Tubby Smith has Rejuvenated Minnesota Basketball (This Time the Rejuvenation is Real)

Three years ago I wrote an article titled "Tubby Smith has Rejuvenated Minnesota Basketball." Back then that statement was true to a certain extent. However, with only minimal success that statement was probably premature, especially for Gophers fans like myself who expected Tubby to bring Minnesota to national prominence. The educated fan should remember that it was not really Tubby's fault though. He had solid players on his roster like Devoe Joseph and Royce White. Unfortunately, Joseph's decision and White's mistakes led those two elsewhere. After dominating a nationally ranked Illinois team at Assembly Hall, which is a place that the Gophers have struggled at for years, on Wednesday, I think it is safe to say that Tubby Smith has now truly rejuvenated Minnesota basketball and brought them to national prominence. It doesn't hurt that the Gophers opened the conference slate with a solid win over Michigan State and are ranked 8th in the AP poll either. With Trevor Mbakwe starting to play like the beast that Gophers fans remember from two years ago, Rodney Williams Junior (by the way, where did this Junior come from? I remember him just being Rodney Williams the past three years) starting to become a basketball player instead of just an athlete, and Andre Hollins turning into one of the elite point guards in college basketball, it appears that the ceiling is very high for this Gophers team. (Joe Coleman and Austin Hollins have played some solid ball as well.) I see no reason why they can't win the Big Ten title and strongly contend for a national championship (ok, probably bold statements, but I would be disappointed if they didn't finish third or better in the Big Ten and at least make it to the Sweet Sixteen). We will find out soon if this Gophers team really does have what it takes to win a national championship as their next two games are against Indiana and Michigan. As long as Tubby Smith does not get an "uncommon feeling" anytime soon, I think that the Gophers will indeed have a great season. The good news for Minnesota fans is: coaching great teams and going far in the NCAA Tournament was a very "common feeling" for Orlando "Tubby" Smith while at Kentucky. Hopefully that "common feeling" hasn't worn off while at Minnesota. I strongly suspect that it hasn't.