Tubby Smith to Minnesota?

[Dback Jon]

Tubby Smith will leave Kentucky to take over the head coaching job at Minnesota, multiple sources told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Smith had four year remaining on his Kentucky contract.

Smith met with Kentucky players and Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart. Smith is expected to fly to Minnesota later Thursday afternoon.

Smith called former Minnesota coach Dan Monson early Thursday and told him he was accepting the job. Minnesota is expected to pay Smith $1.8 million per year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Remember kids - If you can't meet high expectations, give up and go somewhere where they don't have any. What a joke these coaches are.

 

[Russ Smith]

So after A&M wins tonight the first question from CBS will be "are you going to take the Kentucky job?"

I guess that is good news for WSU that Tony Bennett won't get this job.

 

[Dback Jon]

Remember kids - If you can't meet high expectations, give up and go somewhere where they don't have any. What a joke these coaches are.

Either that or Tubby is being forced out, and this is a face-saving way to do it.

 

[ajcardfan]

The way fans treat and talk about these coaches, I think he might just be giving them the finger and going where he's wanted. Sort of the same deal with the Alabama football job. Why take a bunch of crap when you don't have to?

 

[PHXSportsFan4]

Kentucky fans are losers. They ran a pretty good coach out of town and all it is going to do is set their program back another 5 years. It is funny how ignorant and arrogant their fans are. Louisville fans are the same way. If their team doesn't blow out the opponent by 30, they think something is wrong. I listen to local radio sometimes and all they ever talk about is blowing teams out. Right before the tournament started they were talking about which teams will get blown out in the first round... It's like wow how did you guys even get jobs as radio show hosts...

Anyways, Kentucky fans are getting what they wanted, and I hope to see their program continue to struggle in the upcoming years

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Wow - what a coup for Minnesota. I am sure UK fans are happy as all hell but be careful what you wish for......

 

[Skkorpion]

It was just a mutual parting of the ways.

Who in their right mind would choose to live and work in Minnesota?

 

[Mulli]

Remember kids - If you can't meet high expectations, give up and go somewhere where they don't have any. What a joke these coaches are.

Tubby is going to coach ASU?

 

[Russ Smith]

So who's next at UK, Gillispie, Donovan, Calipari, Tim Floyd, Larry Brown?

I don't blame Tubby at all I read a story the other day that said if Patrick Patterson(plays with Mayo this year in HS) doesn't pick UK over Duke and UNC and West Va etc, Tubby will get fired. When the fate of your job "might" be riding on the whims of an 18 year old HS senior it's just too much
pressure.

I'm glad UCLA fans are a little more reasonable in their expectations.... ducking for cover.

 

[Dback Jon]

Thursday, 03/22/07

Tubby Smith going to Minnesota

Associated Press


MINNEAPOLIS — Kentucky’s Tubby Smith will be the University of Minnesota’s new basketball coach, a Minnesota school official said today.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Minnesota had not yet announced the hire. The Gophers fired coach Dan Monson in November.

Smith met with the Kentucky players earlier Thursday, said basketball spokesman Scott Stricklin.

Stricklin said he didn’t know what Smith told the players and had no further comment.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Tubby is going to coach ASU?

It's actually a similar situation as Sendek although Herb isn't half the coach that Tubby is. Both guys couldn't handle the expectations of tradition-rich schools so they fled before their inevitable firings. Sorry but at a school like Kentucky you have to go to more than one Final Four in ten years (with Pitino's players mind you) or you should expect to hear it from the fans.

My biggest question is why he went to Minnesota? Michigan or Oregon are much better jobs.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

In terms of the move itself, I like this for both parties.

I think Tubby will do a fantastic job in Minneapolis, where the pressure won't be even close to as high as that he faced in Lexington. I think the style of offense and his defensive philosophies fit perfectly in the Big 10 and he'll do just fine there.

As for Tubby and Kentucky, it's clear the Wildcat Nation was ready for a change and the timing is just right. Tubby struck while the iron was still hot, saving Kentucky the difficult nature of having to put the proverbial knife to his throat and telling him to make a choice.

Let me just explain this in nature.. Yes, Tubby did a GOOD job at Kentucky. However, there's a handful of jobs where GOOD just isn't enough. In Lexington, KY NCAA Tournament Appearances are the expectation, Sweet 16s and beyond are the expected norm. Tubby's teams were falling short in that vantage point, and something had to give.

As for the next coach, I'd be willing to bet they go for the gusto and open the bank for John Calipari.

I've also heard rumors that they really like Jamie Dixon, and have heard talks that if Kentucky comes calling, Pitt's not going to stop him from leaving, and the Panthers would hire Calipari to come home and replace Dixon. Put that in your "possibility files", but I wouldn't be too surprised if that goes down either. All in all though, I think they're going with Calipari for themselves.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'd bet Calipari or Rick Barnes. Kentucky fan's biggest gripe during the Tubby Era was the poor recruiting and those guys fix that problem in one offseason by any means necessary.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Barnes is another good option, but he's more or less worn out his welcome in Texas. His teams have had incredible talent but never seem to get beyond that opening weekend/Sweet 16.

 

[Rivercard]

Kentucky fans are losers. They ran a pretty good coach out of town and all it is going to do is set their program back another 5 years. It is funny how ignorant and arrogant their fans are.

Kentucky fans are annoying yes, but they have been humbled a bit recently. I'm not a big fan of Tubby so IMHO this is probably a good development for UK.

Louisville fans are the same way. I listen to local radio sometimes and all they ever talk about is blowing teams out. Right before the tournament started they were talking about which teams will get blown out in the first round... It's like wow how did you guys even get jobs as radio show hosts...

Are you judging all UL fans by what the city's talk show hosts say? Every team has a few idiot fans, but the UL fans I know are all pretty mellow and certainly smart enough to know that this Louisville team wasn't going to blow out any really good teams like Texas A&M.

 

[AZBALLER]

It's actually a similar situation as Sendek although Herb isn't half the coach that Tubby is. Both guys couldn't handle the expectations of tradition-rich schools so they fled before their inevitable firings.

Grow up kid.

 

[AZBALLER]

Is that what Lute did also? with Iowa...

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Is that what Lute did also? with Iowa...

Iowa nowhere compares to NC State or Kentucky historically, they are and were a football school that is unable to recruit elite basketball talent due to facilities, geography, and tradition. NC State and Kentucky are among the Top 15 in the nation in all three of those categories. Lute knew for those reasons that there was a ceiling at Iowa and he left for Arizona where he could at least get two of three (he built the third).

Arizona had more potential than Iowa as a basketball program so in Lute's mind he made an upward move, there's no way any rational person realistically believes that two football schools in Arizona State and Minnesota have a higher ceiling than NC State and Kentucky which are among the Top 15 hoops programs in college basketball history. That is where the biggest difference in the situations lies. That and Iowans were upset about Lute leaving whereas cheers were heard in Ralaigh and Lexington when Sendek and Tubby left.

PS - Sorry...I forgot...about the ellipses. Hope you can...get through that.

 

[Mulli]

Grow up kid.

Funny, of all the things Mao posts that I disagree with, the quote you responded to seemed reasonable.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

What Baller does not understand is that different schools have different expectation levels. Without a doubt, Sendek and Tubby are good coaches with solid track records of success. However at places like NC State and Kentucky in hoops (much like ASU in football) you can't just be good and expect to keep your job. Those places demand consistent greatness and championships.

To keep it local - Arizona Football kept Dick Tomey around for fifteen years consistently going to bowl games and beating ASU but never getting over the hump. That kind of success got Dirk Koetter unceremoniously canned just six years into his tenure at ASU. Just like if Sendek replicates his NC State success at ASU, they'll probably name the court after him while it would probably get him ran out of town in Tucson.

 

[Mulli]

What Baller does not understand is that different schools have different expectation levels. Without a doubt, Sendek and Tubby are good coaches with solid track records of success. However at places like NC State and Kentucky in hoops (much like ASU in football) you can't just be good and expect to keep your job. Those places demand consistent greatness and championships.

1) Stop being reasonable, MTFC.

2) You realize you said Sendek is a good coach?

 

[AZBALLER]

It's actually a similar situation as Sendek although Herb isn't half the coach that Tubby is. Both guys couldn't handle the expectations of tradition-rich schools so they fled before their inevitable firings.

Where does he say Sendek is a good coach...He simply changed his opinion...After saying that Sendek would inevitably be fired from his job at NCSU...

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Well, you can take Gillispie off Kentucky's list as it appears he's heading to Little Rock. I wonder if College Station is going to boycott the local Walmart in protest.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6612092

 

[Russ Smith]

Well, you can take Gillispie off Kentucky's list as it appears he's heading to Little Rock. I wonder if College Station is going to boycott the local Walmart in protest.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6612092

Wow he's done a great job at A&M, seems like Arkansas has been down for awhile but I guess it's got more tradition.

One rumor that Bruin fans are hoping is true is Donovan to UK. Of course hoping that it will distract Donovan and Florida players before they play UCLA but apparently the source of the rumor is somewhere in SEC country as a couple of Bruin fans who live back there said it's being openly discussed on talk radio that he and Calipari are UK's first 2 choices and both might be interested. I guess Billy would figure he'll lose 3 starters early this year in all likelihood?