It may not have been enough time to get the job done, but at this point, something had to give.

Former UK head coach Joe B. Hall and former player Kenny Walker both agreed with the decision to not bring back Billy Gillispie as head coach. However, both said they could see either side of the argument.

“It’s unfortunate,” Walker said. “I don’t agree that two years is enough time to coach, but the administration saw they needed a change and did it.”

Both also agreed with Barnhart’s statements of needing a coach who understands the importance of the job along with everything that comes with it.

Walker said being the head coach at UK makes you more famous than UK’s president, as well as the governor of the state. Hall, who served that position from 1973-1985 and won an NCAA Championship in 1978, said in order to be successful — and survive — in Lexington, the next coach needs to fully understand what it means to be the UK head coach.

“It is important to understand what the coaching job at UK entails for two reasons,” Hall said. “One, in order to survive you have to understand what the program is, and two, you have to take the responsibility in bringing up the program. It’s all part of the job.”

Part of understanding the program is knowing what to expect from the fan base, which Hall calls protectors of the program. He said while UK has one of the best fan bases in the country, they are also demanding and want to win right away.

“It is just an overwhelming amount of pressure, even more so than when I was coach here,” Hall said. “It’s very hard to keep everyone happy all the time.”

One of the things that did not keep Big Blue Nation happy during Gillispie’s tenure was his obvious strain with the media. Walker said the next coach has to be ready to shake hands and take pictures with everyone.

Hall said he could never really analyze what Gillispie did from a coaching standpoint, but knew he was Coach of the Year in the Big 12 and Co-Coach of the Year in the Southeastern Conference, believes whoever takes over next year just needs to know the expectations to make the fans happy.

“The UK program is built on good foundation with a tremendous tradition,” Hall said. “We have the prestige to bring in the top recruits. But we also have the prestige that the fans know and you have to know what their expectations are.”

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