Tubby Smith resigns, taking Minnesota job

[chuckleslovakian]

I just hope we get a coach that can manage to recruit this time around.

[Annulus]

[ QUOTE ]
I just hope we get a coach that can manage to recruit this time around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought Kentucky always got like 1-2 McDonalds All-Americans every year? I'll admit I am out of the recruiting loop, so you are telling me Tubby was a bad recruiter?

[chuckleslovakian]

[ QUOTE ]
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I just hope we get a coach that can manage to recruit this time around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought Kentucky always got like 1-2 McDonalds All-Americans every year? I'll admit I am out of the recruiting loop, so you are telling me Tubby was a bad recruiter?

[/ QUOTE ]
We had one nice year where we got Rondo, Morris and Crawford. Rondo left after two years, Morris tried to leave after one, and Crawford has been less than stellar. Other than that year we haven't had a strong recruiting class

[LesJ]

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Kentucky is not North Carolina. They are not Duke. They are not Kansas.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. This is really bad. TOGETHER, those three schools have nine National Championships. BY THEMSELVES, the University of Kentucky Wildcats have seven. We have more wins than any other Division One program. I consider Kentucky the TOP program in college basketball, but it is very arguable that there are several other programs in the same category as Kentucky (including the likes of Duke, UNC, Kansas, and prob UCLA). But acting like KY is not at least on the same level as those other programs may be one of the most insane things I have ever read on 2+2.

Les

PS - I grunched this and didnt realize that 98 others had already adressed this issue.

[LesJ]

[ QUOTE ]
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7 NCAA titles
43 SEC regular season titles in 87 years (841-231)
25 SEC tourney titles in 47 years (110-20)
46 All-Americans (15 consensous)

[/ QUOTE ]

And at one time, the sun never set on the British Empire.

In the mind of an 18 year old recruit, how much does all that matter?

[/ QUOTE ]

Long-term tradition is prob not on the top of the mind of a typical modern day recruit. However, playing basketball at the University of Kentucky offers:

Opportunity to play in front of 24,000 fans every game

A brand new $30 million state of the art practice/workout facility

A chance to compete on national television several times a yr

A chance to compete in one of the toughest conferences against the best competition each and every week


These are just some of the tangible reasons I could come up with off the top of my head a recruit could maybe consider coming to the University of Kentucky to play basketball.

Les

[LesJ]

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Sorry day for Big Blue.

[/ QUOTE ]

ARE YOU KIDDING?

This is the 8th best day in the history of Kentucky basketball.

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I truly don't understand how a fan could say this. As a Kentucky fan, I am far from enamored with double-digit loss seasons, but I am not real happy with how this has apparently gone down.

I think Tubby is a great man and I wish him nothing but the best at Minnesota. I think his bruising, defensive-minding philosophy will work well in the Big Ten.

Les

[bills217]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry day for Big Blue.

[/ QUOTE ]

ARE YOU KIDDING?

This is the 8th best day in the history of Kentucky basketball.

[/ QUOTE ]

I truly don't understand how a fan could say this. As a Kentucky fan, I am far from enamored with double-digit loss seasons, but I am not real happy with how this has apparently gone down.

I think Tubby is a great man and I wish him nothing but the best at Minnesota. I think his bruising, defensive-minding philosophy will work well in the Big Ten.

Les

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that was a bit of an exaggeration. But you get the point. There is much rejoicing in the Bluegrass.

Andy Katz just listed off a bunch of names that would all be a disappointment, and he neglected to mention the guy who pretty much is the entire list:

Billy Donovan.

Unless it's something truly wild like D'Antoni/Pat Riley (admittedly unlikely), Kentucky absolutely will not hire a coach without calling Donovan. That is a guarantee. Which could be awkward considering he is playing for a 2nd straight NC at the moment.

A guy that I would prefer over Crean/Few/Calapari etc. is Bruce Pearl, although I don't know how the rest of the fan base would feel about that.

[mmbt0ne]

Seriously, if Pat Riley made any expression of wanting to coach the UK basketball team and got the job, I would stop watching.

Getting rid of Tubby to bring in Bruce Pearl is laughable.

[Uston]

Does the typical Kentucky fan really think that they're too good for Tom Izzo?

[LesJ]

[ QUOTE ]
Does the typical Kentucky fan really think that they're too good for Tom Izzo?

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Tom Izzo doesn't "excite" me as a UK fan, but it isn't because I think we are too good for him. Izzo has an incredible record of accomplishment at Michigan State. I think he is a class individual, and I can't really think of any "negatives" from his program during his tenure. All that being said, I could probrably put together a list of 15-20 coaches I would rather see come in. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see what kind of reaction this hire will have with the UK fan base. I have a hard time seeing ANYBODY coming in and gaining universal acceptance right away (for better or worse).

Les