Tubby Leaving UK for Minnesota
By: Rick Peltier
Updated: March 23, 2007
The Tubby Smith era at UK is over.
Smith resigned Thursday afternoon from his head coaching post with the Wildcats. Tubby didnt waste any time making a career move. Smith boarded a plane at Bluegrass Airport in Lexington and touched down a few hours later in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Tubby will be introduced at noon (CST) on Friday as the new head coach at the University of Minnesota. Smith is expected to earn between 1.8 and 2.5 million dollars per year with the Golden Gophers.
Tubby spent ten seasons on the Wildcats bench, compiling an overall record of 263-83. Smith guided UK to the National Championship in his first season (1997-98), but Kentucky hasnt been to the Final Four since. Tubby lost double digit games in five of his ten seasons. UK was 22-13 in 2005-06 and 22-12 this past season. Both seasons ended with second round losses in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats lost seven of their last eleven games this season and had a combined 25 losses over the past two seasons. Thats the most-ever in a two-year window at Kentucky.
Tubbys departure means one of the premiere jobs in all of college basketball is now open. Heres a list of some possible candidates.
Billy Donovan, Florida
Tom Crean, Marquette
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
John Calipari, Memphis
Mark Few, Gonzaga
Mike Brey, Notre Dame
Rick Barnes, Texas
Billy Gillispie, Texas A&M
Jay Wright, Villanova
