Now this is an eye-catcher. Just as reports, that Tubby Smith was fired from Kentucky, Andy Katz of ESPN.com is reporting that the perpetually embattled Head Coach will bolt for the...Minnesota Golden Gophers job!
According to the brief story, the highest paid college basketball coach will take a pay cut to only $1.8 million dollars.
This is stunning. Not that he would leave Kentucky at this point. Or that he may have been fired (or strongly encouraged to look elsewhere) but that he would jump to Minnesota without even giving Michigan a chance to woo him.
Previously on Fanhouse:
BREAKING: Tubby Smith Possibly Fired
Comments (Page 1 of 4)
ky fans made a very bad mistake. no one will want to coach at ky with this kind of fan base.
Kentucky fans should really be sad that they lost a great coach today. Coach Smith is a class act and even though he ONLY won 22 games this year, it isn't enough for the big blue faithful.
Good luck in gopher country coach. As an IU fan I know the big ten grabbed a great coach for the league.
Thank God and Greyhound HE'S GONE....!!!!!
Take that goofy stare and your useless recruiting someplace else..!!!!
Thank God HE'S GONE...!!!!!!!!!
it'll certainly be interesting to see how this plays out. it was fun watching the bama football circus; now we get to see it again with uk basketball (the sec bball equivalent of alabama, in many ways). It'll be interesting to see if uk lands a big name or if they're left high and dry. like bama, they may have to shell out some serious cash if they want someone to come and deal with the pressure.
tubby made a good move by getting out before they fired him. i doubt he wanted to go to michigan; he probably wants to go somewhere where people will appreciate him instead of wanting to fire him for doing anything less than making the final four every year.
Tubby couldn't coach a duck to quack! Forgive, pay and pray that Pitino returns ...
i would say pay is the operative verb when it comes to pitino.
Is this the case of Tubby jumping for the first life boat? . . . Perhaps. But it's really a no lose propositon for Smith. The move makes sense when you factor in the "lowered expectations" at Minnesota compared to Kentucky, or even Michigan. If Smith gets the Gophers back to the point where they're consistently competitive in the upper quarter of the Big 10 standings again, the he will have accomplished quite a bit.
Tubby has had 10 years and each year has been progressively worse. In 1998, when KY won the NCAA Championship, he had Pitino's team and recruits and when those were gone......well, you see what happened.
Tubby Smith is undoubtedly a very nice person with impeccable character. However, that does not win college basketball games and is certainly not what fans of UK basketball have come to expect. His recruiting has been lousy. The last team to win the NCAA was 1998 and they were recruited by Rick Pitino, not Tubby Smith. Kentucky used to have benchwarmers who were all american high school players....... then along came Tubby. I wish him luck in the frozen tundra of Minnesota but hope this brings someone with great recruiting ability and coaching sense to UK.
The next UK coach needs to be John Calipari of Memphis State.
He hit the 300-win mark in February of 2005 when his Tigers upset No. 9 Louisville 85-68 in Freedom Hall.
Tubby is a good man and a good floor coach, but he can't bring in the talent. John Calipari should be the next UK coach.
Calipari hit the 300-win mark in February of 2005 when his Tigers upset No. 9 Louisville 85-68 in Freedom Hall.
my comment is to mr.Barnett. please do not jump on the first prospect that comes along.take plenty of time and go through the process to hire a new coach .only take the top prospects in the country.men like Billy Donivan,Bill Seth or the Memphis coach Caliperi. Make sure he is young and full of fire.Would love to se a Kansas style.
Coach Smith never had the charisma or the ability to coach like Pitino. BRING PITINO BACK! BRING PITINO BACK! Hope that the atletic director can recruit better than Tubby.
You ignorant self righteous hillbillies, That is the probelm with you country folk down there in SEC land, you beleive that just becasue you play in the SEC that it is your birth right to be in the Final Four every year. Reality check, there are 308 D1 teams that do not make it into the Final Four and 248 that do not even make the tournament, and out of the 65 teams that do make it into the big dance, 61 of them go home early. You guy's are really going to appreciate Tubby when you get some one like a Rollie Massimino in there that sucks your program dry and leaves it in worse condition than it was when he arrived, and Good luck in getting a big name coach and recruits in there after the way you supposed Wildcats fans and the University have treated Tubby. Why would any 18 year old kid want to come play for you guys now? no fan loyalty. Tubby did'nt bring down your program, it's fans like you that did. I used to be a closet UK fan, but now I will be rooting for Louisville everytime they play you guys in any sporting event.
Its a sad in the Bluegrass! Tubby, I love ya! You have done a great job at Kentucky! Winning 76% of the games...Thats awesome! Minnesota fan's mouths are drooling right now. Its a new era at UK, I hope and pray Billy Donavon heads back home. Winning national titles MIGHT hold him back. It is tough to coach at UK, with the ingnorant fans, but it keeps coaches sharp! I await the "REVIVAL OF THE WILDCAT!"
This is a great hire for Minnesota, a man of great character who knows basketball. Tubby will bring instant credibility to a program that desperately needs it.
Kentucky, I think that Dan Munson is available.
Tubby is gone. For those who don't understand the life in Kentucky, Louisville, and Kentucky and to some extent North Carolina. We don't want good; We want the best. Tubby was not a good fit for Kentucky. He lasted 10 years Longer than any other coach besides Rupp. For those of you crying for Pitino. You have to be kidding? Right? Why not just scream for Denny Crumb or Bobby Knight.
I resent being called a hillbilly just because i live in Kentucky. I, personally, have never chewed tobacco, drank moonshine, met anyone named Bubba or married my cousin-uncle-half brother. We even have big cities down here and everything. But i do love Kentucky basketball. We are wonderful fans, just ask any former Kentucky Wildcat. Hell, just ask Tubby. And as for Tubby, being a coach at any university is a job. Like any job, you are expected to do a good one. If we expect greatness, forgive us for wanting what we've always had in the past. Also, as with any job, if you don't do it well, you get replaced. It's as simple as that. We love you Tubby, we wish you well, and we're going to move onward and upward and be the kind of team we're used to being - the kind that all you namecallers are jealous of. Next year or the one after, when Kentucky wins the NCAA championship, which we've done more than any other basketball team except UCLA, we'll just say "Shucks, t'weren't nuthin." By the way, Bubba says hey.
Tubby is a fine man. You cannot blame all the losses on the coach ONLY.
It may be time for him to move on but there is no need to be nasty about it.
Look to the future !