Billies have better days ahead of them at Texas Tech, Texas A&M

Billy Gillispie will have better days than he did Saturday, but so will Billy Kennedy.

Gillispie's return to Reed Arena as Texas Tech's head coach gave notoriety to a game that needed it because Tech and Texas A&M were a combined 0-6 in Big 12 action.

Saturday was all about Gillispie, which in turn made it about Kennedy in the matchup of first-year coaches whose problems right now outnumber their victories.

In a rarity, both coaches seemed in good spirits after A&M's 67-54 victory.

Gillispie could smile even though as he put it, "We got our tail kicked and I didn't like it." His team recovered from a horrid start and fought until the bitter end.

"I'm really excited about our guys, and they've been trying like crazy," Gillispie said. "They're going to get better, and they got quite a bit better [Saturday]. We have a long ways to go. I'm really, really, really proud and I love these guys, but I thought we'd be better at the start."

Kennedy was in fine spirits because his players came out strong for a 14-2 lead. A week ago, A&M fell behind Iowa State 22-9 en route to one of the worst home losses in recent years.

A&M did many things well Saturday, but it's hard to get too excited about a game all but decided after Tech missed its first eight shots and had six turnovers.

Gillispie is dealing with exactly what he expected. He's got a roster with seven true freshmen and four transfers. He's building something from scratch. Tech went 13-19 last season and is now 30 games under .500 in the last four-plus Big 12 seasons. There's a reason coaches picked Tech to finish in a tie for last place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma. So while it's frustrating to lose 81-48 at home to Kansas and trail by 25 at A&M, it's understandable.

A&M's fall has been just as frustrating but not understandable. And, of course, part of the blame falls on Kennedy who inherited a team picked to finish in a tie for first in the Big 12 with Kansas, a prediction that right now appears to be about as off the mark as a Red Raider jumper.

In a way, the prediction is a tribute to the hard work in Aggieland started by Gillispie. He took over a program coming off a winless Big 12 season and produced a Sweet 16 team in just three seasons. Mark Turgeon did a good job maintaining Gillispie's foundation with four straight NCAA tournament appearances before leaving for Maryland and turning things over to Kennedy.

But Gillispie, who broke Aggies' hearts when he left for Kentucky, is quick to point out he shares much in common with Kennedy.

"You don't see the program. You see the team," Gillispie said. "Like I've said before, I think he's a great coach and a great person, and they've had a little bad luck at the start. [But] that team is going to be exactly where everyone expected them to be when the season is over."

It's important to understand that Gillispie wasn't necessarily talking about records and making the NCAA tournament. He was talking about progress. Not surprisingly, Gillispie said he measures a coach by how hard his players play on defense when the offense is struggling. He liked what he saw of A&M on film in losses to Baylor and Texas.

And it continued Saturday. Tech missed 17 of its first 21 shots as A&M built a 25-point lead. That's the kind of defense that A&M played under Gillispie for three seasons with players like current A&M graduate assistant coach Dominique Kirk diving for loose balls, much to the delight of the Reed Rowdies.

Few students numbered among Saturday's crowd of 7,083 with school out, but the memories felt vivid as Gillispie twice had to compose himself in the postgame press conference.

"That's what I remember the most, the relationships with the players," Gillispie said. "Those players are special, and the relationship they had with the fans was special. And that's exactly what we're going to do at Texas Tech, and it won't take long. I don't think anybody who knows us thinks it will. We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm exited about the future and the rest of the year. We'll build that program the same way we built [A&M's]."

Speaking of building, the program Kennedy left behind, Murray State, is No. 15 in the Top 25 and one of three unbeaten teams in the country at 18-0. It took him five years to build that program.

One won, one lost, but Saturday wasn't bad for either Billy. History tells us better days are ahead.

Robert Cessna's email address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.