Now that the season is over for the Gophers, what grade do you give Tubby

[betterdeadthanred]

I would go C+, not being able to close out games he lost points, but getting our btt victories and into the tournaments really helped...

 

[SonOfMoonlight]

Had I given the Gophers the "breaks" in EVERY close game, they would have 7 or 8 more W.

Miami FL, Texas A&M, Purdue, Mich St, IU, NWU - of those 6, Gophers "should" have 4 more W.

IMHO losing a bunch of close games doesn't say we didn't get breaks. To me it says we were one player short of being a much better team.

 

[dex8425]

IMHO losing a bunch of close games doesn't say we didn't get breaks. To me it says we were one player short of being a much better team.

Or it means Tubby didn't know how to handle the guys and he got outcoached in those games....

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

Or it means Tubby didn't know how to handle the guys and he got outcoached in those games....

Tubby averages 23.7 W over 19 years as HC and wins 71% of his games (overall) and 66% of his NCAA games - both % rank among Top 10 of active, veteran HC in Div I.

 

[Nort73]

I'd go C for this year. Disappointing year based on my expections, yet still got the team to the tourney with all the distractions.
Overall after three years, I'd say a B. He's given the program a national presence again, but we still haven't gotten over the hump of being a middle of the road Big Ten team and a one-and-done NCAA tourney team.

I would go with a B personally. Even though we did return pretty much everybody from last year's team, I think a lot of people forget we didn't bring in anybody of importance. And by importance I mean on the basketball court, not in an actual courtroom. And then Nolen being suspended didn't help our chances either. Many other teams brought in young talent along with the fact that their older players matured and got better. I've been on a team where one important person has been suspended and it doesn't usually bode well for a team. This team had to deal with three, and with how small basketball teams are already, they had to deal with a lot.

Hats off to Tubby keeping these guys focused and playing hard throughout all the adversity. I'm excited about next year (but am going to miss watching DJ).

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

C
Without the BT tourney run, easily a D as this team definitely underachieved to that point.

 

[ChemEGopher]

I give him a C. I agree with everything FOT is saying (can't believe I just typed that). The late push to make the tournament, under normal circumstances, would have bumped him from an D to a C-. Throwing in the fact that he had to deal with all the Royce/Trevor/Al crap bumps him up to a C.

Problems I still have with Coach Smith:
-Dumb substitution patterns that mess with players' confidence
-Poorly executed half court offense (severe lack of off-the-ball screens and inexcusable tolerance for LAZY cuts to the basket or to the ball)
-Team plays completely different on the road compared to home (not sure if this is due to lack of motivation or what)

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

I give him a C. I agree with everything FOT is saying (can't believe I just typed that). The late push to make the tournament, under normal circumstances, would have bumped him from an D to a C-. Throwing in the fact that he had to deal with all the Royce/Trevor/Al crap bumps him up to a C.

Problems I still have with Coach Smith:
-Dumb substitution patterns that mess with players' confidence
-Poorly executed half court offense (severe lack of off-the-ball screens and inexcusable tolerance for LAZY cuts to the basket or to the ball)
-Team plays completely different on the road compared to home (not sure if this is due to lack of motivation or what)

I call 'em like I see 'em. Facts are hard to dispute. Gophers rallied to make the season respectable (C) but had the ingredients for 25 W season (B).

If the 3 missing players were available, maybe 27 or 28 W and Sweet 16 (A).

Didn't happen so C.