Reusse: Teague and Ellis had "arrogant vibe" with firing of Tubby, hiring of Pitino

[BleedGopher]

Reusse: Teague and Ellis had "arrogant vibe" with firing of Tubby, hiring of Pitino

per Pat:

Teague came off as a southern gentleman, a bachelor who could sell anything, including himself. I enjoyed dealing with him, because Teague would include information in his verbosity.

That said, there was a strong hint of arrogance when Teague and his basketball man, Mike Ellis, decided to fire men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith after their first season (2012-13) on the job — a season that included Tubby beating UCLA in an NCAA tournament opener.

If an AD who had been around a while had sacked Tubby, it wouldn’t have seemed as bold. There was a different “we’re the smartest guys in the room” quality to Teague and Ellis reaching the decision on Smith so quickly.

The search for Tubby’s replacement carried the same arrogant vibe — one candidate was told Teague and Ellis wanted to help select the assistants — and the Gophers received enough “no thanks” responses to wind up with choice No. 5 or 6 in Richard Pitino.

There has been jockeying for power in the athletic department since Pitino was hired in April 2013. It revolved around which facility would come first: Jerry Kill’s for football or the long-discussed building for men’s and women’s basketball.

http://www.startribune.com/teague-s-replacement-might-discover-he-s-working-for-kill/321109541/

Go Gophers!!

 

[EG#9]

This seems like a ridiculous thing to complain about. Once the AD is hired, we should want that person to make whatever moves he/she deems necessary to improve performance. I don't find that "arrogant", I call that doing the job the guy was hired to do.

 

[Carlson 79]

Agreed the Smith firing was the clear-cut correct move, and the sooner after the season, the better.

The part about wanting to hire the assistant basketball coaches? If true, then no coach worth his/her salt would accept it. Hubris might be a better term, but it's creepy stuff and a red flag raiser, IMO. I think this sordid tale may yet be proven to be a blessing to the U of M & the state.

 

[The Brain Trust]

Smith firing after beating UCLA was clearly horrible move by egocentric man who views women as sex objects....Word is that Norwood did not seem drunk when he went lewd.

 

[beavergopher]

This seems like a ridiculous thing to complain about. Once the AD is hired, we should want that person to make whatever moves he/she deems necessary to improve performance. I don't find that "arrogant", I call that doing the job the guy was hired to do.

+1. Thank god they had the balls to do it.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

Yes. The only error Teague made with Tubby is giving him a new contract with an increased buyout less than a year before firing him. The firing made complete and total sense and if Smith had not been fired, then there would have been something to complain about.

PLENTY of faults when it comes to Teague -- firing Smith is NOT one of them.

 

[The Brain Trust]

norwood pure genius up tubbys contract then can him after actually beating UCLA in NCAA , what a total moronic move.

 

[bemidjigopher]

norwood pure genius up tubbys contract then can him after actually beating UCLA in NCAA , what a total moronic move.

If Tubbys do great why is Texas tech is the ****ter and sinking farther in the hole. Face it tubby would've gone 4-14 the next year and been canned . That 2013 team on paper was a 12 13 win big ten team.

 

[Maximus]

norwood pure genius up tubbys contract then can him after actually beating UCLA in NCAA , what a total moronic move.

In six years, what was Tubby's best Big Ten record? Thanks in advance.

I do remember Dan Monson going 9-7 and 10-6 in the league during his first six years.

 

[The Brain Trust]

In six years, what was Tubby's best Big Ten record? Thanks in advance.

I do remember Dan Monson going 9-7 and 10-6 in the league during his first six years.

tubby took over a bottom feeder team. pitino was handed a top 30 rpi team and turned it into a bottom feeder team.....excuse me for responding to dumb posts!

 

[Cayman]

Didn't Reusse call Tubby his "turkey of the year" or something like that back in November 2012, and now is calling the decision to fire him "arrogant?" I don't really read the local media much, but I got the feeling that Reusse wasn't the biggest fan of Tubby, so this take seems inconsistent.

In six years, what was Tubby's best Big Ten record? Thanks in advance.

I do remember Dan Monson going 9-7 and 10-6 in the league during his first six years.

He did go 9-9 twice, including in 2009-10 with perhaps our two best players riding the pine the whole season, with multiple overtime and one possession losses. Plus Tubby never hit the lows that Monson did, went to the tournament two more times, actually won a game there, and I think had a better Big Ten winning percentage. You could also maybe argue that the Big Ten has been stronger lately than it was in the early 2000's. I feel like we at least put more teams in the tournament now than we did then.

I also find it interesting that some people think firing Tubby was a no brainer and others think it was unquestionably the wrong decision.

 

[The Brain Trust]

pumping up a guys contract(costing the U serious Money) than firing the guy after NCAA win is just cause to fire norwood for being an incompetent buffoon. He should have let tubby take another offer and saved big $$$. Pitino should eventually get the team back up to Tubbys level...The last few years of Tubby tenure the high school talent was way down in MN..Pitino has had a good number of high major local recruits leave Mn.

 

[bemidjigopher]

tubby took over a bottom feeder team. pitino was handed a top 30 rpi team and turned it into a bottom feeder team.....excuse me for responding to dumb posts!

Are you serious. Mbakwe gone, Williams gone, Coleman transferred. Pitino's first team had plenty of guys that he had to bring in to turn it into an 8-10 outfit. If Tubby's stays no Mathieu, no McNeil or Malik, which means bigger roles for Wally and Mav. Coleman probably stays, but Mo stays at 3bills and useless. Alvin Ellis and Alex Foster haven't proven to be worth anything at the D1 level, Starting five of Dre, Austin, Joe C, Oto? and EE with an out of shape Mo walker, Mav, Wally and Buggs coming off the bench. So post game no depth. Crappy team and Tubby gets canned after that year unless he brings in a couple of the big 3 recruits, which if he had a legit shot at Vaught Jones or Travis I doubt he gets fired. To call that a top 30 team is laughable and borderline offensive. I think my IQ just dipped five points for reading it.

 

[bemidjigopher]

pumping up a guys contract(costing the U serious Money) than firing the guy after NCAA win is just cause to fire norwood for being an incompetent buffoon. He should have let tubby take another offer and saved big $$$. Pitino should eventually get the team back up to Tubbys level...The last few years of Tubby tenure the high school talent was way down in MN..Pitino has had a good number of high major local recruits leave Mn.

I am sorry, but the big three left on Tubby watch not Pitino they all committed before Pitino coached first game. Pitino landed Jarvis, landed Hurt, sits pretty with both Coffey and John. Quit with the lies and spin.

 

[Maximus]

tubby took over a bottom feeder team. pitino was handed a top 30 rpi team and turned it into a bottom feeder team.....excuse me for responding to dumb posts!

I didn't mention Pitino.

 

[underground629]

Agreed. Was always confused as to why he didn't get more crap for that. Tubby finding out he was fired through the media was pretty bad too.

Yes. The only error Teague made with Tubby is giving him a new contract with an increased buyout less than a year before firing him. The firing made complete and total sense and if Smith had not been fired, then there would have been something to complain about.

PLENTY of faults when it comes to Teague -- firing Smith is NOT one of them.

 

[underground629]

This is one of your dumber arguments and that's really saying something. Let's ignore the roster that Tubby actually left and pretend it was the exact same team that was apparently top 30 RPI. Not gonna fact check that, but if true, that shows what a joke RPI is (no new information there). 8-10 leads to top 30, huh?

tubby took over a bottom feeder team. pitino was handed a top 30 rpi team and turned it into a bottom feeder team.....excuse me for responding to dumb posts!

 

[Blackhammer]

Smith firing after beating UCLA was clearly horrible move by egocentric man who views women as sex objects....Word is that Norwood did not seem drunk when he went lewd.

Word was you hated Norwood . Great move firing Tubby.

 

[Cayman]

This is one of your dumber arguments and that's really saying something. Let's ignore the roster that Tubby actually left and pretend it was the exact same team that was apparently top 30 RPI. Not gonna fact check that, but if true, that shows what a joke RPI is (no new information there). 8-10 leads to top 30, huh?

I think we had a top 5 or top 10 strength of schedule that year, and we had wins over Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Memphis, and Illinois, and it was one of the Big Ten's stronger years IIRC.

 

[station19]

YOU CAN NOT USE PITINO'S RECORD TO JUDGE TUBBY'S FIRING.

They are two separate issues.

 

[TruthSeeker]

YOU CAN NOT USE PITINO'S RECORD TO JUDGE TUBBY'S FIRING.

They are two separate issues.

Absolutely correct.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I think the point of Reusse's article was more about HOW it was done - not on WHAT was done. Teague and Ellis (according to Reusse's thesis) saw themselves as basketball "experts," and thought they were really well-connected in the basketball scene because of the Villa 7 program.

so, as I read the article, Reusse is saying that Teague and Ellis basically out-smarted themselves - fired a 'hall of fame coach' coming off of an NCAA victory because they thought they could do better. Then, when they couldn't land any of the top candidates, wound up taking a flyer on a very young and inexperienced coach.

This is not a Tubby vs. Pitino argument - it's a critique of Teague's decision-making process.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

I think the point of Reusse's article was more about HOW it was done - not on WHAT was done. Teague and Ellis (according to Reusse's thesis) saw themselves as basketball "experts," and thought they were really well-connected in the basketball scene because of the Villa 7 program.

so, as I read the article, Reusse is saying that Teague and Ellis basically out-smarted themselves - fired a 'hall of fame coach' coming off of an NCAA victory because they thought they could do better. Then, when they couldn't land any of the top candidates, wound up taking a flyer on a very young and inexperienced coach.

This is not a Tubby vs. Pitino argument - it's a critique of Teague's decision-making process.

It's also completely unfounded.

 

[Otis]

Proof that Norwood is a buffoon is all summed up in, "wanted to pick assistant coaches for the new head coach."

How can you expect to get a decent head coach if you tell them who they can hire?

This is why Flip walked, because they wouldn't let his son be an assistant coach. This also cost us the return of the best basketball warm-up routine in NCAA history! s Flip said he would have brought back Musselman's pregame!

I think this pisses me off more than anything.

 

[Mulligan]

I think the point of Reusse's article was more about HOW it was done - not on WHAT was done. Teague and Ellis (according to Reusse's thesis) saw themselves as basketball "experts," and thought they were really well-connected in the basketball scene because of the Villa 7 program.

so, as I read the article, Reusse is saying that Teague and Ellis basically out-smarted themselves - fired a 'hall of fame coach' coming off of an NCAA victory because they thought they could do better. Then, when they couldn't land any of the top candidates, wound up taking a flyer on a very young and inexperienced coach.

This is not a Tubby vs. Pitino argument - it's a critique of Teague's decision-making process.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this to a guy who calls himself "The Brain Trust."

 

[scher215]

Proof that Norwood is a buffoon is all summed up in, "wanted to pick assistant coaches for the new head coach." How can you expect to get a decent head coach if you tell them who they can hire? This is why Flip walked, because they wouldn't let his son be an assistant coach. This also cost us the return of the best basketball warm-up routine in NCAA history! s Flip said he would have brought back Musselman's pregame! I think this pisses me off more than anything.

I had no interest in Flip as coach, but that warm up? Yes, yes, and more yes.

 

[Unregistered User]

It's also completely unfounded.

Wow...thanks for shedding light on this. You're a champ.

 

[Unregistered User]

That said, there was a strong hint of arrogance when Teague...

There was a different “we’re the smartest guys in the room” quality to Teague...

The search for Tubby’s replacement carried the same arrogant vibe...

Wow. This is really revealing. Fatprick apparently had known for the past few years that Teague was arrogant, yet this is the first time I've heard him mention that. Nice of re-use to protect Mega-Tongue so he would continue to "include information in his verbosity".

Well, Fatprick doesn't like to rustle jimmies, so this isn't surprising /sarcasm.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Each time I said something about this guy, I was attacked even by veterans like Bleed. Unfortunately, this guy had to prove himself this way. Thanks god that his going is not linked to some former coach's fan club. This guy was here to make a name for himself and indeed he did. I have a feeling that Foster and Elis's families are now smiling for the way that their sons were treated by this jerk. Mo's mom was right after all.

 

[underground629]

We did have some good wins that year but we still had a losing record in conference.

I think we had a top 5 or top 10 strength of schedule that year, and we had wins over Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Memphis, and Illinois, and it was one of the Big Ten's stronger years IIRC.