Do you think Tubby Smith should Go as Kentucky Wildcats Head coach?

Question

Ok on the Tubby Smith thing, first of all, how and where do you get off saying that he recruits with the best of them, WRONG, go to Rivals.com, Tubby recruits 2 and three star players, yeah he has got 5 star players but look what it has done for him, he tries to change a 5 star player and it causes controversy, Anyways that is not my problem with Tubby my problem is that he acts as if he could care less, and that really boils my blood, I eat sleep and everything UK basketball, and when they are doing bad I am furious while at the same time Tubby is sitting on the bench with his I could care less attitude and no expression of even giving a crap! By the way where was your great coaching skills at when Tubby was telling Thomas to move off the free throw line and caused the violation, and then turned right around and did not have UK fouling as soon as MS in bounded the ball, when UK already was up by three and 3secs on the clock, WHERE WAS THE GREAT COACH AT YESTERDAY? NOT ON Kentucky’s BENCH LET ME TELL YOU! Tubby Smith costed us that SEC tourney win yesterday by poor coaching! And let me finish by saying that as big of a UK fan as I am, I would be really surprised to see UK make it to or maybe past the second round, that’s what Tubby is really famous for in the NCAA tourney, the second round, Right? And by the way how many records has Tubby broke in bad senses in the past few years? Come on open your eyes people in Kentucky it is about more than 20 win seasons, its about being the best, in which we have not been since the 1998 Rick Pitino team that Tubby escorted to their THIRD STRAIGHT NCAA Championship game in a row! So if you are so smart, answer these questions and then see if it is not time for a coaching change! I have nothing against Tubby as a person, just in coaching! So hopefully this makes things a little more easier opening Tubby Smith Fans eyes!

Ok to all of you that are absolutly Gods gift of knowing it all this all I have to say, Tubby has done good as a college coach no doubt but in KY we want the BEST, and if you don't know what you are talking about such as this comment"Tubby has won more Championships than Rick Pitino" you have no idea what you are talking about! And by the way on the lane violation, I watched the tape a number of times, Thomas was at the line when the ball was passed to Meeks, AND NO ONE TELLS ME I AM NOT A UK FAN, I EAT, SLEEP AND BREATH UK BASKETBALL! A whole lot more than most, especially these days for sure! I am not trying to stomp on Tubby, I am wanting our Tradition back in Kentucky, that is to be the elite basketball program that Adolph Rupp started, thats all! And Tubby has not been doing that! We lost to a team(Florida) six straight times, first in KY history! That isn't the only bad record broke in the Tubby era! But anyways an opion is like a butthole, everyone has one and don't need another

See thats the problem with UK "wanna be " FANS, the officiateing in that game was more against Mississippi St. than UK, how can you say the officails was against UK, the Miss. St. players were either in foul trouble or fouled out, give me a break, it was the officails in the last UK game in the SEC my hind end! Grow up people, let the fault fall where it should! What is so great about Tubby? Twenty win seasons? Whoopty do, I want to see him succeed in the NCAA tournament! You people that think Tubby is Gods gift of Kentucky basketball, needs to correct yourself or something, if you think that changing coaches now would set UK back, then why didn't it when Pitino left and Your great Tubby Smith won the championship the first year he was there, with the same team that barely lost the season before under Pitino? Forget it you people won't realize it until it keeps getting worse or for sure no better, it hasn't yet anyways! So enjoy slandering me I AM AND ALWAYS A 100% KENTUCKY WILDCAT FAN

Answer 1

i think he should be given a chance in the tourney. They need to lay down the law and say "you make it this far or its over" honestly, I had forgotten who Tubby Smith was there for a while so i would agree they need a change. He's not anything like he was back in his heyday. He's legendary..nobody can deny that, but sometimes even legends fall. It's time to end that chapter and move on. At tennessee we got rid of Buzz Peterson, and granted he was absolutely NO legend, he was good at one point, but look at where we are now!! Bruce has done so much for us and im so gratful that we got a change. I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Even though I am a Florida Gators fan myself, I have to say that Tubby Smith is not only one of the best coaches in the SEC, but in the nation.

If you look at him compared to Rick Pitino (who abandoned Kentucky I might add), Tubby has done much more. He has recruited more NBA starters and All-Stars than Rick Pitino. He has won more national championships than Rick Pitino. And correct me if I'm wrong, but has he not coached UK to the longest current streak of NCAA Tourney appearances? And to top that off, he's one of the winningest coaches in college basketball today!

He's had a rough year, but the SEC is becoming tougher and tougher as can be showed from last year and this year. Tubby's still doing an outstanding job. He's done way too much for UK for them to fire him.

And here's a little something to show where UK could be headed if they fire Tubby:

The UC Bearcats fired Bob Huggins because of a few offcourt incidents.

Before he was fired, he was (and still is at Kansas St.) one of the winningest coaches in basketball. The Bearcats never missed the postseason when he was their coach, and similar to Tubby Smith, he had a long streak of NCAA Tourney appearances.

In the first two seasons without him, the UC Bearcats have missed both postseason appearances and had a combined record of 33-30 (.524 win percentage), which is not very good for a team who used to be one of the NCAA basketball elites.

I'm not to sure that UK wants to go down that road. So I would not advise firing Tubby Smith until UK starts getting sub .500 records.

Answer 3

The only way Tubby can go is if we have Pat Riley, Billy Donovan, or maybe even Pitino lined up to be our next coach. I just don't feel like anyone else would be able to take on and handle the UK job besides these guys. This doesn't mean that I'm happy with what is going on with the program at this point. But, Tubby hasn't done a piss poor job like a lot of people think he has over the years. He has had great years here at UK 98,03,& 04 were great years, and a lot of good years to go along with those. Maybe his time has come and he should leave but don't expect a title any time soon if it's not one of these three guys coaching here!!

Answer 4

First of all, i cant believe u think they should get rid of Tubby. Tubby IS uk basketball. The only reason they didnt have nearly a good of a year this year is b/c THEY CANT WIN THE CLOSE ONES. If they could start winnin those, then they would be a lot better. I think they 5 games that were decided by 5 points or less. So u cant rly blame Tubby on that. Look at who he has recruited tho, Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, Randolph Morris. Its not like hes gettin crappy players. How could he care less tho? Do u not see him screamin and yellin whenever someone does somthin wrong?! You must not be a very big UK fan...

Answer 5

listen I dont want to hear you whining about why you think tubby smith is awful okay. My fiancee & his older brother were born and raised in Southern Lexington, Kentucky. He had the skills to be on Kentucky's basketball team if it werent for his awesome job that he holds now. My fiancee's parents, grandparents & cousins and not to mention myself, Are all die hard Wildcat fans. (And I'm not even from Kentucky) so yeah you best watch your self. Don't be talking trash about tubby smith. He's the best damn coach that came to the wildcats. Yea the wildcats might not have the most perfect record but you take what you can get. Tubby Smith isn't going make his players practice until they can't move. Why because Tubby Smith is a respectable coach. Thats why. Tubby Smith worked his butt off. So he DESERVES to be the Wildcats head coach.

Answer 6

I've been a Ky fan for the past 31 years....and he is the worst coach for the program in history. I've never seen a team so poorly focused and brutal fundementals...The Derrick Jasper recruit maybe one of the worst in Division 1 history..He would have trouble playing at a Div 2 school...Tubby is a great person..I even had a chance to meet Donna Smith...they are wonderful people...but they are not the right fit for KY basketball....Tulsa and Georgia should have been indications based on style of play and previous success...the only person that should coach KY basketball should be somebody who played KY basketball...PERIOD ...End of the story...Rupp is turning over in is grave....while KY fans are settling for 20 win seasons....If we don't cut the nets down..the season is a downside...that's why we have won more games than any other program..because you don't settle for anything less than NO.1 PERIOD. Tubby must go..it's time for a change. BTW..The new standard of success is now 30 wins seasons..the 1996 KY team would beat this team by 50 points...the 2nd team bench players would beat them by 25 !!!

Answer 7

it is solely because of people just like you that tubby is even on the hot seat, and also the reason why coaching at uk is the toughest job in the country...i think that with one more season with this group of kids, tubby can make a big move...yes he is continuing to lose his big-time recruits to the great recruiters like billy donovan, rick pitino, thad matta(if tubby does get fired i think he should be a front-runner), but that does not mean he is a terrible recruiter, because he has built programs from the ground up with recruiting(ex. tulsa)...also, he tends to recruit role players for this team which results in poorer recruiting results, and may eventually be his undoing

Answer 8

A true Kentucy fas would not talk that way. Tubby did not cost us the SEC Championship. The bad calls by the officials cost us the game. Yes there were some bad calls.

Answer 9

Live near Lexington but not a Cats fan. Watching the sports on local televison,Tubby doesn't seem to care about fans,he just seems to shrug off any bad comments. He'll get a 4 million dollar payoff on his contract,so maybe he doesn't care!One more thing,why doesn't the basketball program require players to attend a public speaking class? I can't understand their players at all.

Answer 10

You are obviously someone who doesn't know as much about Kentucky Basketball as you think you know.

First off, you don't even know the NCAA rule about the violation. The official is not allowed to pass the ball to the shooter until everyone on the lane is set. Thomas moved before the official passed the ball, therefore he should've given Thomas time to get back to the box before he passed the ball. Technically there was no violation, but it was called because (if you had actually watched the game) the officiating was absolutely awful yesterday. And without that violation, Kentucky would've won and we wouldn't even have to listen to people like you complain. Plain and simple, Kentucky got screwed by the officials yesterday. And it's people like you who are making it into something else. How easily people forget how they played against Alabama in the first round and that Mississippi State matches up well with Kentucky. Kentucky only beat them by 4 earlier in the season. It would only make since for it be a close game. Of course someone who knows anything about basketball would know this.

Second, I love all these "Tubby Haters" who want him gone....but don't even have a solution to the problem? So who is you suggest we go out and get that would win as many games as Tubby? Oh that's right, Tubby is 10th among active coaches in winning percentage at 73% (which I might add is now 76% including this season). Want to know where your beloved Rick Pitino is in that list? Try 12th (http://www.ncaa.org/stats/m_basketball/coaching/d1_500_coaching_records.pdf). Every coach above him in that list is in coaching positions that they won't be leaving anytime soon (ex: Coach K, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim to name a few). So why would we want to get rid of him? I don't see Pat Riley ascending from the NBA echelon anytime soon. I don't see Billy Donovan developing a sudden allergic reaction to swamp water either. You want some more stats? He's 29th on the All-Time Winningest Coaches List. We're talking in the Top 50 with guys like Adolph Rupp (1st), Dean Smith (8th), Al McGuire (21st), Rick Pitino (30th), and Bobby Knight (40th). Does that not mean anything to you? And Tubby WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. And yes, it's his. You can have the most talented players on the planet but you still have to coach them through a season to get them there. If not the Yankees would win every World Series, the Patriots would win every Super Bowl, and the Pistons would've won every championship while they had the guys they've had. And better yet, Matt Doherty would've won championships at UNC with Dean Smith/Bill Guthridge's leftovers who had been the Final Four the year before he got to UNC.

A.D. Mitch Barnhart and pressure from fans like you are getting ready to set the program back decades. You think it's bad now? What do you think is going to happen when they hire someone new in who has to teach the kids a new system? Have you ever even played or coached basketball before? Unless they pull Billy Donovan or Pat Riley (which my dear, they won't in our lifetime) you better get rid for at least 4 years of mediocre seasons of some glorious NIT play. Because that's about how long it takes for a coach to get a new system in. And I can tell you now they're not going to get a top tier coach to come in. They've made it obvious that their expectations for the job are absolutely unattainable in today's college basketball. There is more parody today in the college game then there's ever been. Not even Duke or UNC are counted as perennial favorites anymore. Kids today play one year of college then jump the NBA. That 1996 team will never be duplicated again. Not at Kentucky, not even in college basketball. Today's Florida team doesn't even have the talent they had. So it's unrealistic to hold that expectation of any coach.

Oh and that whole recruiting bit. Tubby has had 7 McDonald's All-Americans come to Kentucky. Even Pitino wasn't able to pull that off. Had Kelenna Azubuike not left due to the situation with his father (he stated he left for the NBA because he needed the money to help out his family) he would've been a senior last year and if Morris didn't try to leave we would've had a full season. You think that wouldn't have made a difference? We wouldn't even be having this discussion about Tubby not being in the Final Four because they would've had more wins and a higher seed. But as a coach you can't anticipate that. Tubby also, at the request of Mitch Barnhart and boosters, literally cleaned house of players last year. 4 guys transferred and 1 went to the NBA. Be glad Kentucky even had a winning season this year, because Tubby might as well have had to start new.

And you say Tubby doesn't care. Do you not see the same eye-bulging, hollering coach, that ceremoniously sheds his jacket when he gets so hot from running around COACHING his players? Have you ever even been to Rupp Arena and seen the man coach in person? I have and trust me, he cares plenty. He's also one of the classiest guys in college basketball. You never hear him call out his players. He takes responsibility even when kids like Bradley turn the ball over to cost us the game (you did watch the Maui Invitational against UCLA right?). Did you see his interview on Pardon the Interuption the other day? He loves Kentucky, he wants to stay. He's had plenty of opportunities to leave for the NBA (The Hawks and Hornets have both courted him), but he stayed loyal. That's more then I can say for your beloved Pitino. He ran when he saw dollar signs. He also has one of the highest graduation rates among high-profile programs. So you see it is about more then 20 win seasons for some people. The least that Kentucky can do is honor his contract, because he's done nothing but honor them.

And might I remind you that they have 7 losses or their 11 losses by less then 5 points. They also have THE toughest schedule in the nation (1st in Strength of Schedule). And 5 of their losses are to teams who will be #1 and #2 seeds in the tournament (Florida (x2), UNC, Memphis, and UCLA). And if his recruiting was as bad as you say, they wouldn't have even made the tournament with that tough a schedule.

So when you have your new coach and you're even more miserable because Kentucky has become a perennial NIT favorite, I'll be here to say I told you so.

True fans, support their team and their coach no matter what. Sweetheart, you obviously missed that memo.