Last time a first year UK coach won a national championship? '98! Just saying.
Coincidence of final score of 98?
- Thread starter Piocat
- Start date
Tubby's trust fund championship from Pitino. I always give Tubby credit for the championship. He was brilliant x's and o's wise. But he was basically George Bush following Ronald Reagan. Pitino was the architect of that championship.
You think SOS? Tubby was the architect of the longest FF drought ever at UK.
Dude didnt recruit worth poop at Kentucky.
You literally have to try to do that.
UK sells itself.
Jeez, Tubby won the championship with a couple of future journeyman NBA players, Mohammad and Magloire who were the best on the team, and and bunch of average and above average over-achievers like Shepherd who barely sniffed the NBA. It wasn't like he was left with Randle, AD, and Wall in the cubbard. Why is it those from a diverse backgrounds have to work twice as hard to get recognized for accomplishing anything.
Tubby was a fantastic coach. If he had surrounded himself with top flight assistants he would have been here a long time.
I have to disagree. For one, Pitino screwed Tubby over by not recruiting a backup PG to Turner. What was RP going to do there, pull Sheppard from the 2 at those times. Except we didn't really have another 2, with Edwards more as a 2/3 combo. Or there was the WO Mills or the FR Hogan. This forced Tubby to bring in Saul, not really a PG, more a combo 1/2 guard, more mid-major level to back up Turner. And for the next 3 years other coaches (including Coach K) used Saul being on the roster against us to PG recruits. Still can't believe we lost Duhon, but then again Coach K got his mom a cushy job in Durham.
Really that 98 team was not that talented. Yes, good enough to be a top 15 team, but not really a top 5 team. Actually, I see a lot of similarities in that team, and this team.
Smith 1st year, Pope 1st year. Both with minimal experience at a P5 school (Smith 2 yrs at UGA, Pope 1 B12 yr at BYU).
Butler, Turner. 4th/5th year guys known for their defense over offense, but had their moments on offense, also 3pt shooting a weakness for both, both had been the starting PG in a National Title game.
Mohammad & Magloire, Williams & Garrison. All 4 big bodies, an upper classman paired with an underclassman. 1 more offensive oriented, the other more defensive.
Padgett, Carr. Long, not overly athletic, 3pt shooting stretch 4's, not a #1 option but solid #2-#3 options.
Sheppard, Robinson. Both scorers with something to prove, expected to be offensive leaders. Shep being in the shadows for 3+ years, Robinson not looking like he belonged until last year.
The rest aren't really that comparable 1 on 1, but in looking at them as a group:
- Edwards, Evans, Mills, Saul, Bradley, Anthony, Hogan
- Oweh, Brea, Kriisa, Almonor, Chandler, Noah, Perry
I would pick those last 7 (24-25) over the prior 7 (97-98)
I’m of the opinion that Pitino left because of the Celtics job (which was too good to pass on) and that he didn’t have a lot of talent back.
I thought Tubby did a fantastic job of making that team what it became. Now, I also think Tubby was over his head at UK with recruiting the diva’s, he wanted 3 and 4 star players to make his team and sprinkle in 1-2 5 star guys. He also ran a CLEAN program (other than the Fax fiasco)
I thought Tubby did a fantastic job of making that team what it became. Now, I also think Tubby was over his head at UK with recruiting the diva’s, he wanted 3 and 4 star players to make his team and sprinkle in 1-2 5 star guys. He also ran a CLEAN program (other than the Fax fiasco)
No disrespect to your views, but your first point about the "Pitino didn't recruit a backup point guard" is a longstanding myth, and it's time we moved on from it on an objective and factual level.
Do you remember what position Jeff Sheppard played in 1994 and 1995? Point guard. In fact, he started at point guard for most of the 1995 season. He was more than capable of running the point guard spot.
Sheppard and Turner were expected to man the point guard position in 1998 in the same way Epps/Sheppard did in 1995. Meanwhile, Pitino had landed an April commitment from shooting guard and future 37% three point shooter Byron Mouton. Mouton never signed, however, because Pitino left a few weeks later for the Celtics and Mouton ended up at Tulane. Mouton satisfies the answer of your "who else plays shooting guard" question. He was good enough to average 16 to 17 ppg at Tulane, and developed physically enough in college to become a starter for Maryland's national title team. He was a helluva player each season in college.
That means Turner would start at point guard, and Sheppard would move to point guard when Mouton, Edwards, or Mills moved to the shooting guard.
Depth Chart with Pitino:
Turner - Sheppard
Sheppard - Mouton - Mills - Edwards - Hogan
Edwards - Evans - Anthony
Padgett - Bradley - Anthony
Mohammed - Magloire
So my point still stands.
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Incorrect.
Magloire was a future NBA All-Star. Mohammed had a longer NBA career than Delk, Walker, Cousins, Wall, Mercer, Anderson, Bogans, Prince, etc..
Bradley, Padgett, Magloire, and Mohammed were all first-round picks. Six total players on the 1998 played in the NBA at some point. Pitino left Tubby with seven rotation players from a runner-up national title, plus was adding three top 40 recruits (counting Mouton), and an elite transfer in Heshimu Evans.
Did you actually watch that team? Those dudes had accounted for multiple Final Fours by the time Tubby got there.
So coaching doesn't matter? Cal sure has a ton of talent his first year and some key contributions from BCGs term. Should we thank Billy Clyde for Cal's first year success?
I already made it clear in this thread that Tubby should get credit for his coaching. Did you only read the last few posts in a thread?
I agree, which is why I think our ceiling is high. We run a great style and have battle tested guys on the roster now. It’s huge having a PG that has led their team to the highest levels. It’s why UCONN has been so good. Their style and player continuity along with some pretty good talent at certain positions made them unbeatable almost.
