Porter only played when Ramel was in foul trouble last year. Stevenson has digressed. If you're saying Crawford didn't improve greatly under BCG I don't know what you were watching.

This thread may prove a very unpopular thought to some......Tubby Smith can flat out coach basketball! :scared: Who knew:idunno:??

I mean just look at the mans record and it is obvious that he has been a sucsess wherever he has been and that just goes completely against the thoughts and judgement of some bgp experts of the game. How dare someone bring facts and proof in this!

Rick took over a probation team and turned them into National Champions. In the 6 years that UK was eligible for the NCAA tourney under Rick they: Won a National Championship, made another championship game, made to another final four, and made it to 2 Elite Eights.

 

Tubby took over a National Championship caliber program, and when he left we were getting into the tourney by the skin of our teeth and were out of the Top 25. He is a big part of the reason we are where we are.

Rick took over a probation team and turned them into National Champions. In the 6 years that UK was eligible for the NCAA tourney under Rick they: Won a National Championship, made another championship game, made to another final four, and made it to 2 Elite Eights.

 

Tubby took over a National Championship caliber program, and when he left we were getting into the tourney by the skin of our teeth and were out of the Top 25. He is a big part of the reason we are where we are.

 

Something that Smith supporters dismiss because he was a nice guy.

Something that Smith supporters dismiss because he was a nice guy.

 

Not only a nice guy, also very smart. He saw this coming, and with his tenure, a non NCAA tourney appearance would have gotten him fired. He knew this. Not wanting to get fired, he does the smart thing and quits. Unrealistic demands are sighted as the reason. He is now sitting pretty . Still has his rep in tact. Can pretty much go where he wants. Leaves the UK program in complete disaray and has completely washed his hands of it. Tubby is nothing short of BRILLIANT!!!

Not only a nice guy, also very smart. He saw this coming, and with his tenure, a non NCAA would have gotten him fired. He knew this. Not wanting to get fired, he does the smart thing and quits. Unrealistic demands are sighted as the reason. He is now sitting pretty . Still has his rep in tact. Can pretty much go where he wants. Leaves the UK program in complete disaray and has completely washed his hands of it. Tubby is nothing short of BRILLIANT!!!

 

I can't agrue this for one second. Don't forget he was smart enough to milk another $2mm out of the University in the process. Brilliant maybe understating it.

The struggles that Tubby had in years 3 and 4 were somewhat of a product of the cubbord being left bare for him so to speak.

 

And Tubby left the cubbord absolutely empty!

It's interesting when people bring up Tubby's 1998 championship because they say he did it with Pitno's players. What's interesting is that Pitino was a Laettner shot away from making the Final Four with several carry overs from Eddie Sutton's tenure. Yet, no one ever says Pitino did it with Eddie's players.

 

Anyway, I digress.

 

When you look at the list of Sutton players who got noticably better under Pitino, it reads with Reggie Hanson, Feldhaus, Pelphrey, Woods, and Farmer. Would those guys have been as good under Sutton as they were Pitino? Highly unikely. Granted, Jonathon Davis was a flop.

 

Fast forward nearly a decade. When Tubby Smith took over for Pitino, there were several players who immediately flourished under the new coach. Nazr Mohammed put up good enough numbers to jump to the NBA. Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner, and Jamaal Magliore all improved noticably under Tubby. And of course, Tubby had Myron Anthony and Michael Bradley.

 

Now, move ahead one more decade. Billy Gillispie takes over a team of Tubby's players. Ramel Bradley's numbers are almost identical to his final year under Tubby, with turnovers up and assists down. Joe Crawford's scoring is up four points in his first year under BCG, while his other offensive numbers drop. The jury is still out on Porter, Harris, and Stevenson.

 

One of the knocks on this year's team has been a lack of improvement from the start of the season to now. Other coaches have been able to mold other coach's players into players who made significant and even big contributions for them. Meeks was a Tubby player.

 

Why aren't we seeing improvement out of Stevenson, Harris, Porter, and Jared Carter? A lot of people thought Nazr was a wasted scholly after his freshman year.

 

Should more of the blame be placed on the staff instead of BCG?

 

Just some random thoughts.

I thought Nazr came to school as a fat kid who was out of shape. His play didn't improve until Pitino whipped him into shape.

And Tubby left the cubbord absolutely empty!

And the cupboard wasn't bare when Pitino arrived? They did not lose a home SEC game in his first year and won 20+ games in year two. Is Pitino THAT much better of a coach? Does the respective staffs deserve credit/blame?

I think Tubby is the best coach of the three. Rick being the best recruiter. Gillispie not bringing much into this argument. Though I also feel it isn't very fair to include him, as his credentials pale into comparison of the other two. Rick is the top of the three as he posesses enough of the other characteristics to win a ton of games.

I think Tubby is the best coach of the three. Rick being the best recruiter. Gillispie not bringing much into this argument. Though I also feel it isn't very fair to include him, as his credentials pale into comparison of the other two. Rick is the top of the three as he posesses enough of the other characteristics to win a ton of games.

 

:thumb:

I think Tubby is the best coach of the three. Rick being the best recruiter. Gillispie not bringing much into this argument. Though I also feel it isn't very fair to include him, as his credentials pale into comparison of the other two. Rick is the top of the three as he posesses enough of the other characteristics to win a ton of games.

Pretty good assessment. Though I would say Tubby's recruiting is much better then people realize and Rick is also extremely media savvy!