Tubby Smith's presser notes on Media Day and comments on Trevor Mbakwe

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Here are the press conference notes from media day. They are unedited, and I type as he speaks, so forgive the errors.

• I like the pieces and the players we have in place, we need to stay healthy and focused.
• Trevor was suspended at the time of the DUI from all team activities, he's still doing things that are required.
• Doesn't know if this DUI has anything to do with violating probation, ask his lawyer.
• Trevor called him immediately when the DUI happened. Tubby came close to dismissing him. He's lucky to be here per Tubby.
• Tubby didn't expect Trevor to be missing any practices this week, does not know of any court appearance this week.
• Mo Walker - his knee is sound, he's playing everyday now. Doctors have given him a clean bill of health.
• We didn't have plans for Trevor to be back, we were lucky to get a 6th year, that's why Walker was so crucial to bring on. He brings that wide body, physicality that we lacked last year.
• Andre Hollins messed his hip up in an all star game before he got her last year, he had a nagging hip issue the whole year. He's going to be a tremendous player for us. We know he can score, needs to take better care of the bball.
• Andre's body is stating to mature. Our strength coach is doing a great job with those guys. He had a little puffy body, I used to call him the Pillsbury dough boy.
• We have a pretty competitive non-conference schedule. Since we've been here, we've played the toughest NC schedule in the Big 10.
• We go straight from the Bahamas to Tallahassee, where they're coming off the ACC Championships, then to USC, a team that was on probation last year. Kevin O'Neal's teams are always tough. That's not taking anything away from the Dakotas. It's a competitive schedule, hope it's not too competitive.
• We haven't gotten Trevor back completely, he has to finish up some of the requirements. He's only played 7 games last year, he's got a lot to do to prove that he can play.
• The pressure is on Roger Schipper, our trainer, to keep everyone healthy (joking)
• We can do a lot, we can be a very competitive team. It depends on the chemistry. Last year we missed 60 practices by each player. Only a few players didn't miss one practice or a game.
• I expected us to contend for the Big 10 championship last year
• He's not commenting on the requirements that Trevor has to complete, we're keeping those in house.
• Freshman - I like both of those young men, Charles Buggs and Wally Ellenson, they're very coachable. They do what they we tell them to do. Charles has a knack for putting it in the basket, reminds me a lot of Damien Johnson. They're as athletic as any people we've recruiter. Wally is an outside shooter. There's a lot of depth in the back court. We have 4 seniors that are pretty mature, and have a good feel for the game.
• Rodney Williams - if he could play the way he played at the end of the year, NIT he shot closed to 60% from the floor, 88% from the line, he really came on. Moving him back to the 4 spot gave him a comfortability, that will be his challenge. I expect him to be a better leader. Rodney's a pro, he's going to be playing at the next level. Same with Trevor.
• Julian was our best shooter from the 3 point range, Austin was 2nd. Austin didn't miss a practice or a game last year, our most consistent player on and off the court. He's an example of what you want in a student athlete, he's a total team players, sometimes to a fault. He's our best defender.
 

Lmao at calling Andre the pills bury dough boy. Bet that encouraged him to work out more haha just disrespectful.

Going to be a fun season this year, cannot wait!
 

Lmao at calling Andre the pills bury dough boy. Bet that encouraged him to work out more haha just disrespectful.

Going to be a fun season this year, cannot wait!

Looking forward to the season starting too.

Re: disrespectful? I don't think so. It means, to me, that coach and player have a good relationship.

Now, had Coach called him the Michelin Man, that might be a different story.
 

I love reading how Tubby considers Austin the best defender. The comparison between Charles Buggs and Damien Johnson could include Austin Hollins imo. Damien was a stat stuffer and so is Austin. You have to have guys like that to be successful. In a perfect world, Austin is our 4th option on offense-how cool is that?
 

Looking forward to the season starting too.

Re: disrespectful? I don't think so. It means, to me, that coach and player have a good relationship.

Now, had Coach called him the Michelin Man, that might be a different story.

Exactly! I agree, thought it was so funny...as it's not like Andre was ever anything but in great shape. Andre actually told me he tried to put on weight in the off season, got up to 202 and now he's back to 192.
 


Exactly! I agree, thought it was so funny...as it's not like Andre was ever anything but in great shape. Andre actually told me he tried to put on weight in the off season, got up to 202 and now he's back to 192.

I didn't mean it as a bad thing. Sorry. Just a miscommunication. I thought it was funny too.
 

I love that the media did not sniff this Mbakwe thing out until now. Hilarious that it was going on right under their noses w/o knowing. Sorry Minnesota media....too late old news.
 

Can someone please point out the positives of not redshirting the frosh? Tubby isn't seriously going to substitute 13 players, right?
 




Thanks Nadine. Interesting snippets from Tubby.

If we need either Buggs or Ellenson to contribute significantly this season, we're hurting. I don't want us playing 11-12-13 guys. Put your truly best players on the court as much as possible. I'm in the "redshirt 'em if at all possible" camp.

The class balance stuff usually takes care of itself with transfers, off-court issues, etc.
 

Thanks Nadine. Interesting snippets from Tubby.

If we need either Buggs or Ellenson to contribute significantly this season, we're hurting. I don't want us playing 11-12-13 guys. Put your truly best players on the court as much as possible. I'm in the "redshirt 'em if at all possible" camp.

The class balance stuff usually takes care of itself with transfers, off-court issues, etc.

100% agree SS. But in this day and age of some fans' need for instant gratification, we will have arguments about our Team from those who know best. We aren't and never will be Kentucky, the greatest feeder system to the NBA, whose violations for success have not come to the front yet. I can't wait until someone comes forward whom Calipari pisses off.
 

100% agree SS. But in this day and age of some fans' need for instant gratification, we will have arguments about our Team from those who know best. We aren't and never will be Kentucky, the greatest feeder system to the NBA, whose violations for success have not come to the front yet. I can't wait until someone comes forward whom Calipari pisses off.

Exactly. I mean it is only going into Tubby's 6th year why can't fans just use some patience.
 




- Letting freshman play this year means they have experience next year when presumably their minutes are needed more.

- class balance

- roster changes - a tin can change in 4 to 5 years time. Making decisions based on 2016-17 today may not be prudent
 




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