Texas Tech: Ranking Kirby Hocutt’s coaching hires in Lubbock
The Bad
13. Billy Gillispie – Men’s Basketball
Announced in March 2011, this was Hocutt’s first big hire after he arrived at Texas Tech, and to say it was a dumpster fire would be an understatement. It made some sense initially, as Gillispie had plenty of success at UTEP and Texas A&M and had decent success at Kentucky but was never a good fit there. The men’s basketball program needed a jump start after the Pat Knight era, and this was a big name hire.
Unfortunately the team went 8-23 overall and just 1-17 in Big 12 play in what would wind up being Gillispie’s only season at the helm. His abrasive style led to a mass exodus of staff, including then-assistant Chris Beard after heated altercations between the two. He resigned shortly before the 2012-13 season after allegations surfaced of NCAA violations and mistreatment of players. His tenure in Lubbock left the program in the worst shape it had ever been. Talk about a misfire.
12. Marlene Stollings – Women’s Basketball
The main difference between Stollings and Gillispie is that she at least posted a winning record in Lubbock, leading the Lady Raiders to a 32-28 record in her two seasons. She looked like an excellent hire when she came aboard in 2018 after winning 82 games in four seasons at Minnesota. Things certainly seemed to be on the upswing after years of futility.
Unfortunately her tenure was derailed in 2020 after a USA Today article detailed allegations of mistreatment of players. What was worse is that it made Hocutt look like he was trying to cover it up or, at the very least, that he totally dropped the ball. This was a total failure on the part of the athletic department, and Hocutt is lucky he didn’t lose his job over it.
11. Adrian Gregory – Softball
More player mistreatment? It certainly looks that way, as Gregory resigned in Sept. 2020 after Texas Tech’s internal review found allegations of abuse and racially charged comments from the coach and her staff. To Hocutt’s credit, it appears he at least handled this matter in a more perfunctory manner than the Stollings mess.
On the field, Gregory had to follow the successful Shanon Hays, and it wasn’t easy at first. But the team’s fortunes turned around in the latter part of her tenure to the point that she finished her Texas Tech career with a 157-147 record in six seasons. But it’s hard to consider this a good hire when the coach has to resign under scandalous circumstances.
10. Candace Whitaker – Women’s Basketball
Thankfully we’re out of the woods with regard to player mistreatment and NCAA violations, as Whitaker certainly appeared to run a clean program in her four-plus seasons in charge. A former Texas Tech player, her arrival generated some excitement among fans in hopes that she could build upon the modest success that her predecessor Kristy Curry had.
Unfortunately that never happened, as her teams never posted a winning record. From a winless Big 12 slate in her first season to being fired amidst what would become a 1-17 conference record in her fifth season, Whitaker just never got this program off the ground. We all wanted to see her succeed, but the wins just never came.