LEXINGTON, Ky. -- First a person on a University of Kentucky fans' message board posted about spotting new basketball coach Billy Gillispie at McDonald's.
Then another posted that Gillispie had been spotted at Fazoli's.
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It wasn't long before fans in a separate thread wondered whether so much fast food might be hazardous to the coach's health.
Welcome to UK, where the basketball coach's every move merits discussion and where Gillispie, make no mistake, has been in near-constant motion since he was hired Friday.
"I've made a couple recruiting stops, made a million recruiting calls," Gillispie said yesterday during an interview with The Courier-Journal.
He also has flown to Los Angeles to attend the Wooden Award banquet with Acie Law IV, whom Gillispie coached at Texas A&M before leaving for UK.
He's working to fill out his coaching staff, and Gillispie has held a workout and meetings with the returning Wildcats.
"Other than that, just messing around," he said with a smile.
His new office at the Joe Craft Center shows signs of his hectic schedule. The walls are barren, the desk relatively tidy. And Gillispie, who's living at a hotel and has not seen the home he's selling in College Station, Texas, since he flew here Thursday, admits he's not sleeping much.
Instead, he's spending his time focusing on getting to know UK's returning players -- and on recruiting new ones.
Gillispie put the Cats through a workout Monday. He has instituted a rule that every player must visit the basketball office at least once a day for a chat.
"We'll get to know them because that's our investment," Gillispie said. "We're going to invest in relationships. That's what's going to make us special."
At the same time, Gillispie has hit the ground running in recruiting.
He's working on future classes but also trying to come from behind in signing high school seniors. Gillispie has three scholarships available and didn't rule out using all three, but he said he won't use them for the sake of doing so.
"I'm not confused into thinking (coaching is) not all about players," he said. "It's all about players. Coaches have to make a major difference … and I think we'll do OK there in developing guys and putting a team together. But this is a game about players. We have to get the absolute best guys."
Gillispie is taking that same approach as he tries to hire a coaching staff.
Former Texas A&M assistant coach Jeremy Cox has been making recruiting calls on UK's behalf, and he's expected to be named an assistant.
Jerrance Howard said yesterday that he's joining the staff in an administrative role. Howard, who had a similar role at Texas A&M, will not be an assistant coach and will not recruit. He played at Illinois when Gillispie was an assistant there under Bill Self.
Gillispie said he'll try to assemble a staff that meets his needs in coaching and recruiting, adding that he won't hire someone simply because he has recruited a particular region.
"(In recruiting), you're not going to take an average center if you can get a great wing -- or I'm not," he said. "It's the same with assistants. You have some areas (where recruiters have focused) in mind that would probably be the most beneficial. You have to address those needs but not at the expense of getting the best (coaches)."
