Tubby Smith resigns, taking Minnesota job - Page 16

bills217 · #**151** 03-22-2007, 11:49 PM

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12 win team.
And it took him until his 4 season to make the Final Four.

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Most would agree that taking a 12-win team to the Final Four in 4 years is pretty immediate.

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05-06 they went to the NIT, which is a capital offense at Kentucky.

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Switch 05-06 Kentucky to 05-06 Big East and Louisville to the SEC, U of L is in the second round and Kentucky is in the NIT.

AngusThermopyle · #**152** 03-22-2007, 11:51 PM

All the Florida AD has to do is show this thread and I am sure others like it on other boards to Donovan.

bills217 · #**153** 03-22-2007, 11:51 PM

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Well, Doyle forgot that Tubby did leave enough talent that Bill Self could take Tulsa to the Elite8.

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I concede that as a point in Tubby's favor.

A point against him is that he took a team that had been to 2 (and then 3) national championship games, and turned it into an NIT-caliber team, in 10 years.

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C'mon. He's been to at least the 2nd round of the NCAAs every year of his tenure hasn't he? 4 E8s?

I agree that he needed to go, but that's simply overboard.

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Kentucky's current roster of players is NIT-caliber, at best, and that will likely be true for next year no matter who gets the job (assuming Morris leaves of course).

Soul Daddy · #**154** 03-22-2007, 11:54 PM

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All the Florida AD has to do is show this thread and I am sure others like it on other boards to Donovan.

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[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

bills217 · #**155** 03-22-2007, 11:55 PM

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All the Florida AD has to do is show this thread and I am sure others like it on other boards to Donovan.

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If Billy Donovan (or anyone else) succeeded here, the 2046-2047 UK team would play in the new, 30,000-seat Donovan Arena, in the city of Donovanville in Donovan County.

He is currently the second most popular coach at the University of Florida. (See also: Bear Bryant leaving Kentucky.)

Edited to add: If Donovan is UK's choice (which I think he likely is), UK WILL outbid Florida. Period. If he really wants to stay at Florida that much, why does he not have a contract for next season?

LesJ · #**156** 03-23-2007, 12:01 AM

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Also keep in mind he inherited a DREAM. Tons of talent AND a team that had played in two straight title games!

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Billz,

The 1998 UK National Championship team was a far cry from the 96 and 97 teams as far as pure talent. Walker, Delk, Mercer, Anderson and McCarty were long gone. ESPN SportsNation has this to say about that team:
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Of their 39 games played, 14 of them were decided by single digits and they went 11-3 in those games, including the final three. Furthermore, 8 games were decided by three points or less, and the Wildcats went 7-1 in those games.

While many of Kentucky's past championship teams were littered with players who received national and SEC postseason honors, this team had only one First Team All-SEC player - junior center Nazr Mohammed. This group played solid, fundamental and team-based basketball - a fact that is backed up by the simple note that their top scorer averaged 13.7 PPG, and their 5th-leading scorer averaged 9.2 PPG.

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The Starting Lineup consisted of Edwards, Padgett, Nazr, Sheppard, and Turner, with they key reserves being Evans, Magloire, and Mills. This is good talent, but is not the same level of talent that the team had in the previous two championship game runs.

bills217 · #**157** 03-23-2007, 12:05 AM

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The Starting Lineup consisted of Edwards, Padgett, Nazr, Sheppard, and Turner, with they key reserves being Evans, Magloire, and Mills. This is good talent, but is not the same level of talent that the team had in the previous two championship game runs.

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True - but that doesn't say much.

The '97 team was good enough to go to overtime in the championship game after losing arguably its best player, Derek Anderson, to injury before the tournament even started. So - it was fairly loaded.

And the '96 team was only the best team in college basketball history (IMO).

bills217 · #**158** 03-23-2007, 12:10 AM

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The Starting Lineup consisted of Edwards, Padgett, Nazr, Sheppard, and Turner, with they key reserves being Evans, Magloire, and Mills. This is good talent, but is not the same level of talent that the team had in the previous two championship game runs.

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Warrants mentioning that three of these players are still playing in the NBA 10 years later.

LesJ · #**159** 03-23-2007, 12:12 AM

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And the '96 team was only the best team in college basketball history (IMO).

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Little Ricky should have gotten fired for not going undefeated with the talent he had in 1996. That was an incredible team.

bills217 · #**160** 03-23-2007, 12:13 AM

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And the '96 team was only the best team in college basketball history (IMO).

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Little Ricky should have gotten fired for not going undefeated with the talent he had in 1996. That was an incredible team.

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Come on, everyone knows he lost to Mississippi State in the SEC Final on purpose to get them mentally ready for the tournament, where have you been? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]