[Quality88]

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A day after he was fired as men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, Billy Gillispie insisted that he had no regrets or hard feelings and that he should be paid the entire $6 million buyout included in his memorandum of understanding.
In a news conference that lasted a little more than 30 minutes, Gillispie seemed more relaxed than in most of his meetings with the media.
Standing at a podium in a reception tent outside the Griffin Gate Marriott hotel, Gillispie cracked jokes and touched on a range of topics, including:
• Criticism by athletic director Mitch Barnhart and university President Lee Todd about a lack of understanding of the public nature of his job.
• His handling of a halftime interview with ESPN reporter Jeannine Edwards that turned into the source of significant controversy.
• His future and the future of the UK program.
Gillispie was fired Friday after two seasons in which his teams went 40-27.
In announcing the firing, Barnhart and Todd characterized Gillispie as a good coach who was a bad fit at UK, but yesterday Gillispie said he'd never thought of the fit as a bad one, noting that his passion for basketball and horse racing made Lexington an ideal spot for him.
Where Todd and Barnhart expressed concern about Gillispie's understanding of his job, Gillispie evaluated his performance yesterday by saying, "I think we did great. We didn't win enough games."
Whether he was fired for his winning percentage or his approach to the job, Gillispie will receive a buyout. On Friday, Barnhart said UK intends to pay less than the $6 million mentioned in the two-page memorandum of understanding that Gillispie signed when he was hired.

With weight off, Gillispie lightens up | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal


Barnfart and Todd are the ones that should be gone. Gillispie knows Basketball, and if givin another year he would have had things goin great again at UK. Now UK is screwed. As far as Gillispie's handling of the media, he doesn't have to answer to the media. I mean who is the media, just a bunch of clowns in my opinion. I like how he handled the media puttin them in their place.