Via Jerry Tipton's UK basketball blog I learned last night that Tubby Smith will be a featured guest on ESPN's recruiting show on tap for Friday.
Here's the release:
The ESPNU College Basketball Signing Day Special will be televised Friday, Nov. 14, from 4 - 6 p.m. ET during college basketball’s early signing day period, which begins today (Wednesday, Nov. 12). The program will showcase several men’s college basketball coaches and top basketball recruits from the ESPNU 100 player rankings. ESPNU anchor Lowell Galindo will be joined in studio by ESPN Scouts Inc. basketball recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi, who will provide in-depth analysis of top recruits and recruiting classes from around the country. Special guest players will include No. 1 Xavier Henry, SG (Putnam City H.S., Oklahoma City, Okla.), No. 3 John Henson, PF (Sickles H.S., Tampa Fla.), No. 14 Abdul Gaddy, PG (Bellarmine Preparatory School, Tacoma, Wash.) and No. 30 Michael Snaer, SG (Rancho Verde H.S., Moreno Ranch, Calif.), who will announce his college decision between UCLA, Kansas, Missouri, Florida State and Marquette. Coach Tubby Smith (Minnesota) and coach Jay Wright (Villanova) will also make appearances.
This may seem like a small thing, and maybe it is, but I don't remember the Minnesota basketball program getting this type of national attention, since, well Jan Ganglehoff. This has also got to annoy some of the UK Tubby haters who said he couldn't recruit. Somehow I doubt ESPN would have Tubby on their recruiting show if he couldn't recruit.
And why is Tubby getting this attention? Well, Scout recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi had this to say about Tubby's recruiting class on an ESPN chat.
I love Tubby's class. It's filled with athleticism, size and skill. This is a Top 20 class. I'd be very excited if I was a Gopher fan.
- Tim Brewster and Bret Bielema apparently don't like one another very much. Good. Better dead ....
- Shocker! Apparently the Gophers need others to step up offensively while Eric Decker is out. This is total crazy talk.
- The Wisconsin State Journal (courtesy of the BTN) has more on the emerging dislike between Brewster and Bielema. They article also chronicles all that was last year's trash-talk filled bout.
- Myron Medcalf at the STrib put together a feature piece on Minnesota recruit Royce White.
- Now this I like to hear. Joel Maturi and company are trying to convince the NCAA to bring the FInal Four to Minneapolis in 2014, 2015 or 2016.