Playing Catch Up.... Again

OK, everyone needs to scold me. Each week I intend to get back into the swing of things here and then either life or the day job keeps me away. I will admit some summertime (read: off season) boredom.

Nonetheless, I'm still here. And a new site is still in the works as I promised months ago. For today, let's catch up again on what has been going on in Gopher Nation.

*** Larry Vought of Kentucky's Scout site sat down with Tubby Smith for a five part interview that is available at the following links and does NOT require subscription.

Part 1: Tubby talks about leaving UK, the reception he received in Minnesota, and Tubby was asked the tired question of the Minnesota weather.

Part 2: Tubby discusses Rajon Rando and the post UK successes of his former players.

Part 3: Tubby discusses his son Saul's progress as a coach.

Part 4: Tubby talks about the differences, or lack thereof, in recruiting in Minny as opposed to UK. He also weighs in on camps recruiting young kids.

Part 5: Tubby tells Vought he "never thinks about retiring." Good to hear!

(HT-A Sea of Blue)

*** Interesting that this week Lute Olson of Arizona comes out and says he will no longer recruit one-and-done players. I'd agree with that perspective if all coaches were on board. As it is, they aren't. In this ESPN piece, Jim Boeheim said "Are you crazy?" when asked if he would follow suit. Our Orlando Tubby Smith? He says "Even it is for one year, they can do a lot for you." I understand Lute here, but see no reason why Tubby should put unnecessary restrictions on the Gophers until the entire college basketball community puts a stop to this practice. How about doing what college baseball does? If you don't go directly from high school to minor league baseball, you have to play at least three seasons of collegiate ball?

*** Chris Diggs' UK blog at the Louisville Courier-Journal asks why Billy Gillispie was savaged for "cradle robbing" when he received a verbal commitment from 8th grade 15-year-old Michael Avery, while Billy Donovan was praised for his recruitment of 9th grade 15-year-old Austin Rivers (son of Doc).

Like the Avery recruitment, I tend to think the Rivers recruitment is a bit of a stretch. But there is one obvious difference. Rivers is in his freshman year of high school. Avery wasn't.

But perhaps one other reason the reaction to the Avery commitment was much more harsh, is the different perceptions of Gillispie and Donovan. Like it or not, Donovan exudes class. Gillispie, in my opinion, comes off as crass. It might not be accurate or fair, but it doesn't mean that personal reputations of coaches doesn't play into the reactions of the punditry in cases like this.

Ken Howlett at A Sea of Blue is also up in arms over the differing takes on recruitment.

*** Excited about Tubby Smith's sophomore season? I am. Incoming JUCO swingman Devron Bostick continues to rack up the accolades. Already the recipient of the National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year award, this week Bostick was named the David Rowlands Male Student Athlete of the Year. For Southwestern Illinois College, Bostick put up 18.2 points and five rebounds per game.

And he's made quite the splash in the Howard Pulley summer league, teaming up with my favorite Gopher Damian Johnson. Per Rivals (subscription), Bostick is sticking it from beyond the arc, against competition like Troy Bell and Kammron Taylor. Against those foes, Bostick scored a dominant 38 points. Rivals suggests he is explosive enough to help the Gophers from day one. Good news!

*** One area where the commenters on the forums are worried concerns Devoe Joseph. The last we reported here, Devoe was going to be on campus this summer, skip the Canadian Nationals and get to school and start working out at the U. Devoe won't be here until the fall now, according to Sid Hartman, who called the development a "blow" to Tubby Smith. It's not ideal. It'd be great of Devoe was playing ball alongside Johnson and Bostick or Sampson and Iverson.

*** KSTP TV has a nice update on Sam Maresh, where the Champlain Park linebacker, talks about dealing with having heart surgery. He wants to come back and play. And also a great move by Tim Brewster here. At the end of the story it is noted that Brewster "has promised Maresh that he will be the one to carry the school's flag as the team runs out of the tunnel in their new stadium in 2009, whether he's wearing street clothes or football pads."

That's all for today. Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday Randomness Explains Why The NBA Has Been Dead To Me

I guess it began around the time it became clear the Timberwolves weren't going to be able to put together sustained success with Kevin Garnett. But, now that I think about it, the NBA has been relatively dead to me for quite some time.

I think the tipping point came when Latrell Sprewell, in one of those never-forget moments made the absurd statement, after turning down a contract that wasn't to his liking, that he had to feed his family. That struck the sports world as one of the most arrogant comments ever uttered by a multi-million dollar professional ball player. For me, I looked at my own family. My father worked in construction and later at the Ford plant in St. Paul. My mother worked in a school kitchen. They had to worry about feeding their blue-collar family.

While Sprewell's arrogance likely pushed me over the edge, I had thought since childhood the college basketball game was the superior game. College basketball is predicated on teamwork. NBA is predicated on one-on-one isolation's. Having been a student of basketball, the former to me has been more appealing.

In watching the NBA draft last night, Dick Vitale went on a rant that made a lot of sense to me. The NBA's decision to force high school players into one year of college ball is hurting the college game, and giving me another reason to look at the pros with disdain. I don't begrudge LeBron James, Kevin Garnett or any other uber-talent from taking the money when they can. But, as Vitale said, forcing some of these talents into the college game is a detriment to the game many of us love. Many of these one-and-doners don't want to be in college. They don't care about academics. Pretty soon, won't some of these kids go to Europe for the early money, not to mention the appreciating Euro versus the depreciating dollar?

Vitale's suggestion was that players could come to the NBA out of high school should there talent merit that. But if they choose college, they ought to stay for at least three years. Baseball forces its amateurs to do the exact same thing.

So it was that I watched the NBA draft last night, hoping to see the Wolves make the right pick. They did, and later traded it (I'm not going to rant about this). But what stuck out to anybody watching was the shear number of college freshman that comprised the first 15 or so picks. This can't be good for anybody.

And it makes me, someone who is having trouble coming back to the NBA, less likely to return. But if I had three years to get to know OJ Mayo at USC or Kevin Love at UCLA, I might be more inclined to follow their careers at the pro level. Those extra years seemed to serve Tim Duncan well.

*** Tim Brewster's prized in state recruit Sam Maresh underwent heart surgery Thursday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. No one knows if Maresh will play ball again, but he certainly has his sights set on it. Our best wishes go out to Maresh, his family and our hopes is for a speedy recovery.

*** Tom at Gopher Nation has a poll ongoing asking for your honest opinion about Tim Brewster, Glen Mason and the coaching situation with the football program. Share your opinion here.

*** Victoria's Secret and Goldy aren't friends. Shame.

*** The Big Ten Bloggers teamed up for more fearless predictions. I didn't have time to put significant thought into them, so I passed. But our friends who live and die with Northwestern, Lake the Posts, has the results here.

*** I'm getting some criticism from UK quarters for the most recent guest post I authored at 10,000 Takes. The point I was trying to make was that in the NABC's decision to try and put an end to kiddy-recruitment, Tubby Smith (president of NABC) looks good, while Billy Gillispie (who for right or wrong is the current face of kiddy-recruitment) doesn't look as good. I suggested Tubby might be getting some enjoyment out of this. I shouldn't have applied motives to Tubby, but I do believe Tubby looks like a statesman here and Gillispie looks like he lost a recruiting tactic some see as questionable. Tru at A Sea of Blue is right here, I could have done better.

That's it for now. Have a great weekend. The in-laws are coming to town here. Yikes!

Friday Randomness Thinks About Feeling Bad For Tim Brewster, Reconsiders

Hey Tim Brewster, still enjoying your tenure as head coach at the U?

First, Tim Brewster embarked on a Minnesota worst 1-11 season, which included an NCAA embarrassment of a defense and a loss to North Dakota State. That couldn't have felt good.

To his credit, Brewster dusted him self off and started anew. He put together a heralded Class of 2008, filled with high-level wide receivers and touted quarterbacks. This looked great on paper until the roof started caving in.

First, Brewster was forced to give up on Harold Howell a would-be sophomore out of Florida that was touted to be a return man with the lightning in a bottle quality of a Devin Hester. Howell was horrible, couldn't catch a punt and obviously couldn't find it within him to excel academically. That couldn't have been fun..

Yesterday, Brewster's own son, Clint Brewster, a one-time verbal commit to Illinois, has decided to leave his father's 1-11 football team behind and pursue other options. Homers can spin this by suggesting that the younger Brewster was expendable because the Gophers have depth. Sophomore Adam Weber poised to return as the starter, veteran backup Tony Mortensen remains and two allegedly talented newcomers in JUCO transfer David Pittman and hyped dual-threat quarterback Marqueis Gray are arriving this fall.

But in all honesty, we can't really know what members of Brewster's class of 2008 will ever wear maroon and gold. It has been reported that Brewster's class, which ranks by most any measure in the upper echelon of the Big Ten, may see it's numbers fall after the academics czars at the U have their say. You see, some of these prized recruits can't pass their entrance exams and can't gain admission by other means. Sid Hartman tells us Brewster isn't too happy about this.

I can't imagine he would be.

Yes, it's been a rocky year-plus for Brewster. But, then again, some of us were convinced Brewster was a public relations disaster last year when he allegedly decided to go on an anti-Notre Dame rant and call Charlie Weis a fat slob. Michael Floyd apparently is more concerned about substantive coaching then waistlines.

Enjoying the Tim Brewster era yet? Despite what he'll say, I'd guess he's not either.

*** I read this as Tubby Smith bitch-slapping Billy Gillispie. Nice. Tubby, as president of the NABC, is saying college coaches should chill on the recruitment of pre-pubescent athletes. I totally agree with this.

*** Congratulations if you have Comcast, you will now be able to watch your favorite Big Ten team on cable.

*** Hawkeye State at Black Heart, Gold Pants, chronicled a recent conversation between Tim Brewster and Ron Zook. Classic.

*** Easy target that he is, Tim Brewster is a recruiting machine. He racked up recruit number six for his Class of 2009 recently in Sartell's Nick Rengel. Minnesota was the only BCS major to offer Rengel. However, North Dakota State made an offer, so at least Brewster was able to out maneuver a DII team.

That's it for today. Everyone have a good weekend!

Friday Randomness Begins With Joel Maturi

As his alma mater searches for a new Athletic Director, Joel Maturi is saying all of the right things. Asked by Charley Walters what he would say if the big-wigs at Notre Dame came calling, Maturi responded thusly: 'Thank you, but I love what I'm doing."

Noting the rumors surrounding Maturi, the Minnesota Daily put together a well-done look at Maturi's tenure, beginning with his charge in 2002 to be the first Athletic Director to oversee both the men's and women's departments. Maturi has had some great moments while in his chair and some not so great moments. Here are some highlights.

The Good:

*** Saved men's and women's golf in 2003 thanks to a fundraising effort. Talks of cutting programs has diminished overall, thanks in part to a budget that has remained in the black, if not swimming in cash like, say, Florida.

*** Laid the groundwork for the new football stadium by securing TCF Bank sponsorship and subsequently pushed the stadium package through the state legislature.

*** Hired Tubby Smith

*** Cleaned up the men's basketball program after the Clem Haskins scandal

The Not so Good:

*** Gave Glen Mason a 4-year contract extension in January of 2006. Fired Mason in December of that same year. Mason received a $2.2 million buyout.

*** Was AD when two men's tennis coaches were suspended after committing six NCAA violations. Cheating in tennis?

*** Seemed to have trouble pulling the trigger with Dan Monson. Monson received a $1.1 million buyout in December 2006.

Please feel free to add your own.

My biggest criticism of Maturi probably centers around the handling of the Glen Mason situation. Eleven months after extending his contract, Maturi acted rashly after an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech and fired Mason. Like most of you I rejoiced at the decision, but it was late in coming and it might tell us something about Maturi's decision-making ability.

That said, I hope Maturi lives by his word and tells any potential suitors that he's happy where he is. Maturi deserves loads of credit for bringing an open-air football stadium to the U. He landed Tubby Smith and the men's basketball program is turning around. Maturi hasn't been perfect, but he's done a pretty damn good job.

What do you think?

*** Three members Tubby Smith's incoming class will be at the U for summer school. They are Ralph Sampson III, Colton Iverson and JUCO transfer Devron Bostick. Paul Carter will be finishing up his freshman classes in summer school at his junior college. Devoe Joseph is planning to try out for the Canadian Olympic team. Sounds pretty cool for the kid, right? Tubby's not so sure.

Per Sid Hartman's column, Tubby said: "I looked at that roster, and the people that Canada is inviting, all of them are veteran players," Smith said. "So, he might need to get here. I don't want him to waste his summer if he's not going to be [playing much]."

*** Most of us know that a certain segment of University of Kentucky basketball fans are delusional. When I read the headline of this post from Kentucky Wildcats Blog, I was envisioning a post that would be outlandishly partisan and, of course then, off base. The headline: "U of K Basketball - Is UK Basketball Bigger than the SEC?"

Thankfully the post is coherent and honest about the state of the SEC, noting the recent success at Tennessee and Florida. That success brings in money, which props up programs. If I was asked to answer the rhetorical question, is UK basketball bigger than the SEC, my answer is simple. Not even close.

Florida is the cream of the crop in the SEC. Back-to-back national chippers isn't something that will be easily overcome. The blogger writes this about UK returning to prominence:

U of K basketball is still U of K basketball though. It will just take more time and effort to dominate the SEC like in years past. The name Kentucky on the front of a jersey is still very appealing to many recruits and I’m sure U of K basketball will continue to grow in tradition with many talented players and championships.

I'm not sure the UK brand is as irresistible as some UK loyalists might believe. The UK name is surely appealing, but the days of five to 10 programs across the country dominating are over. The AAU circuit is producing more top-notch talent and the money behind big college programs is propelling many former also-ran programs into prominence. And I'm also not sure Billy Gillispie has the charisma to compete with Billy Donovan and Bruce Pearl. Donovan and Pearl each have established their own personal brands. But the perception of Gillispie is that he's a hot-headed jerk. Just my opinion.

*** A name to watch in the 2009 basketball recruiting wars is Milwaukee Bay View point guard Johnnie Lacy. Marquette seems to be the favorite, per this Rivals article, but the Gophers as well as Purdue and Tennessee are in the hunt. Lacy is one of a handful of point guards Tubby Smith is looking at, in an attempt to shore up one of the team's weaknesses. Lacy is a 4-star product. Snatching a recruit from Wisconsin would be fantastic to send a message to Bo Ryan, even though Bo's 2009 scholarships are all used up.

*** Tim Brewster is taking some heat for his comments that last year's one-win football team "very easily could have been a six-, seven-win season, easily." For more on the same subject, check out Sunday Morning Quarterback's take. It's definitely worth a read.

That's all for today. Have a good weekend!

All Signs Indicate Verdell Jones Will Be A Gopher

Now, this is a high school kid we're talking about here, and no official announcement has been made, but all indications are that Verdell Jones will put on a Minnesota cap when he holds a press conference Monday announcing where he will play basketball this fall.

The Pioneer Press is reporting that rumors are rampant that Jones is a lock to choose Minnesota. The Illinois Prep Bulls-eye is also stating that Jones will likely become a Gopher, and reporting that Jones has advised Minnesota media to attend his news conference.

Playing for Champaign Central in Illinois, Jones has become a highly coveted commodity because of the shear dearth of available talent still on the market. At 6'4, 160, Jones is a 3-star point guard according to Rivals and is the 26th ranked point guard in the country. While he is being heavily recruited by Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, among others, we shouldn't confuse Jones with Derrick Rose. However, Jones is in the same class as Jordan Taylor, the Benilde St. Margaret's point guard (read: traitor) who is heading west to play for Bo Ryan.

ESPN Insider's recruiting evaluation on Jones is as follows: "Jones really came on this summer. He really knows how to score in various ways; a prolific scoring guard. He is a deep outside shooter, excellent scoring shot from anywhere on the court and gets to the rim at will. He's quick, but needs a lot of strength; weak up top. He is not a great defender but is capable of playing defense but loves offense a lot more. More of a 2 guard than point; not a play maker; looks to score."

If ESPN's analysis is accurate, Jones will make a nice back court partner for Al Nolen. Nolen, primarily a defensive point guard, needs help running the show. Having an offensive oriented point guard can work to solve many of the Gophers' scoring woes. I agree with the blogger at From the Barn, who wrote that he is pleased the sixth member of the class will be a ball-handler insetad of a big man. The Gophers do need both, but the guard play had the potential to be a huge weakness next season with only guards Nolen, Lawrence Westbrook, Blake Hoffarber and Devoe Joseph on the roster. Of that group, only Nolen can effectively play point.

Assuming Jones does indeed pick Tubby Smith over Billy Gilispie, Bruce Pearl and others this will be the sixth player in Tubby's incoming 2008 class. That is something that is extremely rare in college basketball, having six players in one incoming class. And it will be a startling sign to the rest of the Big Ten that Tubby is intent on drastically improving the talent level on the Gophers.

Tubby Smith's 2008 class has already been pegged as a top-10 class nationally. He's landed 4-star talents in Ralph Sampson III and Devoe Joseph. He's nabbed the JUCO Player of the Year in Devron Bostick and JUCO standout Paul Carter (who will be a sophomore next season) and South Dakota big man Colt Iverson. The addition of Jones would further solidify the incoming class, and will give us a second reason to completely ignore any further negativity aimed at Tubby from UK fans (not the decent fans, but the jerks who blame Tubby for global warming, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and various geo-political messes).

This could be the second time in a matter of months that a coveted recruit picked Tubby and Minnesota over Billy Gilispie and Kentucky. After taking all of that grief from UK fans over the last year, won't this be a nice piece of irony?

Gophers Rise In Rankings

Win or lose, Tubby Smith will always be linked to Kentucky basketball. And whether Billy Gillispie wins or loses at Kentucky, Tubby Smith will always receive a sizeable dose of the blame, deserving or not.

With that in mind, I just want to make one small point. The new Sagarin Ratings came out Saturday, and in them the Gophers climbed up to 38th nationally.

Meanwhile, after losing to Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday (former Indiana coach Mike Davis is coaching there), the Wildcats dropped to 4-4. Two of Kentucky's losses have been excusable--North Carolina and Indiana. But losing to an average Alabama-Birmingham team and to Gardner-Webb earlier this season (G-W has now lost 6 of 9 games), is turning the Kentucky faithful blue. The result: A Sagarin Rating of 147, in between Indiana State and Oral Roberts.

Ouch.

The full Sagarin Rankings are here.

Don't think this fact will be lost on Kentucky faithful. In Saturday's Louisville Courier-Journal, columnist Rick Bozich noted that at the time the Gophers and Wildcats were one spot apart in the Sagarin Rankings.

It's a long season, and the only real win the Gophers have is at Iowa State (really not all that impressive.) Things could change by year's end, but at this point, Tubby Smith seems to have gotten the best of the coaching circus in the offseason.

God Knows Minnesota Basketball

News that freshman guard Alex Legion is transferring out of Kentucky is interesting on a number of fronts. First, it will be hard for some of the Tubby Smith obsessed UK fans to blame this on their former coach. Second, God was wrong apparently, but he's telling me that Minnesota is on the verge of becoming a basketball giant.

When things happen concerning Kentucky basketball, PJS always first turns to it's favorite Kentucky blog A Sea of Blue. Certainly we'll find here that there is no way Kentucky fans can blame Tubby Smith for Legion leaving. Legion, a Billy Gillespie recruit, leaving can't have anything to do with Tubby, right? Apparently not.

The message boards are nuts, and lots of people are taking the name of Tubby Smith in vain. Don't ask me how Smith managed to create this situation, but according to many, it is so. I always suspected that Smith was the real force behind global warming and high gas prices. Now, I'm sure of it, and even from Minnesota, his icy clutches have frozen our collective hearts yet again. How is this possible? The Wrath of Jobu, I tell you! I'll bet he's sticking a pin in a voodoo doll of Billy Gillispie even as I write this ...

Sigh.

Legion, you might remember if you follow basketball recruiting, originally committed to play at Michigan. Legion is a Michigan product, afterall, but was granted his release after Tommy Amaker went to coach at Harvard. It was around this time God entered the fray and swung Legion's recruitment in favor of Kentucky.

Legion's mother, you should know, is a prophet. Here is a rather lengthy snippet of her conversation with Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The Almighty steered [Alex Legion] to prestigious Detroit Country Day, a private high school that has produced such basketball stars as Chris Webber and Shane Battier. Then the Holy Spirit let it be known that he should transfer to prep school powerhouse Oak Hill Academy for his senior year. Divine intervention brought him to UK, a college he had not been considering.

"I had no clue Kentucky was a basketball school. No clue," Annette Legion said. "But God knew."

When asked about God's interest in her son, she quietly, almost as an aside, made a startling claim.

"Me being a prophet, he has truly ordered my son's steps," she said matter-of factly.

Prophet? Did you say prophet? Like Isaiah and Ezekiel of the Old Testament? "I'm a prophet," she said, "someone who can prophesize about your future and what's going on in your life."

Apparently God got this one wrong, eh Annette?

Many of the still fuzzy reports out of Kentucky indicate that Mrs. Legion was upset with the way Gillespie was treating the players. And there is even speculation that another Kentucky player could be on the way out. While I'll continue to take some sweet joy in watching Billy Gillespie's team implode, now is time for the typical sepculation of where Legion will transfer to. He could end up back at Michigan. I would imagine other schools that were recruiting him heavily--Florida, Kansas and others--will be knocking on Mrs. Legion's door. But some have suggested he could be interested in playing in the Big Ten. If that were the case, Alex could find a home in Minnesota.

Mrs. Legion probably is aware, being a prophet and all, that Tubby Smith is a Godly man. I don't even need to provide a link to discuss something else that is widely known: Many of Tubby Smith's players end up looking up to their ball coach. By the time his seniors graduate, Tubby is as much a father figure as he is a coach. That would be a stark contrast to the way Legion was coached at Kentucky, where reports are coming out that indicate Billy Gillespie is kind of a jerk.

Alex and Annette should also know that Tubby's recruiting class has two top-notch big men, in Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iversen. Tubby's 2008 class also includes two high-profile JUCO players in junior Devron Bostick and sophomore Paul Carter. And it includes the best point guard in Candada in Devoe Joseph. A shooting guard of Alex's skill could certainly have people, even God, talking about Minnesota basketball.

I'm apparently not the only one who thinks Legion could end up in Minnesota. And if that happens, I'll be sure to bring you all of the insane reaction in Kentucky. That would be fun, wouldn't it?

Saturday Links: Obsessing Over Tubby

If you haven't noticed on the right sidebar I've created a couple shirts. The one that is displayed says Tubby Ball, Est. 2007 on the front. On the back side, it says "Thank You Kentucky." I think I can speak for all Minnesota fans when I say this: We couldn't be happier you ran such a respected man and coach out of Lexington. It's your loss and our gain.

That's why it's so entertaining for me to watch some blame-Tubby-first Kentucky fans struggle to find reasons for their loss to Gardner-Webb and close call this week with Stony Brook. What are the radical portions of the UK fanbase going to say if/when North Carolina comes into Rupp Arena today and demolishes the Wildcats. Right, I already know the answer: They'll blame Tubby.

Well, at least most of the time. It seems that some UK fans have already gone to criticizing new head coach Billy Gillespie, per this Scout interview with prize freshman Patrick Patterson. Patterson, you might remember, is the 5-star diaper dandy that UK fans salivated over--literally frothing at the mouth I think--during last year's recruiting wars. They had to have Patterson. And even though it was clear Patterson was going to go to UK when Tubby was there, UK fans pointed to the hiring of Gillespie as a reason why Patterson picked UK. We'll get to recruiting in a second, but here's a telling quote from Patterson:

“People are out there saying this is the worst Kentucky basketball team in the history of Kentucky.”

Who is saying that to you?

“Fans, people around campus, when you are walking in restaurants and stuff like that. I have heard people say stuff about the Kentucky basketball team losing to Gardner-Webb and saying Kentucky hasn’t lost to a mid-major school since 2001 or something like that,” Patterson said. “I have heard people saying this is worst team or that we are not doing anything. On Facebook, they have stuff about Coach (Billy Gillispie). "

It almost makes you sad. Here's this young, talented basketball player, who is apparently bombarded with negativity everywhere he turns. In class? Criticism. On Facebook? Cheap shots at his coach.

But most of the conversations still center around Tubby. In this Lexington Herald-Leader article, Jerry Tipton sits down to talk with Dick Vitale and the ESPN announcer reiterates his criticism that a portion of the UK fanbase went too far in their desire to see Smith jettisoned.

And then the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds suggesting satirically this week that all UK travails begin and end with Tubby. Here's a taste:

You see, it's all Tubby's fault that UK is a mess right now. Through his lack of recruiting and inability to win consistently over his ten years in Lexington, Tubby almost single-handedly destroyed the once-storied legacy of Kentucky basketball.

Earlier this year, it was "Tubby's Fault!" the Cats lost to Gardner Webb. Saturday, it most likely will be "Tubby's Fault!" if the UNC Tarheels crush UK, as expected. Shockingly, new UK coach Billy Gillispie has come under relatively little scrutiny for a man in his position.

Some might view this as the fans just enjoying their honeymoon with him - but that wouldn't be right, because far too many of them are still kicking and screaming about a good man and coach who they ran out of town.

Even though that blogger was writing tongue-in-cheek, it's clear that the UK fan base is forever going to be obsessed with Tubby Smith. Adding salt to their wounds right now is the 2008 recruiting wars. A quick look at Rivals' rankings--there are others that are far more favorable to Minnesota and Tubby--and it would appear that Tubby is recruiting on par with Billy Gillespie, even though Billy Clyde has the UK tradition, facilities and Ashley Judd to fall back on. The Rivals rankings linked to above list UK as 19th in the country and Minnesota right behind at number 20. Tubby also won the first head-to-head recruiting battle when Ralph Sampson III picked Minnesota over Billy Clyde's Wildcats. Once again, Thank You Kentucky! And is there any way ya'll can become livid with Ashley Judd and send her north too?

Now, on to a few other things.

** Staying on the obsessing over Tubby/basketball recruiting topics ... the Wisconsin Rivals site Badger Blitz is beginning to worry about Tubby. Could Tubby be turning the tide in the border recruiting wars? Could Bo Ryan be on defense for once to keep his players home. That'd be a nice change, wouldn't it?

** Star Tribune men's basketball beat writer Myron Medcalf asks in this blog post whether Tubby should go to a big lineup. Medcalf suggests a lineup of Al Nolen, Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman, Jonathan Williams and Spencer Tollackson. That'd be a big lineup, and would help us on the boards. And I think that Coleman is more suited to play on the perimiter, though I worry about how he'd matchup against quicker small forwards. It could be worth a try from time-to-time, but does anyone really think Jon Williams should start?

** The Pioneer Press and Star Tribune report that Tubby benched seniors Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie during the loss to Florida State Tuesday. Tubby was not happy with their leadership, energy, intensity and lack of scoring, the reports suggest. McKenzie called the development a "reality check." And Fuller also reports that Tubby has tweaked his offense some to encourage fewer jump shots and more penetration/inside play that could help the Gophers get to the foul line--an area where they struggled against FSU.