[BelfryPride]

I have been sitting idly by and defending Tubby Smith since this whole season started......And boy,have I been oh so wrong !!!

I really do like Tubby "The Father Figure" and Tubby "The Nice Guy"....but being nice don't win Basketball Games.

Our program is being ran into the ground and we sit with the rest of the country and watch it go down the drain.

Hopefully Charlotte does come calling and Tubby finally answers and realizes it's time to move on before our program is destroyed anymore than it already is.

I am and always will be a Dedicated and TRUE BLUE Kentucky fan, that's why I feel so strongly about the fact that its his time to go...

[ZMG]

UK has all the talent in the world... with a collective basketball IQ of -20.

[golfman42]

Lets not go that far on Tubby.......i agree he has pissed some people in kentucky off but we dont need him to leave.

[PC_U_KNOW_98]

It's time for him to go. Tonight was a prime example, how in the world can you pass on Chris Lofton, that is freaking crazy.

[Batpuff]

Did you hear the guys from espn talking about his call in show, when someone called in and suggested that he need to do this or that before a game in pregame and he did it, that is low even for Tubby, he needs to go, Like I have said all along!!!!

[UKGIRL20]

It's not Tubby's fault his players make stupid plays.

[Tomcat68]

It's not Tubby's fault his players make stupid plays.

It's his fault for recruting those players. He has never shown the ability to be a top notch recruiter for the program. Like it was said above, Chris Lofton was wanting to go to UK but Tubby didn't want him. I'm sure there have been other situations like this as well but just aren't readily known.

[PC_U_KNOW_98]

It's not Tubby's fault his players make stupid plays.

It's Tubby's fault for passing up on Lofton, hell he is ten times the player Brandon Stockton is :wtf1: , not only him, but Lofton is better than ANY of the UK gaurds, he may not be able to play the point better than Rondo, but that's it. Doellman (now plays at Xavier) from NKY could play for UK, he is better than Perry. Or what about Ross Neltner from Highlands, he would be a big contributor to UK, but NO, passed on him too. What good is having three 7 footers on the bench who can't walk and chew gum at the same time (Orbs does alright when he is in the game).

[alfus21]

It's his fault for recruting those players. He has never shown the ability to be a top notch recruiter for the program. Like it was said above, Chris Lofton was wanting to go to UK but Tubby didn't want him. I'm sure there have been other situations like this as well but just aren't readily known.

Dude, give me a break..

Chris Lofton - NR (Not ranked-no star recruit) Not recruited by Kentucky or Louisville...Tennessee got a diamond in the rough there..Nobody could have ever predicted he was going to do that...So get over that...

However Tubby got the following in last years class:

Rajon Rondo: 5 Star PG, 5th Ranked PG of class....
Randolph Morris: 5 Star C, 2nd Ranked C of class...
Joe Crawford: 5 Star SG/F, 2nd Ranked SG of class...
Ramel Bradley: 3 Star SG, 20th Ranked SG of class...
Patrick Sparks: Proven SG out of Western Kentucky that most would have loved to have at the time...

Where exactly would Lofton fit in, with three 5 Star recruits, a highly ranked 3 star, and a high profile transfer? This was a top 10 class for Kentucky and Lofton wasn't even a ranked player...Tubby would have taken him, but had no schollies to offer him...Looks like a top notch recruiting class for Tubby here is it not?

Next year Tubby has three highly profiled 4 Star recruits including the #8 SG in the nation Meeks, #15 ranked PF in the nation, and oh yeah, the #5 PG in the country is coming to UK next year...Not to mention the fact that UK might land 6'10 C/F Phil Jones....

[BelfryPride]

I hope these recruits don't change their minds after the meltdown we have had this season........

[UKGIRL20]

Thanks Alfus there was no where left to put Lofton in that class, and stockton was signed 2 years before Lofton even went to Tennessee. Not saying UK hasen't missed some great players but if the UK players now would use their heads in crunch time we would be fine. Rondo has all the ability in the world but makes some of the worse decisions I have ever seen.

[TidesHoss32]

alfus man, your avatar freaks me out. Its like im hallucinating or something. lol....Anyways, no disrespect, but Tubby's top 10 class hasn't showed anything to this point. His 5 star players have underachieved, and I might add out that this is the most selfish team in America. Nobody believes in anybody on that team. They should have went after Lofton, no matter if he was ranked or not, because i believe he was better than Bradley and Sparks (who did a nice job at Western btw). You are right on though, Tennessee got a diamond, but give them credit, they knew what they were getting. This UK team dont have the chemistry to put together 25 or more wins, EVER. They could have everybody back next year or whatever, but this team will never be capable of winning 25 games. They are selfish, timid, and have no drive whatsoever.

[UKGIRL20]

I would take any player in the place of Sparks he kills me.

[alfus21]

alfus man, your avatar freaks me out. Its like im hallucinating or something. lol....Anyways, no disrespect, but Tubby's top 10 class hasn't showed anything to this point. His 5 star players have underachieved, and I might add out that this is the most selfish team in America. Nobody believes in anybody on that team. They should have went after Lofton, no matter if he was ranked or not, because i believe he was better than Bradley and Sparks (who did a nice job at Western btw). You are right on though, Tennessee got a diamond, but give them credit, they knew what they were getting. This UK team dont have the chemistry to put together 25 or more wins, EVER. They could have everybody back next year or whatever, but this team will never be capable of winning 25 games. They are selfish, timid, and have no drive whatsoever.

Yeah it's a nice avatar...They really haven't showed much to this point, but I was just more or less making the point that he can recruit a good class...I still disagree on going after Lofton, because if you're not even a ranked recruit that usually means you're not going to play big-time D1 ball, but it's good to see him prove everybody wrong...Including Kentucky, Louisville, and Cinci...There was no way to tell that Lofton was better than Bradley...They really don't have the chemistry right now, but they've shown it at times, like vs. Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas, and I really think with everyone returning next year they'll turn things around...I think a lot of it about this season was the fact that they lost a couple of games early on and that game their confidence down..Also hard also considering Morris was gone for 14 games...But I think next years team could be something special if they get their personal problems aside...

[alfus21]

I hope these recruits don't change their minds after the meltdown we have had this season........

I actually saw a couple of quotes from Meeks and Jasper recently saying they couldn't wait to come to UK and help turn us back around into a national contender...

[TidesHoss32]

thats always a posibility, but im doubting it. One of them, if not more will do something stupid, and you can bet on that. Crawford, Rondo or Morris, maybe all of them may take their 10 points and 4 rebounds a game, listen to some idiot and think to themselves thats good enough for a lottery pick. They do show flashes of good team ball, but its just that, a glimpse. The win over Arkansas showed the best of both worlds. It shows how terrible and how good they can be. But its that inconsistency that i believe will ultimately coin this UK class as the class that couldnt put it together. As bad as i despise Tennessee, they are the best team in the SEC right now, and he's the main reason why. I hope, for the sake of UK nation, that im WRONG about this class. Id like to see them at least do better, but i feel pretty confident Im right.

Yeah it's a nice avatar...They really haven't showed much to this point, but I was just more or less making the point that he can recruit a good class...I still disagree on going after Lofton, because if you're not even a ranked recruit that usually means you're not going to play big-time D1 ball, but it's good to see him prove everybody wrong...Including Kentucky, Louisville, and Cinci...There was no way to tell that Lofton was better than Bradley...They really don't have the chemistry right now, but they've shown it at times, like vs. Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas, and I really think with everyone returning next year they'll turn things around...I think a lot of it about this season was the fact that they lost a couple of games early on and that game their confidence down..Also hard also considering Morris was gone for 14 games...But I think next years team could be something special if they get their personal problems aside...

[TidesHoss32]

now THOSE are the kind of players UK needs....those are the players this team lacks.

I actually saw a couple of quotes from Meeks and Jasper recently saying they couldn't wait to come to UK and help turn us back around into a national contender...

[sportwhiz]

Right now, this team sucks. We got Morris back and a lot of people thought he'd be the savior. Wrong. This team needs to go down the yellow brick road and see the wizard about getting a bunch of hearts.

[Tomcat68]

Dude, give me a break..

Chris Lofton - NR (Not ranked-no star recruit) Not recruited by Kentucky or Louisville...Tennessee got a diamond in the rough there..Nobody could have ever predicted he was going to do that...So get over that...

However Tubby got the following in last years class:

Rajon Rondo: 5 Star PG, 5th Ranked PG of class....
Randolph Morris: 5 Star C, 2nd Ranked C of class...
Joe Crawford: 5 Star SG/F, 2nd Ranked SG of class...
Ramel Bradley: 3 Star SG, 20th Ranked SG of class...
Patrick Sparks: Proven SG out of Western Kentucky that most would have loved to have at the time...

Where exactly would Lofton fit in, with three 5 Star recruits, a highly ranked 3 star, and a high profile transfer? This was a top 10 class for Kentucky and Lofton wasn't even a ranked player...Tubby would have taken him, but had no schollies to offer him...Looks like a top notch recruiting class for Tubby here is it not?

Which proves my point. Tubby isn't a good recruiter or scout of talent. Did he sign a lot of high profile kids? Yes. But, would you consider any of those players at, or even close, to what they were projected? Rondo is possibly, but none of the others are even close. The great coaches are usually capable of seperating the players and contenders out of the bunch efficiently. Tubby has been able to sign high profile kids, of which, 3 of the 5 haven't been nearly the impact player as suggested. I'll give Rondo and Morris credit. They've been very good and solid players when they haven't made bad decisions. Ramel I would consider a total bust. He just hasn't been very consistent in his game at all. He is sometimes a great spark to the team, but also has been a liability. Crawford I can see being a prolific scorer in time and with some polishing, but being ranked #2 at his position, I'd still call him a semi bust to this point, but I think he has the ability to climb the ladder back up. Sparks has shown flash in the pan skills to be very good, but is entirely too streaky. Would you consider what they've accomplished to be that of a top notch recruting class? Recruiting is not only what they are projected, and the talent they MAY possess, but also the ability to get that talent out of the players during the game.

Also, hypothetically, lets say that Tubby has been recruting top notch classes over the last few years. If you have top notch recruits, and you are hypothetically a top notch coach, why doesn't UK have a top notch program this season. Yes, they lost a key player to the draft early, and they've had the Morris situation, but top tier coaches are able to overcome these situations.

Roy Williams is in a slightly similar situation to Tubby. He took over a great team in his first year and won a National Championship. But then, he was put into a much worse situation than Tubby has ever faced, he lost his top 7 scorers, many leaving early for the NBA. Yet he was able to hold his team together and actually has them considered a top 25 team in the country despite his poor situation.

So to answer one of your questions, No it's not a top notch recruiting class. Being a highly rated player doesn't mean much when a coach isn't able to determine whether the player actually has that talent or not, or undercoaches them.

And to answer the other one:
Anyone who would have taken a serious look at Lofton would have seen that he was a prolific, and consistent 3 point shooter in highschool. That alone, he should have been considered before Sparks streakiness. Granted Sparks had the collegiate experience, but this is also a double edged sword. Sparks only had 2 years left since he was a transfer, and Lofton would have had 4. Additionally, Lofton's size, explosiveness, and play making ability would have made him a better selection than Sparks. The only strong advantage Sparks had was his ability to make assists, and run the point which would let Rondo move to the other guard position.

Sparks advantages:
College experience
Assists
Ability to run the point

Lofton advantages:
4 years of eligibility as opposed to 2 years for Sparks
Height
Speed
Jumping
3 point shooting
Consistency

So to answer your other question, I would see him fitting in quite nicely in the recruting process ahead of Sparks.

[MCHS_FBALL#14]

Which proves my point. Tubby isn't a good recruiter or scout of talent. Did he sign a lot of high profile kids? Yes. But, would you consider any of those players at, or even close, to what they were projected? Rondo is possibly, but none of the others are even close. The great coaches are usually capable of seperating the players and contenders out of the bunch efficiently. Tubby has been able to sign high profile kids, of which, 3 of the 5 haven't been nearly the impact player as suggested. I'll give Rondo and Morris credit. They've been very good and solid players when they haven't made bad decisions. Ramel I would consider a total bust. He just hasn't been very consistent in his game at all. He is sometimes a great spark to the team, but also has been a liability. Crawford I can see being a prolific scorer in time and with some polishing, but being ranked #2 at his position, I'd still call him a semi bust to this point, but I think he has the ability to climb the ladder back up. Sparks has shown flash in the pan skills to be very good, but is entirely too streaky. Would you consider what they've accomplished to be that of a top notch recruting class? Recruiting is not only what they are projected, and the talent they MAY possess, but also the ability to get that talent out of the players during the game.

Also, hypothetically, lets say that Tubby has been recruting top notch classes over the last few years. If you have top notch recruits, and you are hypothetically a top notch coach, why doesn't UK have a top notch program this season. Yes, they lost a key player to the draft early, and they've had the Morris situation, but top tier coaches are able to overcome these situations.

Roy Williams is in a slightly similar situation to Tubby. He took over a great team in his first year and won a National Championship. But then, he was put into a much worse situation than Tubby has ever faced, he lost his top 7 scorers, many leaving early for the NBA. Yet he was able to hold his team together and actually has them considered a top 25 team in the country despite his poor situation.

So to answer one of your questions, No it's not a top notch recruiting class. Being a highly rated player doesn't mean much when a coach isn't able to determine whether the player actually has that talent or not, or undercoaches them.

And to answer the other one:
Anyone who would have taken a serious look at Lofton would have seen that he was a prolific, and consistent 3 point shooter in highschool. That alone, he should have been considered before Sparks streakiness. Granted Sparks had the collegiate experience, but this is also a double edged sword. Sparks only had 2 years left since he was a transfer, and Lofton would have had 4. Additionally, Lofton's size, explosiveness, and play making ability would have made him a better selection than Sparks. The only strong advantage Sparks had was his ability to make assists, and run the point which would let Rondo move to the other guard position.

Sparks advantages:
College experience
Assists
Ability to run the point

Lofton advantages:
4 years of eligibility as opposed to 2 years for Sparks
Height
Speed
Jumping
3 point shooting
Consistency

So to answer your other question, I would see him fitting in quite nicely in the recruting process ahead of Sparks.

:theman: Nice Post

[CatDawg]

This team needs to go down the yellow brick road and see the wizard about getting a bunch of hearts.

Best statement I've read in weeks.

[alfus21]

Which proves my point. Tubby isn't a good recruiter or scout of talent. Did he sign a lot of high profile kids? Yes. But, would you consider any of those players at, or even close, to what they were projected? Rondo is possibly, but none of the others are even close. The great coaches are usually capable of seperating the players and contenders out of the bunch efficiently. Tubby has been able to sign high profile kids, of which, 3 of the 5 haven't been nearly the impact player as suggested. I'll give Rondo and Morris credit. They've been very good and solid players when they haven't made bad decisions. Ramel I would consider a total bust. He just hasn't been very consistent in his game at all. He is sometimes a great spark to the team, but also has been a liability. Crawford I can see being a prolific scorer in time and with some polishing, but being ranked #2 at his position, I'd still call him a semi bust to this point, but I think he has the ability to climb the ladder back up. Sparks has shown flash in the pan skills to be very good, but is entirely too streaky. Would you consider what they've accomplished to be that of a top notch recruting class? Recruiting is not only what they are projected, and the talent they MAY possess, but also the ability to get that talent out of the players during the game.

Also, hypothetically, lets say that Tubby has been recruting top notch classes over the last few years. If you have top notch recruits, and you are hypothetically a top notch coach, why doesn't UK have a top notch program this season. Yes, they lost a key player to the draft early, and they've had the Morris situation, but top tier coaches are able to overcome these situations.

Roy Williams is in a slightly similar situation to Tubby. He took over a great team in his first year and won a National Championship. But then, he was put into a much worse situation than Tubby has ever faced, he lost his top 7 scorers, many leaving early for the NBA. Yet he was able to hold his team together and actually has them considered a top 25 team in the country despite his poor situation.

So to answer one of your questions, No it's not a top notch recruiting class. Being a highly rated player doesn't mean much when a coach isn't able to determine whether the player actually has that talent or not, or undercoaches them.

And to answer the other one:
Anyone who would have taken a serious look at Lofton would have seen that he was a prolific, and consistent 3 point shooter in highschool. That alone, he should have been considered before Sparks streakiness. Granted Sparks had the collegiate experience, but this is also a double edged sword. Sparks only had 2 years left since he was a transfer, and Lofton would have had 4. Additionally, Lofton's size, explosiveness, and play making ability would have made him a better selection than Sparks. The only strong advantage Sparks had was his ability to make assists, and run the point which would let Rondo move to the other guard position.

Sparks advantages:
College experience
Assists
Ability to run the point

Lofton advantages:
4 years of eligibility as opposed to 2 years for Sparks
Height
Speed
Jumping
3 point shooting
Consistency

So to answer your other question, I would see him fitting in quite nicely in the recruting process ahead of Sparks.

I can agree with the fact that he would have been a heck of a recruit over Sparks, but Tubby had been burnt on great in-state Mr. Basketballs before such as Brandon Stockton who was awesome in high school, but he got him and everybody tore him apart for it..I figure he, along with Pitino was afraid to bring in Lofton and be torn apart by the state of Kentucky for bringing in another "bust Mr. Basketball"....

I still believe it's a top notch recruiting class, they're just not producing...The team lost 2 of it's top 3 scorers from last year's team and the person with the biggest heart...

And obviously there are some other coaches that arent great talent scouts because Bradley was offered by Boston College and Pittsburgh as well....

Crawford is actually having a pretty good season, if he can work his consistency out he'll be fine...Crawford was offered scholorships by Cinci, Michigan State, Illinois, Clemson, Oregon, and Michigan who are all great programs..

So it's actually still a great recruiting class, they're just not producing for Coach Smith..

I dont think he's undercoaching them either, I just think they're not listening to him and making poor decisions...

Anyways, things will get back on track, if not this year next year Kentucky will be right back up there...

One year isn't going to determine the history of UK basketball...We'll be fine

[cash money]

UK has great talent but doesnt know how to use it

[golfman42]

alright its time for me to snap about this whole lofton thing. yea it pissed me off he didnt get lofton but if ur gon whine about that y dont u whine about not gettin redick or morrison. No its not time for tubby to go. Yea he did have a bad recruitin year but people every team has good and bad years and im as pissed as everybody else is but it aint Tubby's fault. I bet money he didnt tell crawford or perry to shoot the 3 when kentucky was up by 1. Ol Ricky P couldnt do any better and everybody knows it. If ur a Kentucky fan ur supposed to be behind the cats through thick and thin. This is thin so u got to stick behind em. By the way everybody talks....i dont think too many people are ACTUAL TRUE BLUE FANS. Joe B Hall had these kind of years when he was coach and everything turned out ok. If your a real fan you need to be behind whoever is coach. I kno tubby makes some dumb decisions sometimes but every coach does. I can respect why he sit bradley and sparks. THATS DISCIPLINE. If he didnt do that his players would walk all over him.

[golfman42]

dont forget pitinos 15-15 year

[CatDawg]

alright its time for me to snap about this whole lofton thing. yea it pissed me off he didnt get lofton but if ur gon whine about that y dont u whine about not gettin redick or morrison. No its not time for tubby to go. Yea he did have a bad recruitin year but people every team has good and bad years and im as pissed as everybody else is but it aint Tubby's fault. I bet money he didnt tell crawford or perry to shoot the 3 when kentucky was up by 1. Ol Ricky P couldnt do any better and everybody knows it. If ur a Kentucky fan ur supposed to be behind the cats through thick and thin. This is thin so u got to stick behind em. By the way everybody talks....i dont think too many people are ACTUAL TRUE BLUE FANS. Joe B Hall had these kind of years when he was coach and everything turned out ok. If your a real fan you need to be behind whoever is coach. I kno tubby makes some dumb decisions sometimes but every coach does. I can respect why he sit bradley and sparks. THATS DISCIPLINE. If he didnt do that his players would walk all over him.

Here here.:Thumbs:

[PC_U_KNOW_98]

Right now, this team sucks. We got Morris back and a lot of people thought he'd be the savior. Wrong. This team needs to go down the yellow brick road and see the wizard about getting a bunch of hearts.

That is awesome, I like that. No way you came up with that yourself sportwhiz, I'll bet ole Papaw B or ole DJ told you that.