I agree. There's a hundred coaches in the country who could have won with the talent that Florida has had the past two years. Same with UK in '96. It's all about recruiting.

 

Yep..need to look no further than what Tubby did with Rick's boys.

Asking a question you already know the answer to.

 

But clearly a question not on the minds of 99% of Wildcat Nation.

 

All most UK fans see is the past two titles, and the expectation that "If we get him, we can do this every year!!!!"

But clearly a question not on the minds of 99% of Wildcat Nation.

 

All most UK fans see is the past two titles, and the expectation that "If we get him, we can do this every year!!!!"

 

No. With Donovan we would at least have a shot. The guy can flat out coach and recruit.

But clearly a question not on the minds of 99% of Wildcat Nation.

 

All most UK fans see is the past two titles, and the expectation that "If we get him, we can do this every year!!!!"

 

 

 

Two years of the honeymoon period and then the "is Richie going to play" group will start to show there true colors.

No. With Donovan we would at least have a shot. The guy can flat out coach and recruit.

 

He can recruit; of that there's no doubt. The jury's still out on his coaching ability, IMO.

 

And it's not like UK didn't ever "have a shot" under Tubby, and it's silly to suggest they didn't.

The reason he is worth so much is beacause the possible recruits he can now bring in.

The reason he is worth so much is beacause the possible recruits he can now bring in.

 

UK haters don't see it that way. They liked it better with Tubby.

UK haters don't see it that way. They liked it better with Tubby.

 

Personally, it's been kind of difficult seeing the UK fan base turn against Tubby like it has. I haven't had a chance to enjoy their misery and frayed mental state because I like Tubby so much. Kind of like beating up on a crippled kid (not Tubby; the UK fans) — there's no sport in it.

He can recruit; of that there's no doubt. The jury's still out on his coaching ability, IMO.

 

And it's not like UK didn't ever "have a shot" under Tubby, and it's silly to suggest they didn't.

 

Don't forget he also made it to the 2000 championship game with a far less talented team. Yes, it did have some NBA players on it in Miller, Haslem, Bonner and Harvey but none of those players are exactly stars in the NBA and except for Harvey were far less heralded than his current class. In that tourney his team defeated Illinois, Duke, Oklahoma State (all higher seeds) as well as North Carolina. Keep in mind he's only 41 and he seems to be maturing as a game coach as he goes.

Don't forget he also made it to the 2000 championship game with a far less talented team. Yes, it did have some NBA players on it in Miller, Haslem, Bonner and Harvey but none of those players are exactly stars in the NBA and except for Harvey were far less heralded than his current class. In that tourney his team defeated Illinois, Duke, Oklahoma State (all higher seeds) as well as North Carolina. Keep in mind he's only 41 and he seems to be maturing as a game coach as he goes.

 

Less talented than this team, yes. Untalented, no way. On pure talent, that team was among the two or three best in the country — a luxury Donovan enjoyed on far less successful occasions before and after that year.

 

I'll agree that he seems to be maturing, and that's a plus, especially for you guys if he ends up in Lex. But the facts remain that he was still an underachiever until the past two years, and I can't shake the feeling that it will happen again.

Less talented than this team, yes. Untalented, no way. On pure talent, that team was among the two or three best in the country — a luxury Donovan enjoyed on far less successful occasions before and after that year.

 

I'll agree that he seems to be maturing, and that's a plus, especially for you guys if he ends up in Lex. But the facts remain that he was still an underachiever until the past two years, and I can't shake the feeling that it will happen again.

 

Looking at the list of teams from that tourney they were indeed talented but they were nowhere near the top 2 or 3 in the country--more like 10-12 range. As for the years before that I think he actually did a great job getting a lot out of limited players such as Dupay and Nelson. I won't make a whole lot of excuses for his performance after 2000 except to say that I think he fell into what Tubby fell into with Crawford, Rondo, Morris when he took Walsh, Roberson, Drejer. He took what looked good on paper and was unable to make it mesh on the court due to the players personalities, not their ability or his coaching. The current bunch of players that he has seems to be a perfect storm sort of thing--very talented and they get along and play together. Did he know this from the beginning? I seriously doubt it but he does seem adept at bringing in players that can make his system work and its been awhile since I can actually say that I can remember him getting outcoached. I think he's really entering his prime as a game coach where that part of the package is catching up to his recruiting.

Yep..need to look no further than what Tubby did with Rick's boys.

 

Yeah Rick left the team stocked with great players , I always thought part of Pitino leaving was the fact he faced a huge rebuilding job at UK. He had not recruited a top player in 3 years and there was not a lot of talent left on that 98 team (Mercer and Anderson were gone). Nazr was the only one with much talent from a NBA view, I know Padget has knocked around some in the NBA. The 98 team had very little talent, Shep one of my all-time favorite Cats wasn't even "good enough" by Pitino's standards, he had to red shirt his SENIOR season.

 

I think some coaches perform better with less "Star Power" and more "Team Power". Smith is one of these guys. Some guys can't coach unless they have all of the talent in the world (See Coach K).

 

Smith was in a catch 22, recruit McDonalds All-Americans (Carruth, Rondo et al.) and have multiple issues. Or recruit his type of players (Hayes, Daniels Ect..) and win big 2 of every 4 years. Tubby gave in to the fans recruiting pressure IMO and went after too many high ranked players. When he did not get some of them there wasn't a whole lot left to pick from. I think his whole recruiting plan was blown up and should have cost Rigot his job two years ago.