[FOX SPORTS]

Every other coach that won us a championship is up there, .

Every other coach that has a banner didn't conduct a job search while coaching the cats then leave for another school.
Does that make a difference???

[alfus21]

Every other coach that has a banner didn't conduct a job search while coaching the cats then leave for another school.
Does that make a difference???

No, it's part of the business. His agent was doing it. The fans wanted him out, and he was looking for a way out to give the fans what they wanted. It would have been difficult to find work elsewhere on such short notice. (But who knew this off season would turn into a coaching search for so many teams)

There's no doubt he should and will have a jersey retired in Rupp eventually despite what some fans will say. He won a title and represented the University like no other person could, not to mention all he did for Lexington.

What anybody says in this thread is going to be moot point regardless because it will happen eventually.

[BFritz]

No, it's part of the business. His agent was doing it. The fans wanted him out, and he was looking for a way out to give the fans what they wanted. It would have been difficult to find work elsewhere on such short notice. (But who knew this off season would turn into a coaching search for so many teams)

There's no doubt he should and will have a jersey retired in Rupp eventually despite what some fans will say. He won a title and represented the University like no other person could, not to mention all he did for Lexington.

What anybody says in this thread is going to be moot point regardless because it will happen eventually.

An untrained monkey could have coached Pitino's players to a National Title the year that Tubby did

[alfus21]

An untrained monkey could have coached Pitino's players to a National Title the year that Tubby did

Funny that Pitino couldn't do it the year before though right?

[StrikeoutKing]

I was never a Tubby fan, but I didn't hate the guy either. I think he should have a banner in the rafters of Rupp Arena. He won a National Title (which I believe was with Pitino's team), and although he never made it to another Final Four, he did advance to several Elite Eights after the 1998 season. He had a number of fantastic seasons, which obviously faltered in the NCAA Tournament. And to me, it goes beyond the basketball court. He did a tremendous amount for the community. Like I said, I was never a fan of Tubby, but I do feel like he should have a banner of his own in Rupp Arena.

[Benchwarmer]

An untrained monkey could have coached Pitino's players to a National Title the year that Tubby did

So the year before Pitino was an untrained monkey. Because, he didn't win it.

[BelfryJustice]

He should have a banner up there with the rest of them. I wasn't a big fan of him, but he was a good man and a skilled coach.

[CAM2006]

Yes they should

[RavenBoy]

Yeah, give Tubby a banner in the rafters and make sure all the records he set while at UK are on the banner.
1. Longest losing streak in school history to Vanderbilt
2. Longest losing streak in school history to Florida
3. Worst player ever given a scholarship at Ky, Shagari Alleyne
4. Longest streak without making a Final Four
I know I am forgetting many more but heck yeah retire a banner in his name

Very True

[BFritz]

So the year before Pitino was an untrained monkey. Because, he didn't win it.

Coaching can't do it all, but Pitino brought in those players. And just because a team's good, doesn't mean they'll win it every year.

[BFritz]

So the year before Pitino was an untrained monkey. Because, he didn't win it.

Wait, Pitino got to the finals that year though.......... and lost in overtime, close enough,

[thetribe]

No, it's part of the business. His agent was doing it. The fans wanted him out, and he was looking for a way out to give the fans what they wanted. It would have been difficult to find work elsewhere on such short notice. (But who knew this off season would turn into a coaching search for so many teams)

There's no doubt he should and will have a jersey retired in Rupp eventually despite what some fans will say. He won a title and represented the University like no other person could, not to mention all he did for Lexington.

What anybody says in this thread is going to be moot point regardless because it will happen eventually.

Not trying to start anything by all means but my first question is, what exactly DID Tubby do for Lexington?? And second, Tubby didn't leave UK because that was what the fans wanted, he did it for himself.

[alfus21]

Not trying to start anything by all means but my first question is, what exactly DID Tubby do for Lexington?? And second, Tubby didn't leave UK because that was what the fans wanted, he did it for himself.

I don't know if you're joking or not about what Tubby did for UK other than represent the University and state with 100% class at all times, but Smith has been very active in the Lexington community. The Tubby Smith Foundation, which he established to assist underprivileged children, has raised over $1.5 million in the past 5 years. Also, several community centers in the greater Lexington area bear the moniker "Tubby's Clubhouse" due to his work within the centers. Feel free to look at some of these sites for a better understanding of what he did.

http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&..._well_id=2
http://www.tcky.org/
http://www.uky.edu/PR/UK_News/112403Arti...pyDay.html
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/mar04/News.shtml
http://www.warm2kids.com/guest/teen/30/3.../index.htm
http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article...918&type=1

Second of all, yes he did leave for himself to make himself happier. The man was miserable in Kentucky and being hounded by racist fans and others who would put "For Sale" signs in his yard nobody could blame him for getting out when he did. Fans wanted him out, he left. Worked out good for him and the ignorant fans in the end as they all seem happier now.

[corndog23]

I will forever love Coach Tubby Smith, not only because he brought a National Championship to the Wildcats, but for the FANTASTIC work he did for the state and city of Lexington. Alfus' post shows a lot of the things he has done here, but that doesnt even begin to scratch the surface. One other thing that i really appreciated him doing was going overseas with some other basketball coaches to coach a tournament for our soldiers. coach Smiths team finished 2nd in that tourny i believe, but i bet his soldiers were thrilled to be coached by the man. Id put his name in Rupp.

[Shady Grady]

Anybody who leaves the program in worse shape than he got it does not deserve a jersey. Give him a humanitarian award for his community work. But when you take team from national championship to a level of not defeating one single ranked team in a season, now that is a downhill slide. Add to the fact that a Tubby Smith recruit has NEVER played in a final four.

[More Cowbell]

An untrained monkey could have coached Pitino's players to a National Title the year that Tubby did

I am not a big Tubby Smith fan (largely because the man couldn't recruit a fish to come into the sea), but he does get credit for the title that year. I remember that team vividly, they were nowhere nearly as talented as the '96 team that won it, or even that '97 runner-up team, for that matter. If you just look at the players they had, that team really had no business winning a title. But they had heart and desire, Tubby did a good job of coaching that year, and they got hot at the right time.

Yes, those were Pitino's players, and Ricky was an awesome recruiter compared to Tubby. But you still have to give the Tub some credit for winning the title.

Now, if you want to talk a about a team that a monkey could have coached to a title, look no further than the '96 team. Man, Ricky practically had built himself an NBA-caliber team that year...

[Redneck]

Funny that Pitino couldn't do it the year before though right?

UK lost Tony Delk, Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty from the 96' team. The top 3 scorers on the team, hmmmm.

[alfus21]

UK lost Tony Delk, Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty from the 96' team. The top 3 scorers on the team, hmmmm.

UK also lost Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, and Anthony Epps from the 97 team. 3 of the top 4 scorers on the team. And the 2nd leading rebounder in Jared Prickett. hmmmmm. :Thumbs:

[Tubby Hater]

So the year before Pitino was an untrained monkey. Because, he didn't win it.

He didnt win it all in 97 because he lost Derrick Anderson. He was the best player in the country at the time he went down with a knee injury.

[Tubby Hater]

You can go back and watch the final 3 or 4 games of teh 98 season and realize why they were the Comeback Cats. They fell behind in every game playing half court Tubby Ball and then he turns them lose and they begin playing Pitino Ball and pull out the victories. Anyone who knows anything about basketball can watch these games and know thats what happened.

[corndog23]

You can go back and watch the final 3 or 4 games of teh 98 season and realize why they were the Comeback Cats. They fell behind in every game playing half court Tubby Ball and then he turns them lose and they begin playing Pitino Ball and pull out the victories. Anyone who knows anything about basketball can watch these games and know thats what happened.

That team did not play one single game of Pitno Ball that year. Every bit of that season was Tubby ball. You simply do not understand what Tubby Ball really was/is and what it is meant to be.

[Redneck]

UK also lost Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, and Anthony Epps from the 97 team. 3 of the top 4 scorers on the team. And the 2nd leading rebounder in Jared Prickett. hmmmmm. :Thumbs:

Wasn't Derek Anderson injured? Didn't he ride the bench with the back injury?

[Tubby Hater]

Wasn't Derek Anderson injured? Didn't he ride the bench with the back injury?

Yes Anderson went down early in conference play. With a healthy Anderson we walk through the NCAA Tourney

[Tubby Hater]

That team did not play one single game of Pitno Ball that year. Every bit of that season was Tubby ball. You simply do not understand what Tubby Ball really was/is and what it is meant to be.

Watch the games man, they fell behind playing half court ball and when they made their comebacks they pressured full court and shot threes. This was not Tubby Ball. Why you keep taking up for him man? He is a loser and I will bet my next pay day he never wins a Big Ten title at Minnesota. Yeah they may win a few more games but will never be a title contender or even a conference title contender.

[Tubby Hater]

I thank God everyday he is finally gone, and now you guys want to make us look at his banner every time we go to Rupp. Lets move on and hope Gillespie can bring us back to being a title contender. He sure has his work cut out for him.

[SportsFan80]

I'm with the rest of the Tubby Haters, he doesnt deserve a banner in Rupp Arena. Not because hes black or anything like some people (Alfus) make it out to be. Its like everybody has said, he took the team from a national championship contender every year to not even contending for an SEC Title, and couldnt beat a ranked team and losing all those games to vandy and florida. Sure he was a great person that did great things for kids in lexington and around the state, i guess around the state, who knows, anyway, yeah give him a humanitarian award or something, but thats it. No more, no less, well maybe less!!!!!

[alfus21]

I'm with the rest of the Tubby Haters, he doesnt deserve a banner in Rupp Arena. Not because hes black or anything like some people (Alfus) make it out to be. Its like everybody has said, he took the team from a national championship contender every year to not even contending for an SEC Title, and couldnt beat a ranked team and losing all those games to vandy and florida. Sure he was a great person that did great things for kids in lexington and around the state, i guess around the state, who knows, anyway, yeah give him a humanitarian award or something, but thats it. No more, no less, well maybe less!!!!!

Anybody that wins a national title, and 5 sec tournaments in 10 years does deserve it.

UK fans need to get over the fact that Tubby took over a team that was in the middle of a great time in its history.

UK fans also need to get over themselves and realize that UK is not bigger than the game of basketball itself like some of you think. UK has won 3 titles since 1958 and you people act like we are national title contenders every year which is not true. Tubby finished with two mediocre seasons but still averaged 26 wins and 8 losses per season. That's not bad by any standards. He ran a clean program which other UK coaches can't say they have done.

The prestige was maintained to the rest of the country and in the fans of rational UK fans who know that the program isn't above the game of basketball in its own right.

And if you noticed at all, not all of the Tubby haters on this thread are saying he doesn't deserve it. In fact several that have admitted they have never lucked Coach Smith admits he deserves it.

And despite what you or any of the few that believe he doesn't deserve it thinks it will happen in due time regardless. 100%.

[More Cowbell]

Anybody that wins a national title, and 5 sec tournaments in 10 years does deserve it.

UK fans need to get over the fact that Tubby took over a team that was in the middle of a great time in its history.

UK fans also need to get over themselves and realize that UK is not bigger than the game of basketball itself like some of you think. UK has won 3 titles since 1958 and you people act like we are national title contenders every year which is not true. Tubby finished with two mediocre seasons but still averaged 26 wins and 8 losses per season. That's not bad by any standards. He ran a clean program which other UK coaches can't say they have done.

The prestige was maintained to the rest of the country and in the fans of rational UK fans who know that the program isn't above the game of basketball in its own right.

And if you noticed at all, not all of the Tubby haters on this thread are saying he doesn't deserve it. In fact several that have admitted they have never lucked Coach Smith admits he deserves it.

And despite what you or any of the few that believe he doesn't deserve it thinks it will happen in due time regardless. 100%.

I agree, Alfus. I have mentioned before that I was not a huge Tubby fan, mainly due to the continued failures on the recruiting trail. But it always amazed me that so many people refused to give the man any credit for the title. When a team wins a title that really had no business winning it, some credit has to go to the man who led them. Anybody who wins a national title should get a banner, unless they did something along the lines of what Sutton did.

[SportsFan80]

Id like to say what he and the rest of u crazy Tubby lovers could do with the banner when or even if he gets one, but I would just be banned from here, so i will not say anything. If u love him so much, why dont u go join him in Minnesota and leave the true blue traditon laden fans here to cheer on the team.

[alfus21]

Id like to say what he and the rest of u crazy Tubby lovers could do with the banner when or even if he gets one, but I would just be banned from here, so i will not say anything. If u love him so much, why dont u go join him in Minnesota and leave the true blue traditon laden fans here to cheer on the team.

As embarrassing as it is to call myself a UK fan outside of Kentucky because of how the fans act I am still a UK fan through and through, but trust me, I will keep up with Tubby in Minnesota.