dementia had not knocked on their doors yet. It wasnt until Oct. 3, 1997 a Friday about a week before the first practice of the season that Baddour got an indication that Smith wouldnt return. Both played college ball in that state -- Smith at Kansas, Guthridge at Kansas State -- and coached at their alma maters before coming to North Carolina. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Because before we can consider what might have been, we have to understand why everything played out as it did. Guthridge was an assistant coach along with Hall of Famer John Thompson under Smith in 1976 when the U.S. won the Olympic gold medal in Montreal. Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. They made sure we knew it wasnt the most important thing in the world, but that we had been given a talent, and it was our job to use it., The Carolina community mourns the passing of Bill Guthridge, a great coach, devoted friend and loyal Tar Heel. Did Bill Guthridge win national championship? Hed grow bored of golf, and once that happened, his staff knew hed summoned up the energy for another go-around. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? That's exactly what they did. Yeah, Id say that was more likely than unlikely., I wouldve gone to where I went two years later, he says. He was 77 years old, Former UNC basketball coach Bill Guthridge passes away at age 77, UNC School of Social Work becomes new home for CEAL@UNC, expand work to advance assisted living. Had Smith made the logical move and coached on until his 70th birthday -- the route likely to be taken by Dukes Mike Krzyzewski (66) and Syracuses Jim Boeheim (68) -- he would have finished with at least 1,000 wins and possibly two more national titles. The announcement came nearly two months after the 6-10 center led the Boston . I talk to Coach Williams all the time, and I asked him, Whats the best advice Coach Smith ever gave you? And he said, Antawn, Coach Smith told me just coach til you cant coach anymore. The only thing he regretted was he felt like he stopped coaching too early.. He was enormously committed to attention to detail and organization, says Dick Baddour, a longtime university administrator who served as athletic director from 1997 to 2011. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. Im like, Coach, we won it, congrats! Jamison remembers. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at Penn State, but stepped down from the post a few days later.[3]. Born in Parsons, Kansas,[2] Guthridge attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, and graduated with a B.S. (Robert Willett / Tribune News Service via Getty). "When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me," Hanners says. Were the best North Carolina team that never won a championship. He saw his memory issues coming long before the world did. He knows where he is and who he is, but it's often difficult for him. On June 30th in 1969, Bill Russell announced his retirement from professional basketball after a 13-year NBA career. Its often forgotten that he helped engineer the 2000 Final Four run by keeping his team in Charlotte overnight after a disappointing quarterfinal ACC Tournament loss, and pushing them hard in practice on Saturday. A relatively quiet man with a wonderful and dry sense of humor. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State . Veteran sports reporter Peter Gammons had high praise for the former coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away. That was probably six or seven years later where somebody else might recognize it. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State before joining the Tar Heels staff in 1967. He was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as basketball coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement today, the Associated Press reported. Why would a healthy 66-year-old call it quits and relinquish the chance to coach that team? Its funny that were doing this story, Jamison says. [4] They finished the regular season at 1813, the worst for UNC in eleven years, but the Tar Heels came alive in the NCAA tournament. "I'd always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead.". At age 66 and in sound health, Smith easily could have coached another five or more seasons and done so with the same recruiting success that allowed him to turn over a team with Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota and Shammond Williams to Guthridge. 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But I know thats something that bothered him to his death, Ndiaye says. Ford whispered for Hanners to try running 21 defense really sagging off defenders, even inside the 3-point line. Perhaps, at last, somewhere in his mind, Coach Guthridge finally made the decision to retire from this physical life. Guthridge said he took a vacation in Europe in May, hoping to recharge, but wasnt able to. North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour has refused to comment directly on Guthridge's contract, saying the school's board of trustees discourages him from talking publicly about such personnel issues. In retrospect, Smiths premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. Jordan is among many Tar Heels who had tremendous respect for Guthridge. When Roy Williams declined the opportunity to be Carolinas head coach in 2000, he had to mend more hurt feelings with Guthridge than with Smith. Spend time with family. Guthridge coached three years and took the Tar Heels to two Final Fours. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. Hed have been a lifer, Hanners says. But the season, and that loss specifically, never faded from their collective consciousness. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. 33 yrs on UNC bench. 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Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. It was an admirable, honorable action for Smith to take and Guthridge went on to win 80 games in three seasons. Coach Guthridge was the right choice to lead the transition to another, younger leader of the famed basketball program at the University of North Carolina. And althoug he believes that scenario puts more emphasis on winning than it does on building relationships and teaching the things Guthridge and Smith both loved its not out of the question. "All I can say is I'm pursuing other opportunities," Davis said. 33 yrs on UNC bench. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. The flip side of reality offers another interesting scenario: What if Guthridge had led that group to a win over Utah, and then over Kentucky in the championship game. The family told team spokesman Steve Kirschner that Guthridge died of heart failure and that the coach had lived with a heart condition the past seven years. Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smith's trusted right-hand man then took Carolina to two Final Fours in three years as head coach after his mentor retired has died after a long illness. His desire to be a coach I dont think ever stopped, Hanners said. Lets say youve got a 35-year-old guy. Guthridge was the head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997. Smith, who attended Guthridges retirement announcement, called the day a celebration of a fantastic career. When Smith retired as Division I's winningest men's coach shortly before the 1997-98 season, Guthridge was promoted to replace him, and he guided the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three seasons. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head-coaching jobs weren't better than his job as an assistant. That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. In five years on Winter's staff, Guthridge helped lead the Wildcats to a 9343 (.684) record, a pair of Big Eight Conference crowns, and the NCAA Final Four in 1964. Well if hes got a five-year contract, you know hes gonna coach five years. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and he'll be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching.". After Coach Guthridges retirement in 2003, he and Coach Smith stayed in close contact, visiting each other frequently. He always knew what he was doing.. Hed told reporters he expected to honor the remaining four years on his deal. There is one final thing, though, that seems to be consensus, the one aspect of this entire hypothetical that no one can seem to get over: that the reason there are still enduring questions about what Smith could have accomplished in those extra four seasons is because those are the same questions Smith himself always carried. Bill Guthridge was a gentleman coach, but a fierce competitor, and an incredibly loyal member of Dean Smiths staff for three decades, said UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. In his 33 seasons at Carolina, the Tar Heels won two NCAA championships, in 1982 and 1993; played in 12 Final Fours; won the ACC Tournament championship 13 times; and played in the ACC Tournament championship game a total of 22 times. He won more games than any college head coach in history after just two seasons and tied N.C. States Everett Case for most coaching victories after three years. His loss is deeply felt by our university and the basketball world. So was Williams always fated to end up back at North Carolina? It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. Ironically, both coaches developed dementia along the way (Coach Smith died in January 2015 of complications from dementia). He stopped when he did because he was afraid his memory wasnt as good as it was or had been. After that loss, Carter and Jamison turned pro. The first is, if Guthridge hadnt wanted the job, would Williams have taken it? #RIP. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. Guthridge did it all with a dry wit and style. When his Tar Heels defeated Tulsa to earn a Final Four berth, the postgame locker room was one of the most emotional in the modern era, due at least partially to the devotion his players had for Guthridge and their joy in relievingat least for a momentthe criticism hed taken during the season. He was no different from Coach Smith or Coach Guthridge. Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. He was 77 years old. Capital Financial - Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. Longtime North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge died Tuesday night. He held tight. Its not fair, but thats just the way it is for assistant coaches, Smith said. Some fans criticized Guthridge last season when the Tar Heels went through a four-game losing streak in January and entered the post-season with 13 losses. His legacy lives on in each of the players who were privileged to call him Coach and countless Tar Heels and people across the nation who admired him. "I'm not up with it," Guthridge said at one point, when he tried to remember taking over as UNC's head coach in 1997 after Smith retired. Smith and Guthridge had long maintained theyd retire together, the natural conclusion to a three-decade partnership in Chapel Hill. But it was all as a team, no one mans fault or wrongdoing for the groups shortcoming. "Coach Guthridge was instrumental in recruiting me to UNC and I have so many great memories of him and the lessons he taught me. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. He once told a newspaper he never left the program because the other 300 Division I head coaching jobs werent better than his job as an assistant. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. Student-run Chapel Thrill Escapes brings its newest escape room to life Rameses in Wonderland continuing to provide an outlet for student creativity, entrepreneurship and collaboration on Carolina's campus. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. Lets play out the most interesting of the hypotheticals: if Dean Smith does return for the 1997-1998 season, with an absolutely jam-packed roster. Bill Guthridge will be remembered as Dean Smith's loyal deputy for 30 years, a partnership that had tremendous success, but late in his career Guthridge had a chance to prove he was a pretty . But it really wasnt and we both knew it. "We'd always say there were so many time zones -- Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time -- but the most important was GST: Guthridge Standard Time," Peterson said. In his tenure at UNC, Guthridge coached five National Players of the Year, six ACC Players of the Year, five ACC Rookies of the Year and 28 first-team All-ACC players. He still had four seasons remaining on his contract, enough to carry him to the summer of 2001. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. Guthridge . In fact, he communicated as much to Baddour after Baddour was tapped in late June to replace John Swofford as athletic director. I mean, the Plan B was there.. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. The emotion was there, its just that it was often Guthridge providing it. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. 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