What was it like between '99 and '08?

[UKCATSFREAK]

2002. I was high on him after winning the NC in 1998 even though he won it with RP’s team. I thought since he was an assistant under RP he would be a great coach. I was very wrong.

2002?? Really? We had a great run in 2003. That was a really fun year, just ran into the injury bug. I thought Tubby was a good coach, just a poor recruiter in his later years. His style wasnt fun but he won games and did so at a high level for awhile. The last 3-4 years things got bad for him.

 

[ganner918]

The pro and anti Tubby debates are the stuff of legend. Different handle on here back then.

The Gillispie era was mostly unified, though there was one guy who refused to give up on him. WTF was his name? GillispiesGhost or Billys something or other.

Wasn't there that "The gatherer" guy? Was that about Billy?

 

[Nubb16]

Mostly awful with some excitement sprinkled in. Definitely not as good as we have it now, being in the conversation every year.

This.

 

[CatColumbia]

From 99-02 felt that the program was slipping. We weren’t getting the top recruits and we weren’t getting to FF’s. From 03-05 felt that Tubby maybe had figured it out. His recruiting was somewhat better and was finally on the road to winning a ship with his own guys. From 06-08, the program was spiraling south and quick. I remember watching us play against Calipari’s Memphis squad and they ran us off the floor. I remember that moment thinking “why can’t we get someone like Cal”.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Given the recent meltdown by some on this message board, I was just curious what is was like for the 10 years before Cal became the coach. We've had an absolutely great run in the last decade he's been here, and yet there is still a very vocal minority of people that think he's either a bad coach or has massively underachieved.

I have only been following the board for maybe 5 or 6 years, so I was just curious what it was like when we were actually underachieving and not in the hunt to win it every year.

Was extremely boring bb. Slow on offense but hardnosed D. Ceiling was the elite 8 and had some good seasons sprinkled in with 10 loss seasons.

Kinda sounds familiar???

 

[Catluv]

Late in Tubby years Billy Packard was calling U.K. IU game he said he was shocked how little talent was on the floor for both teams. Kinda pissed me off but it was true. So glad Cal is here and we know we have a good chance of making a final four!

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

I never heard Tubby talk about it, but I always felt like the death of John Stewart affected him as a coach. When one of yours dies on the court, I don’t see how it can’t affect you.

 

[KopiKat]

When did you start to give up on Tubby?

When Chris Lofton kept kicking his ass. That was last straw. Primary sequence in chain reaction probably initiated with the Kansas humiliation. That was peak neutron bombardment.

 

[TFCats11]

I thought about it another way... Think Duke, when K retires. Unless they get Brad Stevens.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Late in Tubby years Billy Packard was calling U.K. IU game he said he was shocked how little talent was on the floor for both teams. Kinda pissed me off but is was true. So glad Cal is here and we know we have a good chance of making a final four!

Only difference in play now is we use slightly more talented players. May be one and done but compared to a senior 3 star or low 4 starsthey just slightly better if they play well.
We went to several elite 8s under tubby 99, 03, 05 and lost some heartbreaking games as well. Mich St, Marquette. Several sweet 16 losses and round of 32.


At one time he won't the most games of any coach in the country and I know it was after the 03 season I was banned on here for saying in no circumstances we should offer him or any coach a lifetime contract.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

When Chris Lofton kept kicking his ass.

It was 99 for me when we was losing a lot of games. I was getting uneasy watching us play in 98. Didn't look like Ky bb to me. We started playing faster later in the year which I liked.


I'm not a fan of Cal's plodding either

 

[minjo]

Given the recent meltdown by some on this message board, I was just curious what is was like for the 10 years before Cal became the coach. We've had an absolutely great run in the last decade he's been here, and yet there is still a very vocal minority of people that think he's either a bad coach or has massively underachieved.

I have only been following the board for maybe 5 or 6 years, so I was just curious what it was like when we were actually underachieving and not in the hunt to win it every year.

It was like 100 and 108

 

[specialkd24]

Well it was before Twitter, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

The predecessors to this board were definitely split into Pro-Tubby vs. Anti-Tubby. Lots of arguing.

I loved Tubby, but finally gave in it was time to let him go during the 06 and 07 seasons. We had no chance in those years to win the title (and he was Ten Loss Tubby).

 

[MegaBlue05]

1998 ruled and seemed like a dream scenario. Those guys just wouldn't lose.

1999 seemed like no big deal at the time because we'd been to 3 straight title games, winning 2, like the NCAAs were the SEC-T or something.

I started college in 2000 and kind of lost interest because of the partying and whatnot, I'm pretty sure we were mediocre until 2003. That's when I turned back into the diehard of my youth. That's when I registered on this board under a different name. The Tubby debate simmered but stayed on the back burner until the UAB loss in 2004. FF or bust in 2005 with the No. 1 recruiting class, transfer Sparks, junior Kaz and senior Chuck. The 2005 season was really good, but we tripped up in the Elite 8 as a 2 seed against a smoking hot 5 seed. (Seems recently familiar).

The 2005-06 season began the great BBN Cvil War. TSF vs. LOD. No in between. Pick a side and fight all day long.

The war continued into 2007. I was TSF until we coughed up a big lead at UGA and followed that with a home loss to Vandy, who'd NEVER won at Rupp until the 2006 season. I became LOD that day and rejoiced when OTS left for Minny.

Loved the Gillispie hire. Then he started coaching. I gave him a complete free pass in 2008 to "change the culture" and went from pissed during OOC to pleased with the way we played in the SEC. He won SEC COTY. LOL. Postseason was a wet fart. 0-2 record.

Severe doubt crept in with VMI in 2009. That year was hell. The high was Jodie's 54 in Knoxville. After the loss to UGA on senior night, it was near unanimous that Clyde had to go. The rest of that year felt like a death march. I couldn't wait to lose in the NIT and fire that drunk SOB.

Dark times from 06-09. Just slightly better than probation.

 

[IrishMike409]

View embedded media

^ Its a BCG call back and this was the straw that broke the camels back for a lot of UK fans. Insulting a Sideline reporter is asinine

Wow. Never saw that, and really the first time I've even heard BCG talk. What a pathetic display. How the hell was he at UK?!?!?!?!

 

[Catluv]

When Tubby came to coach he had a loaded team the team he left didn't have half as much talent. He just got lazy in recruiting and wanted Saul on staff which wasn't allowed. Super nice guy but so glad he left. Val's teams are a 100 times better than Tubby teams to watch!

 

[TexKat]

The greatest part was the trainwreck of Gillispie. If you are going to suck; you better really suck. Mediocrity is way worse.

Even from the start of his coaching tenure here, the rumors began to swirl.

Sleeping with Alex Legion’s girlfriend
Being caught skinny dipping with coeds
Being kicked out of restaurant after restaurant
Allegedly groping a donor’s daughter
The Miller incident
Putting Harrellson in the stall
Making the team have full practices on game days.

The losses his first year were hilarious and brutal. Off the top of my head

Gardner Webb
San Diego
UAB
Houston
Vanderbilt by 41

We had that embarrassing loss to Georgia in the conference tournament and then barely got into the tournament as an 11 seed (and were lucky to do so), and put out the worst starting five a Kentucky tourney team may have ever fielded. Lol

We scored 66, Crawford had 35, Bradley had 19, Perry Stevenson had 10, and Michael Porter somehow scored two free throws to round out. Three players scored all but two points.

Jasper played 40 mins
Harris played 22 mins
Porter played 22 mins

Not a single one of those guys made a shot. Ramon Harris didn’t even take a shot. Porter took and missed one and Jasper was 0-3.

Then we got the NIT the next year and watched Gillispie get chased by Cutler. Lol

A pretty good play by play of the escapades of BCG. He was quite humiliating to say the least. Then came Cal to the rescue......

 

[bkingUK]

Still today, the frustrating part about the Tubby debates was the general perception that fan distrust and instability made it harder for Tubby to win, which then pissed people off more when all some did was complain.

He definitely had his flaws, but even in good years there was a strong push from the anti-Tubbyists. That one dude even made a website with Tubby on fire. Catman2000 or something. Wouldn’t be surprised if he reads this. That was definitely the extremist side of the Anti-Tubby Party.

Gillispie might have been the best thing to happen in hindsight. He proved that the grass wasn’t always greener. Tubby was falling off, but that was a whole new level of suck when Gillispie came. Calipari finally ended the debate.

 

[bkingUK]

The nail in the coffin for the Tubby era is when that kid who was like a low-rated 3 star committed to Notre Dame over Kentucky. That’s when it became a shit show.

Guy did get Patterson, Meeks and Jasper on his way out.

 

[I bleed big blue]

During those times i was on playstation 2 winning ncaa titles and getting back to final 4 with ky. To make up for all those teams. I put them in cool headbands and tattoos. Type there names in. Tubby had a hella dynasty going . Lol

 

[I bleed big blue]

Then i got college hoops 2k9 i think it was. Lived online. Almost upsetting #1 ranked player in world several times. Ky vs memphis. Dreaming calipari was our coach. Lol. Wierd isnt it. Lol

 

[KYExtemper]

Not to steer off topic here, but College Hoops 2k8 is sort of real to life. I still play it and in year 5 of my existing dynasty Billy Gillespie is still coaching UK but we're 8-10. Somehow he has good job security despite not making a Final Four yet.

Gonzaga is trash because Few left for Arizona in Year 3 and Gonzaga hired the coach of High Point. Anthony Grant is also running Syracuse into the ground. They've fallen off the map. However, Calipari is still at Memphis, Tubby is still in Minnesota, and Coach K is still at Duke.,

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

It's not agenda driven it's fact. I was always a big Tubby supporter, but starting in the 05-06 season we had so many head scratching losses, were beat down in games against big name opponents and he just sat there on the bench dumbfounded. If his recruiting were up to par he'd have been here much longer.

No it was an agenda. Said that Tubby quit recruiting and was just drawing a paycheck.

 

[Cindog28]

"Tubby never won a Championship with his own players."
"Chuck Hayes, a MILF, and pot brownies."
"Tubby has hired a psychiatrist to sit on the bench for the players."
"Team Turmoil."
"Ball-line D."
"LOD v/s TeleTubbies."
"Fight on an airplane between Fitch and Sears."
"Rondo sleeping with Sparks' girlfriend."
"Cliff Hawkins Asthma v/s Saul Smith."
"Adam Williams not offered a scholarship by Tubby, but his dad announces after a visit that Williams has committed to UK. Tubby just accepts it."
"Randolph Morris fax machine."
"Nolan Richardson listening in on UK's huddle against UAB."
"Twin towers. Alleyne (great guy, btw) and Obrzut."
"Brandon Stockton scores 71 points in high school. Better get than Chris Lofton."
"Jules Camara jumping into the backseat after being pulled over by police."

"Gillispie cancels Blue/White game and refuses to meet with the Rotary Club."
"This is the University of Kentucky... Not the University of Jodie Meeks."
"Gillispie offers 8th grader Michael Avery."
"Gillispie has to have a personal driver."
"Mark Coury in the starting lineup."
"A.J. Stewart quit, but still on the team after being ripped by Gillispie."

I tried to add some things that were not already mentioned, but my goodness this board was WAYYY worse back in the day.

 

[know1]

We had the best record in college basketball across several of those early 2000 years. Tubby doesn't really get enough credit sometimes.

 

[CB3UK]

Wasn't there that "The gatherer" guy? Was that about Billy?

YES! Thats it...there was another that was "The Warrior' too right? That was all right before "the door" loll

 

[UKWildcatT]

Gillispie Hitler parody

 

[CatGotMyTongue]

If you believe the talk on this board, Billy G was a goner even if they won the NIT, or hell even went to the NCAA and won a few games. Wasn't the story that the players were fed up and the program would suffer from a mass exodus of transfers if he stayed? I recall hearing several of the parents (Patterson and Miller) meeting with Mitch and threatening transfer or fire him. Maybe Billy knew this and that is why he started offering scholarships to just about damn high school player with a pulse.

Aren’t you a UT fan?

 

[JC CATS]

How was it a bad question when you answered it truthfully and correctly?

I believe that was a joke referencing one BCG and his infamous retort to a sideline reporter

 

[ganner918]

The nail in the coffin for the Tubby era is when that kid who was like a low-rated 3 star committed to Notre Dame over Kentucky. That’s when it became a shit show.

Guy did get Patterson, Meeks and Jasper on his way out.

One kid picked prep school over Kentucky

 

[ZaytovenCat]

It’s so funny seeing all these posts on Tubby about how he started out hot then eventually cooled off and then later bottomed out. Cal is 2/3rds of the way to completing that cycle.

While we didn’t “contend” as much with Tubby as we have Cal, I was actually less stressed and pissed during Tubbys time. With him my expectations were never high since the teams weren’t loaded with nba talent. If we made a run in March it was awesome but if not then oh well it was expected. But with Cal every March has turned into a swift kick to the nuts because the expectations are higher.

As for this board, it wasn’t much different during Tubby years than it is now. There was a vocal part of the board that hated Tubby but the majority defended him all the way. Hell even up until BCG was fired there was a big chunk here still defending him. A large portion of the board will blindly support whoever the coach is regardless of how clear it is that they aren’t working.

 

[ram1955]

When did you start to give up on Tubby?

I'll never forget the morning I gave up on him. It was a Sunday morning following an early season win in which we scored about 60+/- points. I remember thinking, "He came here waiving false colors...We thought he was a disciple of Petino, but his style was entirely different". I hated his style of play...but then again, that's the only approach he could take since he could not recruit enough top talent to have a potent offense.
A few years later, he was quoted in the "hurled" as saying something to the effect, "The ideal game is a game in the low 50's"

Some say he had some good teams. Pointing to "#1 seeding". Obviously those teams weren't that good as they made early exits.

After Petino left, I kept up with bball, but the joy was gone. No longer interested in watching slow, prodding bball. Cal has brought back much of the joy, but Tubby ball changed it forever for me.

 

[ram1955]

Go ahead and blast away, but IMO, the worst mistake mb made re: bball was not firing Tubby as soon as Petino became available. RP would never have had the same problems at Ky as he did at ul. The culture is entirely different. Sandy Bell and crew would never have allowed the crap to happen that happened at ul.

 

[TheBigBluePrint]

I remember going to watch Dakotah Euton and trying to desperately convince myself he was going to great. Good kid and mean no disrespect to him, but that's how delusional the late 2000's were for me.

Edit: I just looked DE up and found his Twitter. God bless that dude!

 

[why_not_kentucky]

Not even a fraction of the NBA level talent we see coming through now. Tubby was a lazy recruiter but could coach x&o Basketball with the best of em. As for BCG his time here was so short I can't remember what he even looked like. I do remember he was a go getter on the recruiting trail lol jk jk. To sum it up we where miserable.

 

[why_not_kentucky]

I remember going to watch Dakotah Euton and trying to desperately convince myself he was going to great. Good kid and mean no disrespect to him, but that's how delusional the late 2000's were for me.

Edit: I just looked DE up and found his Twitter. God bless that dude!

Yeah there where more sheep than just you. It was getting outta hand.

 

[KentuckyRLD]

It was mostly an unpleasant decade. 2003 was fun but other than that not so much. Mr. Smith got very lazy and quit recruiting top talent. He obviously was just hanging on as long as he could, likely for the money and made no real effort to be a top caliber coach in a top program. Gillispie was even worse so all together 99-08 made up a very unpleasant time in UK basketball history. The happiest day in my 60+ years of being a UK fan was the day Mr. Smith left.

 

[JeepCSC]

It was a lot of “Tub-ball sucks, I miss Pitino magic” and “Pitino is a has-been, Tubby is on the verge of recapturing the spirit of ‘98”. Rinse and repeat. Also Saul.

 

[Rush2112 UK]

From 99-02 felt that the program was slipping. We weren’t getting the top recruits and we weren’t getting to FF’s. From 03-05 felt that Tubby maybe had figured it out. His recruiting was somewhat better and was finally on the road to winning a ship with his own guys. From 06-08, the program was spiraling south and quick. I remember watching us play against Calipari’s Memphis squad and they ran us off the floor. I remember that moment thinking “why can’t we get someone like Cal”.

I mostly agree, though I didn't really feel he'd figured things out from 03-05.

After '98, Smith never beat a team seeded higher than 5th in the tournament, and his two Elite 8 finishes ended in a near-blowout and a loss to a 5 seed. Tack on 2 years of BCG, and voila... you have the longest Final Four drought in UK history (to date).

 

[CatColumbia]

I mostly agree, though I didn't really feel he'd figured things out from 03-05.

After '98, Smith never beat a team seeded higher than 5th in the tournament, and his two Elite 8 finishes ended in a near-blowout and a loss to a 5 seed. Tack on 2 years of BCG, and voila... you have the longest Final Four drought in UK history (to date).

I guess I was over exagerrating a bit when figuring things out. My view is that we were the overall #1 seeds for both '03 and '04. And in '05 we were one rebound away from going to the Final Four, although Illinois or Carolina would have creamed us.