Fire Tubby?

How long was move was in the making? “When you stay in a place for a period of time… it was something that happened… you have people who talk behind [the scenes], and say ‘Tubby would this be something you would be interested in?’”

In typical Tubby rambling style, he never gave a definitive answer. In my crappy live-blog of yesterday’s events, I remember reading an article that Thursday was the first day UKAA was officially aware Tubby was being talked to by the Minnesota folks. So my best guess is that this happened very quickly and quietly, probably starting as soon as the buzzer sounded in Chicago on Tubby’s last season.

Why are you leaving? “Challenge. We all need to be challenged…. its never easy anywhere you go at this level of competition…. This will give me a new life, a new start.”

Um, Tubs, you weren’t feeling challenged at UK? You know, to improve the program and prove yourself against your detractors? I think Tubby really means, “I’m getting out while the getting is good.” Minnesota probably gave him all the right answers.

What do you think about Kentucky fans’ expectations? “They’re always there, there are expectations at Minnesota… [His resignation] is about Tubby Smith and what motivates him.”

To paraphrase what I didn’t type down, Tubby also mentioned how there are high expectations for every team, and that at any job you will have to deal with the talk show chatter. I don’t want to get into the argument that the Kentucky fan base is probably the most passionate, compared to teams like Minnesota, because honestly I don’t live there and couldn’t tell you how U of Minnesota athletics effect the state.

How realistic are the Kentucky fanbase’s expectations? “Theres a long history, long legacy… The expectations are that you’re gonna win national championships… There’s no excuses or anything like that, but [you have to] be happy.

Tubby wouldn’t touch this question with a ten loss foot pole.

If he didn’t decide to leave, did he think he’d be back as Kentucky’s coach? “That was not an issue. I had 4 years on my contract. Expectations weren’t going to change… [There is a] great group of kids there, I had the most fun coaching last year… they will continue to compete.”

I believe Tubby here, I don’t think UKAA had any desire to force Tubby out at this juncture. That being said, I think that there is some truth in what everybody is saying about Barnhart probably being more insistent on staff changes.

What are his thoughts regarding Pitino’s stating that if Kentucky were to get rid of Tubby, it would be setting the program back 10-15 years? “Rick is a special person, that’s why he’s able to recruit special people. Everywhere he’s been… Rick has done a fantastic jobs. He was reacting to the naysayers and the doomsday sayers that call in…. We’re going to really miss Kentucky, there are a lot of great things happening in that region.”

I thought this was interesting since Tubby often never says anything regarding the negative criticism, other than it exists and exists everywhere. Also, I’m tickled that he used the word “naysayers” since that is my favorite Rich Brooks term for the football edition of the Big Blue Moan.

So there you have it, a typical rambling Tubby Smith interview. I’m sure the Twin Cities press corps are licking their chops for such a quoteworthy coach. I wish that Tubby would have given us the details of how negotiations started between his agent and Minnesota, who else contacted him, what he thought about the Michigan job and why he wasn’t interested in it, etc.

And one last thing: TubbySmith.com is still blue and white, and little virtual Tubby still comes out to say, “Kentucky fans are the best, and the love Wildcat basketball.”

Edit 1: J. P. Blevins is now talking to Dave Baker on WKYT. He has had enough of the poor recruiting. (I’m paraphrasing.) I’m wondering if J. P. can’t find a stairwell to drunkenly fall down nowadays.

Speaking of drunkenness, J. P. said that Pitino has set the “presidents” for UK Basketball. I know working live TV interviews is tough, but that made me laugh.

Edit 2: Back online with Dave Baker at WKYT’s streaming site. Baker is talking with “Mike” who clearly has a up north ‘eh accent. (Sorry, I can’t see the screen graphics right now, so I can’t really tell who Baker is talking to.) Said that Tubby’s name for the U of M job has never came up until today.

Mike says that “the buzz” says a press release for U of Minn will be released today, and a press conference tomorrow.

Edit 3: Poor Kentucky Sports Radio’s blog is getting hammered. A Sea of Blue has their piece out, with more details:

Smith apparently met with Athletic Director Mitch Barnhardt to tell him the news, and sources also say he has informed his team. No word yet on the status of transfers, Randolph Morris or the two recruits who were waiting to find out about Tubby’s situation.

Edit 4: ESPN’s article is sparce right now. Nice breaking story, Andy Katz! WKYT is reporting that Tubby was seen in the airport terminal with U of Minn’s AD. Dave Baker is lamenting eloquently about how Tubby is a great person, always shaking hands with everybody and asking the media and other workers of basketball games how their families are doing, etc.

Edit 5: Keith Morehouse with WSAZ TV in Huntington says that Patrick Patterson said that if Tubby were to leave UK it would have a “major impact” on Patterson’s college choice. It was an open secret that Patrick’s family was a huge fan of Tubby, and probably was the main reason UK was in the race for Patrick. Could somebody get Stephon Pettigrew on the phone and let him know UK likes him? Thanks.

Edit 6: webmaster has weaved his magic on our banner. I’m alright, nobody worry about me. You gotta give me five! Why don’t ya just let me be!

Edit 7: WLAP TV is reporting that ESPN is reporting that Tubby is getting 1.8 Million instead of the 2.5 Million that’s been floating around. Correction: ESPN.com is reporting that U of Minn will be paying him 1.8 Million, it is not the contract buyout number. WKYT is showing footage of Tubby boarding a small jet at Bluegrass Airport. I half expected Tubby to turn around and flash us a Nixon-esk victory sign.

Edit 8: It might have been my internet stream flaking out, but I could have swore Rob Bromely was starting to choke back the tears when talking about Tubby. Rob said that he spoke to Tubby on cell phone, and Tubby declined to have an interview with Rob.

Edit 9: Kentucky Sports Radio is still hammered. I think Crow and the rest of the Concerned are pounding refresh in order to get their comments in.

Edit 10: WCCO is now reporting that the AP said that a U of Minn official has confirmed Tubby is their new coach.

Edit 11: Saw on the ESPN article the following: “Gonzaga coach Mark Few and Notre Dame’s Mike Brey are expected to be candidates to replace Smith.” I seriously choked back a gag reflex. Yuck.

Edit 12: The very objective firetubbysmith.com has yet to update with victory messages. KatMan2000 has already got his victory thread and victory movie posted at Dynasty Defenders. “This is the greatest news that Kentucky Basketball has ever received!”

He also labels the situation as “flush[ing] the terd down the bowl”. You stay classy, Wildcat fans.

I’m now reviewing why I never come to the site… good gravy, this deserves a screenshot (its a thumbnail, click on it to see the whole image):

Yeah, real classy. They are also taking credit for getting Tubby out of UK. They’ll have to fight with the FireTubbySmith.com folks, who are also taking credit.

Edit 13: The more I think about this, the more interesting this becomes. There is no way in hell U of Minn was talking to Tubby before this week, or else folks would have heard about it. If Tubby was to jump, everybody had him pegged to go to Michigan, not Minnesota. Most of the media folks were all saying the same thing: more than likely, Tubby was coming back, and that his staff would see some changing. This is just completely out of left field.

We may never know the truth, but I’d like to find out exactly why Tubby chose to left.

Edit 14: As usual, Aaron compiles all the breaking “Tubby resigns” news stories into one beautiful post.

Edit 15: DeadSpin has finally picked up the story. The comments are full of crazyness. Reports out of Detroit that Tom Izzo has been contacted. The five letters C-R-E-A-N are said over and over, which would make most of the Concerned even more concerned. A crack was made about UK’s fans collective amnesia regarding Rick Pitino. Basically, this is a crazy time where rumors are going to dominate discussion.

Edit 16: Dave Baker said that Tubby’s agent has evidently been in discussion with U of Miss administrators, and evidently heard the right number (1.8 as stated above).

They played a clip of Cameron Mills from the Sweet 16 Kentucky High School basketball tournament at Rupp. Here’s what I was able to jot down that Cameron said:

[The UK Fans’] undying love for this program is going to get this program in a mess… There’s no way we get Patterson now… You wonder if [other coaches will] second guess the opportunity to come here.

Dave Baker believes that Tubby has already gotten his 1.5 Million loyalty bonus. I’ve read somewhere else that says that UK will honor the 1.5 Million loyalty bonus on April 3rd. In other words, who the hell knows? I have a report on that below.

Edit 17: More info leaking out, courtesy of the ESPN article:

Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi contacted Barnhart on Thursday morning requesting permission to speak with Smith, the statement said, and at that point Smith confirmed to Barnhart that his agent had been in discussions with Minnesota.

According to sources, Smith called [Former U of Minn coach] Monson for an education about the opening, Minnesota’s basketball facilities, the atmosphere around the program, and how the job compares to others in the Big Ten. The program was on probation for five of Monson’s seven seasons after an academic scandal under former coach Clem Haskins.

Edit 18: AJ Stewart is still coming to UK, reports the Courier-Journal. Good for him. And good for us. Depending who sticks around after this shakeout, we may need him ASAP.

I’m still waiting to hear comments on WKTY regarding Patrick Patterson, but my WKYT stream is crapping out.

Edit 19: The C-J’s Brett Dawson is reporting that Tubby’s salary at U of Minn could be 2.5 Million.

Duke’s Josh McRoberts has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft. How much you want to bet that Coach K or one of his staff was texting Patrick Patterson with news about McRoberts and then Tubby’s departure? “PAT UR NO1 CM DNCE WIT K” (Note: I have no idea what I just typed.)

Edit 20: Okay, finally starting to read our beautiful Herald-Leader. This article states that UK will pay the $1.5 Million loyalty bonus, and that there was no buyout clause in Tubby’s contract, which means Tubby won’t have to pay UK any money for ending the contract early.

Jerry Tipton’s article, like the ESPN article in early revisions, makes a point to mention Billy Donovan and the Florida’s AD comments about UK contacting Donovan. Honestly, I don’t see anything that UK can offer Donovan that Florida couldn’t match. Plus, its Florida; who wouldn’t want to coach in 70-degree weather during Basketball season?

Edit 21: Poor Kentucky Sports Radio’s website is completely submerged, although I’m sure the boys are doing a great job keeping everyone up-to-date on their radio show in Louisville. Its sad, really; they have done a fantastic job at becoming a source of Kentucky rumors and news, that when something huge happens, they get swamped. Such is life on the Internets, I suppose.

Edit 22: Official UK statements from Mitch and Dr. Todd. Seriously, this is part of Dr. Todd’s statement (emphasis mine):

I wish him every success, except if they ever play us, in this new chapter in his coaching career.

That’s just hilarious. I think we take winning seriously at the University of Kentucky. Dream, Challenge, Succeed.

Edit 23: Gregg Doyle proceeds to take a giant shiat all over Tubby. He must have an account at Dynasty Defenders. Seriously, Doyle says that Tubby is a horrible recruiter. But he’s generalizing; Tubby was one of the primary recruiters for Pitino’s UK staff, and I don’t call Prince/Finch/Hayes/Jason Parker/Hawkins/Daniels/Estill horrible or “not UK caliber” recruits. There is no defense for Tubby’s recruting after Team Turmoil, however.

Edit 24: The Herald-Leader gets some comments from Tubby:

“You always want to be wanted,” Smith told the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com after landing in Minneapolis this evening. “You know they have a need.”

Interesting.

BigBlueHistory.net has already bookended Tubby’s Tenure with the team.

And with that, I’m going off-line for a while. I have the little Fake Gimels to play with while this whole situation sorts itself out. I hope you enjoyed my massive non-up-to-date live blog of this groundbreaking event.