Anybody watching the Cats Trojans 01 regionals?
- Thread starter MP34RN
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Smith never beat a team seeded higher than 5th in the Ncaa Tourney after winning it in 1998. There were a few of those kinda losses. Glad those days are gone.
It followed the pattern of almost every Tubby tournament loss. We get down big early, come roaring back, then fall at the end because we wasted too much energy in the comeback.
It also followed the pattern that his beloved ball-line D had a tendency to get smoked from 3 point range as opponents got better.
David Bluthenthal was the guy who killed UK that game, going 6/9 on 3's. In 99, AJ Granger went 3/3 for Michigan State (and they were big, game-changing shots). In 03, everyone remembers Dwyane Wade, but Steve Novak's 5/8 on 3's was almost as destructive. In 04, UAB went 8/18, in 05, Shannon Brown went 5/6 for Michigan State, and in Tubby's last game at UK, Brandon Rush helped Kansas put UK out by going 6/7.
Tubby coached 32 NCAA Tourney games at UK. 11 of those games saw an opposing player hit 5 or more 3's. Cal has coached 26 NCAA Tourney games at UK, and has yet to have any opposing player hit 5 or more 3's.
As much as Cal sometimes seems to disrespect the 3 on offense, he clearly respects it on the other end. It's interesting to look at some +/- numbers from past UK teams when it came to three point shots (meaning how many more or fewer points UK scored from 3 than opponents).
Cal at UK goes like this:
-42, +213, +18, +15, -57, +84, +63 (current). Which adds up to UK +294. Those numbers are with UK averaging 16.53 three point attempts per game while Cal has been the coach.
Tubby's squads went like this:
-93, -78, -108, +3, +9, -9, 0, -18, +111, -75. Which totals up to UK -258. And those numbers were with Tubby's UK teams averaging 19.08 three point attempts per game.
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I remember thinking Saul was either l high or drunk in the first half of that game after he threw a pass off the back of Keith Bogans head. Bogans looked like he wanted to choke slam him.
Different team in the second half. Bogans and Jason Parker both started going off but as others mentioned, too little too late.
Different team in the second half. Bogans and Jason Parker both started going off but as others mentioned, too little too late.
Great stats . It's asinine for a coach to play ball line defense after the 3 point shot was implemented .
What's interesting about Tubby is that he coached under Pitino, and Pitino was the first major college coach to really grasp the importance of the 3 point line.
Check out the same numbers I listed for Tubby and Cal for Rick's UK teams:
+342, +429, +576, +603, +336, +333, +225, +306. With UK averaging 23.48 attempts per game
It's slightly different for him, because the average number of 3 point shots being taken didn't really get near its current level until 1994. Still, it's clear that Pitino didn't just focus on taking a ton of 3's, but also on defending against them.
Tubby didn't seem to grasp the concept. The number of 3 point shots UK allowed per game (which is far more controllable than the % you allow) went from 14.7 in Pitino's last year to 20.8 in Tubby's first. In fact, 8 of Tubby's 10 teams allowed opponents 20 or more 3 point attempts per game. The only other UK team to ever do that was 09-10. The 2 Tubby teams that didn't were 02-03 and 03-04, which might help explain why those teams overachieved.
And honestly, I'm not throwing all this stuff out to pile on Tubby so much as to look at the impact of different coaching philosophies. I remembered Bluthenthal from that 01 game, and it sent me off on this research tangent.
I was at that game in Philadelphia.
Remember everyone was pretty much looking past USC and for the destined rematch with Duke in the same building as the 92 epic.
Personally, I thought USC had better individual talent going in, but felt Tubby was a far superior coach than Bibby so in the end we would prevail.
Didn't happen of course.
And as much as criticized Saul over his career I remember thinking that was the one game where he really played his butt off and everyone else was kind of on cruise control.
After the game it was past midnight and we were scrambling to find somewhere to eat around our hotel downtown, so we find this little greasy spoon and who walks in and sits right beside us but Mike Garrett and Bibby.
Talked a little basketball and wished them well.
If memory serves it was also day or two after Pitino took the UofL job, and thinking that it would behoove Tubby to win this game to keep all the jilted Pitino worshippers at bay.
Funny to even write those last few words in todays climate....but 15 years ago is a long time.
Remember everyone was pretty much looking past USC and for the destined rematch with Duke in the same building as the 92 epic.
Personally, I thought USC had better individual talent going in, but felt Tubby was a far superior coach than Bibby so in the end we would prevail.
Didn't happen of course.
And as much as criticized Saul over his career I remember thinking that was the one game where he really played his butt off and everyone else was kind of on cruise control.
After the game it was past midnight and we were scrambling to find somewhere to eat around our hotel downtown, so we find this little greasy spoon and who walks in and sits right beside us but Mike Garrett and Bibby.
Talked a little basketball and wished them well.
If memory serves it was also day or two after Pitino took the UofL job, and thinking that it would behoove Tubby to win this game to keep all the jilted Pitino worshippers at bay.
Funny to even write those last few words in todays climate....but 15 years ago is a long time.
That is my 4th most bitter loss of the Tubby era behind UAB, Marquette and MSU.
UAB was the real heartbreaker. I would have given Ravi Moss that last shot, would have caught them off guard and he would have nailed it.
UAB was the real heartbreaker. I would have given Ravi Moss that last shot, would have caught them off guard and he would have nailed it.
What I remember about that game is that Pitino took the UL job that day or the day before. By that time people realized how things were going to be under Tubby and were concerned that Pitino would elevate UL over UK. There was a somewhat "dreading the future" atmosphere around BBN during that game and time.
How do you know he would have nailed it? Nice psychic abilities. Fitch was our best player and had a great look.
Incredible. Although why would Tubby follow Pitino's 3-point defense philosophy when he tutelaged under the legendary J.D. Barnett?? (That's rhetorical sarcasm, btw).
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