Gophers basketball: Tubby Smith's firing leaves Jay Bilas 'sick'

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It leave me sick too. But that doesn't mean it's the wrong move. It seems Tubby Smith is a fine man and he was a pretty good basketball coach. For a variety of reasons it didn't work out here. Some of them weren't his fault. Some of them were. But the end results speak for themselves. I harbor him no ill will.
 


howeda7 said:
It leave me sick too. But that doesn't mean it's the wrong move. It seems Tubby Smith is a fine man and he was a pretty good basketball coach. For a variety of reasons it didn't work out here. Some of them weren't his fault. Some of them were. But the end results speak for themselves. I harbor him no ill will.
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Agreed. I feel awful right now, particularly when I think back 5, 6, heck even 1 year ago, thinking Tubby was going to do this and that, seeing the nice recruiting classes coming in, and then pffft, starting with the Royce White fiasco everything just broke down, bit by bit; and they just never turned it around. I feel like it was this splintered relationship, kind of like an old couple getting back together. They liked each other but the rift was still there and never could fully be repaired.

I really hope Teague knows what he's doing.
 

Brando pissed me off yesterday with his pro SEC slant on things yesterday. Not calling out the officials more than he did. I was appalled neither him or Gminski had the nads to bring it up in the first half.
 


Johnnyboy18 said:
You really thinks he gives a damn about Minnesota?
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Of course not. He knows who Tubby Smith is, he likes him because Tubby is a good guy and he automatically thinks that he's the best a program like MN could possibly do.
 

Cheering for the Heat to lose so we can get Minnesota off of the headlines for now.
 

howeda7 said:
It leave me sick too. But that doesn't mean it's the wrong move. It seems Tubby Smith is a fine man and he was a pretty good basketball coach. For a variety of reasons it didn't work out here. Some of them weren't his fault. Some of them were. But the end results speak for themselves. I harbor him no ill will.
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+1. The frustration among some of the more loyal Gopher fans was evidence of this. I liked Tubby, I supported him every step of the way. Even when things were bad I thought "he's going to turn this around." But in the end, whatever and whoever's fault it may have been, it never turned around. He's a fine man and will have no problem finding a job. We still were not worthy when we got him, and he deserved more than finding out he was fired by a CBSSports news break.
 

scher215 said:
Cheering for the Heat to lose so we can get Minnesota off of the headlines for now.
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I realize that the expectations are much higher at UCLA, but I can't fathom how Tubby's firing has gotten more pub than Howland's firing (I'm in LA right now).

Ben Howland's resume:
Current Squad: 13-5 in the Pac 10 this year, won the conference (25-9)
Recent Squads: 37-17 the last 3 seasons in the Pac 10/12 (.685 winning percentage)
Overall: 3 Final Fours, won 67% of Pac10/12 games, 10 players in the NBA

Tubby is a nice guy, so people like him.
 



KSBGopher said:
+1. The frustration among some of the more loyal Gopher fans was evidence of this. I liked Tubby, I supported him every step of the way. Even when things were bad I thought "he's going to turn this around." But in the end, whatever and whoever's fault it may have been, it never turned around. He's a fine man and will have no problem finding a job. We still were not worthy when we got him, and he deserved more than finding out he was fired by a CBSSports news break.
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I agree and think the practice facility was unfair to him as well.

That said, mixed emotions for me. Definitely sad to see Tubby go and essentially fail here by getting fired. However, I am excited at the possibility of a new coach. Some renewed energy and a fresh look on the program if you will. Even if it isn't Shaka, this program is in good hands with Norwood AD Ellis.
 

From an outsiders perspective MN was 100% right in the firing of Tubby.

He was taking you nowhere and its not Minnesotas responsibility to to keep Tubby working for a few more years.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I realize that the expectations are much higher at UCLA, but I can't fathom how Tubby's firing has gotten more pub than Howland's firing (I'm in LA right now).

Ben Howland's resume:
Current Squad: 13-5 in the Pac 10 this year, won the conference (25-9)
Recent Squads: 37-17 the last 3 seasons in the Pac 10/12 (.685 winning percentage)
Overall: 3 Final Fours, won 67% of Pac10/12 games, 10 players in the NBA

Tubby is a nice guy, so people like him.
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I think they are surprised based on Tubby's entire history. Then it is sorta like they are stating how we should have just been happy to have him.
 

XMan said:
I think they are surprised based on Tubby's entire history. Then it is sorta like they are stating how we should have just been happy to have him.
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No, I got you, but Howland has almost as good of an entire resume and he's had a lot of recent success.

If Tubby went 13-5 in the Big 10, there would be a bronzed statue of him in front Tubby Smith Court at Williams Arena.
 



contrary to the general opinion of 'holers, comments to The Big 10 Network were largely opposed to the firing
 

BleedGopher said:
per the PiPress:

"Tubby Smith fired and bought out at Minnesota," Bilas tweeted (@JayBilas). "Wow. Just, wow. Clearly, these schools have PLENTY of money laying around."

"I'm sick at the firing of Tubby Smith," Bilas tweeted. "This is the business we've chosen, but that doesn't make it right. Not a better man in the game."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...rce=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
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Jay - You are not in the same business. Tubby gets paid to coach,you get paid to blow smoke up people's a**.
 

Would love to hear about the relevancy of Tubby being a good guy. I guess that makes him a good coach. Seems like the good guy thing is a little overstated or outdated. What a good guy throwing his players under the bus after every loss and never genuinely taking any responsibility for losses.
 

underground629 said:
Would love to hear about the relevancy of Tubby being a good guy. I guess that makes him a good coach. Seems like the good guy thing is a little overstated or outdated. What a good guy throwing his players under the bus after every loss and never genuinely taking any responsibility for losses.
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Ultimately Bilas and others felt we owed Tubby a lifetime job for the percieved wrongs (some legit) committed by Kentucky. Locally he's been judged by his résumé at Minnesota, nationally it's for the most part an emotionally charged, subjective, and far detached defense of Tubby.
 

goldengophers said:
Ultimately Bilas and others felt we owed Tubby a lifetime job for the percieved wrongs (some legit) committed by Kentucky. Locally he's been judged by his résumé at Minnesota, nationally it's for the most part an emotionally charged, subjective, and far detached defense of Tubby.
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I agree on the "detached" part. I disagreed with the firing, but I don't know if Jay Bilas or the other national talking heads ever had to watch their favorite team reach number 8 in the country only to watch them slowly bleed their way out of the rankings and then even the "receiving votes" list in a script that we were not seeing for the first time. As for Izzo, I'd be sad to see a coach that I had dominated as thoroughly as he dominated Tubby over the years leave too.

All in all, I appreciate the job Tubby did here to yank us out of the cellar. In the end, I was disappointed with his tenure. I would have given him another year but I understand the decision not to.
 

I agree and would challenge Bilas, Wilbon or anyone else who is critical of this move to watch the last 15 games and make an unbiased judgment of this program's direction. Bottom line is that the coach is accountable for the players he recruits and how he devises a game plan to utilize them in a way where they can be successful. Watching their ininspired play and often their utter confusion on the floor just couldn't convince anyone that we are headed in a positive direction. I wish Tubby the best personally and look forward to the new hire generating some excitement -- and wins.
 


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