Smith leaving Kentucky for Minnesota

[BigD]

Smith leaving Kentucky for Minnesota
Tubby Smith will resign as coach at the University of Kentucky and take over the program at Minnesota, CBS SportsLine.com's Gary Parrish has confirmed.

[jjgold]

He was going to get fired anyway

[bigboydan]

I doubt he was going to be fired coach. However, the Ky. fans sure wanted him to be.

I really didn't see him leaving Ky. for a mid-level big10 team though. The recruiting alone I think will eat him alive, because of facilities alone if nothing else.

[Illusion]

One things for sure, there won't be hardly any preasure on him up north.

[pags11]

dan,

jj is right...he was going to be fired...the kentucky fans weren't happy...not saying it was deserving, but all reports I read stated it...

[goldengoat]

this will make the big ten better

big upgrade in coaches for minn although a monkey may have been an improvement

the penn st coach will be the next to get fired

[rjt721]

I thought if he left KY he would take the Michigan job over Minnesota.

[Illusion]

dan,

jj is right...he was going to be fired...the kentucky fans weren't happy...not saying it was deserving, but all reports I read stated it...

All reports had him staying, but who really knows. Why did he quit before recieveing his bonus. It was set to kick in the first week of April. That was a curious move.

[jjgold]

No way he would take this job unless he was going to get fired.

[Thrillseeker]

He received the 1.5M bonus due on 4/3 - it was a longevity bonus & he had already earned it by staying through the season...and yes, he probably would have been fired eventually, probably next year if he had dug in...I don't think UK was going to pony up the $4M to buy him out this year, but the AD told him to fire his assistants & bring in a recruiter - Tubby says no, I do it my way...at any rate, the writing was on the wall that he was out eventually...

doyel nails this situation very well...

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10080776

Tubby blew it with Wildcats; what chance do Gophers have?


Don't feel bad today for Tubby Smith, who woke up Thursday as the coach at Kentucky but will wake up Friday at Minnesota. That's a ghastly career arc, but Tubby did this to himself. Kentucky fans didn't help the situation, but they aren't the losers here. Tubby is.

Tubby had one of the best jobs in college basketball and drove it right up to the side of the cliff. He didn't drive Kentucky over that cliff -- that would have come next year, assuming junior center Randolph Morris turns pro -- but he had this monster of a basketball program creeping right up to the edge.
Tubby couldn't figure out how to fix it, so now Tubby is gone to Minnesota, and I've got news for the good folks at Minnesota who clearly haven't been paying attention to the details at Kentucky: Unless Tubby changes his ways, he'll flop at Minnesota. I mean, he'll be a complete and total failure. If he couldn't attract marquee players at Kentucky -- Kentucky for God's sake -- how is he all of a sudden going to bring them to maudlin Minnesota?
Kentucky is one of the top three coaching jobs in college basketball, right up there with North Carolina and Duke. And Tubby recruited like he was at, well, Minnesota.
Now he is at Minnesota, which isn't one of the top three coaching jobs in the Big Ten. Or one of the top six. In the Big Ten alone, the Minnesota job is behind Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, and probably on par with Iowa. If I'm right about that -- and I'm right -- that means Minnesota is seventh or eighth among the basketball programs in its conference, ahead only of Purdue, Penn State and Northwestern.
So who here believes uninspiring Tubby Smith is going to do at Minnesota what he couldn't do at Kentucky -- which is to say, overachieve?
At Kentucky, Tubby underachieved. There's not a lot of debate about that one. In the smaller sense he overachieved with this team, because his 2006-07 squad didn't have blatant NCAA Tournament talent and yet Tubby got the Wildcats there with ease. But he's at Kentucky, not Toledo. With so much wind in his sails at Kentucky, he should have had Duke-like talent. UNC-like talent. Not the dreck he was starting at point guard and power forward.
Tubby was a victim of himself, of his own confidence. He's so good at X's and O's -- and he is really, really good with a clipboard -- that he thought he could hire whoever he wanted for his staff and be able to get it done. And the evidence is overwhelming that he could not.
Look at Tubby's resume. There have been times in his career when he has won big, but those times almost always were with someone else's players. He was at Tulsa for only four years, which means he was winning for most of that time with someone else's recruits. He was at Georgia for just two years, which means he won completely with someone else's players.
At Kentucky he won his national championship in his first year, with Rick Pitino's roster. In the last two years, stuck with players that were signed solely by Tubby's staff, Kentucky lost a total of 25 games. That's not Kentucky. That's Kennesaw State.
Tubby has turned his coaching staff into an old boys' club, hiring only cronies. Tubby worked with David Hobbs at VCU in the mid-1980s. He worked with Scott Rigot at South Carolina in the late-80s. He coached Reggie Hanson (as an assistant) at Kentucky in the early 90s.
Clearly the key to working for Tubby isn't your ability. It's having worked with Tubby before. That's the kind of myopic world-view that can get you fired, which is what would have happened at Kentucky as soon as the inevitable NIT season happened, possibly as soon as next season.
Meantime, Kentucky fans were going nuts. Around the country they have been perceived -- and they will be perceived in the coming days, mark my words -- as out of control, ungrateful, cruel. Inside the state borders, though, UK fans saw what Tubby was doing to this gem of a basketball program. He was turning it into cubic zirconium.
Now he's Minnesota's problem. And Tubby will have problems at Minnesota, believe me. I'll hang him with his own words, because a few years back Tubby said something to the Dallas Morning News that should scare the absolute hell out of the state of Minnesota:
"All we promise (potential recruits) is an education and the opportunity to be part of the winningest college basketball program in America," Smith said in March 2005.
At Minnesota, he'll promise recruits an education and the opportunity to be part of one of the worst college basketball programs in the Big Ten.
He'll be fired by 2012.

[Seattle Slew]

Story said he will still get the bonus.

All reports had him staying, but who really knows. Why did he quit before recieveing his bonus. It was set to kick in the first week of April. That was a curious move.

[slacker00]

I was suprised as hell when I heard about it. There must be something more to all of this. I smell coverup. MN is a big downgrade from KY. Probably even a tougher program to turn around.

[pags11]

illusion,

if you have any doubts, talk to collegekingrex over at cappingthegame...he'll give you the full scoop...Tubby will be a good fit at Minny, more like his gig at Georgia...they'll be happy with the teams he puts out...expectations were very high at Kentucky...

[Catsfan]

This was a win win for both school. Tubby will get Minn to the middle of the Big 10. He'll have them making the tournament. They'll only last for a round or two but that is good enough for them. Kentucky will probably hire someone who can recruit better and they will return to one of the top programs in the country. If Florida loses on Sunday look for UK to have a new coach before the final Four. They are going to see if Billy Donovan is interested. If he turns them down (and I think he will) I think they will they will take a look at John Callipari. If offered the job he will accept. As a UK fan I pray they do not go after Tom Crean of Marquette.

[pags11]

catsfan,

what about Gillespie from A&M?...

[EBone]

This was a win win for both school. Tubby will get Minn to the middle of the Big 10. He'll have them making the tournament. They'll only last for a round or two but that is good enough for them. Kentucky will probably hire someone who can recruit better and they will return to one of the top programs in the country. If Florida loses on Sunday look for UK to have a new coach before the final Four. They are going to see if Billy Donovan is interested. If he turns them down (and I think he will) I think they will they will take a look at John Callipari. If offered the job he will accept. As a UK fan I pray they do not go after Tom Crean of Marquette.

I think it'll be Crean or Callipari. I think it would be a monster shocker if Donovan left Florida for Kentucky. The only reason Callipari might not take it is because of the comparison to Pitino. He absolutely hates that comparison; he does not like playing 2nd fiddle to anyone especially Pitino.



E

[Catsfan]

catsfan,

what about Gillespie from A&M?...

He would not be a bad choice. I don't think he's at the top of their list. I would much rather see him than Tom Crean. I live near Milwaukee and I have not been impressed with Crean. He has one Final Four appearance. Other than that he has not done anything. He has had a couple of teams that did not even make the NCAA's and all his other teams failed to win even an opening round game. He is a terrible game coach.

[Mason]

Tubby was told he either had to quit or fire his entire staff. He quit.

What's bad for Ky is great for Minn.

Minnesota is an awesome job! Home court advantage is HUGE on the raised floor of "The Barn" and the facilities are tip-top. It is tradition rich and Minnesota produces quality players year in and year out.

After Haskins took the Goph's to the Final 4 in '97 and the academic scandal broke out, they brought in mlk-toast Monson and he while handicapped by recruiting sactions managed to steer the team compltely down the shitter. This past year was the worst in the history of Minnesota basketball.

To illustrate the point about this being a great job and program to work with Rick Majerus, Flip Saunders, Bobby Knight and ultimately Tubby Smith have all shown interest for months.

[Catsfan]

Tubby was told he either had to quit or fire his entire staff. He quit.

What's bad for Ky is great for Minn.

Minnesota is an awesome job! Home court advantage is HUGE on the raised floor of "The Barn" and the facilities are tip-top. It is tradition rich and Minnesota produces quality players year in and year out.

After Haskins took the Goph's to the Final 4 in '97 and the academic scandal broke out, they brought in mlk-toast Monson and he while handicapped by recruiting sactions managed to steer the team compltely down the shitter. This past year was the worst in the history of Minnesota basketball.

To illustrate the point about this being a great job and program to work with Rick Majerus, Flip Saunders, Bobby Knight and ultimately Tubby Smith have all shown interest for months.

Mason
Where do you see the Minnesota program 4 years from now?

[Razz]

As a UK fan I pray they do not go after Tom Crean of Marquette.

You are a wise man.

[Mason]

Tough question to answer. It all depends on the staff he assembles and their ability to recruit. Tubby has a nationwide network of high school coaches and Minnesota has one of the top AAU/Summer league programs in the country. If he taps into those resources I'd say the sky is the limit.

While I'm confident in Tubby's ability to coach and Minnesota's facilities/tradition/atmosphere I am undecided on the big one....Recruiting. It's a young man's game. The hardest workers tend to get the recruits. I don't see Tubby on the road 360 days a year beating the bushes at 55 years old, so he better put together 5 energetic young go-getters who can recruit and relate well to kids and then he'll be in business.

I think the game is 80% recruiting these days, 10% facilities/tradition/atmosphere and 10% coaching.

People have short memories and forget that Minnesota was a team that was feared not long ago. The best of the best loathed coming into "The Barn" because they knew it generally meant a loss no matter how good or bad Minnesota was that year. This is not Northwestern or Penn St. This is a team that is used winning!

btw, feel free to add me to aol messenger if you like. masonempire is my handle

[Catsfan]

Mason

Tough question to answer. It all depends on the staff he assembles and their ability to recruit. Tubby has a nationwide network of high school coaches and Minnesota has one of the top AAU/Summer league programs in the country. If he taps into those resources I'd say the sky is the limit.

While I'm confident in Tubby's ability to coach and Minnesota's facilities/tradition/atmosphere I am undecided on the big one....Recruiting. It's a young man's game. The hardest workers tend to get the recruits. I don't see Tubby on the road 360 days a year beating the bushes at 55 years old, so he better put together 5 energetic young go-getters who can recruit and relate well to kids and then he'll be in business.

I think the game is 80% recruiting these days, 10% facilities/tradition/atmosphere and 10% coaching.

People have short memories and forget that Minnesota was a team that was feared not long ago. The best of the best loathed coming into "The Barn" because they knew it generally meant a loss no matter how good or bad Minnesota was that year. This is not Northwestern or Penn St. This is a team that is used winning!

btw, feel free to add me to aol messenger if you like. masonempire is my handle

Mason
I agree with you as far as how important recruiting is. That was Tubby's problem at UK. He didn't put it at the top of his list of priorities. I remember your Gopher's giving us everything we could handle back in the 1997 Final Four. They made Ron Mercer work his ass off in that game. You could really see it affect him in the championship game against Arizona on Monday night.
P.S.
I really enjoy playing at Superior. I have tried to share my posative experiences on the different forums.

[Mason]

Minnesota always played hard under Haskins. Defense was the name of the game. They just didn't study hard, We got caught and have been in a tail spin since. Monson had them studying hard but playing booby soft. I think there is a renewed commitment to major athletics at the U of M.

That Minnesota team your cats beat in '97 had future NBA players Bobby Jackson, Voshon Lenard, John Thomas, Sam Jacobson as starters, and there were more on the bench. While no Kentucky, Minnesota has always been a strong basketball program until the past few years. Tubby is not moving down to I-AA.

[Mason]

BTW, Catsfan I appreciate you posting your experiences. Most people don't mention it when they have a good experience, you do...I appreciate and respect that.