The Paradox of Tubby Smith and His Gophers

Tubby Smith has done a curious thing to the Minnesota Gophers fan base. Somehow, this Southern boy with a calm demeanor has caused a rift in the Maroon and Gold faithful. This is not, in fact, an actual rift in fans’ love for the Gophers, but a rift in fans’ opinions of him—Tubby Smith. Some fans love him and support what he is currently creating here. Other fan’s think he has greatly underachieved and it’s time for him to go. And you know what? They’re both right. That’s the difficulty with a paradox.

Fact: Tubby Smith is 97-57 as the Gophers head coach. He is 37-43 in Big Ten play.

Five years ago, when rumors quickly lead to reality in a matter of a day, emotions ran high. There was a rumor about hiring Tubby Smith away from Kentucky. Then that rumor became a possibility. Then that possibility became a reality. Tubby Smith was officially the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. People were euphoric for the hire. The curious thing was that the Blue and White faithful were as ecstatic as the Maroon and Gold. Kentucky fans were just as thrilled to see Tubby leave behind their bluegrass and bourbon as Minnesota was to welcome him to the land of snow and nice.

Just one week before Minnesota hired Tubby Smith, his Kentucky Wildcats defeated ninth-seeded Villanova in the First Round of the NCAA tournament. Just a mere five days before Tubby left Kentucky for Minnesota, his Wildcats fell to number one seeded Kansas 88-76. That 2006-07 Kentucky team had high expectations going into the season. After stumbling out of the gate, they barely got to 21 wins and squeaked into the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid as an 8-seed. Six days later, Kentucky was bounced by the Kansas Jayhawks. Five days after that, Tubby Smith was the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Fact: Tubby Smith’s first season in Minnesota was the first time he missed the Big Dance since 1993—14 seasons.

The Good Ol’ Days. That phrase is thrown around quite frequently this day and age. We hear people talk about how things were so much better back in the day. From the economy to politics to prices to cars to houses to neighbors to television and even to war. They were all better “back in the day.” The thing about the Good Ol’ Days is that they typically aren’t as good as memory leads us to believe. Maybe it’s the psychological affect of nostalgia. Maybe it’s an innate fear we all have of the future, so we choose to shun the present and instead fondly remember the past. I’m not sure. Most often, though, the Good Ol’ Days weren’t quite as good as we remember them to be. Anyone who watches AMC’s Mad Men realizes that it’s a commentary, at least in part, on how the Good Ol’ Days of the ‘50s were not quite so good, especially if you were female, black, homosexual or poor in America.

That’s why I always smirk when I hear people talk about the Good Ol’ Days of Minnesota Gophers basketball. I’m never quite sure what era of Minnesota basketball they’re talking about. I’m pretty sure it’s not the average (at best) era between 1920-1950. John Kundla and Bill Fitch brought in some fairly good seasons throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, but certainly nothing to reminisce longingly about. I could see fans a generation older than me whimsically remembering the days of Bill Musselman. In his first year as head coach, he brought us our first Big Ten Championship in 53 years. Then lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In his second season, his Gophers found themselves ranked as high as number three in the nation. Then they lost in the second round of the NIT tournament.[1] After Musselman’s fourth season as the head coach of the Gophers, the NCAA hit the Gophers with 128 basketball violations, cut the number of scholarships in half for two years, and sanctioned that Minnesota could not appear on NCAA televised games or in any post-season tournaments for two years. If that were to happen today, the punishment would be twice as worse. Oh the Good Ol’ Days.

The years with Jim Dutcher were nice, but nothing to remember fondly. The eight years of Dan Monson were not nice and certainly something to remember abhorrently. Which leaves us with the Good Ol’ Boy of the Good Ol’ Days himself—Clem Haskins. I grew up on Haskins’ Gophers. The memory of Ray Christensen’s sultry voice and Clem Haskins’ lovable Gophers teams are like lemonade on a warm summer day. I understand the nostalgia. But even if we ignore the scandal, the violations, the lying to NCAA officials, and the fact that he convinced his players to lie to NCAA officials for him, just how rosy were the Haskins years?

Fact: The 2010-11 Gophers season was the first time a Tubby Smith coached team failed to win 20 games since 1993—14 seasons.

Clam Haskins brought winning to our Nordic college basketball team. He brought us a Big Ten Championship; only the second title our school has seen in 93 years. Our Gophers made it to the Final Four for the first time ever.[2] Haskins’ Minnesota teams made the NCAA tournament in 6 of his 13 seasons as head coach. In two of the seven seasons that he didn’t make the NCAA tournament, he won the NIT championship. He was even elected to help coach Dream Team III. Haskins was synonymous with winning. At least that’s what we tell ourselves. At least that’s what we remember.

See if you’re memory can recall this, however. In those six NCAA tournament appearances, we played past the first weekend only twice thrice. In Haskins 13 seasons as head coach, the Gophers finished in the bottom half of the conference in nearly half of them. The Gophers finished higher than 4^th only once (1996-97). Haskins had a career losing record in Big Ten conference play with a 49% win percentage. His win percentage outside of the conference doesn’t get all that much better either at 59%. Yet we will always remember Haskins as a winner.

Tubby, on the other hand, has been disappointing and a loser. At least that’s what we tell ourselves. In four complete seasons with the Gophers, Tubby has made the NCAA tournament in two of those years. Both years saw quick and quiet first round exits for our Maroon and Gold. Tubby has yet to finish in the top half of the Big Ten conference and boasts a disappointing 46% Big Ten win percentage, just a shade below Clem’s.[3] We are well on our way to our fifth winning season under Tubby, despite losing preseason All American candidate and best player Trevor Mbakwe. Tubby’s overall winning percentage to date is 63%, just a shade above Clem’s.

Those are staggeringly similar marks for two coaches viewed in a staggeringly different light.

Clem was a rousing success. Despite scandal and violations, he is that glint you still see in the eye of every Gophers fan.

Tubby has been a failure. He has yet to perform up to expectations. It’s time for him to go. If you look closely enough, he is that perma-scowl you see beginning to form on every Gophers fans’ face.

At least that’s what we tell ourselves.

Fact: Former Gophers players are finding success elsewhere throughout the nation.

There has been a precarious trend happening in Tubby’s five years with the program. Minnesota basketball players continue to leave Minnesota. It’s odd, to say the least. Like everything since Tubby has arrived here, it’s precariously paradoxical. It’s been talked about ad nauseum in the Minnesota media, yet it hasn’t been talked about enough. No one has a good explanation for the endemic departure of Gophers basketball players. It certainly isn’t because of a lack of talent.

Paul Carter left the Gophers in April of 2010. He left after his junior season to be closer to his 14-year old sister, Bria, who is battling cancer. Last season he averaged 14.7 ppg, 8 rpg and 1.9 apg for Illinois-Chicago.

In May of the same year, PG Justin Cobbs decided to transfer to California after playing one season for the Gophers. In his first season with the 18-6 Golden Bears, he is averaging 12.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg and 1.1 spg.

Before last season, Royce White left Tubby’s program amidst criminal charges and accusations of violating university policies. White has since enrolled at Iowa State to play for former Timberwolves SG Fred Hoiberg. White is averaging 13.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.2 spg and 1.1 bpg for the 17-7 Cyclones.

Devoe Joseph left in the middle of last season after being benched a number of times by Tubby. In 17 games this year with the 16-7 Oregon Ducks, Joseph is averaging 15.8 ppg, 3.8 rbg, 2.9 apg and 1.5 spg.

Colton Iverson left the program last April for Colorado St, right before his senior season. He is currently sitting out a season per NCAA rules.

So where does that leave us? Like everything since Tubby has arrived in Minnesota, we’re left with a sports fan’s paradox.

An injury to his best player has derailed consecutive seasons.[4] Yet the Gophers have remained competitive both years.

Tubby can’t win in the Big Ten. He has yet to finish in the top half of the conference. Yet his winning percentage in the Big Ten is nearly identical to Ol’ Clem’s. In fact, his winning percentage in his first four seasons is far better then Clem put up in his first four years as head coach of the Gophers.

He can’t win in the NCAA tournament, but he has brought us back there twice in four years. Not a bad place to be for a team that has made the Big Dance only three times in the last 12 seasons.

His players keep leaving for, and then succeeding at, other schools. However, we went down the road of turning a blind eye twice before. Neither Musselman’s nor Haskins’ ways proved successful in the end. In fact, they hurt the University and its legacy. Maybe a coach that draws a hard line on discipline, expectations and team rules is what we need.

But not unless he’s winning too, right?

That’s the thing that’s so difficult to figure out for every Gophers fan across Minnesota. Tubby Smith has brought us out of the dark times Haskins left us with and Monson prolonged. Yet his success has been average for a major university. Tubby has been tormented with constant injuries and transfers, yet he has had a major part to play in some of those transfers. Minnesota has had four seasons of .500 ball in Big Ten play since that Final Four run fifteen years ago, and Tubby has brought us two of those. However, both of those seasons found us exactly at .500, no better than that.

And that’s the thing about a paradox. We’re left with a seemingly contradictory proposition that is true despite its contradiction. Tubby has exceeded expectations in five years at the U of M, yet his success has been underwhelming. Tubby has recruited great talent, but he has been unable to keep that talent here and healthy. Tubby has made Minnesota relevant in the Big Ten again, but we remain an afterthought. Tubby has brought stability to a program that hasn’t had any for over a decade, and still every year we’re forced to listen to contract discussions and the courting of other schools to bring him back South.

Maybe it’s no surprise we’re in the middle of the season that we are. The Gophers are over-performing without Mbakwe, but somehow still underperforming. We are extremely competitive in the Big Ten, but 5-6 in Big Ten play. This could very well be Tubby’s finest coaching performance of his career, yet Minnesota is still a long shot for the NCAA tournament.

Should Tubby be Minnesota’s coach for the next decade? That’s the difficulty. There’s no right answer. Yet they’re both right answers.

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