Chip Scoggins column: Symptoms say U hoops needs another rebirth

Donate To GopherHole

You're right, Scoggins is very good. I wouldn't extend Tubby's contract, but too early for a change. I believe the next run is already here on campus. EE has an NBA future. Didn't see quite enough of Huge Mo other than to say he'll be an above average B1G player. Can't tell about the backcourt until at least some are juniors. Need Joe or Dre to become a go to scorer. I would give Tubby two more years, then I can see a change if we're not in the promised land.
 

We are in a tough situation. The program takes a hit if Tubby quits because nationally it will be the University of Minnesota's fault, not Tubby Smith. They'll staple the practice facility promise to Maturi's forehead and the prosecution will rest. We need to roll with him for another year when our A.D. situation is settled and hopefully the baseball stadium is completed, making the practice facility priority #1.

It is really bad though, and going on three years of bad.
 

One of the better columns I have read, but this section is ridiculous:

"This is not a call for a coaching change necessarily. The school already learned in the case of Glen Mason that change for the sake of change can backfire if you don't hire the right person."

Change for the sake of change is not done after TEN years. The Gophers during that time frame were 8th out of 11 Big Ten teams during that time period and joined Indiana as the only two programs to not finish 3rd or better at least once in the conference standings during that decade. I can't think of another school in the nation that would stick with a coach with that resume for any longer than the University of Minnesota did. Change was made because what was going on was not working and we'd seen a regression from a peak (a peak!) of average Big Ten play.

I think Chip nails most of it, but Mason should be used as a reason to not wait too long (more fans losing interest in the program) before saying enough is enough. Fear of change, just keeps you stuck you where you are. Hoping the same coach will produce different results after a period of 5-6 years is not a sound strategy at best and foolish at worst.
 

The New AD will come in and make the decision on which direction and who the coach will be. My hope is that the School puts focus on MBB,Football, and hockey and get's serious about winning. I think the major contributors will return with new Energy and New money for the remodel/practice facility for Williams Arena...l
 


I think what he was getting at re: Mason is that change doesn't necessarily produce better results. Different is always different, but not always better.
 

It is nice to see someone in the media acknowledge a need for a practice facility, since the media did no small part in turning a potential practice facility into an object of derision since Tubby Smith first suggested it.
 

From the Barn said:
It is nice to see someone in the media acknowledge a need for a practice facility, since the media did no small part in turning a potential practice facility into an object of derision since Tubby Smith first suggested it.
Click to expand...

Chip did a good job of reviewing Tubby's 5 years. I do suggest though that you re-read Chip's comments on the practice facility. Actually, I'll do it for you.
" Smith loyalists argue that a state-of-the-art practice facility would open new doors in recruiting. That is true, to a point. To borrow Mason's line abount an on-campus stadium,a practice facility is a need, not a want. Sure Williams Arena has history and charm, but it's is a tough sell to recruits. That is a fact, BUT
it shouldn't be an excuse trotted out after every loss. A practice facility alone isn't acure all. The Gophers have WON without one. To suggest it can't be done
again is an attempt to deflect attention from other problems. And frankly, fans are growing tired of excuses" I think it is paramont that the staff be shaken up.
Tubby had the right idea in hiring Jimmy Williams. Look at the track record that Williams had under Dutcher and the recruits he brought in. He did this with an unrevamped Williams Arena and no practice facility. The locker rooms at that time were like closets with places to hang your coats. If the season ends up going in the tank I look for two staff members to get canned, and believe it or not, one of them maybe Saul. I know, "blood is thicker than water" but this kid is in way over is head as reported over on GI.
 

Very good point on Jimmy Williams. We would get an EE type recruit everyother year or so, and many would be ready for the NBA when they left campus.
 



no one had practice facilities back then. There was nothing to compete against. Everyone has upgraded but the Gophers.
 

Exactly, from the Barn, that was 40 years ago, 40! We all love MN, but changing with the times (public investment) is not always easily accomplished here. If a recruit is offered stay at a Holiday Inn built in 1960 or a Westin completed in 2005, which will impress him more? I personally hate it, but this is the age of bling not the age of nostalgia. So the new AD must come in with eyes open and ready to improve on the strengths we have - an enthusiastic fan base, only on D1 program and boosters and a corporate community willing to respond to AD leadership.
 

I don't remember people giving Monson the excuse of no practice facility. That wasn't 40 years ago. Why didn't you guys give Monson the same treatment as Tubby?
 

Practice facilities weren't an issue when Monson was around. Everyone has them now. A lot can change in 5 years.
 



Why was Jimmy Williams not allowed to come here? Flip was also a coach during the " scandal" that acquitted all parties. His name has been tossed out for years as a head coach. Another Maturi stroke of genius
 

From the Barn said:
Practice facilities weren't an issue when Monson was around. Everyone has them now. A lot can change in 5 years.
Click to expand...

So everyone got practice facilities in the past 5 years? Really? That is quite a building boom. I think Florida opened theirs in 2001. UConn still doesn't have one. I wonder if Calhoun uses that for an excuse. Butler doesn't have one either. I wonder if Brad Stevens uses that fo ran excuse when he loses in the championship game 2 years in a row??
 


And no one is saying the practice facility is why they aren't winning or using it as an excuse. It is something the program needs and puts the program at a disadvantage.
 

Muss/Dutch days with J. Williams go back some 40 years, when practice facilities were irrelevant.
 


From the Barn said:
And no one is saying the practice facility is why they aren't winning or using it as an excuse. It is something the program needs and puts the program at a disadvantage.
Click to expand...

I see it used as a Tubby excuse every day on here. That is why Chip brought it up.
 

minngg said:
I don't remember people giving Monson the excuse of no practice facility. That wasn't 40 years ago. Why didn't you guys give Monson the same treatment as Tubby?
Click to expand...

Were you able to catch the games back then? On the Monson Show, he was so embarrassed he couldn't make eye contact with Marty G. Then that show mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves. When Clemson put that press on them, to deflect the action on the court, all the announcers could do was talk about the jersys hanging on the wall. No one was more relieved at the firing than Monson.
 

howieramone said:
Were you able to catch the games back then? On the Monson Show, he was so embarrassed he couldn't make eye contact with Marty G. Then that show mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves. When Clemson put that press on them, to deflect the action on the court, all the announcers could do is talk about the jersys hanging on the wall. No one was more relieved at the firing than Monson.
Click to expand...

Howie, who has tubby played this year?

Monson has the toughest non-con sched 3 years running. What about tubby?

Be careful - Monson might win a NCAA tourney game before tubby.....
 

howieramone said:
Were you able to catch the games back then? On the Monson Show, he was so embarrassed he couldn't make eye contact with Marty G. Then that show mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves. When Clemson put that press on them, to deflect the action on the court, all the announcers could do is talk about the jersys hanging on the wall. No one was more relieved at the firing than Monson.
Click to expand...

Yes, he was relieved because the heat was on him. Nobody was cutting him any slack because of players that left the program and the practice facility like they give Tubby.
 

you are comparing apples and oranges with current non-conference schedules. You think the U would allow that many noncon road games? Compare their noncon schedules with the gophers.
 

Wait, Clem didn't have a practice facility, and that wasn't 40 years ago. Tubby's problem is the game has past him up and he has a horrible combintion of ass't coaches. Make some changes Tubby and quit harping on frickin practice facility. You don't hear John Anderson bring up everytime he loses a game." Well, if we only had a new stadium" Jeez, I've toured the Gopher locker room and while it may not be state of the art like the football locker room, it is pretty damn nice.
 

minngg said:
Yes, he was relieved because the heat was on him. Nobody was cutting him any slack because of players that left the program and the practice facility like they give Tubby.
Click to expand...

The fact that Monson lasted 8 years proves he was cut plenty of slack.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Wait, Clem didn't have a practice facility, and that wasn't 40 years ago. Tubby's problem is the game has past him up and he has a horrible combintion of ass't coaches. Make some changes Tubby and quit harping on frickin practice facility. You don't hear John Anderson bring up everytime he loses a game." Well, if we only had a new stadium" Jeez, I've toured the Gopher locker room and while it may not be state of the art like the football locker room, it is pretty damn nice.
Click to expand...

Pretty nice compared to what? The locker room down at the Y? Or the locker room over at MSU? Because the latter is the only comparison that matters.
 

BarnBurner said:
Howie, who has tubby played this year?

Monson has the toughest non-con sched 3 years running. What about tubby?

Be careful - Monson might win a NCAA tourney game before tubby.....
Click to expand...

I bear Monson no ill will. I thought it was a good hire at the time, just like the Amaker hire at Michigan, it just didn't work out. I remember his father bringing a team to the Barn with a local kid on it. I don't believe Monson was unhappy to leave.

Lute used Long Beach as a stepping stone, let's hope Monson can.
 

I think they need a new practice facility and, hate to say it, a new arena. However, it still comes back to the people. For twenty years the excuse was that the football team couldn't win because of where it played its games. Now the program is entering its fourth season in the nicest, newest stadium in the country and the coach is saying that we are at least three years from anywhere. So how is the new facility working out as a recruiting or victory generating tool?
 

jamiche said:
I think they need a new practice facility and, hate to say it, a new arena. However, it still comes back to the people. For twenty years the excuse was that the football team couldn't win because of where it played its games. Now the program is entering its fourth season in the nicest, newest stadium in the country and the coach is saying that we are at least three years from anywhere. So how is the new facility working out as a recruiting or victory generating tool?
Click to expand...

IMO, it absolutely improved recruiting. The problem was guys leaving and having an incompetent coach to bring in the new stadium.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom