Shortly before 7:30 this morning, sports editor Gene Abell called me at home to say basketball writer Jerry Tipton had just told him that a new University of Kentucky coach had been chosen.
As you could tell from the Friday Herald-Leader’s headline — “From Billy D. to Billy G?” — we knew that Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie was now the focus on UK’s two-week search to replace Tubby Smith.
Within 15 minutes, Jerry’s first news story had been posted on kentucky.com and staff members from across the newsroom were heading into the office early so we could get more information online quickly and prepare to cover the pep rally and news conference where Gillispie would be introduced as only the sixth UK basketball coach since 1930.
We also began executing a plan developed with the Herald-Leader’s Circulation and Advertising departments to publish a front-and-back “flysheet” extra that could wrap the morning paper and be sold by hawkers around town Friday.
That commemorative Extra, with the headline “Gillispie’s the guy,” is available while supplies last at Kroger, Wal-mart, Meijer, Shell stations and at the Herald-Leader office.
While we will continue posting additional material online today and tonight, we’re also putting together a special 8-page special section that will wrap Saturday’s paper.
Look for more coverage throughout the weekend, including veteran reporter Bill Estep’s stories Sunday and Monday about Gillispie’s Texas roots. And, of course, you can talk about it all weekend on the kentucky.com discussion board.
Tom Eblen
Managing Editor
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