First and foremost, I was as angry as a fan can get after the Illinois game, but I came to realize that Tubby Smith is a giant upgrade from Clem Haskin. Haskin was greats for the Gopher and Dan Monson was great too - for my season ticket move from the baseline to center court.
But here is why Tubby is the best Gophers' coach (by far) in my short 40 years as a fan.
Good recruiter...he can identify talent (some high profile, some under the radar) and get them to come here and play. In 2 years, he closed off the borders and made Minnesota his home base for recruiting.
Good practice coach.....Tubby is very good at building a team of 7-9 guys that will get after you, get after rebounds..and as a rule his players get better after 4 years in the program. Right now, pretty sure Rodney Williams and Ralph Sampson are breaking this rule....hence his frustration.
Good man...he tells his kids the truth, he helps his kids graduate, he holds kids to higher standards than the NCAA will, and he won't be in trouble with them ever. I'm not saying he's perfect, he just strikes me as a no bull type of guy.
Repeat: by all historical accounts he won't be in trouble with the NCAA, kids won't be in trouble with the law (and stay in the program) and they will win a lot more than they lose. Will he bring us to the promise land of college hoops? Probably not. Has he made the Gophers relevant and much better than even Haskin ever dids? Yes.
Repeat: by all historical accounts he won't be in trouble with the NCAA, kids won't be in trouble with the law (and stay in the program) and they will win a lot more than they lose. Will he bring us to the promise land of college hoops? Probably not. Has he made the Gophers relevant and much better than even Haskin ever dids? Yes.
So if you read this garbage yesterday by Jim Souhan and you started to second guess Tubby's prowess as a coach, consider this:
Tubby lost the best point guard in the Big Ten to injury and kicked his second best Guard off the team. On top of that, lost a promising big man to injury in December. Leaving him on the island of misfit toys:
Rodney Williams (aka the gun that shoots jelly) - if dunks counted for 10 points he'd lead our team in scoring.
RS III (aka the boat that sinks)- he plays with the same emotion as the Mona Lisa
Colton Iverson (aka the cowboy who rides an ostrich)- we could use him on the gridiron or ice, but he just lacks consistentcy
When and if Al Nolen returns, this is the 2nd best team in the Big Ten. Hopefully they will return to the B10 title game this year and prove it...and prove to the naysayers that Tubby is a great fit for Minnesota.
Oh and Souhan, before you choose Tubby for your weekly bloodbath, please look at the facts:
-Sold out arena
-3 straight NCAA appearances (first time ever for MN)
-Top recruiting classes
-Tough love for players
-Respectability to school and Big Ten
And most important a better product than we've ever had here at the U. Comparing Kentucky basketball's expectations to Minnesota is like comparing Yankees and Twins (did I just say that?).
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