Any buzz about Tubby looking around?

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ChuckTownHoo

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Good morning. I'm a (unfortunately in 2008-09) University of Virginia supporter, and there was a report yesterday from the local Charlottesville beat writer that Tubby may have some interest in the UVA job if it were to come open this offseason.

Has there been any buzz at all on your end that Tubby may consider this (or any other) job in the offseason?

His name was discussed at length on our boards before Leitao was hired because he has a very close relationship with our athletic director, coached at VCU, and I believe his wife is from Richmond (about an hour from Cville). Plus we're in the ACC and upgraded our facilities a couple of years ago and play in one of the nicest buildings in the nation...unfortunately that hasn't translated to wins over the last 2 years, and the natives are getting a little restless.

Leitao has been at UVA for 4 years, with some success (an ACC regular season title in 2006-07) but this year was pretty much a disaster. He hasn't coached a game yet with all of his recruits (this year's seniors were Pete Gillen's kids) so under normal circumstances I'd at least support one more year...Tubby possible interest would definitely change that way of thinking (at least for me) though.

Thanks.
 

Tubby declared numerous times he wasn't going anywhere and was tired of being asked about it. Sorry.

I hear Billy Gillispie may be looking for a job though.
 

It comes up a lot in passing, because.....

1) It's cold up here. Both Tubby and his wife Donna have remarked on that. It's not a show-stopper, but it is a factor.
2) Tubby' s been successful at 4 different places (Tulsa, GA, KY, and here) and obviously could do so at another place if he wants to.
3) He wants a new practice facility up here, and there are financial issues holding that up....

These things being said, by all reports Tubby is quite happy here. (as is his wife). We were lucky and opportunistic to grab him, but a lot of this is *timing*. After only two years here, there really isn't any reason for Tubby to leave - his favorable rating is probably above ~ 95% up here, there's no signfiicant alumni pressure like there was on him at KY, and he has a lot of very very good recruits coming in this next year. I suspect he will retire here and hand the coaching job off to his son Saul when he's ready to do so, and about the only job he might jump from here to is the one at your hated/storied rival Maryland.
 

Other than him being from Maryland there's really no tie-in that I know of. With UVA his relationship with our AD (Craig Littlepage) is kinda the wild-card...of course Leitao was a Littlepage hire so he may not want to replace him yet if for no other reason than pretty much publicly admitting it was a poor choice.
 

ChuckTownHoo said:
Other than him being from Maryland there's really no tie-in that I know of. With UVA his relationship with our AD (Craig Littlepage) is kinda the wild-card...of course Leitao was a Littlepage hire so he may not want to replace him yet if for no other reason than pretty much publicly admitting it was a poor choice.
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The U of Virginia is in a nice climate, located near the beautiful mountains, and was founded by Thomas Jefferson (or something like that). Other than that, what does UVa have that MN doesn't have? I know one thing, the MN people are a lot more down-to-earth than those hoitie-toitie snobs that make up a huge portion of UVA.
 


ChuckTownHoo said:
Other than him being from Maryland there's really no tie-in that I know of. With UVA his relationship with our AD (Craig Littlepage) is kinda the wild-card...of course Leitao was a Littlepage hire so he may not want to replace him yet if for no other reason than pretty much publicly admitting it was a poor choice.
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Donna was born and raised in Richmond VA.
 

ChuckTownHoo said:
Good morning. I'm a (unfortunately in 2008-09) University of Virginia supporter, and there was a report yesterday from the local Charlottesville beat writer that Tubby may have some interest in the UVA job if it were to come open this offseason.

Has there been any buzz at all on your end that Tubby may consider this (or any other) job in the offseason?

His name was discussed at length on our boards before Leitao was hired because he has a very close relationship with our athletic director, coached at VCU, and I believe his wife is from Richmond (about an hour from Cville). Plus we're in the ACC and upgraded our facilities a couple of years ago and play in one of the nicest buildings in the nation...unfortunately that hasn't translated to wins over the last 2 years, and the natives are getting a little restless.

Leitao has been at UVA for 4 years, with some success (an ACC regular season title in 2006-07) but this year was pretty much a disaster. He hasn't coached a game yet with all of his recruits (this year's seniors were Pete Gillen's kids) so under normal circumstances I'd at least support one more year...Tubby possible interest would definitely change that way of thinking (at least for me) though.

Thanks.
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That ship sailed in 2005. Tubby was VERY interested in Virginia job then but UVa turned down his salary terms (somewhere in $2 million+ per year range). Not going to happen from here on.
 

That seems to be the consensus among our "in the know" folks...not that the ship has sailed but that if the $$$ was right in '05 he would have made the move. Hindsight is 20/20 but the money saved by not paying for the right guy is biting us now as we can't fill the new arena and may end up having to buyout DL if next year turns out like this year did.
 

ChuckTownHoo said:
That seems to be the consensus among our "in the know" folks...not that the ship has sailed but that if the $$$ was right in '05 he would have made the move. Hindsight is 20/20 but the money saved by not paying for the right guy is biting us now as we can't fill the new arena and may end up having to buyout DL if next year turns out like this year did.
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No doubt. Had UVa met the $ terms, Tubby would be in Charlottesville today. Even in 2005 (after 219-58, 1 NCAA title, 4 Elite 8, 6 Sweet 16, 5 SEC titles, 5 SECT championships in 8 years) some UK fans wanted him gone then.
 



ChuckTownHoo said:
That seems to be the consensus among our "in the know" folks...not that the ship has sailed but that if the $$$ was right in '05 he would have made the move. Hindsight is 20/20 but the money saved by not paying for the right guy is biting us now as we can't fill the new arena and may end up having to buyout DL if next year turns out like this year did.
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It's a tough call; the consensus back in 2005 was probably that Tubby was not all that great - recall the media saying how bad he'd fail at Minnesota when he first made the switch? "He couldn't do it at god-school Kentucky" B.S. kind of stuff. So was UVa really ready to shell down a bunch of cash on a coach whose own fans were very down on? I think MN was in that position...don't forget that MN has a fairly proud tradition in bball. That tradition was heading straight south under Monson, and MN needed to get a big name in. That Tubby was ready and willing to listen was luck. That he made the move was brilliant on both parts (his and the school's).

All that said, had Tubby gone to UVa, you could be quite sure that Ralph Jr. would have been headed there.
 

Trust me (and I was one of them) in '05 the fans would have killed for Tubby...despite what the spoiled Kentucky folks were saying about him.

RE: Ralph Jr. I don't think he would have gone to UVA regardless of who the coach is/was. His mom didn't want him having to live up to Dad's reputation...pressure would have been very intense.
 

cncmin said:
It's a tough call; the consensus back in 2005 was probably that Tubby was not all that great - recall the media saying how bad he'd fail at Minnesota when he first made the switch? "He couldn't do it at god-school Kentucky" B.S. kind of stuff. So was UVa really ready to shell down a bunch of cash on a coach whose own fans were very down on? I think MN was in that position...don't forget that MN has a fairly proud tradition in bball. That tradition was heading straight south under Monson, and MN needed to get a big name in. That Tubby was ready and willing to listen was luck. That he made the move was brilliant on both parts (his and the school's).

All that said, had Tubby gone to UVa, you could be quite sure that Ralph Jr. would have been headed there.
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Well put (for the most part) but in 2005, Tubby had been to 9 Sweet 16 in the prior 12 years. No NCAA Div I coach had that many (9 of those 12) at the time. He was 311-83 (79%) those 12 years.

His reputation in 2005 was very strong.
 

-I live in C'ville too, so I can attest to the dislike of Dave Leito these days. However...

-As mentioned UVA had thier chance in 2005 and wouldn't cough up the money. Also, they were fixated on getting Dave Odom. That blew up in thier face and they ended up with Leito.

-Any friendship with Littlepage should not be a huge factor as he may be out on his @ss sooner then later if Groh has a bad season again too.

-I don't actually think Leito is going to get fired for financial and other reasons.

All in all, I'm much more worried about the lure of Maryland, but if they are in the NCAA's as is now projected, I think Gary Williams is safe.
 



ChuckTownHoo said:
Trust me (and I was one of them) in '05 the fans would have killed for Tubby...despite what the spoiled Kentucky folks were saying about him.

RE: Ralph Jr. I don't think he would have gone to UVA regardless of who the coach is/was. His mom didn't want him having to live up to Dad's reputation...pressure would have been very intense.
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Question I've always wondered - why 'Hoos AND Cavaliers?
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Question I've always wondered - why 'Hoos AND Cavaliers?
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Caveliers is the 'official' mascot as presented to the outside public. 'Hoos or Wahoos is the unofficial mascot that all Alumni and Locals seem to use. I believe it is a fish that can drink several times it's own body weight, so I guess you can see why college kids might have picked it at some point.

Virtually all cheers, songs (the dear old song) etc. refer to the Wahoos. About the only thing actually Cavelier is 'Cav Man.' This is my limited understanding as a non-alum from Minnesota. I'm sure Chuck can correct my various errors.
 

Yep, that's pretty much it...the Wahoo fish. There's another story/legend that has something to do with the baseball team from years ago, but I'm not clear on the details. I stick to the fish one.
 


Yup, Tubby is looking..

Tubby is looking for shooters !!!

Beyond that I think it is 50/50 he retires here. Obviously he can have the pick of any job that comes up but I cant see him leaving here until at least end of 2010-2011 season when his freshmen complete their junior season. I dont think it would be an honaroable thing for him to leave them any sooner and I do believe Tubby is an honorable guy. Yes, I know he left other jobs after 2 years but that was at a different stage in his career. He is no longer climbing the ladder. His reputation and professional status are already at the top rung. I just hope global warming heats up our Minnesota winters so the Smith's stay a long time!
 

My wife's from Minnesota...love it from May - October, but it's the other months that have made me swear it off!
 

Question: "Any buzz about Tubby looking around?"

Answer: Nope
 

howeda7 said:
Caveliers is the 'official' mascot as presented to the outside public. 'Hoos or Wahoos is the unofficial mascot that all Alumni and Locals seem to use. I believe it is a fish that can drink several times it's own body weight, so I guess you can see why college kids might have picked it at some point.

Virtually all cheers, songs (the dear old song) etc. refer to the Wahoos. About the only thing actually Cavelier is 'Cav Man.' This is my limited understanding as a non-alum from Minnesota. I'm sure Chuck can correct my various errors.
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I know what a Wahoo (fish) is. It's a large mackerel, called Ono in Hawaii. I've caught 30 Lb or 40 Lb ones there.
 

ChuckTownHoo said:
Yep, that's pretty much it...the Wahoo fish. There's another story/legend that has something to do with the baseball team from years ago, but I'm not clear on the details. I stick to the fish one.
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The Wahoo (Ono in Hawaii) can swim up to 50 mph. Like a rocket in the ocean.
 

I always thought Minnesota winters were something you can get used to. XC skiing, ice fishing and snowmobling make many people hate to see winter end. Those damn mosquitoes are another story.
 

Well, as a native Minnesotan, I can say a person needs something in their DNA to be able to handle the weather up their. I was all right with it, and know when to take my wife up there for a visit (though she states she wants to experience 20 below).

That said, I personally am getting weary of the Tubby going somewhere else speculation. It is as if there is a "were not a good enough state for a top coach to want to live in" low self esteem mentality.

Don't need to fuel the talk by always speculating when the coaches are going to leave.
 


IMHO, Relax, Tubby is not going to leave ever. I have watched Tubby for over twelve years now and I have never seen him or Donna happier. Think about it, He really is a class person and I believe that he intends to bring the gopher program to new heights, give is son a start in coaching, get the court named after him and retire around friends and fans that he loves and admires and who love and respect him in return. Does it get any better than that in life?
 

melbo said:
IMHO, Relax, Tubby is not going to leave ever. I have watched Tubby for over twelve years now and I have never seen him or Donna happier. Think about it, He really is a class person and I believe that he intends to bring the gopher program to new heights, give is son a start in coaching, get the court named after him and retire around friends and fans that he loves and admires and who love and respect him in return. Does it get any better than that in life?
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Ditto here. Only known him for 9 years but absolutely on the rest. He'll retire as a Gopher.
 

Hey I've heard many similar rumors at Georgia Tech. Paul Hewitt will likely be on his way out after next year, and the Ramblin' Wreck boosters have deep pockets to go after a premier coach. I see Tubby is very happy in Minnesota, and I wish him nothing but the greatest success. But honestly... can he compete for a national championship at Minnesota? My guess - and it is nothing more than that - is he would at a minimum consider going to a place where he can compete for another championship banner; if not at a current powerhouse program, then at a second-tier ACC or Big East program?
 

He'd have a better chance to compete for a title at MN than Georgia Tech or Virginia. Thats forsure.
 

RamblinWreck said:
Hey I've heard many similar rumors at Georgia Tech. Paul Hewitt will likely be on his way out after next year, and the Ramblin' Wreck boosters have deep pockets to go after a premier coach. I see Tubby is very happy in Minnesota, and I wish him nothing but the greatest success. But honestly... can he compete for a national championship at Minnesota? My guess - and it is nothing more than that - is he would at a minimum consider going to a place where he can compete for another championship banner; if not at a current powerhouse program, then at a second-tier ACC or Big East program?
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I don't recall Ga Tech competing for many NCAA titles lately. Under Bobby Cremins, maybe.
 

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