Gillispie to speak to Lexington Rotary

Perhaps unknowingly, Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie committed a faux pas (French for blunder) last year when he chose not to speak to the Lexington Rotary Club. UK coaches have given the club a preview of the season going back to Adolph Rupp and at least the 1950s. Some members think the tradition dates back to the 1930s.

Then Gillispie, who was about to begin his first season as UK coach, failed to show.

Basketball traditionalists will be happy to know that UK’s basketball office has made arrangements for Gillispie to appear on Oct. 9.

Rotary chairperson Nell Main noted how happy members were to know Gillispie will offer his thoughts on the upcoming season. She also welcomed the resumption of a long-standing tradition.

Gillispie never said why he did not speak to the Lexington Rotary Club last year. Here’s five possible reasons. Feel free to disagree and offer other possible explanations.

1. He was new. Gillispie did not know about the tradition, and UK’s decision to hire new staffers left no one to inform the coach of this charming, relatively harmless duty.

2. Coaches and speaking engagements mix like oil and water. Coaches typically believe they can better spend their time in other ways. For instance, alphabetizing their CDs.

3. He believed he would be setting a dangerous precedent. See No. 2 and imagine that every Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and Shriners club in a 100-mile radius would argue that Gillispie should come to their clubs, too.

4. He was busy. Gillispie was in the midst of stirring up a recruiting storm. Plus he was figuring out what talent he had on his first Kentucky team and how to meld it to a new system.

5. He’s shy about singing in public. The song My Country Tis of Thee is full of landmines.