VA Paper: Tubby "leading candidate"

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Latest Newspaper Poll question from Lexington:( LHL)
Taken at the end of the regular season

" Would you want Tubby Smith back as coach of the Wildcats "

Yes 27%
No 62%
Undecided 11%
 

Maybe in their eyes he is, but I doubt Tubby has the same opinion!

From what I just read, he is one of the top five highest paid coaches in the nation, has a top class coming in next year and the ones he has now are maturing.

He made the big dance his second year here with mostly young players.

Along with that, the U is going to start raising money for his new practice facilities and he is probably one of if not the most loved coaches to ever coach in MN this side of Bud Grant.

Why would he want to leave?
 

Oh my lord here we go again with a false rumor.
 


We see many of our local reporters are ill-informed, but rarely put this label on reporters from other markets.

I have a feeling this writer is simply speculating based on the points brought up in the (seemingly millions) of other threads on the topic. Coach Smith's wife is from Richmond. Coach Smith is friends with the Virginia AD. Coach Smith was in the running for the job last time it opened.

Best guess is that he hasn't called anyone, has no sources, and is just throwing some names into the ring to get a story out on the subject. I wouldn't read anything into it whatsoever.
 

Big Play said:
Oh my lord here we go again with a false rumor.
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I meant to cause no undue alarm. I was only passing along the story as written in the paper here in Charlottesville. I did find it interesting that they phrased it the way they did. But until there is reason to believe it is based on anything other then his past interest 4 years ago, I am not concerned in the least.

As stated in another thread, Minnesota is simply a clearly superior job to UVA for all of the reasons Calmin says above and some negatives that UVA has going on.
 

In Tubby I trust.

I am ok with the fact that with any significant opening, Tubby's name will be in the mix. Other than KY who wouldnt want him. Isnt it great to have a coach everyone wants !!!! Yee-Hah !!
:):)

Enjoy. These are the good old days people !!
 

Just because the I know this will be the next topic but UVA has a new arena finished in 2006. Housing around 16000 people it has built in practice courts(one for men and one for women). Also it features a dining hall and a locker room that is directly connected to all the needed support area for a basketball team.
 



howeda7

Im a Minnesota transplant in Charlottesville too. Live north of the city by the Airport.
 



A sample of what UVa fans are saying on the Scout board:


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Tubby: As I remarked on the other thread, good coach and very tough, though not the greatest recruiter. The problem here is that would be a lateral move. It'd be easier for him to stay at Minn and compete to be in the top half of the B-10 on a consistent basis than it would be here. The only 2 reasons I could see him making that move are green and green. Money, which UVA has a lot of, and it get's green quicker in the Spring and stays that way much longer. I've heard Minn Summers are exceptional. But how long do they last 8-10 weeks? So how much is Minn paying Tubby? The only caveat with Tubby is I wouldn't pay him $2+mil/yr. He won the national title with his predecessor's players, and his recruiting went downhill a bit over the years. He's solid people, but I wouldn't pay more than $1.2-4mil just to have that big name. Remember that KY was nudging him out the door for a reason. (Well, at least a legit reason to go along with an illigit 1.)


HTML:
there are plenty of good coaches out there that can be had. I would really like the new coach to be established. I understand the attraction of the guys at the small school, but I really feel like that would be a mistake. Get a good coach with a proven recond of success. In my opinion, Tubby would be the best fit. The man has been a head coach for 21 years and never had a losing season. that is the kind of pedigree that we need. UK pushed out because that thought they had something better, now they are watching the tourney with us.

HTML:
would love it if Tubby became coach, wanted him the last time there was talk about a new coach

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My vote is for Tubby. Call me selfish but I want this team to have national (name) recognition immediately.

Jerry Ratcliffe indicated Tubby Smith might be available and interested in an opening (UVA). ever so veiled hint...... .

If it's true that Tubby Smith would be interested in coming here as indicated by Ratcliffe this morning, we should look seriously at hiring him. He went to Minnesota and took over a 9-22 team from 2006-07. Tubby's first season 2007-08, ( 20-14) What a turn around! This season Minnesota, under Tubby is currently 22-9 and playing in the Quarter finals of the tournament.

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Tubby Smith has never had a losing season as a head coach. He has had only 2 seasons with less than 20 wins and that was his first two seasons as a head coach at Tulsa. That was the only 2 times Tubby didn't get a post season. But the next 2 seasons, he took Tulsa to sweet 16 both years
No losing seasons in 28 years of coaching!!! We ended up 10-18, our worst record in 30 yrs. But Minnesota's record before Tubby took over was even worse, 9-22. Imagine the same kind of turn around here. Tubby may be 57 yrs old, but a 5 yr contract with an associate head coach in waiting....maybe, or he may coach for another 10 yrs. Tubby's website - http://www.tubbysmith.com/, is exceptional.
We definitely need a change and the options for good coaches are many at this time.


HTML:
The chances of landing Capel are up there with your chances of sleeping with Scarlett Johannsen. The chances of landing Tubby are more like your chances of sleeping with thet babe who lives down the street. A bit out of your league, but at least it's within the realm of reason.
 





JohnnyGopher...can you clarify who Jerry Ratcliff is? The name is vaguely familiar?

I predict Anthony Grant will end up with the job.

Walleye...sorry if I've offended some how. Most of the posts in this thread are not even mine.
 

This is probably not random speculation

Jerry Ratcliffe is the senior columnist for the Daily Progress and has been with the paper for as long as I can remember. He's not a journalist that throws a lot at the wall to see what sticks, he doesn't need to and his readers don't expect him to. He has a great deal of access to the UVa athletic department and is generally on top of most stories. I'm not saying that Tubby is definitely coming to Charlottesville, but I think this article combined with one he wrote about 6 weeks ago amounts to some smoke. Don't know if there's a legit fire, but there's definitely smoke. Fair or not, with a coach like Tubby and a program like yours that tends to be an afterthought on the national scene (in the past anyway), you're going to have to deal with coach poaching. Hey, I'd rather be in your position and be in the tourney than the crap we've dealt with recently.
 

HooJC said:
Jerry Ratcliffe is the senior columnist for the Daily Progress and has been with the paper for as long as I can remember. He's not a journalist that throws a lot at the wall to see what sticks, he doesn't need to and his readers don't expect him to. He has a great deal of access to the UVa athletic department and is generally on top of most stories. I'm not saying that Tubby is definitely coming to Charlottesville, but I think this article combined with one he wrote about 6 weeks ago amounts to some smoke. Don't know if there's a legit fire, but there's definitely smoke. Fair or not, with a coach like Tubby and a program like yours that tends to be an afterthought on the national scene (in the past anyway), you're going to have to deal with coach poaching. Hey, I'd rather be in your position and be in the tourney than the crap we've dealt with recently.
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Then Virginia needs to look in the mirror. They are the epitome of a national after thought....:rolleyes:
 

I know what it's like to be an afterthought

We play in the ACC with Duke and North Carolina.
 

Yeah, sorry about the brashness of my reply. But we do know what its like to be considered an "afterthought" or whatever. There are a lot of us who simply get tired of having all these fans from other schools coming over here to proclaim how they're going to take our coach because of how superior their job openings are.

First it was Arizona, then it was Alabama, then Georgia and now Virginia. After the last round of speculation, Tubby basically told everybody he wasn't leaving Minnesota and that he wasn't a candidate for any other jobs, after which everybody stopped talking about it.

Now, we're going to have to wait for another statement by Tubby along the same lines, otherwise, every time a coach loses their job at a BCS school, we're going to have to through this song and dance again. It's getting to be a really tired circle....:mad::(
 

Totally understand your frustration

You guys have a great coach and I'm envious. I came over here to see if anybody had any scoop, not to stir the pot.
 

HooJC said:
You guys have a great coach and I'm envious. I came over here to see if anybody had any scoop, not to stir the pot.
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No problem. Willing to discuss it. From my perspective, I don't think he'll go, but I guess we'll have to see. Virginia and Maryland seem like the only jobs he would even be remotely interested in for various reasons, most of which have to do with his upbringing and family ties to the area.

He effectively shot down Arizona, Alabama and Georgia in quick fashion. Don't know if that will happen in this case. But, we have heard from insiders that he has nothing but great things to say about Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota. Whether that sticks, I guess we'll find out. But all indications from our side of things are that the Smiths are deeply entrenched in both the metro area and the state as a whole.

I'm sure we'll find out more after the NCAAs are over however....
 

I totally agree with MRJ.

It does get old when a school like virginia loses their coach and they think Tubby is available and wants to come to their school. Virginia is a lot farther away from excellence than Minnesota. They can't compete with Duke, NC, Wake, Maryland and other ACC schools. I think Tubby is a lot closer to competing for a Big Ten Title and post season success than virginia is in the ACC. We have MSU and others in our sights while virginia can't even see the leaders in the ACC. Hopefully Tubby will retire as a Gopher!
 

Let's hope he retires a gopher. His hiring at the time though did make some think MN could be a stepping stone for him. Lets hope he is happy enough here to stay. I think with the way his recruiting has gone for him since he got here, it is only a matter of time before we become a power in the BigTen. Not much better situation for a coach than that. Top of the BigTen, large media market(as far as NCAA sports go), and loved and admired all throughout the state.
Granted we have cold winters, but that is about all about Minnesota that anyone has a reason to leave here for.
He's ours, you can't have him!!:cool:
 

MRJ,

I would say having a coach other people want is much more fun than the alternative. Or did you forget what it is like to have Dan Monson as coach.
 

I guess you could take that approach. Or you could have the same discussion every single time a job at a major school opens up if you like. Personally, the redundancy of such things gets pretty tiresome. But if you prefer to talk about the possibility of Tubby leaving for another job every single time one opens up, then by all means, continue....

And as an aside, there is no reason to bring up Monson in this conversation. He has nothing to do with it. And call me crazy, but I don't think that discussing which greener pastures Tubby will bolt for is all that much of an improvement over discussions regarding the failure the previous regime. It simply redirects the notion that we're not good enough to have a successful major program here.
 

Did MST Or PP Ever Say "Tubby Is Leading Candidate" In 2007?

No.

And the VA papers have no idea, either.
 

Honestly no one has any idea right now. My guess is that if UVa is interested in Tubby, Craig Littlepage will contact Ricky Lefft this week just like how Joel contacted Lefft and met while UK was playing in the SEC tourney.

If Lefft thinks it's something Tubby is interested in, he'll approach him after whatever run the Gophers make in the NCAA tournament is over.

Until then, no one knows anything definitive. It's possible that it could be definite that UVa is going to go after a particular coach immediately, but that seems like something the AD would play close to the vest because no one wants it known that they were turned down for a job.
 

anonymous said:
Honestly no one has any idea right now. My guess is that if UVa is interested in Tubby, Craig Littlepage will contact Ricky Lefft this week just like how Joel contacted Lefft and met while UK was playing in the SEC tourney.

If Lefft thinks it's something Tubby is interested in, he'll approach him after whatever run the Gophers make in the NCAA tournament is over.

Until then, no one knows anything.
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December 2006, not March 2007 (first contact).
 

FOT,

I realize that, but the most important conversations happened in March 2007. At the same time the Cats were playing in the SEC tournament.
 

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