Tubby's postgame interview

Donate To GopherHole
B

bga1

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
59,309
Reaction score
22,635
Points
113
Tubby was asked this question on 'CCO: (paraphrase) "Hollins made a bad pass and turned it over, but then hustled down court and made the Indiana player miss on the fast break. Tubby can you live with some mistakes when the guys ar hustling and giving it their all?"

Answer: (quote) No! (and it was said with emphasis). Then he went on to say he couldn't live with players making poor decisions and not being strong with the ball. Nothing about Hollins being a nice young player with great effort who we would have to grow with and learn from mistakes.

This type of thing may or may not be a view into why so many guys appear not to play with confidence. Maybe it's nothing or maybe it's the type of thing that gets to certain players - like a Devoe Joseph (who left inexcusably in my view) and hurts performance and attitude.

From the outside in it appears as there is a culture where some guys can screw up (Sampson and Ahanmisi are two guys Tubby loves) and where others cannot. Devron Bostick is another example of a guy who was broken by this in my view- to his credit (and I know he made mistakes) he stayed to the end. Devoe shined at a moment in time when Tubby had zero choice but to live with his mistakes and let him play through him, as there were no other options left.
 


Answer: (quote) No! (and it was said with emphasis). Then he went on to say he couldn't live with players making poor decisions and not being strong with the ball. Nothing about Hollins being a nice young player with great effort who we would have to grow with and learn from mistakes.
Click to expand...

I heard that as well. I'm not sure if that isn't reading into things a bit though. We don't really have an idea of how Tubby handles that with the player or in practice, game film, etc. It could very well be that he is expressing the thoughts you suggested but not in the interview setting.
 

I fully agree with this thread. This is THE biggest issue (and they are few and far between) that I have with Tubby. The way Bostick was handled really got to me, because he was the scorer we need. If you only give minutes to the guys who can pass and defend that means you'll never have guys on the floor that can score.
 

Blizzard said:
I heard that as well. I'm not sure if that isn't reading into things a bit though. We don't really have an idea of how Tubby handles that with the player or in practice, game film, etc. It could very well be that he is expressing the thoughts you suggested but not in the interview setting.
Click to expand...

No doubt- I am reading things into it. I'm a fan and an outsider and therefore know nothing for sure. However, most coaches tend to avoid hammering players in the interviews and leave the tough talk for practice time. If (and I do say if) is an indication of how much worse it might get when the microphone is not on then it might be pretty negative for certain players.

This team plays like they look tentative and afraid on offense. When you do that you make mistakes anyway. I worry about developing guys like Armelin and Hollins a couple of guys who have some offensive talents and came in NOT looking scared to do some things proactively on offense. Those guys are going to make mistakes that you have to live with to get some life into that putrid offense. Last year the best player in the Big Ten - easily- was Turner of OSU. We all saw him turn the ball over about 9 times in the game at the Barn, but his coach didn't pull him and he helps them win the game at the end.

EDIT- we won that game- my bad. Thanks Block.
 


bga1 said:
No doubt- I am reading things into it. I'm a fan and an outsider and therefore know nothing for sure. However, most coaches tend to avoid hammering players in the interviews and leave the tough talk for practice time. If (and I do say if) is an indication of how much worse it might get when the microphone is not on then it might be pretty negative for certain players.

This team plays like they look tentative and afraid on offense. When you do that you make mistakes anyway. I worry about developing guys like Armelin and Hollins a couple of guys who have some offensive talents and came in NOT looking scared to do some things proactively on offense. Those guys are going to make mistakes that you have to live with to get some life into that putrid offense. Last year the best player in the Big Ten - easily- was Turner of OSU. We all saw him turn the ball over about 9 times in the game at the Barn, but his coach didn't pull him and he helps them win the game at the end.
Click to expand...

I am not necessarily disagreeing with your overall point, but you do know we beat OSU here last year, right?
 

Bostick and Joseph

It is hard to get out of Tubby's doghouse, that is for sure. If you smoke dope and get caught on Tubby's team you better bring a big shovel to dig yourself out of the hole. I think that is what happened to Bostick and, ultimately, Joseph (assuming all the rumors of his failed drug tests have merit). What happened off the court had a great impact on the court.
 

fryguy22 said:
I am not necessarily dis
agreeing with your overall point, but you do know we beat OSU here last year, right?
Click to expand...

Oops. :) I guess that's a reflection of how bummed I am about how this team looks right now. I am now turning former wins into losses! Thanks for the correction.
 

Important difference

bga1 said:
Tubby was asked this question on 'CCO: (paraphrase) "Hollins made a bad pass and turned it over, but then hustled down court and made the Indiana player miss on the fast break. Tubby can you live with some mistakes when the guys ar hustling and giving it their all?"

Answer: (quote) No! (and it was said with emphasis). Then he went on to say he couldn't live with players making poor decisions and not being strong with the ball. Nothing about Hollins being a nice young player with great effort who we would have to grow with and learn from mistakes.
Click to expand...

You know this caught my attention but your rephrase is not how I remember it. The order it was asked makes a difference. The end of the question was can we live with the mistakes: the freshmen blah blah blah, "can you live with these mistakes?"
And given the close game against a mediocre opponent it is clear we do not have the margin of error to live with those mistakes. That was my take.
Do I think Tubby is hard on players? I suspect he is. Given that the baseline is the NCAA which decided that the OSU football players don't have to have their punishment until next year, I'd say yes.
 



Moonlight said:
You know this caught my attention but your rephrase is not how I remember it. The order it was asked makes a difference. The end of the question was can we live with the mistakes: the freshmen blah blah blah, "can you live with these mistakes?"
And given the close game against a mediocre opponent it is clear we do not have the margin of error to live with those mistakes. That was my take.
Do I think Tubby is hard on players? I suspect he is. Given that the baseline is the NCAA which decided that the OSU football players don't have to have their punishment until next year, I'd say yes.
Click to expand...

I think you are right about the order in which it was said- however I thought the context was clearly: can you live with the mistakes when the guys are showing the hustle?. It could be that Tubby was just a little hacked off and answered in an odd sort of way. I'm just looking for clues and this may or may not be one. Tubby is an unusual guy. He's a guy that on the one hand gives you a very,very clear sense of integrity- a guy you really trust and can be proud of (I love that he is here). But he's also very confusing to listen to regarding basketball points. He rarely finishes a sentence and he leaves me foggy on what's good or bad on the basketball court at times. A little bit of confusion coupled with the hard liner approach to certain things could be an issue.
 

bga1 said:
But he's also very confusing to listen to regarding basketball points. He rarely finishes a sentence and he leaves me foggy on what's good or bad on the basketball court at times. A little bit of confusion coupled with the hard liner approach to certain things could be an issue.
Click to expand...

Let me simplify it for you:

Careless turnovers == Bad

Did you *all* get trophies even when you played like $hit?
 

I would be hacked off as well if I were coach after watching that horrible first half. Guessing he let them know it as well. I think most players can handle heat from a coach.. if they cannot, oh well.

I do have more respect for Bostick than Jospeh at this point. Bostick stuck it out while Joseph cut and run.
 

I am aging, but I did hear the conversation in question and I think there is a context issue not being addressed. Tollackson specifically asked about turnovers (a specifc one) and hustle and if Tubby could live the turnovers with such hustle. Tubby responded that he could not live with turnovers and that Hollins needed to get stronger with the ball. I did not perceive it as calling out a player or going overboard. I think Ausitn knows he needs to get stronger, too. Most frshman do.

Tubby knows that if this team is to be successful, it needs to take care of the ball and he cannot condone unforced turnovers. He also noted that his staff needed to get better at coaching those things. He didn't leave anyone out. He is a driven guy who is pushing his team on different levels. I found nothing out line or out of the ordinary with the conversation. Even without Joseph, this team is underperforming on the court, and he is trying to correct that.
 



If Hollins would have made a hustle mistake it prob would have been ok...but what he did was hand the ball to the other team because he wasn't focused and assertive with the pass...no excuse...FR or not. The fact that the kid didn't hang his head and pout but ran the court and disrupted the fast break is a testament to his character as a player...but it doesn't make the initial mistake OK...I agree with Tubby on this one.

Now, his substitution patterns I hate and his constant desire to double the post and help on every inside move even when the person with the ball couldn't score on my Mother and the guy giving help is leaving the opponents best shooter...well, I think this is my biggest issue with his style.
 

Mistakes are one thing. Lack of focus and assertiveness is another. There is a difference. Players will make mistakes all the time Tubby knows this. Virtually every single play will have a mistake in it somewhere. But when you do things like loose the ball because of a lack of focus, or throwing casual passes, or letting a guy get by you because you relaxed on defense will get you on the bench with Tubby if you're doing it with any type of regularity. Why should he "live" with those kinds of mistakes just because the kid turned around and hustled?

I got beef with some things about Tubby, but this ain't one of them.
 

Holy Man said:
I am aging, but I did hear the conversation in question and I think there is a context issue not being addressed. Tollackson specifically asked about turnovers (a specifc one) and hustle and if Tubby could live the turnovers with such hustle. Tubby responded that he could not live with turnovers and that Hollins needed to get stronger with the ball. I did not perceive it as calling out a player or going overboard. I think Ausitn knows he needs to get stronger, too. Most frshman do.

Tubby knows that if this team is to be successful, it needs to take care of the ball and he cannot condone unforced turnovers. He also noted that his staff needed to get better at coaching those things. He didn't leave anyone out. He is a driven guy who is pushing his team on different levels. I found nothing out line or out of the ordinary with the conversation. Even without Joseph, this team is underperforming on the court, and he is trying to correct that.
Click to expand...

You are totally right about the point. Here's how I would have expected it to go:
Public version:
Austin is a fine young player and we have to work through the mistakes. We need him on the floor and while we love the hustle we need to reduce the turnovers, not just by him but the team.
I need to work to make the guys more confident in the offense.

Private version:
Austin don't play scared or tentative. Be strong with the ball. Every possession is valued. (All said with whatever vigor and language the coach uses).
 

Maybe Tubby is trying to separate the men from the boys. If you can't take criticism, go to the end of the bench or leave with all the other pussies (that's you Royce and Devoe).

I'm guessing he's frustrated - again. Aren't you?
 

You mean Tubby is demanding his players play better, more disciplined basketball...of all the nerve...
 

I, personally, love it when coaches are completely honest with the media. Sugar-coating everything doesn't do anything for anyone.
 

rcpratt said:
I, personally, love it when coaches are completely honest with the media. Sugar-coating everything does do anything for anyone.
Click to expand...

It's a management style issue only. If you have an employee making mistakes do you call them out at the water cooler or in the privacy of an office? No need to sugar coat - just do it in private. I think we are all for zero turnovers.
 

rcpratt said:
I, personally, love it when coaches are completely honest with the media. Sugar-coating everything does do anything for anyone.
Click to expand...

Let's just say a good coach will fall somewhere in between Jim Wacker and Mike Singletary and knows which tactics to use to motivate individuals players.
 

bga1 said:
It's a management style issue only. If you have an employee making mistakes do you call them out at the water cooler or in the privacy of an office? No need to sugar coat - just do it in private. I think we are all for zero turnovers.
Click to expand...
Unless said employee works in front of 15,000 spectators and a national TV audience, I kind of have a hard time buying that analogy.

But like it was stated above, I agree that different players and situations require different responses. I guess I don't see this response as particularly harmful to a player's psyche.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom