Jimcs50
01-16-2005, 11:25 AM
Jan. 16, 2005, 1:32AM
Gillispie keeps friends close no matter how far he goes
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
He has become the Wizard of Wellborn. He has made basketball as much a part of the Texas Aggie lexicon as barbecue and long necks.
Students suddenly realize the big building on the other side of Wellborn Road is not just another addition to the vet school.
To put this Texas A&M transformation in Aggie terms, Billy Gillispie equals good bull.
And the ones who knew him when he was just Billy Clyde, or B.C., know the reason.
"The difference between Billy and a lot of college coaches is he was one of us and he's never forgotten that," said Spring Westfield coach Larry Brown, who knew Gillispie when he coached at New Braunfels Canyon, Copperas Cove and Killeen Ellison. "He's learned from washing clothes and sweeping floors."
Said Humble High's Troy Kite: "Most of the (high school) coaches in this state know that he understands what we do. There's a feeling that when he wins, we all win."
Take the huge Aggies win over No. 10 Texas last week. After all the interviews were done, Gillispie traded old stories with a number of high school coaches whom he invited to the game.
He remembered the days of cutting coupons to buy pizzas for his team, driving school buses, taping names to lockers.
Priceless memories — and friendships.
"If Billy Clyde can't get it done, then A&M won't ever get it done," Kite said. "What he does better than anything is, he can turn a situation that looks horrible to everyone else and make it look like something great. You walk away thinking, 'Man, I want to be a part of what he's doing.' "
The Aggies, who lost at Texas Tech 70-56 on Saturday, have a long way to go. But for all the great relationships and respect earned by the biggest names in the league — Tech's Bob Knight, Texas' Rick Barnes, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton — none has the same connection with Texas high school basketball coaches.
People matter
Relationships are why Gillispie has so quickly earned commitments to his first recruiting classes, with pledges from Fort Bend Marshall national top-100 guard David Devezin and 6-6 Lake Highlands swingman Josh Carter for next year.
That trust and hard work is why 6-7 two-sport Alief Taylor star Martellus Bennett has A&M high on his list. It's why 6-7 Humble junior guard Jerrod Johnson has committed, and fellow 2006 stars such as 6-9 Darris Santee of Fort Bend Marshall and 7-1 Boerne center Josh Lomers have the Aggies at the top of their lists.
Gillispie was the best man in Killeen Ellison coach David Manley's wedding. The two talk regularly, as Gillispie does with coaches across the state.
"He values everyone around him," Manley said. "When Billy Clyde was here, the custodians were as important to him as the superintendent. Anyone you talk to who has known him probably would say, 'Billy Clyde is one of my best friends.' He just has that aura, like you can trust him."
Spring High School assistant principal Phil Eaton, previously a longtime Houston-area coach, tells the story of the time Eaton's Pasadena team was invited to Gillispie's Thanksgiving tournament in Killeen.
Gillispie put on a reception for coaches after the first night's games.
As the night wore on, Gillispie was nowhere to be found, so someone went back to the gym to look for him.
"A couple of schools in the tournament didn't have washers in their hotels," Eaton said. "Billy Clyde was back at the high school washing their uniforms. That's how you get to know a guy and what he's all about."
Bound for greatness
When Westfield's Brown was given the charge of helping form the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches in the early 1990s, he made one call.
"Billy and I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on things," Brown said. "He didn't just fall into the success he's having. If you want to build something up, he's the right one. A&M and Billy Clyde together is just a fit. It's like a glove."
Boerne coach Stan Leach remembers the summer camp in 1993 when Gillispie announced to fellow coaches that he was going to take his first college coaching job at South Plains Junior College.
"We were finishing the day and he stood up and said he had to leave (high school coaching)," Leach said. "He said, 'One day I'm going to win a national championship.'
"All of us were laughing, telling him, 'settle down, B.C., you're going to be an assistant at a junior college.' The rest of us were just hoping to keep our jobs and go .500. But he's always had his eye on something greater and knew what it took to get there."
In Boerne last week, Leach said it was as if the Aggies were, "our team," as he was high-fiving his wife and son when the Aggies finished off the win over Texas.
"Back when he was running around with us, he had about 200 best friends," Leach said. "The only difference now is he's got a lot more friends."
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Gillispie keeps friends close no matter how far he goes
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
He has become the Wizard of Wellborn. He has made basketball as much a part of the Texas Aggie lexicon as barbecue and long necks.
Students suddenly realize the big building on the other side of Wellborn Road is not just another addition to the vet school.
To put this Texas A&M transformation in Aggie terms, Billy Gillispie equals good bull.
And the ones who knew him when he was just Billy Clyde, or B.C., know the reason.
"The difference between Billy and a lot of college coaches is he was one of us and he's never forgotten that," said Spring Westfield coach Larry Brown, who knew Gillispie when he coached at New Braunfels Canyon, Copperas Cove and Killeen Ellison. "He's learned from washing clothes and sweeping floors."
Said Humble High's Troy Kite: "Most of the (high school) coaches in this state know that he understands what we do. There's a feeling that when he wins, we all win."
Take the huge Aggies win over No. 10 Texas last week. After all the interviews were done, Gillispie traded old stories with a number of high school coaches whom he invited to the game.
He remembered the days of cutting coupons to buy pizzas for his team, driving school buses, taping names to lockers.
Priceless memories — and friendships.
"If Billy Clyde can't get it done, then A&M won't ever get it done," Kite said. "What he does better than anything is, he can turn a situation that looks horrible to everyone else and make it look like something great. You walk away thinking, 'Man, I want to be a part of what he's doing.' "
The Aggies, who lost at Texas Tech 70-56 on Saturday, have a long way to go. But for all the great relationships and respect earned by the biggest names in the league — Tech's Bob Knight, Texas' Rick Barnes, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton — none has the same connection with Texas high school basketball coaches.
People matter
Relationships are why Gillispie has so quickly earned commitments to his first recruiting classes, with pledges from Fort Bend Marshall national top-100 guard David Devezin and 6-6 Lake Highlands swingman Josh Carter for next year.
That trust and hard work is why 6-7 two-sport Alief Taylor star Martellus Bennett has A&M high on his list. It's why 6-7 Humble junior guard Jerrod Johnson has committed, and fellow 2006 stars such as 6-9 Darris Santee of Fort Bend Marshall and 7-1 Boerne center Josh Lomers have the Aggies at the top of their lists.
Gillispie was the best man in Killeen Ellison coach David Manley's wedding. The two talk regularly, as Gillispie does with coaches across the state.
"He values everyone around him," Manley said. "When Billy Clyde was here, the custodians were as important to him as the superintendent. Anyone you talk to who has known him probably would say, 'Billy Clyde is one of my best friends.' He just has that aura, like you can trust him."
Spring High School assistant principal Phil Eaton, previously a longtime Houston-area coach, tells the story of the time Eaton's Pasadena team was invited to Gillispie's Thanksgiving tournament in Killeen.
Gillispie put on a reception for coaches after the first night's games.
As the night wore on, Gillispie was nowhere to be found, so someone went back to the gym to look for him.
"A couple of schools in the tournament didn't have washers in their hotels," Eaton said. "Billy Clyde was back at the high school washing their uniforms. That's how you get to know a guy and what he's all about."
Bound for greatness
When Westfield's Brown was given the charge of helping form the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches in the early 1990s, he made one call.
"Billy and I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on things," Brown said. "He didn't just fall into the success he's having. If you want to build something up, he's the right one. A&M and Billy Clyde together is just a fit. It's like a glove."
Boerne coach Stan Leach remembers the summer camp in 1993 when Gillispie announced to fellow coaches that he was going to take his first college coaching job at South Plains Junior College.
"We were finishing the day and he stood up and said he had to leave (high school coaching)," Leach said. "He said, 'One day I'm going to win a national championship.'
"All of us were laughing, telling him, 'settle down, B.C., you're going to be an assistant at a junior college.' The rest of us were just hoping to keep our jobs and go .500. But he's always had his eye on something greater and knew what it took to get there."
In Boerne last week, Leach said it was as if the Aggies were, "our team," as he was high-fiving his wife and son when the Aggies finished off the win over Texas.
"Back when he was running around with us, he had about 200 best friends," Leach said. "The only difference now is he's got a lot more friends."
[email protected]
Return to top