Jim Souhan tee's off on Tubby in column: Tubby sends all the wrong messages

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BleedGopher

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Souhan tee's off on Tubby:

To recap: The only millionaire employee of the basketball program, the guy who decides style of play, in-game strategy, playing time, whom to recruit, how to practice, and how to motivate his players wants you to know that losing is the fault of his unpaid 20-somethings.

Smith has sought scapegoats before, and it's interesting that he does so most often immediately after games, when he seems tired, even depressed. He once followed an ugly loss by complaining that his players have to walk through the cold to practice at Williams Arena.

Too often since he left Kentucky Smith has seemed to be going through the motions, more interested in preserving his legacy than advancing it. Is it surprising that his players have adopted the same jaded passivity?

The art of coaching is getting the most out of your players, whether that means winning a title or stealing a few improbable victories. Smith seems more interested in the art of spin-doctoring, more interested in assigning blame after losses than coaching in a way that would prevent them.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/188308031.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Brutal column. I would love to know if Tubby reads these or if he just ignores the press. What sucks though is that both Travis and Vaughn are profiled in the Friday Star Tribune so you know they probably have the hard copy edition and will definitely see this column, whereas any other day they probably aren't getting a hard copy of the daily fish wrap.
 

We get it Jim, you write the same thing year after year after year.
The only thing worse than watching unpaid 20-somethings adopt a jaded passivity is watching a millionaire manager and his millionaire players doing the same in a brand new baseball park. C'mon Jim, let's get after Gardy. We know Ruesse never will.

I'm looking forward to Tubby breaking the slump and finishing the year strong. Go Gophers!!
 

The truth hurts folks. A loss at Bucky on saturday is almost a given. It is hard to argue with Souhan on this one. All we need to do is look at the performance of this team which proves the major points in this well written and truthful article.
Let's see how this team responds on saturday. ......
 

F$%& Souhan.

When was the last time he wrote an article on Gopher hoops?

Oh, what a shock that he decides to write about them after our only bad loss of the year.

He's turned into a lazy hack who is only capable or reaching for low hanging fruit.
 


Unregistered User said:
F$%& Souhan.

When was the last time he wrote an article on Gopher hoops?

Oh, what a shock that he decides to write about them after our only bad loss of the year.

He's turned into a lazy hack who is only capable or reaching for low hanging fruit.
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This is becoming so much like Monson. Fewer and fewer defenders over time, though a few hang in there, refusing to acknowledge the obvious pattern over time.

Souhan isn't my favorite writer but this was a 90% well articulated column.
 

I find Souhan to be a bad columnist. In fact, I put my money where my mouth is and almost never read his columns any more. I am adding the "almost" word to that last sentence because this article on Tubby is the first Souhan column I have read in a year or more. I simply read it because the headline caught my attention as something I agree with. On my own, I have noticed the pattern of Tubby throwing his players under the bus. That didn't start this year. I've noticed it before and I picked right up on it as he got right down to business of blaming his players Wednesday night. So, with that as a backdrop the Souhan headline caught my attention and I decided to read a very rare, for me, Souhan piece. And my conclusion: he hit the nail on the head. Squarely.
 

jamiche said:
This is becoming so much like Monson. Fewer and fewer defenders over time, though a few hang in there, refusing to acknowledge the obvious pattern over time.

.
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I would tend to agree with this.
 




jamiche said:
This is becoming so much like Monson. Fewer and fewer defenders over time, though a few hang in there, refusing to acknowledge the obvious pattern over time.

Souhan isn't my favorite writer but this was a 90% well articulated column.
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OK guys, time to get off the wall.

At this point the Gophers have lost one ugly road game (NU), one game they were favored in but maybe shouldn't have been (Michigan) and two games to very good teams. 3 of their 4 losses come to teams with very legitimate titles hopes.

Why don't we just assume NU was an anomaly and hope they turn it around? It is still January, teams have cycles in seasons, hopefully we are at the end of a bad cycle and about to begin a good one. If the lsoing continues we can b!tch about Tubby for much of February and all of March and the offseason.

Long story short, it is too early for the hand-wringing and the agony, that can happen later if needed. We have lots of time.
 

jamiche said:
This is becoming so much like Monson. Fewer and fewer defenders over time, though a few hang in there, refusing to acknowledge the obvious pattern over time.

Souhan isn't my favorite writer but this was a 90% well articulated column.
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My post has literally nothing to do with Tubby or the Gopher's hoops program. Other than what was summarized in the OP I did not read the article. Like Schnauzer, I refuse to click on one of his links.

Souhan is just a lazy writer. Talented? Yes. But that talent is revealed about as often as talent reveals itself at an American Idol cattle call.
 

station19 said:
^
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The irritating part about Tubby is that the potential is there if he really wanted it. He is getting solid rosters while being only partially engaged. He has a long standing name brand that is attractive. Tubby has become like the Twinkie. The potential was in him to use his name and make the adaptions to succeed here. Instead he has been lazy, stubborn and unenthusiastic.
 

I haven't blamed Tubby for a loss in quite some time, but I do believe he lost the NW game for them. He kept letting Dre and Mav dribble the clock away near half court against the 1-3-1 without any penetration. All it takes to crack that zone is getting past Sobolewski and either feeding the entry pass or swinging it to a wing. It was embarrassing to watch them execute the offense against the zone, and it was embarrassing to watch Austin foul out with 12 minutes left. I do believe Tubby should take all of the blame for the loss.

Then, in the post game interview on 1500 he was all doom and gloom, and did take some time to call more players out, specifically Rodney. I'm not saying that Rodney doesn't deserve it, but hey, how about instead of moping around you decide to light a fire under his a$$?! They just look uninspired and that is a byproduct of the coach, I think we can all relate to that from experience, whether it's from prior team sports or whether it's in your office space.
 



Winnipegopher said:
OK guys, time to get off the wall.

At this point the Gophers have lost one ugly road game (NU), one game they were favored in but maybe shouldn't have been (Michigan) and two games to very good teams. 3 of their 4 losses come to teams with very legitimate titles hopes.

Why don't we just assume NU was an anomaly and hope they turn it around? It is still January, teams have cycles in seasons, hopefully we are at the end of a bad cycle and about to begin a good one. If the lsoing continues we can b!tch about Tubby for much of February and all of March and the offseason.

Long story short, it is too early for the hand-wringing and the agony, that can happen later if needed. We have lots of time.
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Because we have seen the same thing over and over and over.
 


My opinion is Souhan is like most on this board. Knee jerk reaction types. Tubby, like the players, have plenty of blame to go around. However, man up folks. I am actually shocked at how offended folks are at Tubby's post game comments. I've read them over and over and still do not see the problem. Maybe all the local players on the team get people defensive. Maybe we were so excited to hear Final Four and Gophers in same sentence that we are angry and lashing out.. I don't know. So magically, the team got lucky in its earlier big wins over MSU, Memphis, FSU, Stanford, etc? Its a long season.. if we melt down and do not recover, then I will join others in talking about how we may need to look into other options at coach. That said, its 3 F'ing games folks. We actually have played well for much of the season. Too bad Tubby couldn't hit wide open shots against NW.. the claims of poor coaching costing us that game are insane and ignore the fact that we couldn't hit an open shot. The team was creating open shots and missed them. We rebounded got to the line and missed. Many turnovers were not forced..just bonehead plays. Tubby should have gotten Austin out quicker, but Austin deserves blame for a bonehead decision. So blame tubby for not recruiting smarter players I guess..but if thats the case, don't claim the team is great and he cannot win with a great team. If it is a great team, did he not put it together? Bottom line, this team has talent to go far and Tubby recognizes it and is hard on them as a result. I think Tubby senses its a team that can go far.. not sure holding hands and prayer sessions and sing alongs are what is needed. Is he too hard? Maybe a tad, but its not like he is throwing chairs and calling players names. My god we are sensitive.

Now is a critical time. The team was mentally tough earlier in the year.. they have been fragile the past few games. I will agree with everyone on one thing.. the next few games will be telling for the season and Tubby. Its on him if we tailspin.. either for poor coaching or recruiting the wrong mix of players. However, I for one and willing to let it play out before I grab a torch and run to Tubby's house at midnight.
 

Tubby came when no other big name coaches would have touched our program. For that, he has my appreciation and respect. He's improved the talent by miles over what Monson was bringing in. For that, I am appreciative. He's had some bad luck and stuck with the program despite annual rumors that he would leave. For that, I am appreciative. He got us back into the NCAA Tourney and made Minnesota basketball relevant again. For that, I am deeply appreciative.

I can understand why many are loyal. There's a part of me that wants to be loyal to him for those reasons above. But when I see talent squandered and the same mistakes made, and then throwing his poorly coached players under the bus, I get really pissed off.

He is numero uno. The buck should always stop with the head coach. He's responsible for the product on the court. He's responsible for their "basketball IQ" and for each player being prepared for each and every game.

It can be argued (quite easily) that the Gophers are a collection of the lowest Basketball IQ's in the conference. The players are a direct reflection of their head coach and what he emphasizes in practice.

I hate to be disloyal to Tubby because he has done some great things here, while having some bad luck with injuries and suspensions. But I can't watch good talent squanderd like this and not speak up. I'm sorry, folks! Tubby must be held accountable!
 

station19 said:
Because we have seen the same thing over and over and over.
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Was Memphis, Stanford, FSU and MSU the same thing over and over? What does that mean even? Anyway, I am not happy with the last two weeks at all. I want to see the season play out a bit before I completely lose it. That said, there were times during the Northwestern game where I was saying some not so friendly words at Tubby via my TV.

Beat Wisky.. please.
 


Here's what would be refreshing:

"We weren't prepared and I take the blame for that."

Instead we get:

"Losers point fingers"...followed by a bunch of finger pointing.
 

Rouser said:
Was Memphis, Stanford, FSU and MSU the same thing over and over? What does that mean even? Anyway, I am not happy with the last two weeks at all. I want to see the season play out a bit before I completely lose it. That said, there were times during the Northwestern game where I was saying some not so friendly words at Tubby via my TV.

Beat Wisky.. please.
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Umm, lack of half-court offense, total freakout at 1.-3-1 zone, never winning at Northwestern, throwing players under the bus - all for six years now. Shall I go on?
 

We fans can't have it both ways. We accept the attention the team attracts when it surges into the top 10, but then we curse the attention it attracts when it falls on its face. To a certain extent we need to grow up a little.

Souhan makes some good points including things that some people on this board would rather not hear or think about - yet they read the column anyways. It's hard to argue that Tubby seems ineffectual to a certain extent. It's been discussed in this forum before. I myself have posted that I think that Coach Smith suffers from burnout. The success he had early in his career was keyed by his youthful energy, which helped drive his players. The Kentucky experience was a difficult experience, and by the end there he was burned out. He still has it in spurts. He comes into each season somewhat fresh, and that shows in his team's performance. By the dog days of January and February he and his team are sputtering. They've gotten a second wind sometimes in March, but it's short lived and often too little too late. I've seen burnout close up, and these are the classic signs of it. Pardon me for expressing my honest evaluation, but I think the guy is played out.
 

Rouser said:
Was Memphis, Stanford, FSU and MSU the same thing over and over? What does that mean even? Anyway, I am not happy with the last two weeks at all. I want to see the season play out a bit before I completely lose it. That said, there were times during the Northwestern game where I was saying some not so friendly words at Tubby via my TV.

Beat Wisky.. please.
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The problem I see is that Tubby has been a tease. He starts with these gaudy records and then the team tends to get worse- last season's post season run was the exception and even there it seems to me that the run came when the guys just started playing like they had nothing to fear or lose.

With teams like MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue, you look at those squads and it seems like a lot of years they start out slow and we say- they don't have the talent they used to have. But by mid-season they are right back playing like they always do. It seems that with those teams the character of the coach is shown in the growth of the team. The coach wins them over and get's buy in. I am seeing the reverse with a lot of Tubby's teams.

Has he been unlucky? In prior years- yes. This year he has been very, very lucky. Rodney passed on a possible draft, and Trevor got a 6th year and there have been no injuries that have cost serious playing time. The jury is out on this year. To me anything less than 11-7 (which is still very achievable) is underachieving given this talent.
 

It's one game, people. One game. Can we hold off on the judgement until the end of the season? We said this was the year to judge Tubby on; I agree. But there's a whole lot of basketball to be played and lopping off heads with 12 games left is unfair and unnecessary.

We came into the season hoping for a 3rd/4th-ish finish in the B1G. That is and always has been the goal, even with the inflated national media perception. When did we start demanding/expecting Big Ten championships? Let's keep it together folks - at least until the end of the season. Then we can take stock of the situation.

Again, it was an ugly loss, but holding Tubby's feet to the fire midseason does nothing. If they keep losing then we can have that conversation. But it's a long year. These things happen.
 

bga1 said:
The problem I see is that Tubby has been a tease. He starts with these gaudy records and then the team tends to get worse- last season's post season run was the exception and even there it seems to me that the run came when the guys just started playing like they had nothing to fear or lose.

With teams like MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue, you look at those squads and it seems like a lot of years they start out slow and we say- they don't have the talent they used to have. But by mid-season they are right back playing like they always do. It seems that with those teams the character of the coach is shown in the growth of the team. The coach wins them over and get's buy in. I am seeing the reverse with a lot of Tubby's teams.

Has he been unlucky? In prior years- yes. This year he has been very, very lucky. Rodney passed on a possible draft, and Trevor got a 6th year and there have been no injuries that have cost serious playing time. The jury is out on this year. To me anything less than 11-7 (which is still very achievable) is underachieving given this talent.
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Good points.
 

zipsofakron said:
It's one game, people. One game. Can we hold off on the judgement until the end of the season? We said this was the year to judge Tubby on; I agree. But there's a whole lot of basketball to be played and lopping off heads with 12 games left is unfair and unnecessary.

We came into the season hoping for a 3rd/4th-ish finish in the B1G. That is and always has been the goal, even with the inflated national media perception. When did we start demanding/expecting Big Ten championships? Let's keep it together folks - at least until the end of the season. Then we can take stock of the situation.

Again, it was an ugly loss, but holding Tubby's feet to the fire midseason does nothing. If they keep losing then we can have that conversation. But it's a long year. These things happen.
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It's a long year yes, but it's way more than a one game matter.
 


brucekaupa said:
Already forgotten about the first half against Indiana and the second half against Michigan, eh?
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You can't pick and choose certain halves throughout the season to judge the team on. By that logic I could say it's been a rousing success because we destroyed Illinois in the second half of that game or killed Northwestern at home.

I'm not about to attack the team because they got exposed by two national championship contenders either. We know this Tubby explosion is all about getting embarrassed by a terrible Northwestern team. It happened to come on the heels of the toughest schedule stretch these guys have seen in years. Coincidence? Maybe, but who knows right now.
 

brucekaupa said:
Already forgotten about the first half against Indiana and the second half against Michigan, eh?
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And here I expected them to go undefeated. Drat and play perfect basketball all season. If only we could be like Duke and never slip up against inferior teams.
 

zipsofakron said:
You can't pick and choose certain halves throughout the season to judge the team on.
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Sorry. I judge the team on that first half at Indiana. I judge the team on the second half against Michigan. You can't stop me. THTHTPPTH!

And this isn't "throughout the season". This is the last 3 games.

I did not expect wins at either Indiana or against Michigan...but the things I saw in each of those games were pretty damn frustrating.
 

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