Myron Q & A With Tubby

Donate To GopherHole

Interesting article. I'm glad Myron was able to get Tubby to sit down and talk about some of these issues. But it was a little hard to read. It's like listening to Frank Costanza. With... a strange... halting... way... of speaking.
 

Before I get to my comments, I'm curious as to the context of how this interview occurred-from Tubby's response, it seemed like he was rambling and a bit rushed, certainly didn't seem that he prepared much for the interview. I also know that it's been mentioned previously how his relationship with Myron has been antagonistic, so perhaps that influenced some of the responses.

So, with that out of the way, a few thoughts:
* He seemed pretty dismissive of taking responsibility for the struggles down the stretch, talking about how it wasn't him missing shots.
* He threw Iverson under the bus; while it may be true, don't see how there's any point at this time to single him out. I suppose better to comment negatively upon players who've left the program, but again, what's the point?
* He seemed defensive-comments about most of the critics not paying attention to the team, my previous reference to "it's always the coach's fault" for example.
* Really didn't get his response to Myron's question about calling players out at the end of last season.
 

Coolhand, to your first point, Tubby tends to stray off topic during his interviews and when he speaks. It sounds a bit odd when listening to it, and it reads even more odd in print without the audio to accompany it. It's Tubby's style.

I know both Myron and Marcus got interviews with Tubby last week and it sounds like Tubby is going on Channel 5 tonight. This is different than in years past when we pretty much didn't hear from Tubby from about April 15 - October 1. I'm not sure how much we'll hear from him this summer, but if nothing else, this is a good first step to raising his profile during the offseason. I think he's finding that he needs to be a bit more visible in the community (moving his foundation from KY to MN is a big step as well).

Go Gophers!!
 

Gotta agree with coolhandgopher, Tubby did not come off well there at all.

I understand we had some issues with injuries and transfers, but his stubbornness as evidenced in that interview and inability to take any responsibility for last year is concerning IMO.

I won't say any more, but if that exchange is a microcosm for the aggregate of his personality/beliefs, it's not a good thing. I thought he was a more understanding/humble guy than that...
 


A few things occur to me...

1) Like any accomplished D1 coach, Tubby expects to see improvement, maturity and leadership from his players year-to-year. When he doesn't get that, he's not shy about letting the message out.

2) No mention of his push for a practice facility and failure to sign an extension as yet, probably deliberate to diffuse these as front burner issues and recognition of the difficult fund-raising environment.

3) He seems somewhat disappointed in his recruiting results and that's why he's putting more emphasis on academics in the student-athlete equation.

4) Minny may in fact to be the last stop in a successful career and he wants to let a disappointed fan base know that he still has the fire to challenge for a BT title, something that has eluded him thus far.

5) Although not a stated goal, he seems to want to finish his Gopher run with a string of Top-20 finishes...most here would applaud that type of coaching effort.
 

The thing that stood out to me in the article was the Royce White mentions. Tubby was not asked about Royce, but I seemed to get the impression that Tubby wanted Royce back? I was under the impression that Tubby didn't want Royce back (or at least didn't push for Royce to be allowed back in to school), but possibly the "U" just said no to bringing him back?

I understand Tubby expecting his players to execute, but I am surprised that he looked at the program at the end of the year and decided that everyone currently on scholarship had the ability to execute in the Big Ten.
 

I don't understand why people can say he didn't come off well there.

If a coach answers a question and he gives you a canned answer, he is ripped and ran out of town (Brewster).
If a coach answers a question and he gives you his honest opinion (that the players played poorly, that the team didn't have the guys to execute once the injuries happened, he is ripped and ran out of town (at least Dan B is trying to run Tubby out).

How about people just keep calm and shut up about the coach. When he is gone he is gone.
Life is too short to waste time worrying about Tubby making a comment about Colton Iverson saying he did less with more opportunity (Earth to Fans, that is Fact).
 

Rosemountian said:
I don't understand why people can say he didn't come off well there.

If a coach answers a question and he gives you a canned answer, he is ripped and ran out of town (Brewster).
If a coach answers a question and he gives you his honest opinion (that the players played poorly, that the team didn't have the guys to execute once the injuries happened, he is ripped and ran out of town (at least Dan B is trying to run Tubby out).

How about people just keep calm and shut up about the coach. When he is gone he is gone.
Life is too short to waste time worrying about Tubby making a comment about Colton Iverson saying he did less with more opportunity (Earth to Fans, that is Fact).
Click to expand...


Is Tubby ever responsible for his part of the relationship?

It is a two way street, and tubby fails miserably once again.

It is ALWAYS someone else's fault.
 



Is Tubby ever responsible for his part of the relationship?

It is a two way street, and tubby fails miserably once again.

It is ALWAYS someone else's fault.
Click to expand...

It's because he's Tubby Smith, ZTA.

He gets off the hook publically because of who he is. The name IS everything.

Tubby Smith > Dan Monson.

Isn't it fabulous?
 


Rosemountian said:
Life is too short to waste time worrying about Tubby making a comment about Colton Iverson saying he did less with more opportunity (Earth to Fans, that is Fact).
Click to expand...

Just because it's a fact doesn't justify him saying it to the media, especially when it's about a 20 year old kid.
 

So...everyone who watched Colton over the last three years knows that what Tubby said is indeed true, but he is not allowed to comment on it? Come on! Everyone is always ripping on coaches for giving the same answers to questions that does not provide any insight into what they are truly feeling/thinking. Tubby goes out and says what he's thinking and you rip on him.

Also, when does an individual stop being a "Kid"? Lebron James is only 26. He's just a "kid" in the greater spectrum of life, so we should probably not comment on him in the media either.
 



I have no problem with what he said. Colt was terrible this year for the most part. And I think a lot of that was a result of Mbakwe taking over, but it was also pretty simple. Colt wasn't aggressive, couldn't make layups, couldn't make free throws, and was thus a liability down the stretch. I do wish Tubby would take more responsibility at times, even if he doesn't privately think he needs to. However, I agree with him. It was always going to be tough to win down the stretch after losing both your point guards. I expect us to bounce back this year, and it's good to hear that Tubby still seems to have a bit of fire in the belly.
 


BleedGopher said:
Coolhand, to your first point, Tubby tends to stray off topic during his interviews and when he speaks. It sounds a bit odd when listening to it, and it reads even more odd in print without the audio to accompany it. It's Tubby's style.

I know both Myron and Marcus got interviews with Tubby last week and it sounds like Tubby is going on Channel 5 tonight. This is different than in years past when we pretty much didn't hear from Tubby from about April 15 - October 1. I'm not sure how much we'll hear from him this summer, but if nothing else, this is a good first step to raising his profile during the offseason. I think he's finding that he needs to be a bit more visible in the community (moving his foundation from KY to MN is a big step as well).

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

After reading the interview, I think the less he speaks the better. He didn't help himself or the program.
 

I am wearing a persona in this forum that can be perceived as confrontational, argumentative, pretentious, etc. In other words, that of an a-hole. A lot of people don’t appreciate it, and I don’t expect them to. Perhaps because of that, some people tend to interpret my posts based on their perceptions of me instead of based on the actual content of them. So, I get to encounter some replies leading off with an insulting line about my character with evidence that they don't really know what I am arguing about. I often do that to other people I don’t like; so, I don’t really blame them when they give that back to me. Yet, it gives me a glimpse of how a mind works and sometimes an innocuous chuckle.

Words can be interpreted in many different ways. It doesn't hurt to try to interpret them from a perspective different from the ones with which we usually judge things.

At any rate, Tubby should understand the perceptions shared by many regarding how well he has done his job. It is not favorable. They expect Tubby to talk and behave accordingly. He is not doing that, and some of them are ready to denounce him.

Tubby’s talking with the media right now is a mistake. No matter what he says, it can backfire unless he is ready to embrace every criticism, fair or not, without any elaboration. Every elaboratiion can be portrayed as an excuse and provide more ammo for some media members to carry out character assassination. A few will even treat him as a loser with an attitude problem.

People like a winner. They are even ready to forgive his serious flaws when he wins for them. Fair or not, a lot of people do not have the perception that Tubby is a true winner at the U. Perception is reality in this case.

Tubby should wait till the end of next season. If he gets things done, then that will be the time for him to talk.
 

Why do people read Myron's junk?

Why do people read Myron's junk? I glanced at the questions and skipped everything but the one a Colton. I want to know about our committed players and next year; who is playing where this summer; what skills is Tubby wanting different players to work on... I guess I will have to wait for some info from Marcus at The Pioneer Press
 

Jon said:
Why do people read Myron's junk? I glanced at the questions and skipped everything but the one a Colton. I want to know about our committed players and next year; who is playing where this summer; what skills is Tubby wanting different players to work on... I guess I will have to wait for some info from Marcus at The Pioneer Press
Click to expand...

Jon, Myron just asked questions, Tubby provided the answers. I just don't see it being Myron's junk. Honestly, I liked each and every question. I thought they were tough questions.
 

Blizzard said:
It's because he's Tubby Smith, ZTA.

He gets off the hook publically because of who he is. The name IS everything.

Tubby Smith > Dan Monson.

Isn't it fabulous?
Click to expand...


His name WAS everything. Was, past tense.

Fabulous?

I knew the standards and expectations had fallen, but the possee has confirmed it. Players leaving, players on the police blotter, huge losing streak to end season 4. Indeed, you hit is blizz.


Win and win big Blizz - nothing else matters.

Publicly hammering a former player - now that is something to be proud of - right blizz?

What a man.
 

We all wanted a big time coach, we get one, then we complain cause he comes off as having a bit of an ego. Um...there's not many big time coaches out there who don't have some sort of an ego to them, since the reason they're big time is cause they've been coaching SUCCESSFULLY for about 20, 30 years in most cases. Tubby's not gonna go out there and say "I am a bad coach", nor should he. He acknowledges he could have done things differently, that's about the most you're gonna get. Most big time coaches are only gonna go as far as that. And most big time coaches are also not gonna sit there and heap praise on kids who leave the program, more than likely, they'll have a "we don't need them anyway" type of attitude about them. That's what you're getting with these types of coaches. If you don't want to hear it, then you better go get a guy who isn't nearly as established and comfortable with his position.


EG#9 said:
The thing that stood out to me in the article was the Royce White mentions. Tubby was not asked about Royce, but I seemed to get the impression that Tubby wanted Royce back? I was under the impression that Tubby didn't want Royce back (or at least didn't push for Royce to be allowed back in to school), but possibly the "U" just said no to bringing him back?
Click to expand...

My interpretation is that throughout it all, Tubby wanted Royce White in a Gopher uniform. I never got the impression that he didn't want him here.
 

I guess I am look forward to the future not backward into the past. I personally think local media’s role in covering college sports is to support the program helping to build up the team and community. More success leads to more fans leads to more people reading Marcus’s or the AP’s stories…
I would be more interested on Austin’s thoughts about spending a winter in Minnesota. Some info on what is going on past players, did Randy Cater finish his degree that Tubby encouraged him work towards. Are any Gophers playing in Europe, What happened to Westbrook? How is Tubby building the relations with current and prior players?
Maybe it is just me but I like the personal positive stories.
 

Jon said:
Why do people read Myron's junk? I glanced at the questions and skipped everything but the one a Colton. I want to know about our committed players and next year; who is playing where this summer; what skills is Tubby wanting different players to work on... I guess I will have to wait for some info from Marcus at The Pioneer Press
Click to expand...

No one forces you to read my stuff, man. But that "junk" is 90 percent Tubby Smith quotes. If you ever want to talk to me about my stories, I'm not hard to find. You can email me, call me, etc.

I had exactly 30 minutes with Tubby. I asked him a variety of questions. But I couldn't get everything into the Monday paper. I'll publish the rest of the Q&A today. He talked about next year's team. Didn't have room to squeeze everything (more than 3,000 words total) into two stories (one last week, one Monday).

Next season is important. But last year was the worst year in the Tubby Smith Era. And there were multiple lingering questions. That's why I asked him about last season. The readers I talked to wanted answers.
 

Jon said:
I guess I am look forward to the future not backward into the past. I personally think local media’s role in covering college sports is to support the program helping to build up the team and community. More success leads to more fans leads to more people reading Marcus’s or the AP’s stories…
I would be more interested on Austin’s thoughts about spending a winter in Minnesota. Some info on what is going on past players, did Randy Cater finish his degree that Tubby encouraged him work towards. Are any Gophers playing in Europe, What happened to Westbrook? How is Tubby building the relations with current and prior players?
Maybe it is just me but I like the personal positive stories.
Click to expand...

I was ready to log off and then I read this.

The local media's role is not to "support the program helping to build up the team and the community." I don't get paid to make the Gophers look good. I get paid to cover the team, which includes the good, the bad and the ugly.

"The personal positive stories" are hard to find during a 6-12 season. But I've written those stories about this program over my four years on this beat.

If that's all you're looking for, however, then you're not going to like what I do. And that's cool with me.
 

Like I said Myron, I did not read Tubby's response to your questions since your questions did not interest me. I skip articles of writers that don't inform, entertain or enlighten. I post here to support Gopher sports and perhaps papers will read and consider or reconsider their tone and which writers they want to pay...
 

Nothing wrong with this Q&A from either Myron or Tubby, IMO. Does Tubby come off a bit defensive and arrogant? Yes. So do most big-name coaches talking about tough seasons.

And while I might not have picked the same questions, as Myron points out this wasn't the full interview. It's only when the beat-writers start trying to play columnest that I have an issue. It's surely not his job to play cheer-leader as implied earlier in this thread.
 

Just for the record, I had no problem with Myron's questions, either. I think both Myron and Marcus are usually pretty competent at reporting, interviewing, and the basics of being a beat reporter. Where they go astray is when they try their hand at being a columnist. But I had no problem with this interview.
 

Myron P. Medcalf said:
I was ready to log off and then I read this.

The local media's role is not to "support the program helping to build up the team and the community." I don't get paid to make the Gophers look good. I get paid to cover the team, which includes the good, the bad and the ugly.

"The personal positive stories" are hard to find during a 6-12 season. But I've written those stories about this program over my four years on this beat.

If that's all you're looking for, however, then you're not going to like what I do. And that's cool with me.
Click to expand...

Myron, you don't understand what this person is saying. He is asking you write articles that are full of facts not speculations. Do some homework and learn about the program and coaches. Your style of writting suits TMZ. You should apply for a job there.

Go Gophers
 

Myron's questions were fine. For better or worse, Tubby has decided to go on the offensive after last season's disappointment. With his comments, he's clearly applying pressure on the U (his bosses), not to mention putting additional pressure on himself. I doubt Tubby is too concerned about applying additional pressure to either.
 

If Reusse or Myron said the same things about Iverson, this board would go crazy.

Tubby needs to deliver in 2011-2012. I don't think there are any other power coaches out there who haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 2005.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom