GopherHole Q&A On Smith
March 17th, 2009 by Kris
I had heard last week that Minnesota coach Tubby Smith would be the likely coaching target if Dave Leitao didn’t right the ship at Virginia in 2009-10. Obviously, that timeline accelerated rapidly over the weekend and the gas pedal seems to be on the floorboard after Monday’s announcement that Leitao has left UVa. The Daily Progress’ Jerry Ratcliffe is reporting that Smith is on the Cavaliers’ short list.
The Sabre wanted to get local opinions on the coaching candidates so Smith seems like the logical place to start. Rob Litt from the GopherHole.com gets us started with a quick Q&A about Smith, the current coach of the Golden Gophers. Let’s just say the folks in Minnesota seem to like the guy!
The Sabre: Would Tubby Smith consider leaving Minnesota this soon, particularly with a good recruiting class coming in?
Rob: Well, we sure hope not!!! We couldn’t be happier with Coach Smith and we realize how fortunate we are to have him. His name has come up repeatedly since the second he has gotten to Minnesota in connection with numerous open positions. This is in large part because nationally, people perceive Minnesota as possibly being beneath Tubby and many feel that if we could get him, so could they. He took a program with 10 wins in 2006-07 and a half empty Williams Arena to a 20 win team last year and a 22 win team this year with an NCAA Tourney bid, not to mention a packed Barn (Williams Arena). He is wildly respected and loved here and is more than meeting the modest expectations we have here – as compared to the irrational expectations in Lexington, KY.
As far as leaving for Virginia – well, it is one of 2-3 schools (Maryland being another) that some Gopher fans have mildly worried about him leaving for. Tubby has family in the region, his wife is from the area and certainly the weather is milder. Not to mention the new facilities UVa has, which is something that he doesn’t have here at Minnesota, although we will begin fundraising this summer for a new practice facility.
All this being said, Tubby is building something special here in a short period of time. We won 22 games this year including beating Louisville and sweeping rival Wisconsin and he is doing it with limited contributions from any seniors. At times, he has started three freshman and a sophomore and we have a top 10 recruiting class coming in … so the program is going in a great direction. In addition, it will be a lot easier to crack the top of the Big Ten than it will be to win the ACC. Tom Izzo doesn’t have nearly the stronghold at the top of our conference as Coach K and Roy do in the ACC.
The Sabre: What are the defining style characteristics (example: 2-3 zone or whatever) of Smith’s Minnesota team? What is the offense like?
Rob: The flow of the offense has been the one area of frustration for many Gopher fans. This is in large part due to an inconsistent backcourt that has struggled in halfcourt sets, inexperienced big men who struggled to command space down low until recently, and an offensive scheme that has lacked purpose at times. We don’t have a PG that can beat people off the dribble and that has really hurt us, as has our ability to hit outside shots consistently. But Tubby has never been known as an offensive genius and this is showing this year. We have had frustrating 4-5 minute scoring droughts too often. I do think the perception of our offense will improve next year when our two freshman big men command more respect and space down low, and our guards learn how to take care of the ball better.
Also on the offensive side of the ball, we have struggled mightily all year with out of bounds plays. I think I could count on one hand the amount of easy baskets we’ve scored out of bounds. I hope this improves next year.
Defensively, it is a different story as Tubby has the boys playing great defense and rebounding all year. If you don’t play D you don’t play under Tubby. He’ll pull guys out quickly if they miss a back door cut or let a guy score easily in transition. We don’t defend the three as well as we’d like due to his ball line schemes, but this is the best defense as we’ve played at Minnesota in a long, long time. We held Illinois to 36 points in a game, we are one of the nation’s leaders in block shots, and we hit the boards hard all year. Tubby will use both straight up man and zone and isn’t afraid to mix it up. We also do quite a bit of full court traps which has gotten us some easy baskets.
The Sabre: What kind of recruiter have Smith and his staff been at Minnesota?
Rob: In a word – fantastic. The UK fans were upset that Tubby became a “lazy recruiter” in Lexington. We love his “laziness” as it produced a Top 20 class last year and a Top 10 class coming up this year. Last year we signed all kids from outside the state over programs like Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Georgia Tech, etc. including a mixture of Top 100 high school kids and the top JUCO player in the nation. This upcoming class contains a Top 20 kid, a Top 40 kid and one of the top JUCO big men in the nation, as well as a Top 125 kid out of California. We are getting the top players in-state and national recruits that we never had a shot at over the last 10 years and each of these recruits mentions Tubby as the No. 1 reason why they are coming here.
But the best part about Tubby Smith is the man himself. He does things his way, which is the right way. He is a mentor, a father figure and a proud member of every community he lives. He and his wife Donna maintain the charitable foundation they started in Lexington even though they no longer live there; they are starting a foundation here in Minneapolis and are very giving of their time. He is the type of person who looks everyone in the eye with a firm handshake, he has reached out to former Gophers who played here over a decade ago to encourage them to go back to school to earn their degree and he has connected with alumni who haven’t been back to campus in years. He’s what’s right about college sports and hopefully he remains in his rightful spot – Minnesota!!
