Guest Post: ISU Blogger Gives Gophers The Edge

PJS Note: With the biggest game in the Tubby Smith era set to tip off Tuesday night, PJS and CrossCyed at the Clone Chronicles decided a little cross-blog cooperation was in order. Below you'll get CrossCyed's mostly pessimistic views on the Cyclones' 2007-08 season and what to expect from ISU Tuesday night. You'll find my preview at the Clone Chronicles here.

Guest Post
By CrossCyed

For those of you looking for a good-looking win against a Big 12school, Tuesday night may be your chance.

LIKELY STARTING LINEUP:

G Diante Garrett OR Sean Haluska
G Bryan Petersen
F Rahshon Clark
F Craig Brackins
C Jiri Hubalek

Iowa State really appears to be a team in disarray. With lackluster performances in all of the first three games, it's really hard to get a read on the team, and the game against the Gophers will be a good test.

I must preface the article by saying we will likely be missing our best player in 6-7 Wesley Johnson, quite possibly the best sophomore in the Big 12 not named DJ Augustin.

We're also without SG Lucca Staiger, who is currently ineligible due to the NCAA and it's bass-ackwardness. The backcourt provides question marks at both guard positions. Sean Haluska is the real wild card to start - he's looked pitiful in regular season play and has had trouble hitting the jumper.

Both Garrett and Petersen will run the point Garrett is silky smooth with an unpredictable shot. Petersen is undersized with a nice shot. Clark is by far our best defender and is an aggressive rebounder. He has a decent shot at times from beyond the arc and will also throw down the occasional big time dunk. Brackins is the highest rated recruit to come to Ames since Marcus Fizer. Has a good outside shot and can face up down low, but needs work with his back to the basket. Gets easy rebounds, but not the tough ones. Fun to watch, but McDermott doesn't like to give him a ton of minutes.

Hubalek is coming off injury, and appears to be a lot closer to the guy that frustrated us his sophomore year than the guy that matched up against guys like Maric from Nebraska. Has the occasional urge to shoot the jump shot, which he usually misses. Incredibly frustrating guy to watch. Off the bench, the main guard sub will be Charles Boozer, younger brother of Carlos. He basically shoots a knuckleball but can catch fire. Really hard worker, but was also a redshirt candidate, so he still has flaws. Cory Johnson, Duluth native, is the backup at the forward position. Has a nice shot and will look to score, but is undersized. Max effort guy.

Alex Thompson (Iowa transfer) and Clayton Vette will be the big man subs. Alex Thompson makes me cringe every time he comes in, pretty much worthless. Vette has impressed me with his nose for the ball down low. Carries weight, but not quite tall enough. Overall, we are going to need big games from our big guys to win. We can't be depending on our backcourt for the scoring like we did at Bradley.

With the students gone for break, the homecourt advantage will be somewhat diminished too. Minnesota may have been bad last year, but I tend to think we're bad this year. Not having Wes hurts a ton, because it's losing a double-double from the shooting guard position. I expect Minnesota to win a close game, probably in the high 50s or low 60s. I can't get a proper read on this team right now, but I'm leaning more towards a team that will miss the NIT than one that will make it.

Guest Post: Tubby's Up And Down Tenure At UK

PJS Note: Tru from A Sea of Blue was kind enough to author this guest post for Gopher fans, giving us an insight into the melodrama that surrounded Tubby Smith's tenure at UK, and what to expect from Tubby Smith on and off the court as his tenure in Minnesota begins. I thank Tru for taking the time to put this together, and highly recommend A Sea of Blue for intelligent discussion of UK basketball.

Guest Post
By Truzenzuzex

Allow me to introduce myself. My blog-name is Truzenzuzex, and I am the proprietor of A Sea of Blue, a University of Kentucky Wildcat blog which is part of the SB Nation group of sports blogs. PJS has been kind enough to ask me to write a guest blog entry for about the former Wildcats and new Golden Gophers coach, Orlando "Tubby" Smith.

I am honored to be asked, and proud to do so. I am sure most of you know Tubby Smith's bio, so I won't recite that at all. What I'd like to do instead is to give you a perspective on how Tubby Smith was perceived here and why, along with some of the things that you may not know about his coaching style, personality, and his tenure in the Bluegrass. When Smith came to Kentucky back in 1998, there were happy people and unhappy people, but mostly happy. I was among the happy -- I wanted Smith. In retrospect, though, he was not a good fit for Kentucky. But we will get to that. Rick Pitino had just won the national championship in 1996, and lost in overtime in the national finals in 1997.

For years, rumors of Pitino's interest in returning to the NBA were rampant around Kentucky, and every year after the season there would be media and fan speculation, denials from Pitino and from the athletic administration and a great deal of hand-wringing around the state. This had been going on for at least 5 consecutive years, and many fans (myself being one of them) were getting tired of this act. Yes, Pitino was a great coach and we were proud to have him, but this constant speculation about when (not if) he was leaving to the NBA was causing some hard feelings, and many of us wished for more stability. We don't take kindly to coaches who use us as a springboard. But who could argue with success? Well, after the 1997 season, Rick Pitino left to coach the Boston Celtics and a quick search was done. Tubby Smith was offered the Kentucky job. Smith was a former Pitino assistant at UK from 1989-1991, and he came to Kentucky after a successful three-year run at Georgia.

Smith was well-received in the Commonwealth, although there were a significant minority of fans (perhaps as many as 20%) who were unhappy with the hire at the time and were very vocal about it. Then came the fateful 1998 season. When Pitino left, he left behind what looked for all the world like a rag-tag crew with some talent, but a lot of holes. That perception turned out to be wrong, as there are no less than 4 NBA draft picks on that team, ultimately. We figured to have a good year, but nobody really expected us to contend for the national championship, let alone win it. But that is what happened.

Of course, the Big Blue Nation was ecstatic, and Tubby Smith was hailed as a kindler, gentler version of Pitino. That perception was short lived, however. Over the ensuing four years, Kentucky found itself in a state of semi-relevance, losing ten games almost every year. Now, that may not sound like that many, but at Kentucky, single-digit loss seasons had long been the norm. Pitino had double-digit losses only once in his tenure, his very first year when UK was on probation. Losing ten games three years in a row was intolerable to many in the Commonwealth despite the changes that were happening in college basketball -- Kentucky simply didn't lose 39 games in 4 years.

The grumbling began anew, and this time it was louder and more widespread. The nickname "Ten Loss Tubby" was created, and found a voice on the budding Internet sports sites. It wasn't as if the team was totally unsuccessful in the post season, even during this tumultuous period. Kentucky went to the final eight once and the Sweet Sixteen twice, even during this run of ten loss seasons. But here in Kentucky, Final Fours are expected and demanded. Smith hadn't been to one in five years, and the grumbling was getting very loud. "For Sale" signs were occasionally found in Smith's yard, and his weekly call-in show was becoming filled with hostile fans demanding answers. 2001-02 is known around Kentucky as "Team Turmoil" for the numerous off-the-court problems and subsequent dismissal or transfer of several high-profile players after the season.

Keep in mind, folks -- this was six years ago. Then came the 2002-03 season. Kentucky went through the pre-season with a loss to an exhibition opponent, and 3 more losses in the out-of-conference portion of the schedule, including to the University of Louisville, a hated rival. By this time, anticipating another ten losses or more and a "below par" year, there were numerous calls for Smith's job all around the commonwealth. Then came the conference schedule, and in the second SEC game of the year on the road at Vanderbilt, something unexpected happened. I'll never forget it as long as I live. The Cats went into the locker room at the half in Nashville down 16 points after being thoroughly outplayed by the Commodores.

That team never returned to play for Kentucky again. What came out of the locker room in Memorial Gymnasium after halftime was a team nobody in Kentucky had ever seen before. The Wildcats came out of the visitor's locker room and emasculated Vanderbilt University's men's basketball team. The huge Vandy lead evaporated in minutes, to be replaced by a 30+ point Kentucky bulge, and by the time the Cats left the floor, there was nothing left of the Commodores. Kentucky's domination of them defensively was beyond rational description, and the Wildcats' offensive efficiency was pure James A. Naismith perfection. It was as if all 12 Wildcats had morphed, Michael J. Fox-like, into Teen Wolf in front of everyone's eyes, and disembowled an entire SEC basketball team in front of the home crowd. It was ... magnificent in it's cruel, utterly merciless efficiency.

Something had clicked in this Wildcat team, a frightful switch had been thrown. The players had bought completely into Tubby Smith's system, and they raged through the SEC doing carnage, crushing good teams by embarrassing margins. That Shermanesque rampage took the traditional UK domination of the SEC was taken to heights previously unknown when they won all the SEC games, and the SEC tournament -- a perfect conference season. It wasn't just that they won, it was the way they won -- the team was utterly indomitable, and it was not unusual to see well-coached opponents simply give up against their onslaught.

Kentucky fans were delighted, yet somehow terrified. How could this have happened? Who was this team, and what had they done with the Wildcats? Kentucky's domination continued as they went into the NCAA tournament ranked #1 in the country by every major service. But an injury to Keith Bogans and a hot Duane Wade ended that run in the final eight against Marquette, ironically enough, in the Twin Cities where Tubby Smith now resides.

Tubby Smith was again a hero after 2003, but that same hard-core minority of 20% or so saw only the failure of the team to get to the Final Four. Discord grew among the hard-core Smith doubters and the Smith supporters, and many vicious Internet flame wars ensued on the message boards. The Smith detractors were forced into retreat, having no answer for the "but for Bogans' injury, we would have won the national championship" argument and the undefeated SEC season. But the very next year, the team again lost to Louisville and flamed out in the Sweet Sixteen, and the fan unhappiness was again quickly to pre-2002 levels. Then came the great recruiting class of 2004. One of the many gripes dissatisfied Kentucky fans had regarding Tubby Smith was uneven recruiting. The members of that 2002-03 team (the Suffocats, as they are known) were largely unheralded players, and despite their success, this alarmed many in the Big Blue Nation. Randolph Morris, Joe Crawford, Ramel Bradley and Rajon Rondo made the "Smith can't recruit studs" skeptics look like fools, and once again, the supporters and detractors of Tubby Smith clashed angrily.

Locked threads were everywhere in message boards, and wholesale banning of angry members was common. It was a virtual bloody time in Kentucky online fan history. The Tubby Smith radio call-in show began refusing critics access, outraging the Smith detractors even more when they were denied a forum to embarrass a coach they saw as damaging the program.

By this point, anti-Smith sentiment had reached critical mass. There were two camps now firmly entrenched in Kentucky, and hatred began to divide the fan base. That's right, I said "hatred" because that's what it was, and believe it or not, still is. Those who wanted Smith gone fashioned themselves as defenders of Kentucky's basketball heritage, and hated those who were willing to give him a chance. Each accused the other of either racism or race-baiting, and the fan base at Kentucky became bitterly divided. Internet wars were everywhere, and the online community divided itself into Smith supporters and Smith detractors, with very few crossing over into enemy territory except to post outrageous comments and be banned themselves.

The ensuing three years saw many events each group would point to in order to defend their position. There was a pitched battle being waged in Kentucky, brother pitted against brother, in a rancorous civil war with Smith squarely in the center. The Smith detractors mounted a media campaign against him, attempting to run an anti-Tubby Smith ad in the University of Kentucky student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, in June of 2006. This created a firestorm of controversy, and Smith quickly became seen as embattled by the national media.

Many rose to his defense, and notably, some did not. Finally, in March of 2007 after two very poor seasons in a row by Kentucky standards, Tubby Smith left the Wildcats to coach at the University of Minnesota, which of course, you know. Now that you know how (and to some extent, why) he got to the Twin Cities, here are some things you will learn:

** Tubby Smith is a family man above all else. He treats his players more like his kids than anything else, and truly cares about their well-being and future success.

** Smith is not fond of the media. This is one of the many things that generated discontent for him. Smith is a poor public speaker, and he isn't comfortable in a media environment. Because of Kentucky's high national profile in basketball, this was simply not a good thing while he was in the Bluegrass. It will not be near the problem at Minnesota that it was in the Commonwealth.

** Smith's system emphasizes defense. Smith uses a variant of the ball-line defense, which essentially helps closer to the basket, and has the weakness of leaving players open on the wing on a ball reversal for a three-point shot. Played properly, even this can be largely overcome, as the Suffocats dramatically proved, but it takes a level of commitment I have seen only one time.

** Smith employs a variant of the flex offense, and prefers a disciplined, half-court approach. He also professes to want to run to anyone who will listen, but somehow, we never did that very well in Kentucky under Smith after his first year. This is a point of serious contention among Smith detractors and supporters in Kentucky.

** Tubby Smith is an outstanding community member, philanthropist, and all around human being. Even those who hated Smith heart and soul were reluctant to say anything against his character, and for good reason -- their credibility would have vanished. Tubby Smith is a good man.

** Smith is notoriously stubborn. He runs his system, and will do so even if it doesn't work. He will make changes, but they tend to be incremental and on the margins.

** Smith has some strange tendencies in recruiting. He is less about talent than how he thinks a player will fit into his system. He rejects the idea that he can't coach average players to excel. Overall, this will work out better at Minnesota than Kentucky. Kentucky fans expect to recruit on the very highest level, and to always have at least one top 25 player in the class each year. Smith did not recruit the top players in the nation well at Kentucky most of the time he was here, but Minnesota will not normally be involved at that level. That's just a fact of life. Smith recruits players in the 30-120 range very well.

** Smith values loyalty above talent. If a player has worked hard in his system and stayed with him, he will reward that as long as he is in the same universe as other players, talent-wise. It is a laudable characteristic, but it does have its drawbacks, and caused significant consternation in the Bluegrass. Perhaps it will work out better at Minnesota.

** Tubby Smith is not a subtle man. He is just what you see -- no more, no less. He is a basketball coach, not an innovator or a deep thinker. But he will be successful, because he knows how to be successful and has done it everywhere he has been.

** Smith seems to be satisfied with a lower level of success than Kentucky fans. He would often laud his many trips to the Sweet Sixteen as an accomplishment, and he never figured out that most Kentucky fans see that not as an achievement, but as a failure. There was simply a huge disconnect between Smith's expectations for his team and the expectations of the fans.

Many of you may wonder why Kentucky would put so much pressure on a fine coach like Smith, and I can tell you that the very fact you ask that question disqualifies you from any understanding of the answer. An Alabama football fan would not ask that question. Neither would a Florida football fan, or a Notre Dame football fan, or a North Carolina basketball fan.

This isn't a put down -- just because most Minnesota fans aren't pathologically obsessed with the team does not cast any aspersions on their character. To the contrary. Many of you will note that some Kentucky fans are blaming Smith for our recent loss to Gardner-Webb. If this surprises you, it is simply because the gulf between your perception of college basketball and that of Kentucky fans is much wider than you might believe.

Fortunately, this thinking doesn't represent the thinking of most Kentucky fans, but only a few who would gladly blame Tubby Smith for global warming, high gas prices and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa if they could find even the thinnest connection. If Kentucky does not win a national championship within a few years, these same people will claim that Tubby Smith permanently destroyed Kentucky basketball to the extent that nobody could ever resurrect it again, or has set us back so far that it will take decades of futility to overcome. Whatever.

I think you know what to think of such people without me having to suggest it. I am sorry for the length of this piece, but quite frankly, the Tubby Smith tenure in Lexington was a complicated affair, filled with love, hate, pathos, ecstasy, quixotic angst, and almost every other human emotion you can describe on a very large scale. If it makes Kentucky fans seem less than totally sane, I suppose that is a fair conclusion -- we are nationally renowned for our obsessiveness with college basketball, and Tubby Smith had no small part in bringing that obsession to the forefront of the national consciousness.

With all that said, keep in mind that this is just the perception of one Kentucky fan, and we are hardly a homogeneous group. We love our college basketball here, and we love the tradition that Kentucky represents, and the place that buys us in the national spotlight. Kentucky is not famous for a lot of things, but we are proud of our national celebrity in college basketball, and most UK fans are determined to defend the place we have carved for ourselves.

In the end, it seems in retrospect that Tubby Smith was always a poor fit for Kentucky. There were simply too many inconsistencies between how Smith saw the Wildcats, and how the fans see them. Part of it was caused by having to follow the now-legendary Pitino success, and part of it was just a disconnect between the realities of Smith and the fan base. But now both Smith and UK have moved on, hopefully both to better places.

The lingering resentments represent nothing more than the lunatic fringe, something that every large fan base must unhappily deal with. I wish you well, Golden Gophers, and Tubby Smith as well. I think he will do you proud, and I think you will enjoy each other.

Guest Post: A Look At Purdue

PJS Note: Purdue blogger Travis from Off The Tracks has provided PJS readers with an insider's view of the Purdue Boilermakers. He suggests the tilt against the Gophers should be a good one Saturday. He's either being nice or he missed the fact we lost to Florida Atlantic.

By Travis
Guest Contributor

When looking at the Boilermakers so far this season the story on the surface is clearly the performance of the offense. Purdue has scored 52, 52, and 45 points in its first three games and if not for a five turnover day against Central Michigan last week would probably been over 50 points again. Purdue got up 24-0 with 300 yards of total offense in the first quarter alone last week and led 38-0 in the third quarter before putting it on cruise control and letting the Chippewas have a big second half. Only a fumble at the 2 yard line by Selwyn Lymon put a damper on an otherwise dominant first quarter.

Quarterback play:
Curtis Painter led the country last year in interceptions with 19 picks in 14 games. So far this season he has 13 touchdowns and 952 yards with zero interceptions. Only once in the Eastern Illinois came did he come close to throwing a pick, and it was dropped by the Panther defensive player. He is also completing his passes at a much higher rate this year, going 81 for 118. Even though he threw so many picks last season he still broke Drew Brees’ single season record for passing yards by 2 yards, although he did it in 14 games compared to 13 for Brees in 1998.

For video of Painter check out the clips from the Toledo game at Spoilermaker.com. This was his least consistent game of the season and he still had four TD passes. He’s playing at a very high level and much of that credit goes to an offensive line that has kept him very protected. Rarely has he even had to scramble yet, and with so many receiving options at his disposal he can pick teams apart now.

If he does need to run he has proven the last two years to be effective at it. We’ve only run our option play a handful of times so far, but it is still there and can be deadly when used.

Running backs:
This has been a strength so far, but Purdue suffered a huge blow Saturday when Jaycen Taylor was lost with a broken arm. Initial reports said he could be out for the season, but he responded to surgery well and now may be back in time for the Northwestern game. He was the starter and went almost all of last season without having a single negative yardage play.

Kory Sheets is now the starter, but he was pretty much splitting carries with Taylor anyway. Sheets has been a contributor since his first game as a redshirt freshman when he returned a blocked punt for a TD. He has 27 career TD’s now and ran for a pair of scores and 144 against Central Michigan. He’s also dangerous catching passes out of the backfield. I look for him to step into his vast potential now that he is truly the main man.

The only knock on Sheets is that he fumbles a lot at times. In fact he had three of them on Saturday and lost two of them with the other rolling out of bounds. If he gets over this he is dangerous. Third stringer and true freshman Dan Dierking will now get about 35-40% of the carries and he has played very well in garbage time so far. He is actually the son of Purdue legend Scott Dierking and has already rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns. On his second career carry he busted a 30-yard TD against Toledo.

Wide Receivers:
Where do I begin with this group? Dorien Bryant is a speedster, possession guy, can break almost any play, and sometimes lines up in the spread formation as a running back. Selwyn Lymon and Greg Orton are the outside receivers and can both stretch the field. Dustin Keller already has four TD’s at tight end and a great play to see him in action is his 80 yard TD catch at Toledo on Spoilermaker. His backup Kyle Adams is developing into a solid big goal line pass catcher as well.

For good measure even the backups are solid. Jake Standeford, brother of former Purdue record holder John, is a fifth year senior walk-on that may not have great physical tools, but does everything right and has simply earned his way to the field. He is a fantastic blocker downfield and has developed into a good pass-catcher as well. Desmond Tardy plays the same position as Bryant and is a converted option quarterback, so he’s dangerous with the ball and even threw on a trick play for a TD at Hawaii last year.

By the way, all seven of these guys have already seen the end zone this year at least once.

Defense:
This has been the real surprise so far, although many people are not giving us credit for it. Against similar competition in our first three games last season we were barely able to stop Indiana State, Miami (OH) and Ball State who were worse teams than we have played so far.

This season, except for about the first 20 minutes against Toledo and the second half against Central Michigan the defense has been solid. More importantly they have been more aggressive than the past two seasons, even though they are largely the same unit from last year. Justin Scott is developing into a hard hitting safety that has been in the right spot at the right time with five interceptions in his 17 games at Purdue.

One big change actually came from the offense, and Anthony Heygood converted from running back to linebacker and led the team in tackles the first two games this season. He has surprised nearly everyone and seems to be a natural at linebacker. The defensive line is bigger and deeper this year, allowing for a strong rotation between several guys.

I noticed for the first time in almost two years that the defense was much more aggressive and hard hitting than it has been. They haven’t forced a ton of turnovers yet (only six by my count), but they have been strong in the red zone. It’s the type of unit that doesn’t need to shut other teams down, but if they can limit a team to 20-25 points we should be able to win with our offense. The difference year is experience as so far it seems to be paying off.

Special Teams:
This is another surprise area as what we thought was going to be a strength, punting, has faltered while placekicking, which was awful last year, has been pretty good. Chris Summers was only 8 for 20 on field goals last season, but was automatic on PAT’s. He really improved his game in the offseason and though he missed his first field goal of the season by less than a foot, he has since made three in a row. Last season he didn’t make a single kick after the Wisconsin game.

Jared Armstrong had a great year last year and was expected to be one of the best punters in the nation but he is in a slump right now, shanking things left and right. In the return game we have Bryant returning punts and kickoffs and he has already returned a kickoff 91 yards for a TD against Toledo and nearly broke one all the way against Central Michigan. Last season our kickoff coverage was among the best in the nation and we do a lot of directional kicking with high kicks placed at about the 20 to get the coverage downfield and prevent a long return. It’s been fairly successful all year.

Overall:
This Purdue team really coming together right now, but the turnovers in the second half and the way the defense slacked off against Central Michigan are the first pangs of concern I have had. Also we haven’t really had a good game at getting to the quarterback yet, but the defense is at least causing pressure and several incompletions. This team is starting to look really good and if they can knock off Ohio State at home on October 6th the stage could be set for a very special year. Still, I don’t want to look past the Gophers because you guys always play us close.

Two years ago I went to the game in the Metrodome and left shocked when we couldn’t pull off one play on defense that could have one the game. As a result we went on a six game slide and never truly recovered. You guys never seem to be dead, as the last three weeks you’ve managed comebacks from late deficits to be right there. It should be a good game on Saturday.

Guest Post: Myths And Realities Of Tubby Smith

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post authored by an avid Tubby Smith supporter. He is a frequent commenter over at Gopherhole.com in Tubby's Barn. He does a good job of making the case for Smith, and while I agree with most of what is written, I plan to offer a counter sometime next week--unless others beat me to it first. Is Tubby as great as "Friend of Tubby" states?

By Friend Of Tubby
Guest Contributor

Tubby Smith left Kentucky on March 22, 2007 and was named coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers the next day. Since then (and even before), there have been a number of myths about Coach Smith that do not match reality based on a review of the facts.

I’m not from Minnesota and have never avidly followed the Golden Gophers as many of you have. I’m originally from Kentucky but I’m a Purdue graduate (1974) and a fan of the Big Ten conference for almost 40 years.

I’m also a friend of Tubby Smith. I first met him in September 2000 at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He was an assistant coach (along with ex-Purdue coach Gene Keady) on the Men’s team. My stepdaughter was a member of the Women’s team. Players, coaches, friends, and family all stayed in the same hotel in Parramatta, Australia for those 3 weeks. But I knew about him before that. I worked for a company that also employed Tubby Smith’s best friend and former High Point College teammate, Joe “Buck” Colbert.

Anyway, on to the Myths and Realities of Tubby Smith.

Myth #1 – Tubby is just an ordinary coach who doesn’t measure up to the Best of the Best in his era or all-time.
Reality #1 – Tubby is 387-145 in his 16 year coaching career. That’s 24-9 (average) per season. Bobby Knight averages 22-9 in his career. Mike Krzyzewski averages 24-8 for his career. Lute Olson, 23-8. Jim Boeheim, 24-8. Rick Pitino, 23-9. Tubby measures up.
Let’s look over the past 10 years. The best coaching records from 1998 through 2007 are:

Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, 302-53.
Roy Williams of Kansas and North Carolina, 277-73.
Jim Calhoun of Connecticut, 264-78.
Tubby Smith (formerly) of Kentucky, 263-83.
Billy Donovan of Florida, 248-86.
Tom Izzo of Michigan State, 245-92.

Once again, Tubby Smith measures up quite well to the Best of the Best active coaches.

Myth #2 – Tubby has achieved good success in the regular season but not in the NCAA tournament.
Reality #2 – Tubby is 29-13 (all-time) in NCAA tournament games and 23-9 over the past 10 years.

He ranks 11th best (all-time) in W-L (%) record at 69% just behind Dean Smith and Jim Calhoun at 70% and slightly ahead of Al McGuire and Jerry Tarkanian. He ranks 8th best among active coaches. It is clear (again) that Tubby measures up to the Best of the Best in NCAA tournament results. He is one of only 11 active coaches who have NCAA championship ring(s).

Again, looking at the past 10 years, the best coaching records in NCAA games are:

Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, 28-9 in NCAA.
Roy Williams of Kansas and North Carolina, 25-7.
Jim Calhoun of Connecticut, 25-6.
Tom Izzo of Michigan State, 24-9.
Tubby Smith (formerly) of Kentucky, 23-9.
Billy Donovan of Florida, 22-7.

Myth #3 – Tubby Smith can’t recruit. He only wins when he coaches players recruited by someone else.
Reality #3 – Not exactly. Let’s look at several examples. When Tubby took his first head coaching job at Tulsa in 1991, the roster contained just 4 scholarship players returning. He went to work and recruited some excellent players for his system. After 2 seasons, he took the Golden Hurricane to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances (in 1994 and 1995) with 23-8 and 24-8 records. Those were the first NCAA wins ever recorded by Tulsa. Nolan Richardson coached at Tulsa but never won an NCAA game there.

Another example is Georgia. Tubby moved from Tulsa to Athens in 1995. His first team had 8 seniors and produced a third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance for Tubby. That team had 21 W and defeated #1 seed Purdue (my alma mater) in the NCAA tournament. His next Bulldog team was almost completely his own recruits but proceeded to set a school record with 24 W and defeated SEC champion South Carolina (twice) on the way to the first ever (and only) back-to-back 20+ W seasons at Georgia.

Tubby moved to Kentucky in 1997 when Rick Pitino left UK for the Boston Celtics. UK had experienced uncommon success (best since the 1940’s and 1950’s) during the Pitino era. UK averaged 30 W per season and won 81% of its NCAA games from 1992 through 1997. How can you top that?

Well, Tubby did just that. Despite UK losing 6 players to the NBA draft in the 2 seasons prior to his arrival, he finished out the 1990’s by averaging 31 W per season and winning 90% of his NCAA games. He took players that had never played a major role at UK and coached them to 35 W while defeating three straight 30+ W teams (Duke, Stanford, Utah) to earn the NCAA title in 1998. That’s never been done (before or since) in NCAA tournament annals.

Tubby recruited 6 (of 9) classes at UK that earned Top 15 or better ratings from the RSCI (recruiting consensus) Winners method. No other coach – not Roy Williams, not Billy Donovan, not Mike Krzyzewski, no one – signed more Top 15 rated classes in that timeframe. The RSCI process was created in 1998 by Jeff Crume and is a well respected recruiting Web site.

With 100% his own UK recruits the past 5 seasons, Tubby Smith won 77% of his games (131-40). From 2003 through 2005, he was 87-15 (85%) for the #1 record in Div I Men’s basketball. I’m reminded of the remark by ex-Houston Oilers’ coach Bum Phillips, who once said, “He’ll take his (players) and beat yours or he’ll take yours and beat his.” Tubby Smith wins with HIS players, whether they are his recruits or not.

Myth #4 – Tubby can’t develop players. His players never seem to reach their potential.
Reality #4 – Once again, not even close to being accurate. Tubby had 3 players at Tulsa drafted by the NBA. He had 2 players at Georgia drafted by the NBA. Collectively, he had 7 players make All-Conference teams at Tulsa and Georgia.

He continued that pattern at Kentucky. A total of 14 of his UK players either were drafted by the NBA or made it as free agents. And 16 of his Wildcats made All-SEC. Tayshaun Prince became the first 2-time All-American at UK in almost 20 years. His UK players dot the UK all-time best lists – Keith Bogans, 4th best scorer ever at UK. Chuck Hayes, 7th best rebounder at UK. Erik Daniels and Marquis Estill, the best lefthanded (Daniels) and righthanded (Estill) FG percentage shooters at UK.

Myth #5 – Tubby didn’t measure up to the lofty standards of Kentucky basketball.
Reality #5 – Yes, he did. He won 76% of his games there and 77% (with his own recruits) the past 5 seasons. That meets the UK average (76%) all-time. He won 72% of his NCAA games there. That exceeds the UK average of 69% in NCAA games all-time.

He won 1 NCAA title in 10 years there. UK has won 7 NCAA titles in the 69 years of the NCAA tournament (since 1939). He won 5 SEC titles and 5 SEC tournament championships in 10 years. Both meet UK all-time results in SEC history (since 1933).

Finally, Tubby is one of the Top 10 active coaches in Div I college basketball. He is universally respected (and admired) by his coaching peers. He won Coach of the Year awards in 1998, 2003 (unanimous), and 2005. His streak of 14 straight NCAA appearances and 14 straight 20+ W seasons are exceeded only by coaches like Roy Williams and Lute Olson. He is one of a handful of college coaches to have a winning overall record and winning conference record in every season of his coaching career.

Tubby measures up. He’ll do extremely well at The U. You’ll be pleased 10 years from now when he retires. He’s THAT good!