Kentucky basketball fans should be happy that Billy Clyde Gillispie didn’t do more harm to that program than he may have done.

Now the coach at Texas Tech, Gillispie is currently in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Maybe it is from all the stress he has experienced lately because of allegations of his harsh and deceitful coaching style.

Regardless of his health concerns, his coaching career could be in jeopardy. Reports have surfaced about allegations of his mistreatment of players, assistant coaching prospects and others in the Red Raiders program.

CBSSports.com reports that Gillispie reneged on several promises to coaches, kept players in scholarship limbo, causing them to miss opportunities and money, and also practiced injured players so severely that they openly wept in practice.

Of course when he was in Lexington, Gillispie had a lot of problems. He was arrested for drunk driving and allegedly was a regular at the bars.

Gillispie is entering his second year as coach of the Red Raiders. His first Texas Tech team finished 8-23 and won only one game in the Big 12.

When Gillispie was hired by Texas Tech, he had been out of coaching for two years after being fired at Kentucky after just two seasons. He was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in his first season, but his second Wildcat team failed to reach the NCAA tournament.

Six months after his firing, Gillispie sought treatment at a substance-abuse program in Houston. That followed his third arrest for drunken driving in 10 years.

While at UK, he reportedly was very hard on players in practice. Apparently that kind of abuse has continued at Texas Tech. Allegations are that he made players practice while they were hurt.

Billy Clyde has a lot of baggage and I’m sure Wildcat fans are glad he is long gone from the Bluegrass State.

Short Stuff: West Virginia has now cracked the top 10 in both the AP and USA Coaches polls. The Mountaineers are 9^th in the AP and 8^th in the USA poll. It looks to be a great season for WVU. However, they will start playing games in the strong Big 12 conference.

… Marshall’s basketball team has a tough non-conference schedule this season. Road games include those at Villanova and Kentucky, with games in Charleston against West Virginia and Cincinnati. National Invitation Tournament quarterfinalist Nevada heads the seven-game nonconference lineup at Cam Henderson Center.

… Mingo Central basketball coach Frankie Smith will be holding a meeting Sunday, at 2 p.m., at the Miner’s gym for anyone interested in assisting with the Buddy League programs in the Williamson, Matewan, Delbarton and Gilbert areas. Anyone interested in coaching, officiating, being a cheerleading sponsor, etc. is urged to attend this important organizational meeting.

… And finally, Reds fans are glad Joey Votto is back. They went 32-16 without the all-star first baseman, but they need Votto heading into the playoffs. There are many Cincinnati fans in the area that are excited about this year’s team.

(Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for the Williamson Daily News. Comments or story ideas can be sent to klovern@williamsondailynews.com)