All eyes are on one Shaka Smart.
Ah, a good, old-fashioned coaching search! Nothing gets a fan base so engaged and raucous than an administration’s attempt to undo the ills of a previous coaching regime while simultaneously doing its best to bring home a leader that the majority of people can get behind.
And everyone’s got their own opinion.
I had no earthly idea that the administration would move so fast after the season ended in getting a new coach. In fact, I wasn’t even convinced that Tubby would be shown the door at all. Needless to say, it’s been a whirlwind of activity since Monday morning and things only figure to get more intense as the search rages on. Personally I can get behind any of Shaka Smart, Buzz Williams, Gregg Marshall or Anthony Grant, though I’m not particularly convinced that any of those guys will actually end up here. But isn’t that part of the fun?
GOOD:
A plan is in place – I’m not going to make this an indictment about Tubby, I’ll just say that it’s a great thing that the coaching search is happening so quickly after the season. It’s clear that Norwood Teague had a plan in place before the NCAA Tournament performance and has given the situation a whole lot of thought. At the very least we can take solace in the fact that none of this is a knee-jerk reaction. Like Teague said in his press conference, he’s taken a look at the entire body of work from Tubby Smith and decided to make a change. Had the University instead fired Smith and indicated that they were undertaking a nationwide coaching search without a clear direction, I’d be a little more nervous.
And how exciting is a coaching search? I haven’t been glued to the news like this in a long time. There is a clear list of top candidates and it seems like there are pieces of information coming in at all times. And with Teague’s insistence that he wants to get a coach in place sooner rather than later, it feels like a decision could be announced at any time. With a decision as huge as the basketball program’s head basketball coach, that’s really exciting.
BAD:
There are no guarantees – I wrote a lengthy blog post at From The Barn earlier this season laying out my argument for dismissing Tubby. One of the points I touched on was to remember that there are no guarantees in a coaching search. There are no guarantees that a new coach with show any gains or improve the program whatsoever. Optimism reigns supreme in situations like these, and no one hires a bad coach on purpose, but Gopher fans have been sold a bill of goods before and we know exactly what it’s like to not get what you pay for.
That said, it’s extremely nerve-wracking to consider the prospect of hiring a coach that actually takes the team backwards. The Gophers were in a relatively good spot with Tubby Smith compared to the rest of the college basketball landscape, and the team could at least be expected to compete. And while we all demanded more from Smith, it’s a frightening prospect to consider that we might not even be an NIT-caliber squad five years from now. It’s that type of uncertainly that makes you think twice about letting a coach go.
INTERESTING:
It’s really funny to me to listen to the differing takes on the whole coaching situation at varying levels of media. Of course, local media and bloggers are closest to the team and have followed them the entire year; they’re naturally more knowledgeable about the ouster. The national media, however, really shows its disconnect from the program when member make sweeping takes about the decision to let Tubby go. From what I’ve gathered, the broader national reporting corps thinks it’s ridiculous that the Gophers would let a coach like Tubby Smith go. In their eyes he is a national championship winner and one that brought the program back from the basement of the Big Ten. It’s what you’d expect from people who only inform themselves on Minnesota basketball at a very high level and don’t have to live with it every day. To everyone outside of the Gophers community, Minnesota should be grateful that someone like Smith came to town and used his powers for good. Our decision to move on seems more broadly met with disbelief.
It’s also interesting to me to hear everyone’s “gut take” on who is coming to town for the Gophers. Some people are convinced that Shaka Smart is all but a sure thing. Others think Buzz Williams will end up here. Still others bring up the name Andy Enfield from Florida Gulf Coast and think he’ll be the choice. Everyone seems to be so certain about who will be the choice. In reality, the only certainty is uncertainty.