You know I've seen very few people attack Tubby personally. Having a problem with his recruiting and some coaching decisions are different. Anyone who says the man can't coach has very little basketball knowledge, but saying he allowed UK to slip as a program would be true in my opinion.

 

 

He is a defensive mastermind and teacher of defensive philosophy. He is also a pretty good strategist in end of game situations. We also did not beak any NCAA rules and he did a lot for the community.

 

 

He could not(wasn't willing to work hard enough?) recruit top level guys and had limited ability ti get his offensive philosophy across to players. The program was also on a down trend.

Won/Loss record:

Probation - 36-20 (64.29%)

Past 2 yrs - 38-20 (65.52%)

 

SEC record:

Probation - 24-12 (66.67%)

Past 2 yrs - 17-13 (56.67%)

 

Wins against ranked opponents:

Probation - 5-6 (45.45%)

Past 2 yrs - 3-12 (20.00%)

--Outside of probation, this will mark the first time we have finished back to back seasons unranked since 1959-1961 (46 years).

 

--Already the most losses over a two year period (outside of probation era) in the history of our school.

 

 

Keeping these in mind, which way would a trend line point, up or down?

 

Percentage of games ranked in top 5:

Tubby 16%

Pitino 59% (53% if you include probation year)

 

Number of games in top 5:

Tubby in 326 games ranked 54 games in top 5

Pitino in 269 games ranked 142 games in top 5

 

Number of Home losses:

Tubby 19

Pitino 5 (7 if you include probation year)

 

10+ loss seasons:

Tubby 4 (in 7 years - soon to be 5 in 8 )

Pitino 0 (1 if you include the probation year)

 

Average number of losses per year:

Tubby 7.9 (about to push that up over 8 )

Pitino 4.8(throwing out the 1st year)

 

Games played as #1 ranking: Pitino 10 Tubby 4

Games played as #2 ranking: Pitino 44 Tubby 14

Games played as #3 ranking: Pitino 33 Tubby 10

Games played as #4 ranking: Pitino 18 Tubby 15

Games played as #5 ranking: Pitino 37 Tubby 11

Total games with top 5 ranking: Pitino 142 Tubby 54

 

Team Turmoils:

Tubby 2

Pitino 0

 

Transfers out of the Program:

Tubby 14

Pitino 7

 

NBA 1st round draft picks:

Tubby 2

Pitino 10

 

Rick Pitino's 1st year 14-14 probation team averaged more than 10 ppg than ANY Tubby Smith team except 2. It averaged 8.9 ppg more than those 2 teams.

 

Rick Pitino - Points per Game

1989-90 88.82

1990-91 85.89

1991-92 85.72

1992-93 87.50

1993-94 86.88

1994-95 87.39

1995-96 91.44

1996-97 83.13

 

Tubby Smith takes over

1997-98 80.08

1998-99 75.41

1999-00 69.09

2000-01 79.79

2001-02 76.88

2002-03 77.28

2003-04 73.91

2004-05 73.62

2005-06 70.77

2006-07 72.32

 

Final Fours

Pitino 5 (3 at Kentucky)

Tubby 1

 

Championship games

Pitino 2

Tubby 1

 

NCAA tournament

Pitino 22-5 (.783) (at Kentucky)

Tubby is 23-8 (.663) (at Kentucky)

 

*Pitino beat 11 teams seeded 5th or higher in 6 NCAA Tournaments.

 

*Tubby has beaten 4 teams seeded 5th or higher in 9 NCAA Tournaments.

 

*Tubby has beaten just one team seeded 5th or higher since his first season at Kentucky.

 

* fall, 2003 - top PFs begin picking other schools over UK as UK has the PF spot wide open. PFs who end up not picking UK in this recruiting cycle are Hansbrough, Echefu, Leo "Cry me a river" Criswell, Barber, Brown, and many others. All of these players had UK on their top spot at one point or another but UK failed to bring all of them in.

 

* winter, 2005 - Joe Crawford tries to leave team but UK refuses to grant him his release.

 

* spring, 2005 - Kalenna Azubuike, after Smith says that he will not hire an agent, does exactly that four days later (he is not drafted).

 

* spring, 2005 - Randolph Morris refuses to call Smith as he enters the draft (he is not drafted). His parents cite the fact that Tubby did not develop their son properly.

 

* fall, 2005 - with the PF spot wide open for the second straight year of recruiting, Brandan Wright, Thadd Young, Deon Thompson, Kevin Durant and others all pick other schools with top PF talent already in place (with the exception of G-Tech and Young).

 

* winter, 2005 - Ramel Bradley seems hesitant to say whether he is content at UK.

 

* winter, 2005 - Rajon Rondo is rumored to be at odds with Smith and his team as he says, "There's some egos."

 

* Feb. 2006 - a player that nobody had in their Top 150 recruits (who was given a scholarship very early by Tubby) transfers from UK - Adam Williams.

 

* May 2006, JUCO transfer Simms leaves UK after one year.

 

* Summer 2006. Tyrone Nash. A player that was being recruited by the likes of Seton Hall before UK stepped in and offered a scholarship. Nash responds "thanks, but no thanks UK I think I'll go to prep school for a year and get a better offer after that". Obviously not his exact words but why else would he turn down a scholarship from UK to go to a prep school???

 

also, some of Smith's best players picked UK after their preferred schools screwed them. Prince loved UCLA but the Bruins screwed his older brother. Rondo loved Louisville but Sebastian Telfair was there. Hayes wanted Kansas and Roy Williams but Kansas put him on hold for Josh Childress.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Kentucky is 1-7 vs. teams ranked in the AP top 10 when they played them over the last three years. The only win was over a #4 Louisville team in 2005 that eventually failed to make the NCAA tournament. In contrast Kentucky was 8-3 vs. top 10 teams during the first two years that Tubby was the coach in 1997-98 and 98-99. (0-2 in 2004-05, 1-2 in 2005-06, 0-3 in 2006-07).

 

Kentucky is 8-15 vs. top 25 AP ranked opponents over the past three seasons including 0-6 this season. (4-3 in 2004-05, 4-6 in 2005-06, 0-6 in 2006-07).

 

Kentucky is 1-6 vs. teams ranked in the AP top 20 in the NCAA tournament since the championship season of 1997-98. Again in contrast, Kentucky beat 4 top 20 teams to win the championship in 1998.

 

7 out of 12 of Tubby's top 30-ranked recruits (Carruth, Parker, Stone, Allison, Crawford, Morris, and Azubuike) he has brought to Lexington have

 

A. Openly questioned the program.

B. Ignored Smith's advice to skip the draft even to the point of not being selected.

C. attempted to transfer.

OR.....

D. transferred outright.

 

Do you have this saved on your desktop?

Gillispie was "wheeling and dealing" with Arkansas when Stan Heath still had the job. You okay with that?

 

Its none of my business and there's no doubt that Billy Gillespie is just as scandalous as the rest.

I got a autographed Tubby Smith basketball also signed by some players of the 2002-2003 team at a UK basketball camp. I came home the other day and my 8 yr old cousin was shooting around with it on gravels and dirt and I didn't really care.

I got a autographed Tubby Smith basketball also signed by some players of the 2002-2003 team at a UK basketball camp. I came home the other day and my 8 yr old cousin was shooting around with it on gravels and dirt and I didn't really care.

 

LOL.

Disprove his stats then...........................

 

 

I don't think you can..............................

 

Ok well lets see here I not even going to go look up everything. But lets see he list alot of stats from the last two years, which were terrible to try to present his case. Yet a lot of people even before the last two years, were wanting him gone and didn't have much reason for it...

 

Tubby had 5 SEC regular season title, and tourament titles...I think in in the 03 season he won more consecutive SEC games than any other coach has in the SEC...He mentions the terrible two year span, just to support his argument. So I can just mention this three year span from the 2003 season to the 2005 season, where I believe Tubby Smith won more games than ANY coach in the nation. Not to mention 2 overall #1 seeds, and two elite 8 appearances...SA also mentioned the NBA first round picks to try to say Tubby doesn't put people in the NBA. However even though Tubby hasn't put nearly as many 1st round picks in the NBA, he has put quite a few players in the NBA, and people who are doing pretty successful as well...In SA's litte thing he says UK has only beaten one top ten team in 3 years. Of coarse he doesn't go any further back than that to the years when UK was stomping #1 Florida. I mean got to leave stuff like that out, when presenting one side of the story...I also believe that I have heard that Tubby Smith is in the top 5 for most wins ever in a coaches first 16 years of coaching or something like that...Also like it or not, Tubby Smith did when a National Title here at UK. And yes it was with Pitinos players, however that only goes so far. Because Pitino was not the one running the pratices, calling the plays in the game, or knowing when to sub players. Tubby is the one who got that title for us, and pitino only gets a little bit of credit for it...So Tubby while at UK had 1 National Championship, 4 elite 8 appearances. 2 overall number 1 seeds in the tournament, never lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament at UK. 5 SEC regular season and tournament titles. From 2003 to 2005 more wins than any coach in the country. A good amount of UK players that Tubby coached in the NBA. Also as I said before and I not positive on it, but I believe the most consecutive wins in SEC history...So yeah looking at what I just said, that is a VERY IMPRESSIVE resume for any coach in NCAA basketball..See it is pretty darn easy to present one side of the story to back up your claim, when you leave the other things out...

Its none of my business and there's no doubt that Billy Gillespie is just as scandalous as the rest.

 

So it's okay for him to do it, but not Tubby.....

I could never dislike Tubby Smith..........he is too much of a class act.

 

:thumb: Ditto!

There appear to be more people on BGP who complain about "Tubby Haters" than there are actual "Tubby Haters". To me, it seems the real problem is the Tubby Hater Haters.

 

I think Tubby is a decent coach whose style just isn't that much fun to watch. But that is just my opinion. With Pitino and Gillespie at the helm, the state of Kentucky will definitely produce two very exciting teams to watch this year.

That's true. With Billy Clyde, every game so far has been an adventure...

So it's okay for him to do it, but not Tubby.....

 

I didn't say it was wrong for Tubby to do that - I said that he isn't the angelic saint that he is always painted out to be.

There appear to be more people on BGP who complain about "Tubby Haters" than there are actual "Tubby Haters". To me, it seems the real problem is the Tubby Hater Haters.

 

I think Tubby is a decent coach whose style just isn't that much fun to watch. But that is just my opinion. With Pitino and Gillespie at the helm, the state of Kentucky will definitely produce two very exciting teams to watch this year.

 

You say Tubby style wasn't fun to watch, but say with Billy G at the helm that it would be fun now? I got to ask how do u figure? I mean his style is a lot like Tubby Smith. Neither one of them run a fast pace game like Pitino did, and both are guys who seem to be more defensive minded, and play the half court game. The only thing really more exciting about this year to watch than it was with Tubby, is the new excitement that comes with a new coach...

Tubbys a great guy, good coach, sub par recruiter.

You say Tubby style wasn't fun to watch, but say with Billy G at the helm that it would be fun now? I got to ask how do u figure? I mean his style is a lot like Tubby Smith. Neither one of them run a fast pace game like Pitino did, and both are guys who seem to be more defensive minded, and play the half court game. The only thing really more exciting about this year to watch than it was with Tubby, is the new excitement that comes with a new coach...

 

UK has already pressed more this year than Tubby did in 9 years. Ok, that is a bit of a stretch, but it is an indication of a more visually pleasing game to come.

UK has already pressed more this year than Tubby did in 9 years. Ok, that is a bit of a stretch, but it is an indication of a more visually pleasing game to come.

 

Not really IMO. I mean even Tubby pressed occasionally and Billy G. has done the same. Honestly one of the reasons why we have seen Billy G. press this much is because his hand is kind of forced since we only have really one big guy. Im sure in the future once we have actually two big guys down low in the starting lineup, we wont see much pressing at all, and will the same half court game we seen under Tubby. Billy G. and Tubby are pretty much a lot a like in how they do things, because it seems both prefer the half court game more. Yeah they have a little bit of a different offense and defensive schemes, but bascially they do the same thing. So I mean I know everyone complained about how Tubby half court game offensive and defensively was boring, and they wanted a Pitino type which was very exciting. But we wont be getting that in Billy G...