So lets hear it? Who do you want to lead the return to greatness? If your pick is other leave a comment and let us know who you want.
Thanks for stopping by everybody.
So lets hear it? Who do you want to lead the return to greatness? If your pick is other leave a comment and let us know who you want.
Thanks for stopping by everybody.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I know this is crazy but how about UK alumni Pat Riley. He probably would not take the job but … can you imagine who he could recruit?
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 pm
you do realize that tubby smith is an outstanding coach as well as an outstanding human being… kentucky was lucky to have such a high caliber person in the program for as long as he was…. your statistics are correct… and yes the past two seasons have not been what we are use to in kentucky basketball… it is truly sad that the fans pushed out such a wonderful human being and an outstanding coach…. so he can’t recruit? morris, rondo, and crawford all 5 star all americans… we probably would have signed jai lucas and possilbe patrick patterson… kiss that goodbye… way to go… next season which will be way worse than this one is on every kentucky fan who pushed for the dismissal of tubby…
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Who in their right mind would come to a place where you can win almost 3/4 of the time, earn a national championship, be close in the hunt for several Final Fours, get the most out of the players you have, avoid any hint of illegal or improper behavior at a school known for same, keep your cool and class while losers nickname you “Ten-Loss” for losing to some of the best teams in the country (more than 1/2 those losses to Sweet 16 bound), have morons diss your wife and children, and be stabbed in the back by those paid to support you, despite the overwhelming opinion of experts to a man who say you are doing a great job … and have to answer to boo-hoo bu-fu bubba buddies who can’t make two free throws in a row, bottom feeders who would rather throw $5 million to make a good man run away from a job well done instead of invest in any of the wonderful things that money could buy at UK or in Lexington … ???
They sure won’t come for the support - there isn’t any, obviously. They won’t come for the tradition - because Tubby was that tradition for 10 years and got raped. They won’t come for the class - that left with Coach Smith. I guess the only thing left to draw someone to UK is the money - and you know what that gets you, sooner or later. I give UK five years before the next NCAA sanctions, tops.
I am ashamed today to have had anything to do with this school, these fans and this sorry state. Big Blue Nation, indeed. How about Pig Blew Negation, closer to the truth.
Thanks for the memories and the class, Tubby. Shame on you, whiner losers.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
How about Jim Obrein, former UK assistant and Celtics/76ers coach. He has the experience and knows how to win when under pressure. He also would bring some excitement back to UK basketball - both offensively and defensively.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Pat Riley would be the ultimate coach for UK fans. Can you imagine what he could bring to the program? Recruiting, national media…let’s start passing the hat around today!
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
(whoop! Posted this in the wrong thread the first time…)
Pat Forde has a very good article on the situation over at ESPN.com. In part:
“There is no good reason for Donovan to leave Gainesville for UK — where he was an assistant to Rick Pitino for five years — other than this:
The defending national champion Gators filled every seat in their 12,000-seat arena for only one nonconference game: Ohio State. Kentucky, meanwhile, put more than 23,000 in the stands for its Midnight Madness practice.
So if Donovan wants to go to a place where basketball is king, he’d go to Kentucky. If he’d rather stay at the empire he’s built from the ground up, he says no and the Wildcats move on with their search.
Fact is, only one man other than Donovan has both a slam-dunk résumé and a thorough understanding of the Kentucky job. That man is Rick Pitino.
Don’t count on history repeating itself. But if you can switch sides in America’s most heated rivalry once, why not twice?”
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:34 am
i am a fan of calipari from memphis for this job he is ready to step up into a major program…. he has had major success at both memphis and umass… although he fell short in 96 when they lost to a pretty good team…. lol….. honestly i’d rather have tubby… he embodies everything that i would want in a coach… i had the pleasure of meeting him twice… played with his son at a camp… he is truly a great individual…. calipari from memphis will bring what us as fans (me not included) have been complaining about big time recruits… but dont count on it since they are in the elite 8 and he has already signed derek rose an amazing guard
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:45 am
“We talked about a lot of things, but mostly it was about academic rates, graduation rates and that was one of the many things that endeared me to him. We didn’t talk much about salary, but what he could do for young men. I know all coaches talk like that, but he lives it. That’s who he is. That’s why he is so revered.” Minnesota AD on Tubby Smith…
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:35 am
Tom Crean? I wondering if his mother will let him wear her glasses to games anymore?
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:39 am
What a horrible list of morons to pick from.
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:03 am
pat riley is a little old, dont you think?
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:47 am
I think Rich Brooks would be the ideal candidate for the UK basketball gig. I mean, he is leading the football program back to….uh….I mean to greatness. He’s also use to the high expectations and pressure that comes with coaching at UK. Heck, he can even get AARP discounts for team equipment and travel costs.
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:56 am
Top of my list…Billy Donovan. I think there is a slim chance. He was an assistant, he plays the style of ball that we are used to, and it would be great to stick it to Florida. The fact the he will never be first fiddle at Florida no matter what happens could also play into this as well. If we can’t get Billy, i think we’re screwed. I was kind of hoping that Tubby would stick around for year or to so that Travis Ford or Jon Pelphry could be seasoned wenough to take over. I think we need someone from the bluegrass that played/coached at Kentucky. I “like” some of the possible candidates but i don’t believe that many of them understand what it means to coach and win at Kentucky. Mark Few fits this category. I really can’t believe that Mike Brey is on the list. How could this be? If Tubby is not the “caliber” of coach that we need then Mike Brey is a cap gun. Calipari had his trouble at UMass and is now God at Memphis. I don’t think that he would leave because he’s in a cupcake conference that somehow gets respect. Conference USA is no more a powerhouse than the MAC or the A10 is, so how would he fair in the almighty SEC? Not so well i would gather. Rick Barnes can recruit. That’s about all i can say for Rick Barnes. There really isn’t a coach in the Big 12 that i think we should be interested in EXCEPT Gillispie. I am a bit intrigued by him. He turned around a super crappy team into an contender in 2 years. The only other Big name that’s not doing anything right now is none other than Larry Brown. I think he could maybe do something. So in my humble opinion, Mitch’s list should look something like this….
1 Billy Donovan
2 A&M’s Gillispie
3 Larry Brown
4 Mark Few
5 Travis Ford
6 Jon Pelphry
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:57 am
All you Tub-Whiners just don’t get it…fans don’t pick coaches or dismiss them. Fans also don’t like to lose and be 1 and out at the SEC and the NCAA…
I ain’t gonna cry over Patterson/Lucas…let ‘em go if they’re attached to the Tubster’s rump.
Next year = Disaster? Maybe so, but it would have been disastrous to watch Tubby destroy his new freshmen by not playing them and then playing them only if they looked to him for the nod before they tried to shoot.
Tubby’s a great defensive coach, but his habit of pulling people for not making “Enough” passes and for missing a shot destroys his offense…Everyone’s afraid to use initiative and take it to the hole.
The boys play scared on offense and you can see it in their nervous attempts. Nothing flows. Heck, at the end of the season, they were even getting quite a few shot-clock violations, because NO ONE wanted to shoot!
Tubby wants “Controlled” instead of “Instinctive” play from his players. The trouble is, he can take a player who is a star in high school BECAUE of his instinctive ability and absolutely RUIN the kid!
Remember the first time Jasper played? I said, WOW! This kid is the real thing! By the end of the year, he was so rattled by Tubby that he could barely dribble and pass, much less shoot.
BYE TUBBY!!!
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 am
How about Dan Monson? Since we appearently made such a poor move, I would like to see what Monson does to your program.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
Move over Billy, Billy, Mark, John, and Larry……. the number one candidate for UK basketball coach should be KRUSTY THE CLOWN. Hell, Krusty kind of looks like Tubby.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Ok you bomb throwing Kentucky fans, you got your wish,careful what you wish for.I can say this, for the next four years the balance of power now shifts west down I64 to you know where…. The game has changed but some of the fans haven’t.Oh well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I think Pat Riley might be interested! The heat are gettin older, what happens when Shaq and Payton retire? Wade is Awesome, but Kobe proved a good guard can’t carry a team on his own. I would love to see Pat Riley coach the cats. I hope Tubby does well though, he is a great coach and was under-appreciated at UK.
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
John Calipari should be our guy. He is a proven winner and probaly the only one that handle the pressure of coaching at Kentucky. It’s about time for a new challenge for Coach Calipari, He’s been to the final 4 in 96′ with that very good UMass team, and besides how many other coaches can say they have been to 2 straight Great 8’s at of all places Memphis. We need him on the sideline at Kentucky, trust me the recruits will come, hes proven he can do that, we will win and win quickly if we open up the checkbbok for him.
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I Think and I know you wil hate me for this BRUCE PEARL! Why not I mean I love he’s style of play. Billy Donavan is not going to happen forget it why leave Florida hell I would not leave Florida. I wish Tubby would have stuck around a few more years get ready guys it’s rebuilding time next season will be a bad one no matter who comes in. We all got what we wanted but lets not try to run the new guy out his first year becuse we all know it is going to be a rebuilding proccess but im excited about a new chapter of Uk basketball I do however wish Tubby all the best Thank you coach Im really gonna miss you you derved better thene thre treatment you got and also Im gonna miss Donna in the stands cheering for are team to win good luck to both of you
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:08 pm
First of all, just a pet peeve, I know, but to some of the UK critics…the team we’re talking about is the University of Kentucky, not Kansas. The abbreviation is UK, not KU. Please, know your basketball. The name of the team is a very elementary thing, really.
Second, I love Travis Ford, but I wish he wasn’t still a little green. He’s from Kentucky, he played for Kentucky, he understand the state and the fans. Kentucky basketball isn’t just basketball; it’s a representation of the state’s love affair with the university. Travis Ford would get that. Maybe in a few years… ? Tubby’s an awesome coach and a classy man (I personally think he’s the classiest coach in the country), but his personality and his style of play aren’t a good fit for the university. We need someone who enjoys the spotlight.
Billy D is the obvious choice, but I doubt that will happen. Following that…well, it’s anyone’s guess. And I definitely don’t want Rick Pitino as our coach. I just don’t think he’s as good as he was.
March 24th, 2007 at 11:41 am
3 Larry Brown
Carolina boys stick together they don’t coach other major programs…. stupid commen on your partt…. i will be very upset if pelphery or ford are hired neither of them are ready… if Barnhart doesnt come through with a big time coach such as donovan or calipari… the program is in trouble
March 24th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Pat Rileys only 62, that’s not too old and it would give Travis Ford time to notch a few years under his belt. Riley would be the PERFECT choice. We all know he can coach, and I bet he’d be a hell of a recruiter.
March 24th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Why would any of these candidates even want to be UK’s coach except for maybe Mike Brey? Get over yourselves! Only people from Kentucky think this is an elite job.
March 27th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Christian Lattner
March 28th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
mike your a moron…. uk is the elite job…. ucla…. unc…. duke… ucla… kansas…. all other elite jobs…. uk is the elite job out of all those… ucla close second…. you obviuosly dont know basketball
March 28th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Actually the elite (The schools with tradition, championships, and/or coaching legends) are Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas, and Indiana. Duke wants to be elite but doesn’t have the credentials.
March 29th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Rick Pittino says not interested. John Calipari says no thanks. Thad Matta not interested. Rick Barnes says no. Bruce Pearl staying at Tenn. Billy Gillispie staying at Texas A & M. UK WAS an elite job. Billy Donovan is using UK to get a bigger raise. Face the facts smarter than you Says.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Name Chances
Donovan FLA Slim
Barnes TX 10%
Izzo Mich St 10%
Crean Marquette 50%
Gillispie Tex AM 30%
Calipari Memphis 40%
Matta Ohio State 5%
Wright Villanova 15%
Few Gonzaga 50%
Brey ND 99%
Pitino Louisville Who Cares?