[jammin' jamey]

Smith, now the head coach at Minnesota, said this morning on the “Mayhem in the A.M.” show on Atlanta’s 790-AM The Zone that he accepted, then passed on two NBA jobs during his 10-year career at UK.

“About three (NBA jobs), I thought, ‘Hey, this is it,’” Smith said on the show. “Much like Billy Donovan, you’re emotionally attached to a job, but you go in there, and in fact, I did what Billy did. I took one job. I actually took two jobs, and then decided, ‘Hey.’”

Asked how such a story never became public, Smith was noncommittal, indicating that “you don’t do it, it’s people that are working with you; it’s your agent or someone.”

Smth said he turned down “literally six jobs in the NBA” during his time in Lexington, Ky. He said he “could never” reveal which teams he'd turned down, though he admitted to having discussions with the Atlanta Hawks.

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/dawson/blog.html

[-STAT-]

Wow thats something there. I would like to know the other teams.

[Playboy5]

Why couldn't they take him away from us earlier is what I am asking!

[RavenBoy]

Why couldn't they take him away from us earlier is what I am asking!

Yea isnt that the truth.

[rallo316]

Why couldn't they take him away from us earlier is what I am asking!

i hear you.

[RollEm97]

how did we not know about this like with the whole billy d thing. they blew him up on it.

[mcfan1]

I heard one job he accepted was the 76ers job in his 3rd or 4th season, the other job probably was the Hawks or the Wizards.

[firetubbyplease!]

Too bad he didn't go then.....

[BFritz]

Listen, the only reason that he got offered an NBA job is because NBA coaching requires a lot less skill and coaching ability, not to mention no recruiting, so an NBA team figures that they can hire him to do an easy job but pay him less because he's a horrible coach.

[Panther Thunder]

Listen, the only reason that he got offered an NBA job is because NBA coaching requires a lot less skill and coaching ability, not to mention no recruiting, so an NBA team figures that they can hire him to do an easy job but pay him less because he's a horrible coach.

I disagree. I believe it does take A LOT of skill to coach an NBA team. You have to get a lot of grown men who want to score 100 pts a game to buy into your system. An Tubby is NOT a horrible coach. Is he the best there is? No. But to say he is horrible is a dramatic overstatement. I believe he will do a fine job at Minnesota. And the way he got treated at UK it almost wouldnt bother me to see the gophers knock UK off sometime next year.

[jammin' jamey]

Listen, the only reason that he got offered an NBA job is because NBA coaching requires a lot less skill and coaching ability, not to mention no recruiting, so an NBA team figures that they can hire him to do an easy job but pay him less because he's a horrible coach.

I guess that's why the Magic wanted Donovan so bad.

[pburgcatfan65]

i wonder what programs offered him.