Bill Guthridge
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Parsons, Kansas, U.S. | July 27, 1937
Died | May 12, 2015 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. | (aged 77)
Playing career | |
1956–1957 | Parsons JC |
1957–1960 | Kansas State |
Position(s) | Guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1960–1962 | Scott City HS (KS) |
1962–1967 | Kansas State (assistant) |
1967–1997 | North Carolina (assistant) |
1997–2000 | North Carolina |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 80–28 (.741) |
Tournaments | 8–3 (NCAA Division I) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
2 NCAA Regional – Final Four (1998, 2000) ACC tournament (1998) | |
Awards | |
Naismith College Coach of the Year (1998) NABC Coach of the Year (1998) Sporting News Coach of the Year (1998) ACC Coach of the Year (1998) | |
William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American
Background
Born in
Following his stint at Kansas State, Guthridge moved to North Carolina to join the staff of fellow Kansas native Dean Smith. From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. In 1976, he also served as an assistant coach to Smith as the United States won the gold medal in men's basketball at the Summer Olympics in Montreal.
As an assistant, Guthridge was renowned for his success in coaching the fundamentals of pivot play to a long series of successful UNC big men, and as the Tar Heels' primary shooting coach. Guthridge also handled many day-to-day responsibilities in the program and oversaw UNC's summer basketball camps. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. On one occasion, he actually accepted the head coaching post at
Head coaching career
Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the
In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the
The next season, North Carolina earned a #3 seed in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, but was upset in the first round by Weber State in a late game in Seattle. Before their first-round exit in 2021, this was the only time that the Tar Heels failed to win a game in the tournament since it expanded to 64 teams (and dropped first-round byes) in 1985.
In 2000, the Tar Heels struggled in the regular season, falling out of the polls for the first time since the start of the 1990–91 season. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history.[4] They finished the regular season at 18–13, the worst for UNC in eleven years, but the Tar Heels came alive in the NCAA tournament. Seeded eighth in the South region, North Carolina upset top-seeded Stanford in the second round and continued to the Final Four, where they lost to Florida. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach.
Guthridge was involved in a total of fourteen Final Fours as either a player or coach, more than any other person in history—one each as a player and assistant at Kansas State, ten as a North Carolina assistant, and two as North Carolina head coach.[5]
He died at his home on May 12, 2015, after an extended illness, alongside his family.[6]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Carolina Tar Heels (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1997–2000) | |||||||||
1997–98 | North Carolina | 34–4 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
1998–99 | North Carolina | 24–10 | 10–6 | 3rd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1999–00
|
North Carolina | 22–14 | 9–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
North Carolina: | 80–28 (.741) | 32–16 (.667) | |||||||
Total: | 80–28 (.741) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
See also
References
- ^ http://static.espn.go.com/ncb/news/2000/0630/612432.html
- ^ "Guthridge, Bill: Inducted 2005". Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
- ^ "Guthridge, again, reluctantly takes spotlight". Retrieved 2015-05-13.[dead link]
- ^ AP Weekly Appearance Streaks: All-Time
- ^ "Former UNC Chapel Hill Coach Bill Guthridge Has Died". Raleigh–Durham: WTVD. May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ^ AP Newswire (2015-05-13). "Former UNC coach, assistant Bill Guthridge dies at 77". charlotteobserver.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-13.