What if Tubby........

[GopherJake]

.....quit? He seems somewhat defeated right now. And who can blame him? This season has been one giant migraine. And there is a vast amount of uncertainty for next year and if things go the wrong way next year, then this casts a shadow over the 011/012 season as well...

Might Tubby cash his last paycheck this year, pack his bags and leave the tundra forever?

Then we'd really have a mess, wouldn't we?

 

[balds]

Would be a mess, but..

Highly unlikely he wants to end his career as a quitter and have that be his final legacy. If things go right, from a personal standpoint, we could be very good next year.

 

[Art Vandelay]

No chance. Tubby is cashing some nice paychecks and really deosn't have to answer to anyone. Despite the disappointing season, there is ZERO pressure on him and there never will be. That is the beauty of coaching here and the MAIN reason he took the job.

 

[akgopher]

Lawrence Frank.

 

[nuggett]

Tubby will NOT leave Minn.
1st, he will want to go out on a high note and this season is not that high note.

2nd. He will not leave to take another "Kentucky type of job " so any move
he could make would only be a lateral move. What would be the point in
doing that?

Finally:
I would predict that Tubby will finish his current contract and maybe a short extension.
That will give Saul time to mature into his 1st head coaching job and if Tubby has done well
enough that the AD feels it would be a continuation of the "Smith Era", then Saul could be
promoted to head coach.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

If Tubby had any intention of quitting soon he wouldn't continue to recruit Tyus Jones.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

No chance. Tubby is cashing some nice paychecks and really deosn't have to answer to anyone. Despite the disappointing season, there is ZERO pressure on him and there never will be. That is the beauty of coaching here and the MAIN reason he took the job.

Baloney. Tubby puts more pressure on himself than others possibly could.

Your last sentence is UTTERLY FALSE.

 

[Gold Rush]

Baloney. Tubby puts more pressure on himself than others possibly could.

Your last sentence is UTTERLY FALSE.

........But I think the rest of what Art Vandelay was pretty true. I shudder to think what the Kentucky fans would be saying and doing to Tubby if they had a season like the one we are having.

This has been a very disappointing season but I think we bounce back next year if we can get all the stupid things behind us. Hopefully we get all this bad stuff out of the way this year and save all the good things for next year.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

........But I think the rest of what Art Vandelay was pretty true. I shudder to think what the Kentucky fans would be saying and doing to Tubby if they had a season like the one we are having.

This has been a very disappointing season but I think we bounce back next year if we can get all the stupid things behind us. Hopefully we get all this bad stuff out of the way this year and save all the good things for next year.

Tubby was 219-58 (almost 80% W-L record) with 1 NCAA, 5 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons (1998-2005) at UK. Many UK "fans" wanted him gone from 1999 on.

They preferred Rick Pitino, who was 219-50 with 1 NCAA, 2 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons.

 

[Blizzard]

Lol .. I remember reading a story from 1998 season with Tubby-

One of the usual criticisms of the UK fan is that we take every game too seriously, as if that's remotely possible. The celebrated story is of the radio show caller who, in 1998, told Tubby Smith, "I haven't given up on this team yet," after the second loss of a 32-4 championship season.

All of the Kentucky messageboards completely melted down after they lost their first game this year. Of course that was winning their previous 22 or 23.

Tubby's had a long career and has been well paid. It's highly unlikely it's about the money for him anymore Art.

 

[2K4UK]

Tubby was 219-58 (almost 80% W-L record) with 1 NCAA, 5 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons (1998-2005) at UK. Many UK "fans" wanted him gone from 1999 on.

They preferred Rick Pitino, who was 219-50 with 1 NCAA, 2 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons.

Tubby's style of ball was/is boring plus he was not going after the big name recruits that a school like Kentucky can get. Tubby wants a kid he can coach, and not just turn loose out on the floor, for example Rashan Rondo. All this added up!

I for one did not want him gone, and our last two years with Otis "the town drunk" Gillispie was proof of that, but now we are back where UK basketball should be, so good luck with the rest of your season, because I pull for you all and Tubby every game, UNLESS you play UK!

 

[nuggett]

Tubby was 219-58 (almost 80% W-L record) with 1 NCAA, 5 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons (1998-2005) at UK. Many UK "fans" wanted him gone from 1999 on.

They preferred Rick Pitino, who was 219-50 with 1 NCAA, 2 SEC, and 5 SECT titles after 8 seasons.

Not exactly a fair comparison.

Rick only had post season eligibility for 6 years while at UK.
Rick started UK with a totally stripped roster while Tubby started UK with
future NBA bound players.

During Rick's 6 seasons of post seasons eligibility he made 3 Final Fours 50 %
During Tubby's 8 seasons of post season eligibility he made 1 Final Four 12.5%

They both had 5 SEC titles, however, Rick finished at the top of the SEC his second year but
could not be given the Title due to probation and was also unable to play in the SEC Tourn that year.

Also one of the SEC Championship games that Rick did lose was in 1996 to Miss St. in the SEC Tourn Final.
Miss State did in fact go on to make the Final Four that year and UK went on to win the NCAA Title.

 

[Sota1]

Tubby is not going to quit. My opinion is that he wants to :
1. Get the practice facility in place
2. Build the program so that it contends for big ten for a couple of years
3. Retire and have the facility named after him
4. No way Saul coaches this team when he leaves. My thought is Flip Saunders comes back to coach the "U" for his final coaching stint when Tubby resigns.

Tubby see's this as an opportunity to create a legacy he can attach his name to and leave on his terms. Better times are ahead....

 

[Section201]

Flip

Tubby is not going to quit. My opinion is that he wants to :
1. Get the practice facility in place
2. Build the program so that it contends for big ten for a couple of years
3. Retire and have the facility named after him
4. No way Saul coaches this team when he leaves. My thought is Flip Saunders comes back to coach the "U" for his final coaching stint when Tubby resigns.

Tubby see's this as an opportunity to create a legacy he can attach his name to and leave on his terms. Better times are ahead....

Not impossible but remember, Flip is no spring chicken either. He is 55 years old. How old would he be in the scenario you paint, 60 or 62?

 

[GopherJake]

Tubby see's this as an opportunity to create a legacy he can attach his name to and leave on his terms. Better times are ahead....

I hope ya'll are right. I tend to think you are. Because if we are all wrong and we lose 3 players for next year (ok, "lose" might not be the correct word there since it's hard to lose something you never had) - ok, where was I? Oh yeah, if we lose 3 guys (TM, RW, AN), we don't land C Joseph and Tubby decides to leave, this program is in a world of hurt. Add to that a significant transfer - D Joseph? - and the program would be in worse shape than the Monson years.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

 

[Sota1]

He's a basketball junky. 60ish is still young. He get's to come back to his alma mater, close to home, and try his hand at college hoops for a few years. I think if the Gophers hadn't landed Tubby, Flip would have been our guy.

 

[Section201]

GJ

I hope ya'll are right. I tend to think you are. Because if we are all wrong and we lose 3 players for next year (ok, "lose" might not be the correct word there since it's hard to lose something you never had) - ok, where was I? Oh yeah, if we lose 3 guys (TM, RW, AN), we don't land C Joseph and Tubby decides to leave, this program is in a world of hurt. Add to that a significant transfer - D Joseph? - and the program would be in worse shape than the Monson years.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

IMHO, Tubby would NEVER leave the U in that scenario.

Zero chance.

 

[akgopher]

My thought is Flip Saunders comes back to coach the "U" for his final coaching stint when Tubby resigns.

Minnesota provincialism at its best. Worrying about national perceptions regarding our weather, land-locked, flat, isolated geography, and the folksy, hokey culture has really taken a toll on our collective psyche. To the point that we think that only people who have connections to Minnesota will love us and want to be here.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we don't know if Flip wants to sell a program to 16-17 year old kids all over the map. Furthermore, we don't know if he'd be any good at it. Lastly, Tony Dungy has no ties to this place. He went to college here and was an asst. coach for the Vikings. He's spent more time in Michigan, Florida, and Indiana. I wonder if Indiana will be hoping that he'll rescue the program and get them to the Rose Bowl the next time they are looking for a coach or AD.

We're rolling with Tubby Smith and I hope he stays a while and fixes the situation. If he leaves sooner than later, I'd rather take a shot at a guy like Tony Bennett and hope he takes the next step and becomes a Jamie Dixon, Sean Miller, or Jay Wright- even if it means he bolts for the next top 10 school opening.

I think Lawrence Frank would be a damn good college coach somewhere. I'd like to see him head in that direction.

 

[SquidWeber]

the day Tubby quits is the day when he feels Saul is ready to take over.

 

[ChemEGopher]

Saul is basically our third assistant right now. Unless Tubby coaches here for 10+ more seasons, Saul won't be taking over when he leaves.

 

[howeda7]

Tubby is not going to quit. My opinion is that he wants to :
1. Get the practice facility in place
2. Build the program so that it contends for big ten for a couple of years
3. Retire and have the facility named after him
4. No way Saul coaches this team when he leaves. My thought is Flip Saunders comes back to coach the "U" for his final coaching stint when Tubby resigns.

Tubby see's this as an opportunity to create a legacy he can attach his name to and leave on his terms. Better times are ahead....

I don't think Tubby will leave. #1, leaving us in a world of hurt would be very un-like him. #2 the only job I ever really saw him leaving for was Maryland, and Gary Williams is having a good season, so that won't likely be open. #3, he's getting close enough to retiring now, that the idea of starting over anywhere has got to get less appealing with each passing year (though if the worse-case scenerio ensues it's kind of starting over here too.) Bottom-line is UVa offered him a job in the ACC in a new arena and a huge pay raise. However close he came to accepting it, he didn't. I don't see why he would now. And, frankly, with the year we're having and his age, I'm not sure as many people will be knocking on his door as you might think.

Sota, I'm curious why you think there's 'no way' Saul is the next coach? Because you think he wouldn't want it? Or because you think we wouldn't give it to him? I'm also not sold on Flip given how old he will be at the time. Getting him instead of Tubby would have been one thing. But 5 years from now? Unless he does something big with the Wizzzards, no than-you. If Tubby leaves this program in the condition we all hope, we can get a top-flight coach already in the college game.

 

[howeda7]

I hope ya'll are right. I tend to think you are. Because if we are all wrong and we lose 3 players for next year (ok, "lose" might not be the correct word there since it's hard to lose something you never had) - ok, where was I? Oh yeah, if we lose 3 guys (TM, RW, AN), we don't land C Joseph and Tubby decides to leave, this program is in a world of hurt. Add to that a significant transfer - D Joseph? - and the program would be in worse shape than the Monson years.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

That's truly a doomsday scenerio. Very unlikely....but this is the University of Minnesota, so yeah, I can see that happening.