Fire Tubby Smith

After salvaging their season with a win over #1 Indiana, the Minnesota Gophers went out and did the following:

• Crushed a weak Penn State team
• Lost at Nebraska against a Cornhusker team they should have beaten soundly
• Were crushed at Purdue; giving up 89 points to a horrible team
• Lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to a NCAA bubble team in Illinois.

Overall, this team is 5-9 over their past 16 games.  Their half court offense is embarrassing - 5 guys not moving every time down the court as the shot clock ticks down, and then the ball is either turned over or shot-put in a feeble attempt to hit the rim before the buzzer goes off.

Due to a strong RPI, this team will likely make the NCAA tournament.  But they're likely looking at being a 10 or 11 seed, and they will be destroyed on Thursday or Friday in front of a national audience.

This team has the raw talent to play with and beat the best teams in the nation.  They have the confidence, execution, and attention to basics of the worst teams in the nation.  And, unfortunately, raw talent could not carry them, and Tubby Smith could not correct their errors.

Why was Smith such a failure with this team?  Did they not respect him?  Does he watch film after games and assume his half-court offense is OK?  Does he not care about losing?  I'm not sure exactly what the issue is, but rest assured, there is definitely an issue.

Tubby has the body language of a loser, and the record to go along with it.  His accomplishments are to be respected, but resume bullets do nothing for the present.  And in the present, he's a loser.

A change is needed.  While it likely won't occur before Minnesota's "one and done" in the tourney, it needs to happen.