# Tubby Smith new Gopher's Coach



## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Both WCCO and KFAN are reporting the Kentucky coach Tubby Smith will be the next Gophers BB coach.Supposedly the Kentucky AD told him that next year would be his last year....He said.....screw that,I'm leaving now.

News conference to announce it tomorrow.

:beer: :beer:


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

This guy is a proven winner - not sure the Gophers could have got a bigger name. :beer:


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

definately a shocker


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## jgat (Oct 27, 2006)

What a surprise. I think it is a fantastic hire!


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2808406

By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

Tubby Smith is leaving Kentucky after 10 seasons to take the head coaching job at Minnesota.

Smith

Smith, who had four years remaining on his contract, will be introduced at a 1 p.m. ET news conference Friday in Minneapolis. A Kentucky source said that the school would still honor the $1.5 million incentive bonus that Smith is due on April 3.

Smith informed Kentucky players and athletics director Mitch Barnhart about his decision earlier Thursday and also phoned former Minnesota coach Dan Monson, who was fired in November, to tell him he was accepting the job.

"On behalf of the University of Kentucky, I'd like to express sincere appreciation to Tubby Smith, his family and his staff," Barnhart said in a statement. "Tubby has always put a priority on the growth of the student-athlete while representing the Commonwealth with class, and we thank him for that. We wish him the very best at the University of Minnesota. They are getting a solid coach and a great person."

Pat Forde's take

Kentucky requires a coach with a big personality or big wins -- and Tubby Smith brought neither. That's why his move to Minnesota is a big win for everyone involved, Pat Forde writes. Story

According to sources, Smith called 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.

Monson cleaned up the program, but the Gophers didn't win; they were 9-22 this season, 3-13 in the Big Ten.

During his decade at Kentucky, where he replaced Rick Pitino, Smith was 263-83 and reached the NCAA Tournament every season, winning the national championship in 1998 -- Smith's rookie season in Lexington. But the Wildcats have not been back to the Final Four since.

"Tubby is an outstanding individual and he's been a credit to the conference and a credit to the game," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Thursday. "We definitely wish him well. Kentuucky has a great basketball tradition, and that great tradition will continue as the university moves ahead."

Tubby Smith's Career 
Kentucky Overall 
Seasons 10 16 
Record 263-83 387-145 
Winning Pct. .760 .727 
NCAAs 10 14 
Elite Eight 4 4

This season, in which the Wildcats finished 22-12 overall, 9-7 in the SEC and lost to Kansas in the second round of the tournament, saw a growing faction of Kentucky fans calling for Smith's ouster.

Earlier this month, before the Wildcats played their first-round NCAA Tournament game, Barnhart issued a statement supporting Smith, saying "Tubby's our basketball coach."

But Barnhart also said that he and Smith would sit down after the season to discuss potential changes -- and declined to say whether any of Smith's assistants might be replaced.

Wojciechowski on Tubby 
From March 16: Tubby Smith is in a no-win situation at Kentucky, which is why he should leave on his own terms before he is eventually fired, as Gene Wojciechowski details. Story 
Meanwhile, while watching the defending national champion Gators practice in St. Louis in preparation for their Sweet 16 game against Butler on Friday, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley did not seem particularly concerned if Kentucky pursues coach Billy Donovan.

When asked whether he expected Kentucky to contact Donovan, Foley replied, "It's a free world. There's nothing to prevent them from doing that."

"We're trying to win an NCAA championship. He's our coach and he's been tremendously loyal for a long time. That's all I'm going to say about it."

Donovan and Foley have been discussing a contract extension but have not agreed to one. Foley said he expected it to get done.

Donovan had not heard about Smith's decision when approached by a Louisville Courier-Journal reporter just before the start of practice Thursday. When asked about it, Donovan said, "I know you have to ask me that, but right now I'm here to coach my team and win a national championship."

According to sources, Marquette coach Tom Crean, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Memphis coach John Calipari, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Notre Dame's Mike Brey, Texas' Rick Barnes, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie and Villanova's Jay Wright are expected to be candidates for what is one of the few premier jobs in men's college basketball.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Senior writer Pat Forde also contributed to this report.


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