1500 ESPN: Tubby Smith regrets moving Blake Hoffarber to PG

Donate To GopherHole

I think everyone regrets Tubby making that decision. But it's in the past. Next year we'll suprise a lot of people due to how bad we finished last year.
 

Good Old Ruesse and PMac now appear to be fans of Tubby. It's funny how fast things can change.
 




I can't believe Tubby is saying he should have played Maverick more and I don't get where he got the idea that Maverick was "coming on" unless it was during practice. He certainly couldn't play against the quicker guards in the conference. I just checked his stats to make sure and his best game after the Nolen injury was when he had 7 points and 2 assists in 11 minutes at Iowa. He was given a ton of minutes in the last 3 games against (Penn State and Northwestern twice, 3 of the Gophers worst performances of the year) and shot a combined 4 for 17 from the field, 2 rebounds, 12 assists and 6 turnovers.

I think Gopher Warriors point about putting Hollins in and taking Iverson out of the lineup makes more sense than moving Maverick in to a more prominent role. We got killed defensively with that slow, slow zone because we Iverson/Sampson/Mbakwe could not get out to the 3 point line and bother a shot at all. Having both Hollins and Williams in the game would have at least allowed us to match up better on the defensive end of the court. I think that's yet another issue with playing Maverick...him and Blake would be a nightmare as a defensive pairing in the backcourt.
 


This article has a lot more good info than just the Blake at PG thing:

"That's just his nature," Smith said. "That's Ralph, and it is what it is. Ralph is a good high-post player, can face the basket and shoot."

According to Smith, Sampson "had a great spring" on campus and now is working on his conditioning in Chicago with renowned trainer Tim Grover.

"He has to improve his stamina and his aggression," Smith said.
Click to expand...

"You go on eBay and see you've got an NCAA championship ring, you go, 'Hey, from Kentucky? Which one of you guys is trying to sell your ring?'"
Click to expand...

Like Sampson, Williams continues to struggle with endurance. "One of the things Rodney and Ralph have in common (is) their conditioning," Smith said. "... If you watch them play, they play hard for a few minutes, and then they have to get a break. So, we're really working hard with them to develop their lungs or wind, their legs."
Click to expand...
 

It worked in preseason

Blake played very well against UNC and WVU at PG when Al was on the bench. Like any coach in the history of basketball or other games, Tubby played his best player at PG because it worked before. Coaches do that all the time. Why did he play him for so long if it didn't work?

What might have happened was the fact that fans would have gone crazy if Tubby had let Mav making his freshman mistakes. At that point we would have heard from tons of people on this board that Mav is this Mav is that. I think that Tubby was scared to try Mav at the PG.

Afterall, we all are coaches around here and know so much more than Tubby.

Go Gophers
 



The-Real-Truth said:
Blake played very well against UNC and WVU at PG when Al was on the bench. Like any coach in the history of basketball or other games, Tubby played his best player at PG because it worked before. Coaches do that all the time. Why did he play him for so long if it didn't work?

What might have happened was the fact that fans would have gone crazy if Tubby had let Mav making his freshman mistakes. At that point we would have heard from tons of people on this board that Mav is this Mav is that. I think that Tubby was scared to try Mav at the PG.

Afterall, we all are coaches around here and know so much more than Tubby.

Go Gophers
Click to expand...

I never understood this hyperbole. I don't think any of us are ever stating that we know "so much more than Tubby" but if any of us questioned the move of Blake to PG (as many on here did) then it in fact turns out that Tubby now agrees with these critics. So if you used the sarcastic tone questioning people on this board during the BT season who were questioning Tubby's decision, well, now Tubby would be agreeing with them.

It's OK to question a HC or a player within reason. Obviously some take it way over the top and irrationally react one way or another about a coach or player, but if we're just supposed to sit back and hope for the best, do the "we've got the spirit, yes we do, we've got the spirit how about you" chant at games, well, that's just not fun or realistic.

I thought Monson made a mistake putting Holman at the top of the 1-3-1 zone, I thought Blake should have stayed at SG and thus, not hurting two positions instead of one, etc. That doesn't mean I think I'm I know "so much more than Tubby" - it just means that I'm sharing an observation that now Tubby agrees with. The fact that Tubby now agrees with this line of thinking doesn't make me any smarter about basketball than if Tubby didn't agree with the move.

Go Gophers!!
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Not I. It was the only option. Would have had Hollins starting and Colt on the bench, though.
Click to expand...

At least Ahamisi knew the position and could at least get the team into some type of flow. Putting Hoffarber at PG limited your productivity at SG and pretty much killed any chance of fast break high tempo offense. That kind of took away a big part of Williams and Mbwake's contributions.

If you are dependant on Austin Hollins for PG you might as well go home, you aren't going to win any games anyway.

I really wish Tubby would go after Chambers in the 2012 class, he is not the most athletic, or has the greatest offensive skills, but he knows the position and plays it well.
 

I just don't understand this. I've heard Tubby talk time and time again about how great Mav is, and now he's saying he should have started him? It's absolutely shocking to me. I've watched the kid play so many times, and every time he's looked like a D-3 player. I'm not saying I'm a better basketball mind than Tubby, I just can't understand what he's basing his opinion of Mav on. Seriously, I've never felt a disconnect between what I see with my own eyes and what a respected coach's opinion is on a player.
 

BleedGopher said:
I never understood this hyperbole. I don't think any of us are ever stating that we know "so much more than Tubby" but if any of us questioned the move of Blake to PG (as many on here did) then it in fact turns out that Tubby now agrees with these critics. So if you used the sarcastic tone questioning people on this board during the BT season who were questioning Tubby's decision, well, now Tubby would be agreeing with them.

It's OK to question a HC or a player within reason. Obviously some take it way over the top and irrationally react one way or another about a coach or player, but if we're just supposed to sit back and hope for the best, do the "we've got the spirit, yes we do, we've got the spirit how about you" chant at games, well, that's just not fun or realistic.

I thought Monson made a mistake putting Holman at the top of the 1-3-1 zone, I thought Blake should have stayed at SG and thus, not hurting two positions instead of one, etc. That doesn't mean I think I'm I know "so much more than Tubby" - it just means that I'm sharing an observation that now Tubby agrees with. The fact that Tubby now agrees with this line of thinking doesn't make me any smarter about basketball than if Tubby didn't agree with the move.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Sorry Bleed. I had no intension of insulting you or others. My point was that our head coach should not be afraid of the fan base to put a player on the court. I just don't like to punch a guy when he is down. I don't see a point. The season was gone when Al and Devoe were gone so the only option would have been Mav. This kid has got so much crap from us that I am not sure if he is even having fun being out there.

Several years ago at UK, Tubby had a player named Ravi Moss. He was a walk-on at 1st. In his 3rd and 4th year, he was one of Tubby's main players on the court. Mav reminds me of him. If we give this kid a chance, he might do well during the next 3 years.

I might have changed the subject. It is because of the latest post (Mav is a DIII player). Lets support our players and coaches. We all saw what happened in NBA finals. A team with smart and hard-working players beat a more talented team.

Bleed, SS, and a few other posters have done so much for this board and I thank you all for it.

Go Gophers
 



burton34 - Your sport was male tennis, right? That's cool, bro.

jovs - You might have misunderstood - to be clear, I'm not saying Hollins at point. I'm saying Hoffarber was our only option at PG and I would have had Hollins starting (and playing on the wing with Rodney) and Iverson coming off the bench. I said this from the moment Nolen was out and haven't changed my thoughts on it even a little bit. Nonetheless, I respectfully disagree with your comments on Ahanmisi and his performance.

Food for thought - I often consider who the speaker is and in what context they're speaking... and also consider what are some of the other things he could have said... and the reasons why someone might say certain things...

I see Tubby saying 'maybe' in his comments... I see him trying to be complimentary of a returning youngster... I see him throwing out something he's done before - that it wasn't just a point guard situation, he had to play multiple people in non-natural positions (some might call this an excuse and not buy it.. some might think the emphasis of such specific positions is silly... some might say, 'hey you had a 7-foot kid that may play in the NBA that can shoot well from 15 feet out... and you put him on a court with two inside bruiser types... why not try to get the 7-footer more involved offensively and use that size to your advantage?)

If we were able to rewind back to the Northwestern game at home, do you really think Tubby would say, "OK, Maverick is our starter!" (if all games were to be replayed, that is... not if the only other option was to accept what actually transpired again)?
 

I think we're missing the point.

One of the biggest complaints about Tubby last year was that he (allegedly) never took responsibility for the team's poor performance down the stretch. A lot of people were on here saying that Tubby was passing the buck by blaming all their problems on injuries and transfers.

So now, it looks like Tubby is coming out and admitting that, yes, he may have made mistakes last year that contributed to the team's lack of success. That, to me, seems to be a step in the right direction, toward assuming responsibility.

I think that's the real point of the interview and article - Tubby trying to reach out to the media and fan base to mend some fences.

Agree/disagree?
 

After Nolen went down, Tubby often used the big line-up with Blake at the 1. However, we were competitive most of the times for the first 35 minutes or so. Bad things started happening in the last five minutes or so once the opponents made adjustments to our paradigm (Blake at the 1, the big lineup, whatnot). Based on that, it is reasonable to say that the paradigm itself was not necessarily wrong, but Tubby did not make correct adjustments to counter the adjustments the opponents made. In other words, the result was influenced more by the tactical mistakes/inabilities than by the strategy or the paradigm itself IMO.

Our scoring defense in the conference games remained virtually unchanged before and after Nolen went down. Our 3 point defense in the conference games did not change in terms of the number of attempt allowed and % opponents made before and after Nolen went down. Though this type of macro analysis ignores specific situations in games, it does suggest that our overall defense may not have been the main reason for the 1-9 finish.

I don’t know if Mav would have been a superior choice or not. But, I personally didn’t see any evidence for it when he was given minutes.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I think we're missing the point.

One of the biggest complaints about Tubby last year was that he (allegedly) never took responsibility for the team's poor performance down the stretch. A lot of people were on here saying that Tubby was passing the buck by blaming all their problems on injuries and transfers.

So now, it looks like Tubby is coming out and admitting that, yes, he may have made mistakes last year that contributed to the team's lack of success. That, to me, seems to be a step in the right direction, toward assuming responsibility.

I think that's the real point of the interview and article - Tubby trying to reach out to the media and fan base to mend some fences.

Agree/disagree?
Click to expand...

In the series of interviews Tubby gave, he was trying to defend himself on the issues on which there was evidence for his case. The big lineup issue is more intricate than the other issues, and IMO there is no clear evidence for or against. Therefore, I think he basically said in the interviews that he would have changed the paradigm.

Of course, the interviews were a nightmarish PR move. I guess Tubby and his agent thought he needed to defend himself on the defensible issues in order to influence the negotiation for contract extension. In so doing, he confused PR with personal agenda.

PR is just to maintain a good relation with the public and the fans. It is not necessarily about truth seeking and has its own rules. Tubby ignored that, which might affect the program negatively in terms of fan support and therefore funding/revenue. For that, Tubby deserves lots of blame IMO by putting his interest above the interest of the program.
 

GoFerit said:
I don’t know if Mav would have been a superior choice or not. But, I personally didn’t see any evidence for it when he was given minutes.
Click to expand...

That would be my line of thinking as well. My biggest concern heading into the 2011-12 season is the PG position. Losing Al, and to a lesser extent Devoe, leaves a huge question mark. My hope is the younger Hollins and Welch can step right in and handle the lion's share of the PG/combo minutes. We have some good pieces in place in other areas.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I think we're missing the point.

One of the biggest complaints about Tubby last year was that he (allegedly) never took responsibility for the team's poor performance down the stretch. A lot of people were on here saying that Tubby was passing the buck by blaming all their problems on injuries and transfers.

So now, it looks like Tubby is coming out and admitting that, yes, he may have made mistakes last year that contributed to the team's lack of success. That, to me, seems to be a step in the right direction, toward assuming responsibility.

I think that's the real point of the interview and article - Tubby trying to reach out to the media and fan base to mend some fences.

Agree/disagree?
Click to expand...

100% agree. Great post. Thank you.

Go gophers
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One of the biggest complaints about Tubby last year was that he (allegedly) never took responsibility for the team's poor performance down the stretch. A lot of people were on here saying that Tubby was passing the buck by blaming all their problems on injuries and transfers.

Agree/disagree?
Click to expand...

I don't get that out of his comments at all (although I wasn't one who had a complaint about him 'taking responsibility'... I don't really care whether a coach says, 'wah wah, I should have helped the team do better' publicly - that does nothing for me)... although the contrast from his comments at the end of the season are fun: "I'm never going to get caught like this again without a point guard."

(BTW - maybe he meant AFTER 2011-12, as he has not brought in any point guards to date and it's mid-June... although I do think Welch will do some nice things...)
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom