Kentucky Faithful Discuss Tubby's Recruiting Ability

I'm not going to editorilize on the topic at hand, but I want to relay to Minnesota fans what Kentucky-nation is saying about Coach Tubby Smith. They've taken the opportunity, now that Billy Gillespie has had some success recruiting for Big Blue, to open up the "Tubby Smith is a bad recruiter" can of worms.

Scout.com questioned Tubby's tenacity. And the always even-keeled A Sea of Blue lent considerable space to answering a question that won't go away for Kentucky fans. Why did Orlando Tubby Smith get the reputation of being a less than stellar recruiter?

First, from Scout's Kentucky Report

Rival coaches say it’s not hard to see why Gillispie has been so successful. They merely point to his work ethic. They say he’s everywhere on the recruiting scene and never misses a chance to see a recruit or contact a recruit. He’s not afraid to make early decisions on players -- something Smith didn’t like to do -- and he will not back off talented players who are being touted as potential early defectors to the NBA.

Those same coaches, as well as recruiting analysts, are careful not to criticize Smith’s work ethic. However, one has to wonder if Smith was as relentless on the recruiting trail as what Gillispie has been.

Gillespie has had quite the beginning to his tenure in Kentucky. He inked Patrick Patterson, a West Virginia standout who by many accounts was poised to attend UK to play for Tubby. But Gillespie has piled on the good news.

Five-star DeAndre Liggins of the 2008 class has given a verbal. Four-star Alex Legion of the 2007 class is on board. And Dakotah Euton, a 5-star talent in the 2010 class has also agreed to come play for Gillespie. There are others, too, but that gives you an idea why Kentucky-nation is quite pleased with Gillespie's progress on the recruiting front.

So, A Sea of Blue attempts to answer the question of why Tubby is perceived to be a lesser recruiter..

Before answering, the blog lays out five popular theories: that Smith is lazy, that he doesn't like to recruit, he puts too much on his assistants, his coaching style keeps kids away and he simply gets outworked.

I think there is much more to it than the simplistic explanations offered above. Most of these explanations seem easy to dismiss. For example, I don't think anyone can reasonably suggest Coach Smith was lazy – hard work was his stock in trade. Putting too much on his assistants? More likely a symptom than the problem. Coaching style? Maybe, but not likely the major reason. Outworked? Possibly, but not demonstrably. The most likely reason appears to be that Coach Smith didn't love to recruit. I can't offer definitive proof of that, but there is some evidence out there that he actually doesn't like recruiting that much.

The evidence, A Sea of Blue admits, is relatively weak. One article, an unabashedly pro-Tubby article, from the Atlanta Journal Constitution suggests simply that Tubby prefers to coach--crazy, that a coach would prefer coaching!!--and that Smith needs able, aggressive assistants surrounding him, something he may have in the form of Vince Taylor and Ron Jirsa. The second piece of evidence A Sea of Blue cites--and, again, the blogger admits the evidence is weak--comes from Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis. Davis writes that Tubby's disdain for recruiting is an "open secret."

Smith is as good a bench coach as there is in the game, and I have never heard a bad word uttered about him by his peers. (Trust me, that's rare.) But he also has a well-earned reputation for being disorganized. It's an open secret he doesn't like recruiting, which is why the program's strategy never seems to have a plan B, C and D. As a result, Smith often has to scramble for mid-level players after his primary targets head elsewhere. As for the way he runs his own team, well, ask Tubby on a Wednesday what time practice begins on Friday, and there's a good chance he won't have an answer.

A Sea of Blue goes on to point to Tubby's reluctance in bringing in top-25 prospects, who might only be around for one year before jumping ship to the NBA. The blogger also notes the complexity of Tubby's offensive and defensive schemes--something I'll try to break down for you at some point using my limited knowledge gained from an AAU coaching gig.

In the end, as I've said here before, it doesn't much matter what Kentucky fans think of Coach Smith now that he's in MInnesota. I've also said recently, and it deserves repeating, that the jury is still out--heck it hasn't even been paneled--on Tubby's ability to recruit in Minnesota. Time will tell.