Tubby Smith with Oscar Combs, left, and Ralph Hacker during a visit back to Kentucky.
Few people know former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith better than current Rhodes College coach Zo Goodson.
He spent time working for Smith at Kentucky, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis and High Point. He started as a manager and then graduate assistant at UK under Smith. When Smith left Kentucky after Goodson’s year as his graduate assistant, he took Goodson with him to Minnesota.
“He put me on scholarship (as a manager) for four years at UK and kept me on scholarship for the next 15 years,” Goodson said.
Smith coached at UK for 10 seasons from 1998-2007, winning five SEC regular-season championships and five SEC Tournament titles. He had a 263-83 overall record at UK that included 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and at least one NCAA win every season. However, many UK fans were frustrated with his success rate when he left for Minnesota.
“Kentucky is the best job in the country but also the hardest job in the country,” Goodson.
Despite being nicknamed “Ten Loss Tubby” by some fans, Smith still has a love affair with Kentucky and returns to the Bluegrass often. Goodson said his former coach had “no animosity” at all toward Kentucky.
“I was more pissed off at fans than he was. He never held a grudge. I remember the first Kentucky game after we left (for Minnesota) and we had practice that day. He asked (his son) Saul and I if we were going to watch Kentucky play,” Goodson said. “I said I was not going to watch and he said not to do that. He said that was the school that took care of you and took care of me for 10 years. I wanted to be mad for him because he wasn’t mad.”
Goodson still remembers going to a radio show in Louisville with Smith and asking him how long he wanted to coach at Kentucky.
“He said the University of Kentucky is such a special place but has an expiration date for everyone,” Goodson said. “He said this was not a place to be at for much longer than 10 years because it is so special that fans and the basketball program need rejuvenated energy and that runs out after about 10 years.
“He said that with so much passion that I believed it all and he ended up coaching at Kentucky for 10 years. But he never had any animosity. He always understood the assignment and loved his time at Kentucky.”
4 Responses
I have always loved Tubby and was sad when he left. I was blessed to meet him and his wife in line at the concession stand at the Final Four in Houston. I shook his hand and thanked them for all they did for my alma mater. He is a great coach and an even better person, and I appreciated how he represented us and all he did for the young men on the team.
Gerald Fitch was one of my favorite players, even with all his off court struggles. I called him "Fitchy Baby". I remember at one SEC tournament, when Fitch didn't play, somebody yelled "Fitch, what did you do…this time". But then I remember reading Fitch saying he probably wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Tubby. We love UK basketball, but there are some things even bigger than it, and in my opinion, Tubby lived up to both,
Well, well said Krystal. totally agree with you
Interesting to hear Tubby Smith's perspective on Kentucky. Did he share any specific moments that stood out during his time there?
Tubby left for the same reason Calipari did. Big Boohoo Nation!
Comments are closed.