During a brief TV appearance, ESPN basketball reporter Andy Katz this morning passed along some very bizarre news. Katz said the reports that Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles fired basketball coach Stan Heath because he wanted to replace him with Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie were true. But the reports that Broyles and Gillispie had already reached a deal were false.
How false? Per Katz, Broyles didn't even have Gillispie's phone number. A couple of days ago at FanHouse, Nathan Fowler wrote,
unless Arkansas is run by incompetents (which some who have followed the sordid Houston Nutt soap opera might argue isn't far from the truth) you'd have to think that they wouldn't have let go a coach who just went to the NCAA Tournament without at least some assurance that their #1 candidate would listen to them.
The conclusion I draw from Katz's TV report -- that Broyles based his decision to fire one coach on his confidence in landing another, and that he didn't even know how to get in touch with his desired replacement -- is that "incompetent" is the only word to use to describe Broyles.
Broyles, however, says he has made an offer to his No. 1 candidate. He won't name that candidate, but just about everyone agrees it's Gillispie. Perhaps he called 411.
Previously at FanHouse:
Gillispie May Not Be Going Anywhere After All
Billy Gillispie to Arkansas?
Where Will Billy Gillispie Coach Next Year?
Arkansas Fires Stan Heath
Frank Broyles Wanted Billy Gillispie, Didn't Have His Number originally appeared on Fanhouse NCAA Basketball Blog on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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