Hardwood Happenings

By Chris Souder

I am glad to be able to blog again and what a first topic — UK Basketball — or lack of.

Of course if you have read any of my blogs I was and still am a Tubby fan.  I could say to most UK fans you got just what you deserve but I won’t!  I also listen to these people calling in blaming the program on Tubby.   I will give you my opinion on the whole situation and yes, I am still a UK fan, I will stick with the school and not just the coach — even though I will admit Minnesota is a close second.  I will not be like the Pitino disciples that jumped schools when he returned to Louisville.

Talent Level — I think one of the big gripes is that Tubby left the program with no talent. Maybe his recruiting was not what we think is should have been but if you stop and think it was not as bad as it appears.   What if Azibuke had stayed at UK?  What if Crawford had not wavered about transferring and cost him a year to sit out, what if Morris had not gone pro?  Look how many players he has in the NBA right now!  Morris, Bogans, Azibuke, Hayes, Prince, and Rondo.  You name how many other college teams in that same time period has as many pro players as what Tabby had.  There may be a few, but not many.

Also I will go back to what I said when the heat was on Tubby he averaged 26 wins per season with a tougher schedule than what they are playing now with 6 wins.  You can blame Tubby all you want but lets face it, he would not have lost to Gardner-Webb, San Diego and just may have found a way to beat Louisville — he seemed to have Rick’s number.  They may not have beaten UNC, IU but they would not have lost the way the Cats are getting beat now.

I am a coach so I don’t like to second guess Coach G., but I would like for someone to explain to me what he is doing with Crawford?  If he is in the doghouse can they work their way out through practice?  My point is if he is in the doghouse that is fine, I have players get in the doghouse and they work their way out through practice.  My next point is if he is in the doghouse why does he start and still plays  about 30 minutes or more.  I just don’t understand his pattern -I am not at practice - but if they are not doing what they are supposed to do then by all means, don’t play them. Lately, one guy will play 20 minutes one game and then go the next two games without even getting in the game.  I don’t understand why when we have a one point lead at halftime against UL Coach G. starts back Coury and before he can get Crawford and others in the game we are down 10 or so.

I am willing to give him some time but I am afraid he may be in over his head. I hear he is a tireless worker and great recruiter but will his tactics work at UK where you are constantly under the microscope.  His press conferences are painful to watch and listen to.  I feel sorry for Tom Leach who has to fill air time because he gives one word answers and seems sarcastic most of the time.  Has anyone noticed besides me that when we loses he has this smirk on his face and just says well, we got whipped again.  How long will that answer work?  That would not work if Tubby was here.  I agree he needs time to put his own stamp on the program but he has some strange ways!

He seems to demand a lot from his players at all times and practices are apparently brutal. That is okay,  and he also wants them to be leaders (Crawford, Bradley) but I am a firm believer that attitude reflects leadership. If all the rumors are true and that is as far as I will go with that, then how can he expect his players to buy into what he is selling!!

That leads me to another point: what happened to running a class program?  Tubby was nothing but class and always ran a class program and expected his players to act in the same way and represented the University in a classy manner.  Can we say the same thing about UK’s program this season, starting with the Coach?

Has anyone taken a look at Minnesota?  They are fired up with Tubby and how they are playing!  They took a very good Michigan State team to the wire on the road and have won more games than UK with less talent. I think they are like 12-3!!  What are we??

As far as his recruiting goes, I think he landed Ralph Sampson’s son who was a big time recruit, how did Tubby get him to come to Minnesota if he can’t recruit?  I will bet he will finish higher in the Big 10 than we do in the SEC and we have more talent than Minnesota does.

I guess that is enough for my first blog of 2008 and I hope to hear your comments!  Go Gophers—I mean Cats!

Until next time go out to the Hardwood and see what is Happening!!

How can you not like what you hear from the new captain of the Wildcat ship? Our Billy (Billy G.) sounds very exciting and maybe just what Kentucky fans are looking for — a true basketball junkie!! How can you not like his passion for the game and his enthusiasm for wanting to be at UK!! Of course he has not won his first game yet, but I can tell he is going to be a crowd favorite or until he has a bad loss or bad recruiting year!! Lets hope this does not happen and lets hope his recruiting ways continue at UK.

Jai Lucas

I do think we have a great chance of getting Jai Lucas now, especially the way Billy G. handled Acie Law. I think Lucas can see himself being another Acie Law. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Patrick Patterson

I don’t think we have a very good chance at him, I think he is Billy D. bound! Lets hope Billy G. can persuade him to come this way.

What he expects!

I really like what he says his teams must do. Play hard, Play smart and Play together. That is simple but very true to any successful team. I have heard that if you do not play hard for him you won’t get a smell, which is the way it should be. Ramel Bradley could really use the second part of playing smart, he does not always make the best decisions but does play hard. I think Joe Crawford may be in for a rude awakening, I don’t think he played hard all the time or he would just disappear. I think Jodie Meeks will excel in his style as will Jasper. I just hope he can pull in a couple good recruits even if he has to go the JUCO route.

Tubby, Pitino and Donovan

Now that we have a new coach, and one that will not ever be outworked by anyone, let’s give Tubby, Rick and Billy D. a rest. Let’s remember the good things that Tubby and Rick did for the UK program and let Billy coach at Florida and make him wish he had taken a serious look at this job. I just hate hearing these call in shows still bashing Tubby or still wanting Pitino or Donavan. The first bad loss UK has next year, I am sure it will be Tubbys fault on all the call in shows. Wish him luck at Minnesota and thank him for the class he brought to the program. Get behind Billy G. in good wins and also in bad losses, which I think we will have next year. Be a true fan and stick with the team and the coach thru good and bad times.

I have been a huge fan of Tubby, but he is gone and it is time to move on and I really like the hire in Billy G. The next few years of UK basketball may be very interesting and exciting!!

Until next week, Go Cats!!

OK, now that Tubby is officially a Golden Gopher is it going to be Billy Donovan?

My first thought is that there is no way that Billy Donovan will make the move to Lexington, but after listening to him after their win over Butler he is at least considering. I do think he also does not want to be a Nick Saban and make a comment that he will later regret. I do think it is going to be hard for him to leave Florida but he does have that Pitino ego that could lure him to Lexington.

He would be my first choice, but I am afraid if we can’t buy him the Alabama version is on! I also think if we can land him we will land Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas; if we don’t we will definitely lose Patterson. I think we have a real good shot at Lucas regardless of the coach. I would not be surprised either to see Jasper transfer somewhere on the West Coast if we don’t land Donovan.

My personal choices

If I were Mitch Barnhart here are my choices in order:

Billy Donovan — I think he would be what all the fans want and would have a longer honeymoon period that any other coach we could get. I also think he would be the quickest fix because of the recruits we are trying to land.

Ben Howland (UCLA) — Why not? From what I hear he does not get paid very well at UCLA so why not take a shot at him. He has definitely put them back on the map and can apparently handle a prestigious program. I have not seen his name on any of the short lists, why not? I would think if he is good enough for UCLA, why would he not be good enough for UK?

John Calipari — I am not real wild about him, but he is another guy that has the ego necessary to handle the pressure of UK. I don’t think his graduation rate at Memphis has been real good and he flirts in the gray area. But lets be realistic, that is what UK fans want — win at all cost and if we don’t get caught he is great. He obviously can recruit, but can he win the big one?

Thad Motta (Ohio State) — This guy is proving that he can recruit and win. Just watching on TV, his players seem to love him.

Tom Crean (Marquette) — I think he is a good coach but not sure he could handle the pressures of UK.

Rick Barnes (Texas) — He can obviously recruit.

This is just a list of coaches that would be on my short list if I were Barnhart. I love Tom Izzo at Michigan State, but he is cut from the same mold as Tubby so I don’t think UK fans would be satisfied with him. I also like the coach at Oregon, Ernie Kent, and Bruce Pearl at Tennessee but I doubt very seriously that UK would hire either one of those guys.

No Pitino on my list

If you noticed I did not include Pitino in my list. In my opinion, he had his opportunity and decided he wanted more fame and money. Not to mention he has a top five team coming back at Louisville and he would not leave the talent base he has there.

It won’t be long until this will pan out, and big blue nation will either be buzzing or there will be a search committee for Barnhart!

On a high school note

Did anyone mention that when LCA won the girls Sweet 16 that, it is now 7 years in a row that a private school has won the tournament. Guess what? LCA only had one senior. I still say until it starts happening in boys basketball it will stay the way it is — because it is just GIRLS BASKETBALL!

I also went to the Friday session of the boys Sweet 16 and it just seems the KHSAA puts more into that tournament than the girls. The atmosphere was totally different and it has been several years since I have been to the boys tournament. Apparently Houchens has given them a pretty nice check so it will stay at Bowling Green as long as they are willing to sponsor, but I have wondered why can’t they host the girls at the same time they do the boys just like the all “A” does. I am sure girls teams would like to play in front of 15,000 fans vs. 1500 fans. Unless the team is from the Western part of the state there is not much fan base there because of the travel time. But once again it is just: GIRLS BASKETBALL!

Let me know your thoughts and your short list.

Go Big Blue!

Ok, like I have said this is my favorite time of the year. March Madness! I love it in high school basketball and I also love it in college basketball as well.

UK Basketball

I am still a Tubby believer even though just about everyone in the state is ready to chip in and buy him out and bring in Billy Donovan — who by the way has lost to some of the same teams we lost to and by pretty big margins. Of course he is getting ready for the tournament and it is ok by most UK fans that he lost those.

We lose in very close contests and we don’t have a coach, don’t have talent and all that junk! In Florida, Donovan won’t get much flack for losing to Tennessee and LSU and Vanderbilt, but if he were the coach at UK — watch out. The thing that amazes me is that there is no doubt that Florida has more talent than any team in the SEC — how did he lose these games?

Do I think Florida will make another run? Probably so. Do I think that UK has equal talent to Florida? Probably not. Do I think Tubby is as good a coach as Donovan? Absolutely!

Tubby is now 20-9 (13th straight season with 20 wins) and it is unacceptable to most and I agree that they blew some games they should have won. I think that record is accepted as a good year anywhere but UK, Duke and a couple other places. That is my point, could any other coach in the country handle the pressures of UK basketball.

Of course Tubby has handled all this talk with class and he is correct that he does not have to defend his record to anyone. I don’t agree with Barnhart coming out with the statement he did; he is suppose to back his coaches. Now, he can talk behind close doors, but he should not come out and basically say Tubby better get it together at the end of the season. Of course Barnhart wishes that, so he can get a bonus if Tubby and the team do well. Barnhart’s incentives are silly. If I read that correct he makes the bonus if the baseball team makes the NCAA and not the coach.

Like I said if Tubby leaves UK, there is slim to zero chance that Billy Donovan would come to UK.

Also, did anyone hear Patrick Patterson pretty much say that if Tubby is not at UK, neither would he? I would venture to say that we have blown chances at him and Jai Lucas because of uncertainty in the program. Of course that will be Tubby’s fault.

As you can tell, I will stick with what Tubby stands for and always be a Tubby fan. Do I question decisions he makes? I sure do, but I also believe he is one of, if not the best, bench coaches in college basketball.

Go UK, win some games in the tournament and the bandwagon will get going again!

What about Louisville? I am not a huge Cardinal fan, but wow are they playing good. Playing with a passion and Caracter is an absolute load! They could also make some noise in the NCAA.

My Final Four picks

If I had to pick a Final Four at this time I think I would go with:

UNC
Wisconsin
Texas A&M (this is my sleeper pick)
Ohio State

I do reserve the right to change in a couple of weeks. I also do feel UK will make the Sweet 16 and possibly the Elite 8. Not bad for a team that has a terrible coach and terrible players.

Who would your Final Four be at this time?

Until next week, keep your head up and shoot with confidence!

Next week I will blog on UPWARD basketball program that is doing great things in our community.

Ok, I bet the bashers are out in full force after the second straight loss in SEC play, but I still say that UK will go deeper than most are anticipating. I had some great comments on my previous post, all who agree that Tubby is a class act and all the comments I received pretty much felt he was the man for the job.

I did look into Larry’s e-mail bag and saw some comments on how Tubby needs to go and there is money to buy him out, but no one ever gives who they think would be his replacement or better yet could do the job the way everyone thinks it can be done.

Billy Montgomery’s comment back to me was very accurate in that parity is at an all time high and the dominant UK days are over, but not just for UK but for the other elite as well.

Wesley Harmon gave me two names and I will admit these are two very good names. Tom Izzo would be my pick as well if Tubby ever left, but I would say that he would not please the tough UK fans because he is cut from the same mold as Tubby. Rick Barnes is a quality coach, and has a great talent in the best freshman if not the best player in the country (Kevin Durant). Lets’ see what he does with it and guess what, this kid will go pro after one year and, if Texas does not win the NCAA, where did that recruit get you?

Another person sent a comment about how Tubby is paid to win first and perform overlooked accomplishments second and that UK fans have been lulled to sleep. My comment back to him is yes, he is paid to win and like I said he is averaging 26 wins per year and is on pace to reach that this season. How many coaches in the NCAA have averaged 26 wins per year at one school? There may be a few, but of those few, how many have won national championships and, if they have, would or could we lure them to UK? Coach Stonebraker put it pretty good when he stated that there is not a “wow” coach out there that would come to UK and deal with win or get out of town attitude.

I appreciate the comments and please keep them coming and remember this is just my opinion and you are definitely entitled to your own, and for fun!! But remember the question, if Tubby decided to leave who would you hire and more importantly why?

I do have one thing I wish the University of Kentucky would do, but I know they won’t because it becomes a money issue. I wish they would commit to one game per year at Memorial and allow pretty much students only. What kind of great atmosphere would that be? I think if you played a quality team as well it would be great. How about UK vs. Duke in Memorial? Wow, now that would be fun.

I think this will be my last blog on Tubby until March Madness. If there is anything anyone would like me to discuss let me know. I will be doing a feature blog on Upward Basketball.

Until next week, keep your head up and shoot with confidence.

Ok, I may be stirring the pot some, but lets have some fun. I recently sent Larry an e-mail on my views of Tubby and Rick and I had quite a bit of opposition especially when it came to Tubby Smith. I was definitely in the minority of the comments I received after he ran the article.

My question then is if you were on the hiring committee at the University of Kentucky who would you hire and why? Also be realistic if you think this person could be lured away to come to UK. Keep in mind that he could probably be the highest paid coach in college basketball.

I will stick to my guns and say I would keep Tubby right where he is. He is averaging 26 wins per year and I know the opposition is saying what has he done for me lately and my answer is win and win with class. Parity is at an all time high right now and there is no dominant team this year nor was there last year.

I recently read an article on the coach from George Mason (Jim Larranaga) and he puts it best. His job as a college coach is not winning at all cost, but to educate these young athletes for life after basketball. He asked his players to write their own obituaries, an exercise in evaluating their lives. Guess what? Not a single player wrote about basketball, they talked about wanting to be liked, about hard work and about giving it their all.

In my opinion that is what Tubby Smith is all about, teaching and preparing these young men for life after basketball. That is who I would want my son to play for and that is the way I look at it, not just from, can he win a championship?

That is my perspective in a nutshell, now what is yours? Keep in mind the pressures that go with the job at UK and who could handle it. Also keep in mind that I want to have fun with this and not create a monster.

Some of recent names I have gotten when this topic has been brought up is Mark Few and Gonzaga. Great coach and apparently can recruit, but my answer to that choice is the pressure level at Gonzaga is nothing compared to what you get at UK.

Remember that at Tulsa and Georgia the main thing everyone liked about Tubby was his ability to recruit. Now that UK, he can’t recruit? Lets’ face it, when it comes UK basketball we are talking about a different animal.

Few is just one of the coaches I have talked with people about and I am sure there are other coaches that would do a great job at UK, but could or would anyone represent the University in a more positive manner than Tubby Smith?

Until next week, keep your head up and shoot with confidence!