Right away when Minnesota landed Tubby Smith as its head basketball coach about two years ago the expectations for Minnesota basketball immediately went way up. Two years later I feel that Tubby has definitely lived up to the large expectations. He has brought the Golden Gophers to national prominence by getting them back in the top 25 rankings for the first time in a while. Sure they played a weak non-conference schedule, but you can’t look past their big wins against nationally ranked Louisville and an always tough Wisconsin, especially at the Kohl Center.
Their season hasn’t been without troubles though, as they lost badly to Michigan State, and they had a tough loss at Northwestern. A person has to remember though that anything can happen on any given night in a league as even from top to bottom as the Big Ten. This was seen when even the top team in the Big Ten Michigan State lost to Northwestern at home the other night.
In addition to being a great basketball coach I feel that Tubby Smith is a great guy, and I am proud to call him a friend, or at least an acquaintance. This is because in the summer of 2007 I had the privilege of having a short conversation with him while at the Tubby Smith Basketball Camp. I thought it was nice that he took time out to talk with a friend and me even though we did not possess the skills to play at the division I level. Overall I feel that he is one of the good guys in the college basketball coaching profession, and I like that he has always played by the rules, especially when so many coaches these days are not. I think that is even more impressive than his national championship win.
Even though the season is early still and the Minnesota basketball team still has much to prove I feel that Tubby Smith has the basketball program moving in the right direction. I think that they are in a great position to make the NCAA Tournament, and finish their season well. Hopefully the Minnesota basketball program will be a fixture on the national stage for many years to come.
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As a personal friend to Tubby Smith, I am confident in saying that he would indeed enjoy this article, and I will recommend it to him the next time we meet.
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