gophers/ncaa

Finally, someone with influence and exposure saying what 90% of gophers fans have been saying for a while. GET RID OF TUBBY!!!!

I agree 99% with Souhan. The 1% where I disagree is this - Tubby getting the team back to .500 isn't enough. Tubby = perpetual bubble team at best. We need a dynamic restart. Here are 2 initial big reasons why: Jones and Vaughan. I'll give Tubby credit for this - at least he got us to mediocrity so that we could have a shot to "Get Smart."

Name one Big Ten coach who is worse than Tubby. Anyone....Anyone? MAYBE the guy at Penn State. Tubby is out-coached every game-Illinois was absolutely running circles around the Gophers to get open shots in the second half. Flubby's team passes the ball around the perimeter with their pathetic half court offense. Also, could SOMEBODY on the coaching staff design an effective out of bounds play under our basket, instead of throwing the ball 20 feet past the half court line every time. And, if Tubby continues to start Joe Coleman instead of Elliot Eliason, he is a bigger idiot than I thought. Nice substitution patterns too Tubby.

NORWOOD TEAGUE should immediately negotiate a Gophers basketball buyout package that will rid the U of Tubby Smith and Pam Borton, because Tubby Time and the Pam Borton Era have proven disasterous. The men's program is a shambles, staggering to another NIT appearance. The women's program continues to implode as attendance averages less than 4,000 tickets sold per game. Smith and Borton have no credibility and cannot be allowed to remain U of M employees.

Shaka wouldn't come to MN, unless Teague has some power over him. Shaka has turned down better coaching jobs than the MN job. We need better facilities. U of M just isn't a good coaching job for someone of Shaka's level.

I have seen enough of Mr. Smith and his lack of coaching ability. I was excited for the season and thought the Gophers had finally turned the corner. Ah, but alas, such is/was not the case. We are experiencing a redux of every other season - good to great preseason followed by a lackluster Big Ten. Now is the time to bring in someone like Shaka Smart. Mr. Smart grew up in Wisconsin and has Midwest roots. On another note, Mr Souhan your lack of basketball comprehension continues to befuddle me. Especially this comment; "Asked what's wrong with his team, Smith contradicts himself so rapidly that it's easy to see why his players are confused. He wants them to run, but be careful with the ball." Do you not remember Mr. John Wooden saying "Be quick but don't hurry". I guess you would also consider Mr. Wooden's players confused. The problem does not lie in Mr. Smith's quotes or philosophy, it lies in his lack of ability to improve his players throughout the season.

A bientot, so long, arrivederci Seniori Orlando Smith ... This was the petition Kentucky fans made towards the end of Tubby's tenure there (via "petitiononline". Sounds similar? "When Tubby Smith accepted the position as the University of Kentucky's Men's Basketball Head Coach, he was fully aware of the Kentucky tradition, the high expectations for the team, and the fact that we had just appeared in two consecutive NCAA Tournament finals. He assumed the responsibility for managing and maintaining the winningest program in college basketball. Tubby Smith has not upheld the high standards of Kentucky basketball. Year after year, he fails to successfully recruit the level of talent necessary to keep our program competitive with the top basketball programs. His player development skills are woefully inadequate. His style of play is moribund. We cannot rebound. We cannot press. He consistently fails to have his teams prepared for games and fails to motivate the players to play their best. It is obvious that his players do not enjoy playing his style of basketball. It is no longer fun or exciting for them to play, or for us to watch Kentucky basketball. Instead of contending for national championships, Kentucky is considered a "winnable" game by the most pedestrian opponents. As one commentator lamented, Kentucky is no longer feared. This letter is not written simply out of frustration over the recent play of our team, although that has been appalling. It is the culmination of frustrations that have accumulated during Tubby Smiths tenure as Head Coach. Kentucky did not become an elite program overnight. We did not fall from the ranks of the elite overnight. The current situation is due to his consistent inability to attract top players, his style of play, his failure to develop talent, and his repeated failure to realistically contend for the national championship over the past seven years. Tubby Smith is an honorable man. He has run a clean program and has represented the University with integrity. But it is time to recognize that he is unable to maintain the UK Basketball tradition. It is time to make a coaching change for the good of the program."

By February,a coach has taken his raw talent and shaped it into his style of play. Since 2008, from Feb. 1st onward - the Gophers have a Big Ten worst 17 - 31 record. Even lowly Penn State has a more respectable 18 - 28 record over that span. I like Tubby, but it IS time to start considering our options. We have the worst 2nd half team in the Big Ten 5 yrs running and so we really have nothing to lose. The only common denominator in that is Tubby. The facts speak for themselves.

Why would Smart want to come to MN?

Now if we can just get Sid Hartman to agree with Souhan