Don't Be a Fairweather Fan and Blame Tubby
by Buck Bravo on Feb 17, 2010 10:00 AM CST
in Gopher Basketball
15 comments
It was only three years ago that the Gopher basketball program finished the season at 9-22, and the program was a laughingstock of the Big Ten. There was little hope that the program could be restored to the pre-scandal glory days of Clem Haskins. What would fans have said back then if told that in three years the team would have 14 wins, 6 games to go, and Tubby Smith as the head coach?
Almost everything that reasonably could go wrong for this team, has. Royce White, a heralded five star recruit, never played a single game due to legal issues. Trevor Mbakwe, a desperately needed power forward with talent, is in legal limbo without an end in sight. Al Nolen, the starting point guard, was kicked off of the team for poor academics. Devron Bostick, who was supposed to be a solid scoring option this season, had a late start and hasn't found his shot. It's been a tough year for Gopher basketball, but only relative to expectations.
Is morale on a team that suffers such setbacks going to suffer? Absolutely. Will it impact the ability of the team to play with confidence? You bet. Will cohesiveness and eagerness to play defense be somewhat lackluster for a team that's had a long string of bad breaks? That's usually the way it works.
I doubt that any coach in America could do a better job than Tubby Smith has when you consider the circumstances.
Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press has done a great job covering the Gophers this season with stories like the one at this link, but he may be one of the few who comprehend the extent of the setbacks this team has encountered. Many fans and media members have taken the low road of blaming Tubby, at least partially, for the turmoil.
Every team will occasionally have a down season. At least five years worth of misfortunes have happened in the last few months, and as a result this will probably be one of those down seasons. But please, remember Gopher basketball three years ago. Where would this year's team be with Royce White, Trevor Mbakwe, Al Nolen, and a full season of Devron Bostick? I don't need to speculate the answer to that question.
In spite of all the negativity, this team has 14 wins, 6 games to go, and a Big Ten Tournament to play. While unlikely, it is still technically possible that they could make the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes when a team plays as if they have nothing more to lose they end up having something to win.
Don't be a fairweather fan. Don't blame Tubby Smith for an improbable cascade of setbacks that no coach in America could overcome. When the season is over, I doubt there's anyone else you'll want coaching the team as they head into next season.
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Exactly
Do people forget the lost decade of Gopher basketball? Video highlights from the Monson era would be a short montage. While expectations were through the roof for this year and it’s disappointing compared to where we thought we should be, I’m still happy with the direction of the program.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Feb 17, 2010 10:10 AM CST reply actions
I like Tubby...
But he has to have some of the blame… After all, Tubby the coach is also Tubby the recruiter. He brought in Bostick (who might have been a decent player but doesn’t fit here), White, Mbakwe, etc… He’s also the guy who puts in offensive schemes (or lack of) and should be getting the players to recognize what defense they are playing against and how to attack that defense.
The bottom line, you have to compare Tubby to the rest of the Big 10, and he returned everyone of consequence, yet they underperformed, and that was before Nolen was out.
I do think that the off-court issues affected the team’s play throughout the season. What a letdown to expect White and Mbakwe to join the team, and then to have them be absentee with players forced to play roles they aren’t ideal for.
Buck Bravo
by Buck Bravo on Feb 17, 2010 10:39 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
To Tubby's defence
about the offense, the guards on the perimeter that were recruited under the previous regime won’t throw it into the post consistently like he wants. Mainly Nolen and Westbrook. Although Joseph is kind of a chucker too. The only one who does it regularly is Hoffarber. I believe at the half last game Ralph had 0 pts and Iverson had 2. That’s pathetic and Tubby knows it. All you have to do is look at his face during games to see it. At some point you blame the players. It’s not like he doesn’t know what they have to do. The team has been through sooo much that his hands are largely tied into what he can do with the roster’s PT.
by TheEvilProfessor on Feb 17, 2010 10:40 AM CST up reply actions
There is plenty of blame to go around
Tubby isn’t infallible, he does make mistakes. But this season would be VERY different if three kids hadn’t put themselves in situations where they are losing the opportunity to play. The issues that are surfacing are largely because Tubby is forced to do more (or at least as much) with far less than he expected to have. Adjustments are being made but the weaknesses this team has are just being exploited.
People wouldn’t be questioning the offensive system if they had a couple key players that just by the nature of them being so talented would make the rest of the offense better. Tubby has had a rough year but he’s also trying to make due with less than he had a year ago at this point.
My biggest Tubby criticism is that his sophomores didn’t get better in the offseason. Some blame on the players but Tubby and staff needs to make them better this offseason.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Even with all the problems....
The season is only a few plays away from us being very much on the bubble in a confident way. In the last minute of the A & M game we do something right, there’s a win. If the guards don’t turn the ball over against Miami in the last three minutes, there’s a win. If Westbrook draws a foul against Mich. St., there’s a win. Let’s not forget Indiana and Northwestern… I think the biggest problem (regardless of who has been on the floor) is the inability to close out close games. We only won one (@ Penn State) and we’ve blown too many leads in games. Every time there’s a chance to boost confidence, it gets squandered somehow.
good point
this team hasn’t been real strong in tight games.
really just change the Michigan STate loss to a win and people feel differently about this team imo.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Feb 17, 2010 11:58 AM CST up reply actions
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!
This was the money line..
Every team will occasionally have a down season.
Look at this year’s North Carolina team. Roy Williams, imo, is the best coach in the country. He has a young but very talented team. And they are 3-8 in conference! They’ve gone 2-8 in their last 10 games. I know they lost a lot from last year but they are also reloading with McDonald’s All-Americans.
Winning at this level isn’t ever easy. To nit-pick this Gopher team that has had more than it’s share of troubles is knee-jerk. I’m as disappointed as anybody but this season has gone wrong at a number of turns, let’s lay off Tubby for now. He’s earned the respect.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
I agree
You don’t take usually sub-par programs like Tulsa and Georgia to the Sweet Sixteen unless you know your stuff. Tubby can’t be blamed for the decisions made by some of the players which have lead to ineligibility. I sometimes question him using the five in five out substituting. That really annoys me from time to time because I honestly don’t believe Iverson or Bostick should ever see the floor.
The thing that allows me to tolerate this year is next year’s promise. I mean, if Nolen can get his act together, Devoe Joseph can move to his true position of shooting guard (to think he is a point guard is utterly absurd), Mbakwe gets cleared of all his stuff, Sampson continues to improve (I like what he has been doing when he actually gets touches), and Blake shoots 50% against next year we could be a dangerous team. Add in the SLIGHT possibility that we might add Cory Joseph and that is a good starting lineup. And Paul Carter has take some steps forward in a few games, if he could be more consistent I like him and a sophomore Rodney coming off the bench.
Spectacular Article
Great job putting it into perspective. The fact that this team is still around with how much bad luck it has faced this year is a testament to Tubby. Sometimes a team just has an unlucky year. This is the quintessential “one of those years” for the U.
I would extend this
to apply to any particular team you are a fan of. It’s a lot tougher to be a fan of a team during a down period than an up one. But you are a better fan for it.
Good job of keeping things in perspective BB. Hopefully this proves to be a blessing in disguise if we get TM back for 2 years, this season spurs development in the younger players, and we get some solid recruits for the next seasons.
No solid recruits want to come to a school...
….where the fans yell “fuck Bo Ryan” and “fuck you you fucking asian” (yelled at my friend at the game last night).
Tubby recruits talent without character and mental toughness. This, I’m afraid, is a FACT. He also can’t get MN high school stars to say home. Why? Because they know they’ll be playing the Barn to fair weather fans. Who wants that when you could go to a variety of other schools in the Big 10 and have a better chance of winning and getting to the NCAA tourney.
I love Minneapolis, so I’m glad I live here, but 2 years of having to watch Gopher and Vikings fans turn their jealousy and self-pity into a bigoted campaign against all things Wisconsin is getting really old.
no defending
a racist idiot, but a majority of fans are “fair weather” fans. I never thought I would see the crowd so thin at a Iowa Basketball game.
"they're calling insane hogs???"
REALLY?
He also can’t get MN high school stars to say home. Why? Because they know they’ll be playing the Barn to fair weather fans.
The previous staff clearly had issues keeping Minnesota kids here. But who has Tubby “lost” that he wanted? Royce White and Rodney Williams were both top 50 kids in the country, they stayed didn’t they? Obviously White has issues, but that doesn’t change the fact that Tubby kept the state’s best here.
I don’t care about the student section chanting. It is in appropriate and immature to say the least and there is no defending racist chants. But to imply this is the only student section that would do such a thing is not true. And to imply that this affects all local basketball products is a ridiculous argument.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
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