Mind you, as early as 2001 people were pushing to get rid of Smith, by 2002 it was a chorus, only briefly interrupted by the 2003 team. I was a long time member of the TSF, and had to constantly refute factually inaccurate posts about Tubby's performance (thank you Jon Scott!)
I get that Calipari should have had some grace period after the 2010-2015 run, but either Tubby should have had more than he got or Calipari less than he's gotten. Many people complained about Smith's "steady decline" despite the fact that, well, he won a title his first year, and nobody wins every year, so there's really only one way to go. But he was up and down, not a steady drop, as 2003-04-05 were better than 00-01-02. Yes, he did have two bad years in 06-07, and the fans were in revolt. But many fans were eager to ditch him long before then. Calipari has had higher highs and lower lows, but they're tied at one each for the absolute pinnacle of college bball.
It's enlightening to see Tubby's entire 10 year career beside Calipari's last 10 years, comparing SEC regular season championships and the post-season tournaments. Smith exceeds Calipari's performance in 11 of 25 matchups, to 4 for Calipari with 10 equal outcomes and two washes due to COVID.
I get that Calipari should have had some grace period after the 2010-2015 run, but either Tubby should have had more than he got or Calipari less than he's gotten. Many people complained about Smith's "steady decline" despite the fact that, well, he won a title his first year, and nobody wins every year, so there's really only one way to go. But he was up and down, not a steady drop, as 2003-04-05 were better than 00-01-02. Yes, he did have two bad years in 06-07, and the fans were in revolt. But many fans were eager to ditch him long before then. Calipari has had higher highs and lower lows, but they're tied at one each for the absolute pinnacle of college bball.
It's enlightening to see Tubby's entire 10 year career beside Calipari's last 10 years, comparing SEC regular season championships and the post-season tournaments. Smith exceeds Calipari's performance in 11 of 25 matchups, to 4 for Calipari with 10 equal outcomes and two washes due to COVID.
| 1998 | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions NCAA-T Champions | Tie Tie Smith | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions Final Four | 2015 |
| 1999 | SEC-T Champions NCAA-T E8 as a #3 seed | Calipari Tie Smith | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions NCAA-T 2nd Round Loss | 2016 |
| 2000 | SEC Champions SEC-T 1st game loss NCAA-T 2nd round loss as a #5 seed | Tie Calipari Calipari | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions NCAA-T E8 as a #2 seed | 2017 |
| 2001 | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions NCAA-T S16 as a #2 seed | Smith Tie Tie | SEC-T Champions NCAA-T S16 as a #5 seed | 2018 |
| 2002 | SEC-T 1st game loss NCAA-T S16 as a #4 seed | Calipari Tie | SEC-T 2nd game loss NCAA-T S16 as a #2 seed | 2019 |
| 2003 | SEC Champions SEC-T Champions NCAA-T E8 as a #1 seed | Tie wash wash | SEC Champions canceled due to COVID canceled due to COVID | 2020 |
| 2004 | SEC RS 15-3 SEC-T Champions NCAA-T 2nd round loss as a #1 seed | Smith Smith Smith | SEC RS losing record SEC-T 1st round loss *missed NCAA-T* | 2021 |
| 2005 | SEC Champions SEC-T Runner Up NCAAT E8 as a #2 seed | Smith Smith Tie | SEC-T semifinal loss NCAA-T 1st round loss as a #2 seed | 2022 |
| 2006 | SEC-T semifinal loss NCAA-T 2nd round loss as a #8 seed | Smith Tie | SEC-T 1st game loss NCAA-T 2nd round loss as a #6 seed | 2023 |
| 2007 | SEC-T 2nd game loss NCAA-T 2nd round loss as a #8 seed | Smith Smith | SEC-T 1st game loss NCAA-T 1st round loss as a #3 seed | 2024 |
