Tubby Smith

[jchill]

I just listened to his interview. He sounded like a sore loser.

[hogsanity]

So he sounded like Tubby Smith has always sounded.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

He was thinking when JL called to gauge interest last time he should have sold his soul to become our coach

[The_Iceman]

Tubby is a good coach. Minnesota screwed up getting rid of him.

[chiefhawg]

I just listened to his interview. He sounded like a sore loser.

Good losers will always be losers. It has been said that Dusty Hannahs hates to lose more than he likes to min. MJ and Kobe were/are sore losers.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Cliff notes?

[ShadowHawg]

He should be mad. He ran the guy off that kicked his arse. :razorback:

[ShadowHawg]

Good losers will always be losers. It has been said that Dusty Hannahs hates to lose more than he likes to min. MJ and Kobe were/are sore losers.

Kobe didn't hate losing enough to get along with Shaq or Dwight Howard. He also took so much money from his team that he knew it would make them losers as well. I wouldn't lump Kobe in with guys that hated losing on MJ's level. You need to think more Magic and Bird for that.

[rude1]

Kobe didn't hate losing enough to get along with Shaq or Dwight Howard. He also took so much money from his team that he knew it would make them losers as well. I wouldn't lump Kobe in with guys that hated losing on MJ's level. You need to think more Magic and Bird for that.

Kobe was a part of 5 championships for the Lakers and the face of the franchise, he didn't take any money from his team, he earned every penny that has been paid him and probably deserves more....

[ShadowHawg]

Kobe was a part of 5 championships for the Lakers and the face of the franchise, he didn't take any money from his team, he earned every penny that has been paid him and probably deserves more....

He can thank Shaq for 3 of those, and then it took a starting lineup of Lottery picks around him to get the other two.

The Lakers largely sucked when he became the face of the franchise. Like I said, he didn't hate losing anywhere on the level of an MJ, Magic, or Bird.

[rude1]

He can thank Shaq for 3 of those, and then it took a starting lineup of Lottery picks around him to get the other two.

The Lakers largely sucked when he became the face of the franchise. Like I said, he didn't hate losing anywhere on the level of an MJ, Magic, or Bird.

Yeah you can thank Derrick Fisher too, ironically no player wins titles by themselves. Championship basketball didn't get to Chicago when MJ arrived, it got to Chicago when Scotty Pippen arrived......

[Atlhogfan1]

Thank NBA officiating and Horry as well. 

[Fatty McGee]

He can thank Shaq for 3 of those, and then it took a starting lineup of Lottery picks around him to get the other two.

The Lakers largely sucked when he became the face of the franchise. Like I said, he didn't hate losing anywhere on the level of an MJ, Magic, or Bird.

MJ, Magic and Bird also had superstars around them.  Your point?

[SuperSid4Ever]

I think Tubby is a decent coach, but was surprised that Kentucky hired him.

[opineonswine]

I met him in Memphis airport once and tried to engage him.  He was a sour puss.  Suspect he's only gotten more sour.  He was coach at Kentucky then.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

He can thank Shaq for 3 of those, and then it took a starting lineup of Lottery picks around him to get the other two.

The Lakers largely sucked when he became the face of the franchise. Like I said, he didn't hate losing anywhere on the level of an MJ, Magic, or Bird.

I disagree.  Kobe belongs right there with them.

And for a good butt-kicking, which I need, MJ is an all-time great.  However, he also even to this day, benefited from an unforeseen marketing campaign and ''Jordan Rules''.  Those two items were MEGA, GODLIKE POWERFUL in bringing a perception that went beyond reality with him.  Maybe he's NOT the greatest.

[Paul]

I think Tubby is a decent coach, but was surprised that Kentucky hired him.

he wouldn't go along with all their cheating

[SuperSid4Ever]

he wouldn't go along with all their cheating

UK fans referred to him as 10-loss Tubby.  They were annoyed by how many games his teams lost every year.

Not sure how much of what you're saying is or isn't true, but he kind of knew what the job was before he took it.  I don't think it's a mistake that virtually nobody who's had the job since Adolf Rupp retired has lasted to retirement at the school.    Think about it.  The premier job in the country, and nobody stays there long enough to see retirement.  Tells us all a lot about what it involves, at least as far as I am seeing it.

[rzrbackramsfan]

I just listened to his interview. He sounded like a sore loser.

Perfect coach for Texas Tech

[TexomaRazorback]

Agreed

Tubby is a good coach. Minnesota screwed up getting rid of him.

[SexyBeast77]

Dude just seems miserable

http://www.wholehogsports.com/videos/2016/jan/30/12377/

[Hogimus Prime]

Remember when ole Tubby forgot to send in the papers saying Randolph Morris was pulling his name out of the NBA draft and returning to school.

[Rawker]

Tubby is a good coach. Minnesota screwed up getting rid of him.

I don't review your posts, so without even knowing I'm thinking this is probably one of the best things you've written.  I worked with him for my job before, and I thought he was by far one of the most genuine and courteous people from the coaching world I've run into, and I've spent some time with a few.  He's in a very very short list of coaches I think are very genuine, pleasant, and thoughtful people, and without any bias at all - only saying it from the POV of someone who has worked around them - CMA and BB are also on that list.  Both are guys that I'm almost certain would give you the shirt off their back, and though they are obviously paid well, neither take it for granted whatsoever.  The worst, you ask?  It's not even close.....Roy Williams. =====D

[pigture perfect]

I'm so glad Dusty smoked his old coach the other  day.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

I don't review your posts, so without even knowing I'm thinking this is probably one of the best things you've written.  I worked with him for my job before, and I thought he was by far one of the most genuine and courteous people from the coaching world I've run into, and I've spent some time with a few.  He's in a very very short list of coaches I think are very genuine, pleasant, and thoughtful people, and without any bias at all - only saying it from the POV of someone who has worked around them - CMA and BB are also on that list.  Both are guys that I'm almost certain would give you the shirt off their back, and though they are obviously paid well, neither take it for granted whatsoever.  The worst, you ask?  It's not even close.....Roy Williams. =====D

Interesting.

What was your job that gave you such access?
Also, what did ''Uncle Roy'' say/do to put you off?

[Inhogswetrust]

I met him in Memphis airport once and tried to engage him.  He was a sour puss.  Suspect he's only gotten more sour.  He was coach at Kentucky then.

I would be a sour puss too if I was coaching at Kentucky and had to deal with those blue blooded boosters and fans all the time.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Loved this presser

[Dr. Starcs]

Coach Smith, do you know how many points Dusty went for in the first half?

No?

Lets count em up. One tubby tubby. Two tubby tubby.....

[jbcarol]

Williams' Game-Winner Lifts TTech Basketball Past Oklahoma State in Overtime, 63-61

Devaugntah Williams knocked down the game-winning basket against Oklahoma State for the second consecutive season.

LUBBOCK, Texas - Devaugntah Williams made his lone basket on a driving layup with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime to vault the Texas Tech men's basketball team to a dramatic 63-61 victory over Oklahoma State Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tech (13-8, 3-6 Big 12) overcame a slow start and a 12-point deficit during the first half. The Red Raiders connected on 3-of-21 shooting to start the game. With the victory, Tech has equaled its overall and conference win totals from a season ago.

"It was certainly a very tough, hard-fought game," Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith said. "We're very proud of our players, and their resiliency and courage. We've lost a lot of close games, but tonight we found a way to win. I want to commend our guys for showing a lot of toughness and stepping up. Oklahoma State is pretty athletic and pretty talented. When Jawun Evans went out - they were having their way when he was in there. I hope he's OK. We're very happy to get this win, a much-needed win."

Aaron Ross racked up a career-high 22 points coupled with seven rebounds and two assists over a career-best 35 minutes of action. He buried a career-high four three-pointers and was a flawless 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Ross has secured double figures in six of his last seven outings.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zucker ‏@AdamZuckerCBS 15h15 hours ago

. @TexasTech ends a 13-game losing streak vs Top 25 with OT win over @CycloneATH

[jbcarol]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 1h1 hour ago

The job Tubby Smith is doing at Texas Tech shouldn't be a surprise. Won NC at UK & went to 3 NCAA's & 2 NIT's in 6 years at Minnesota.

Texas Tech beats Baylor by 18 in Waco. Red Raiders will make the NCAA Tournament if they get to eight Big 12 wins. Host Oklahoma Wednesday.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Borzello ‏@jeffborzello 14h14 hours ago

Meanwhile, Texas Tech has won three straight games -- each win coming against a ranked opponent. Unbelievable coaching job by Tubby Smith.

Oklahoma has now lost three of its last four games -- and a trip to West Virginia is coming up this weekend. Oh boy.

[jbcarol]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein  7m7 minutes ago
Texas Tech wins its 5th straight league game for the 1st time since 1996. Think Tubby Smith can coach a little? Red Raiders are NCAA bound.

[jbcarol]

Teryn Schaefer ‏@terynschaefer 18h18 hours ago

Tubby Smith, Coach of the Year? @GaryParrishCBS and I discussed it: http://cbsprt.co/20VwXuf , and he wrote about it: http://cbsprt.co/21oATWr

[jbcarol]

 Scott Charlton ‏@Scott_Charlton 24h24 hours ago

Tubby Smith watching the Minnesota basketball program implode this season.

[jbcarol]

John Clay ‏@johnclayiv Mar 9 Kentucky, USA

Tubby Smith wins National Coach of the Year honors. Trevathan to the Bears? Wiltjer in the tourney. Big Blue Links. http://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sidelines-with-john-clay/article64928037.html ...

Tubby Smith named National Coach of the Year by the Sporting News. "Three seasons later, Smith has Texas Tech on the brink of an NCAA Tournament bid, what would be the school's first in nearly a decade and only the 15th in its history. Five years after Billy Gillispie's one disastrous season resulted in a single conference victory, the Red Raiders went 19-11 overall, 9-9 in the Big 12 and defeated three consecutive ranked opponents in mid-February. They lost seven of their eight games in one January stretch but recovered to win five in a row."

[jbcarol]

Coach Smith is the 2nd coach to take five different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

[jbcarol]

When Texas Tech received an NCAA tournament bid, Coach Tubby Smith got a $50,000 bonus

[jbcarol]

Anthony Wireman ‏@awireman 19h19 hours ago

Texas Tech's Tubby Smith was named NABC District 8 Coach of the Year; good to see Tubby doing well: http://www.allkyhoops.com/2016/03/tubby-smith-named-nabc-district-8-coach.html ...


Tubby stood out in his little district

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/GaryParrishCBS/status/720311681725894656

It was confusing, at least from my perspective, when Texas Tech hired Tubby Smith -- exactly a week after Minnesota fired Tubby Smith -- because I didn't get why a school with such a difficult job to fill would pass on any number of up-and-coming and aggressive recruiters to employ, yes, an undeniably accomplished and gifted coach, but one who was in his 60s and not known as the best player-getter college basketball has ever seen.

I wasn't against the hire, exactly.

I just didn't understand the point of the hire.

But what I missed -- and I'm not sure why I missed this, but I did miss it -- is something Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt clearly understood, and that's that employing an undeniably accomplished and gifted coach who is in his 60s and not known as the best player-getter college basketball has ever seen is literally the only thing that's ever worked at Texas Tech since the school joined the Big 12 back in 1996. Because the following is a list of coaches who have led the Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament in the past 20 years:

    Bob Knight

[jbcarol]

Story: Tubby Smith is both big winner and big loser in this year's college coaching carousel

Memphis a better basketball job than Texas Tech — but is it a good 'fit' for Tubby?

WINNER: Tubby Smith. Three years after being (unjustly) fired at Minnesota, the ex-Kentucky head man rebuilt Texas Tech from hoops irrelevancy into an NCAA Tournament team. He has now parlayed that into the head coaching job at Memphis, where one can far more realistically aspire to high-level success than at Tech — the ninth-best basketball job in the 10-school Big 12.

LOSER: Tubby Smith. In terms of "fit," Tubby and Memphis do not seem an ideal match. To succeed at Memphis, a coach has to be able to lure top players to an urban school in a gritty city. That usually means recruiting the big cities hard. Among key players that played for Memphis and John Calipari in the 2008 NCAA championship game were those from Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago as well as one from Memphis.

While the city of Memphis is considered a bountiful source of basketball talent, recruiting there requires a coach willing and able to navigate a — how should we put this? — complicated recruiting environment (the University of Memphis has vacated six NCAA Tournament appearances, after all).

Furthermore, with Memphis locked outside the Power Five conference cartel, a successful coach there has to be a promoter, a guy who can keep Tigers basketball front and center on a national scale.

Furthermore, with Memphis locked outside the Power Five conference cartel, a successful coach there has to be a promoter, a guy who can keep Tigers basketball front and center on a national scale.

Do any of these qualities scream Tubby Smith?

https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/720651231174213633

https://twitter.com/geoff_calkins/status/720298666167246848

[jbcarol]

 Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 3h3 hours ago

Pooh Williamson is joining Tubby Smith's staff at Memphis as an assistant coach, source told @CBSSports. Williamson was at Texas Tech.

[jbcarol]

Hall of Fame credentials, sure, but those who know Tubby Smith say it's all about the human touch

Tubby Smith was being ushered off the floor at FedExForum on Thursday afternoon when a fan approached him with a homemade sign, four words etched on a yellow legal pad in Sharpie: "St. Mary's County Represented."

The 64-year-old coach stopped and smiled. He also grew up in rural Southern Maryland.

"Where in St. Mary's County?" he asked.

"Leonardtown."

"Leonardtown," Smith repeated as he autographed the sign, still grinning. "All right!"

For a man who had just been named the 18th head basketball coach of the University of Memphis, who had just agreed to a contract that will pay him in excess of $15 million over the next five years, who had a coaching staff to assemble and recruits to visit and high-dollar donors to greet, it was the smallest of human interactions.

But those who know Tubby Smith say there is no such thing as a small interaction.

"When you speak to him, he makes you feel like nothing else around is important," said Wyoming coach Allen Edwards, who played for Smith at Kentucky. "He's in tune to the conversation. I always had an awe about that."

Smith arrives at Memphis with a Hall of Fame resume, having reached 18 NCAA Tournaments in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. The former Texas Tech coach is one of just seven active coaches with 500 career wins and a national championship to his name. He is a three-time national coach of the year and six-time conference coach of the year, in three different conferences. Twenty-two of his players have gone on to the NBA.

But behind all the accolades, those close to him say, Smith is a man as meticulous in his relationships as he is genuine in his character. He's the guy who stops to ask the janitor about his day, who can fit in with any type of people in any type of place, who grew up with 16 brothers and sisters and referred to himself Thursday as "a blue-collar worker" and "a Joe Bag of Donuts."

"As a person," said J.D. Barnett, who gave Smith his first college coaching job at VCU in 1979, "I don't think you're ever going to find in this business — which is a very corrupt business — somebody that's as honest and as principle-oriented."

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish ‏@GaryParrishCBS 21h21 hours ago

If you're keeping track ... Dedric Lawson has entered the NBA Draft. Withdrawn. And now reportedly entered again.

(Of course, this could just be code for, "Tubby, you'd better keep my dad on staff or else I'm leaving for sure.")


Brian Snow ‏@BSnowScout 21h21 hours ago

Brian Snow Retweeted Gary Parrish

Tubby's biggest challenge is keeping the Lawsons happy while not pissing the rest of the city off. NOT EASY TO DO

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/GaryParrishCBS/status/723572324037959680

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN  19h19 hours ago
@GaryParrishCBS I don't think Tubby had any idea what he was getting himself into when he took the Memphis job.

[RealHog]

Pssh, I don't feel bad for him. We hired Scottie Thurman with ZERO coaching experience and he didn't even have 3 sons that are amazing basketball talents who could play in the NBA. Heck be doesn't even have AAU connections. Nowadays just about every staff is getting a AAU/NYBL insider because that's pretty much the epicenter of hoops recruiting nowadays. I wish we had his problem.

[jbcarol]

A potentially explosive situation for the University of Memphis basketball program might have come to a head Saturday when the brother of Tigers assistant coach Keelon Lawson publicly challenged new head coach Tubby Smith to retain Lawson as an assistant or risk losing the team's top two returning players.

Chuck Lawson, the uncle of Tigers freshmen forwards Dedric and K.J. Lawson and founder of 901Prepscoop.com, wrote on his website that "the ball is in Tubby's hands and it's up to him."

"You would lose your 2 top scorers from the previous year and have to fill 5-7 roster spots instead of 4-5," Chuck wrote of the potential consequences of Memphis not retaining Keelon, the brothers' father, as an assistant.

Chuck wrote that U of M officials told Keelon before Smith was hired that he would be retained as an assistant by the Tigers' next head coach. But after meeting with Smith, Chuck wrote, it was apparent to Keelon "that Coach Smith wasn't too fond of the idea of him as the third assistant."

Keelon's sons would be Memphis' top two returning scorers next season.

[jbcarol]

Doc Holliday ‏@The_DocHolliday 8h8 hours ago

Keelon Lawson tells me he's accepted job as Director of Player Development for Tubby Smith. Per Keelon "Oatmeal is better than no meal."


L. Jason Smith ‏@TheCAJasonSmith 8h8 hours ago

Tubby laughing at all of us.



UPDATED RT @memphissports: Keelon Lawson to remain on Tigers' staff in support role http://dlvr.it/L8TZY3

[jbcarol]

L. Jason Smith
‏@TheCAJasonSmith

Tubby Smith's assistant coaches at Memphis: Alvin "Pooh" Williamson, Joe Esposito, Saul Smith.


It's all good, man.

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish Verified account
‏@GaryParrishCBS

Memphis forward Dedric Lawson is withdrawing from the NBA Draft, his father, Keelon Lawson, told @CBSSports.