Tubby Smith Quits Kentucky
2007-03-23
Posted by: badanov
Wow. Just wow.
Ten years ago Smith too the Wildcats to the Final Four and that was the last time. And while the dearth of Final Four apearances were a factor, they were only a factor.
Sports talk radio say that Smith was being pressured to fire his assistants, a demand that Smith refused to abide by.
As hard as it is to understand why firing assistants would be a cureall, much easier to understand is Smith sufferred from a coaching malady called "Been Here Too Long."
This disease, to call it what it is, develops after three or four years. A coach who is successful recruits ballers and sees them off some years later. Between that time the players begin to figure out the coach, his habits and ways and means to circumvent the rules.
"Been Here Too Long" happened to Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, after a series of offfield incidents including both Switzer and his kids made it appear that Switzer had lost all control of his own program.
With Smith, it was much easier to identify. Statistically, the Wildcats were mediocre in every category, but the one category we believed that Smith was going downhill was turnovers. Ketucky was in the bottom three with a turnover ratio of 1.5 per game.
Ball handling is fundamental. If your team can't control the ball, they may as well quit playing. Ball handling is a coaching problem, to be corrected through constant drills and discipline before during, and after a game. Ball handling problems go staight to the top, passed the players, and assistants to the head coach.
Reports say that Smith is going to Minnesota, which for Smith is likely a good move given that pressure to excel in basketball in the Big Ten is less. Smith can now reinvent basketball for a new school, and maybe take care of business.
We wish coach Tubby the best of luck.
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