AP: Tubby Smith says Gophers will get better (some interesting quotes)

[BleedGopher]

The AP had its interview with Tubby yesterday. A few quotes that stood out:

"We'd have been playing for a Big Ten championship if Al Nolen and Maurice Walker were healthy. It's as simple as that," Smith said. "The best-laid plans."

Smith said he didn't feel Sampson worked hard enough before last season. "I didn't think he had a very good year," the coach said.

He said Williams was distracted by becoming a father last year. "He never really played to his potential. I tell them: It's in the offseason when you get better," Smith said.

http://plainsdaily.com/story/11317

Go Gophers!!

 

[BarnBurner]

The AP had its interview with Tubby yesterday. A few quotes that stood out:

"We'd have been playing for a Big Ten championship if Al Nolen and Maurice Walker were healthy. It's as simple as that," Smith said. "The best-laid plans."

Smith said he didn't feel Sampson worked hard enough before last season. "I didn't think he had a very good year," the coach said.

He said Williams was distracted by becoming a father last year. "He never really played to his potential. I tell them: It's in the offseason when you get better," Smith said.

http://plainsdaily.com/story/11317

Go Gophers!!

Excuses!!!!!

I am sure the anti-excuses crowd will promptly respond to this blasphemy and take the coach to task.

 

[Blizzard]

Excuses!!!!!

I am sure the anti-excuses crowd will promptly respond to this blasphemy and take the coach to task.

Tubby Smith makes aaaah lot of money ZTA. A lot of money. Country club membership, car, perks we can only imagine. It's because he's Tubby Smith and we're not. It's because he's not Dan Monson.

America. What a country!

 

[Go4]

Tubby Smith makes aaaah lot of money ZTA. A lot of money. Country club membership, car, perks we can only imagine. It's because he's Tubby Smith and we're not. It's because he's not Dan Monson.

America. What a country!

well said blizzard!

"if? done deal." hilarious. laughable. interesting. nxet.

 

[BarnBurner]

well said blizzard!

"if? done deal." hilarious. laughable. interesting. nxet.

According to SS, excuses are for losers.

Look who lined up in the loser line.

Mahn and Blizzak.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Tubby must have got sucked in by that "unlevel playing field" excuse that we always heard so much about from Helluva Golfer's biggest fan!

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

'Well, we really didn't have the two best players on our team.'" Some one help a dummy like me, did he mean Nolen and Joseph or Nolen and Walker? Not trying to be a smart ass.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Bleed, thanks for posting. You do a great job and I start to take it for granted. Much appreciated.

 

[book]

Its like today's weather -it sucks that it is snowing but Sunday and next week looks much better.
The Gopher season is over - it sucked but I like the prospects for next year.

 

[Jon]

Al and Mo

He was talking about Al and Mo as can be seen from the below quote.
"We'd have been playing for a Big Ten championship if Al Nolen and Maurice Walker were healthy. It's as simple as that,"

I think Mo is Tubby's highest rated center recruit.

 

[jmag21]

I agree with Tubby that Mo was a huge loss. He was giving us some consistent inside scoring and some good rebounding last year before his injury. It looks like he continued to work hard after his injury, because he was practically svelte by the end of the year. I expect big things from him next year.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

I agree with Tubby that Mo was a huge loss. He was giving us some consistent inside scoring and some good rebounding last year before his injury. It looks like he continued to work hard after his injury, because he was practically svelte by the end of the year. I expect big things from him next year.

That's good news. I was wondering how he was doing. Knee injuries always worry me. (Thanks Jon for answering my question)

 

[anonymous]

I'm going to just throw this out there and I realize I might be throwing meat to wolves.

But I guess I don't get Tubby talking all this about Mo Walker being this huge loss and being such a reason why the team struggled.

It certainly didn't help to have a player get hurt. But he never played more than 15 minutes in a game and this was during the softer part of the schedule. Against major conference opponents (Carolina, WV and Virgina), he averaged less than seven minutes per game. Tubby is also a coach who requires new players to earn his trust and, as a result, it is rare that a new player playes significantly more in conference play than in the non-conference.

The Gophers lost games in conference play because of guard play. That was pretty clear.

This isn't a knock on Walker, who seems like he has a chance to be at least decent and perhaps good. But I don't get how he was this huge loss considering how Tubby plays freshmen and considering the number of front court players the Gophers had.

 

[Monty519]

I agree with Tubby that Mo was a huge loss. He was giving us some consistent inside scoring and some good rebounding last year before his injury. It looks like he continued to work hard after his injury, because he was practically svelte by the end of the year. I expect big things from him next year.

I don't think a guy like Mo Walker is capable of looking "svelte" LOL. But he definitely looked like he continued work after his injury, cause he definitely had cut some pounds since he went down.

 

[Monty519]

I'm going to just throw this out there and I realize I might be throwing meat to wolves.

But I guess I don't get Tubby talking all this about Mo Walker being this huge loss and being such a reason why the team struggled.

It certainly didn't help to have a player get hurt. But he never played more than 15 minutes in a game and this was during the softer part of the schedule. Against major conference opponents (Carolina, WV and Virgina), he averaged less than seven minutes per game. Tubby is also a coach who requires new players to earn his trust and, as a result, it is rare that a new player playes significantly more in conference play than in the non-conference.

The Gophers lost games in conference play because of guard play. That was pretty clear.

This isn't a knock on Walker, who seems like he has a chance to be at least decent and perhaps good. But I don't get how he was this huge loss considering how Tubby plays freshmen and considering the number of front court players the Gophers had.

I struggle with calling him a "huge" loss myself. He was a productive player though, and considering some of the issues we had even in the paint during the final stretch, having a big man who could pass the rock and finish consistenly around the basket could have helped a lot when the offense struggled. But really, it's about Al Nolen. With a healthy Nolen, we were beating "top 10" squads. Without him, we were struggling with, and losing to some pretty average teams. Sometimes that line between winning and losing can be that tight though.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

I agree with Tubby that Mo was a huge loss. He was giving us some consistent inside scoring and some good rebounding last year before his injury. It looks like he continued to work hard after his injury, because he was practically svelte by the end of the year. I expect big things from him next year.

Me too. I can hardly wait to see him play again.

Go Gophers

 

[GoFerit]

A character issue often is the proverbial bridge to burn, and Tubby keeps on giving the ammo for it. Regardless of his intention behind them, his words are easily exploitable to that end. It is a quagmire of subjectivity he may not be able to struggle out once dipping a foot into it.

Maybe, he is a big fan of Erik Morales. Maybe, playing a role in the way he is expected to be is too much of the meek, docile Uncle Tom image -- pardon my stereotyping here -- for him to bear while being under attack. Maybe, it is his personality. I have no idea. But… Is he picking the worst time to give such interviews, and does he keep on giving ill chosen words regardless of their truth and truthfulness -- basketball is not about truth but about opinion after all.

I guess I am overreacting. But, the probability that he is to be gone after next season (regardless of its outcome) appears to be increasing each day.

 

[burton34]

"Gophers will get better."

Hmm. This team lost 10 of the last 11 games. Is it possible for them to get worse?

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

"Gophers will get better."

Hmm. This team lost 10 of the last 11 games. Is it possible for them to get worse?

Could have been 11 out of 11. (just kidding)

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I get the sense that Tubby is feeling some heat, and is trying to justify his coaching performance.

Of the injuries and transfers, I would put Walker 3rd behind Nolan and Joseph. Tubby has stated in other interviews that he thinks he made a mistake by using the big lineup too much down the stretch, so I'm not sure how many minutes there would have been for Walker - unless he would have taken over more of Iverson's minutes. By the way, I'm among the group that is upset with the way Tubby threw Iverson under the bus. Iverson may not be a great player, but I always felt he worked hard. If he didn't improve, then that falls back on the coaching staff as much as the player.

Bottom line - IMHO, Tubby is trying to answer his critics while accepting the least amount of blame possible for his part in the team's late-season problems. I would feel a lot better if he just came out and said "I didn't do a good enough job." But, big-name coaches have big-time egos, and I think his ego just won't let him admit that he's part of the problem.

As far as next year, I'm not as optomistic as some on this board. A lot of question marks in the backcourt, and everyone seems to be counting on the freshmen and redshirts to jump right in and become major contributors. I have to see it before I believe it.

 

[BarnBurner]

Tubby must have got sucked in by that "unlevel playing field" excuse that we always heard so much about from Helluva Golfer's biggest fan!

SS's new coach lost 10 of 11 to close year 4. SS's new coach blames players for the team's failures multiple times, calls players out by name, and makes excuseseek, something that SS said is for losers.


Based on the writings of SS, Tubby = LOSER.


Nicely done SS!

BTW - he would school you on the links.

 

[Go4]

SS's new coach lost 10 of 11 to close year 4. SS's new coach blames players for the team's failures multiple times, calls players out by name, and makes excuseseek, something that SS said is for losers.


Based on the writings of SS, Tubby = LOSER.


Nicely done SS!

BTW - he would school you on the links.

how on earth aren't you banned again? mods? "ss's new coach" hey troll, assuming you are a gopher fan, then he is also YOUR coach.

or, your coach was locked and loaded for the tourney according to some on the hole.

if? done deal.

hilarious. laughable. interesting nxet.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Schooling me on the links wouldn't be anything to brag about.

 

[BarnBurner]

Schooling me on the links wouldn't be anything to brag about.

Didnt say it was, but you brought up golf.

Why dont you comment on the unmet expectations of your coach/team? On the obvious deficiencies in the program?

Tough to swallow? cat got your tongue?

Or just cant quite muster the admission that the tubster has been a failure thus far?

 

[BarnBurner]

how on earth aren't you banned again? mods? "ss's new coach" hey troll, assuming you are a gopher fan, then he is also YOUR coach.

or, your coach was locked and loaded for the tourney according to some on the hole.

if? done deal.

hilarious. laughable. interesting nxet.

Coach of the Gophers, a team I pay to watch.

YOU cant take the criticism you shell out mahn.

No troll, just facts.


Lost 10 of 11 to close out year 4, player defections, police blotter.

Quite some accomplishments.

 

[Go4]

Didnt say it was, but you brought up golf.

Why dont you comment on the unmet expectations of your coach/team? On the obvious deficiencies in the program?

Tough to swallow? cat got your tongue?

Or just cant quite muster the admission that the tubster has been a failure thus far?

hypocrisy continues to be thy name little one.

why don't you comment on the unmet expectations of YOUR coach? if? done deal.

tough to swallow? cat got your tongue?

or just cant quite muster the admission that you are a failure at predicting low major tourney bids?

 

[jovs]

How can you tell what loss made the most impact, you are half way through the season and have to start building a new team identity and chemistry, it isn't going to turn out well. I think Mo just fits into Tubby's philosphy and skill set. Hope he is 100% next year.

 

[Calgoph]

'Well, we really didn't have the two best players on our team.'" Some one help a dummy like me, did he mean Nolen and Joseph or Nolen and Walker? Not trying to be a smart ass.

No doubt in my mind that Tubby was speaking of Nolen & Joseph in the quote you reference...which the writer followed immediately by the paragraph below.

(quote)Al Nolen and Devoe Joseph were feisty, confident guards who struggled at times but showed an ability to drive to the basket and defend the perimeter. When Joseph left the program in a clash with Smith over attitude and academics and Nolen went down with a broken foot, the Gophers were suddenly missing critical attributes they weren't able to replace.(end quote)

Point guard is widely considered the most important position in basketball because a good one makes everyone else on the team better. We lost our 2 best point guards and everyone else played worse. That's why we couldn't score, that's why we couldn't disrupt opponent point guards (minus Nolen), that's why we blew leads late in games, & that's why we couldn't win close games.

Tubby was and still is a good coach. He mostly just needs to solve the point guard problem (on both offense and defense). And find some people that can shoot. I don't have to look any further that the free throw chart to find out who can't shoot.

 

[EG#9]

It might just be more excuses, but I enjoy reading this type of information. I am enjoying reading all of these Tubby interviews because I feel like I am either learning a new piece of information about the team last year or gaining an increased understanding of Tubby's thought patterns in each interview.

One thing that does bother me when Nolen (or to a lesser extent Devoe's) is brought up as an excuse from last years team is that Tubby had plenty of time to recruit another point guard. Further, he took two lightly regarded guards last Spring. Neither was capable of playing in the Big Ten to the point where Tubby had to move his best shooter to the primary ball handler. This was Tubby's fault and was a major recruiting error.

 

[underground629]

I still can't understand that 2 best players quote other than that it was it was maybe supposed to say 2 of the best players. It's no secret that Trevor was the best or at least second best player at hte least.