By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
November 13, 2005
Day 4: Kentucky | Traveling Violations
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Considering the anticipation that precedes the start of another season of Kentucky basketball – this is a program that had 23,000 fans at Midnight Madness – you might have figured Tubby Smith's face or voice or demeanor would have shown a least a bit of excitement when discussing Sunday's season opener.
"I think we'll be ready," said Smith at a press conference on the eve of his ninth season here.
Considering the endless ruminations and speculations by fans and media surrounding UK recruiting – forget football; around here that is the second most popular sport – you might have figured Smith would have conveyed at least a bit of satisfaction when announcing the signing of future Wildcats.
"They are four outstanding student-athletes we think will fill our needs," Smith said in his trademark monotone.
And because of these things – the fact that the straightforward Smith seems so uncomfortable in the middle of the spectacle that is the Big Blue Nation, is ill at ease with the nation's largest day-in, day-out media contingent and is unwilling to fire the flames of passion that make this program so perfectly unique – there is a widely held opinion that this is a strained marriage.
Without debate, this is not the by-the-blueprint-way to be the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.
But a funny thing has happened as Smith has settled in here amid the horse farms and rolling fields of bluegrass. He has become beloved and respected by nearly all, embraced and applauded by all except the most impossible to please.
Last year, a Louisville Courier-Journal poll of the state found 98 percent of Kentuckians have a favorable opinion of Tubby Smith and 91.2 percent of UK fans approve of the job he has done with the program. Higher numbers are almost statistically impossible.
This for a guy whom outsiders wrongly believed would never get a fair shake because of his skin color and insiders wrongly wondered if his shy personality could shine in the white-hot spotlight.
Oh, UK has not returned to the Final Four since Smith led the program to the 1998 NCAA title, a fact that his few – but very vocal – critics repeatedly bring up. But the program has averaged more than 27 wins a year, reached three Elite Eights and captured five SEC titles.
And it has done it in astounding fashion, almost completely void of superstar players (only two of Smith's recruits, Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans, are in the NBA).
Kentucky, with all its flash and fanfare, with its national recruiting reach and incredible media coverage, has done it with teamwork, defense and determination.
And maybe that is why, here in blue-collar Kentucky, Tubby Smith has defied expectations to become so at home.
His latest team is another classic Smith creation. It will go 10 to 12 deep with very good but not truly great players. Sophomore guard Rajon Rondo may have a NBA future, but probably no one else does. And it is not like Rondo plays like it. Even the potential loss of center Randolph Morris, who tried to go pro last year, is shrugged off by Smith, who likes to point out that his team is going to win no matter the individual.
"Here at Kentucky it is all about team basketball," sophomore forward Bobby Perry said. "We only have one goal and that is to win the game."
As is Smith's way there is no preening here, no fights over shots, no concern for any statistic other than wins and losses. This is whom he recruits – much to the chagrin of fans who yearn for lots of top-five talents – and that is how he coaches.
"Coach Smith is a great sculptor of a team," Perry said. "He has a vision, and he goes out and recruits players who [fit] that vision."
His four-man recruiting class is full of those guys. That means it will be another stubborn top-25 group, nothing for some fans to get in a froth about.
But overall, for most Kentuckians, that is fine. The proof of a man, or a coach, is in his promise, and Smith promises nothing more than a team that knows how to play together.
They have come to embrace a blue-collar, humble, small-town Southerner (Scotland, Md.) because of who he is. It is the national media, not UK fans, who are most concerned about Smith's skin color.
Marta McMackin, UK's longtime secretary, has worked under Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino and Smith. She says Tubby receives far, far less hate mail than the others did.
He isn't particularly exciting. He isn't particularly engaging. He doesn't deliver the pomp, circumstance or parade of All-Americans that UK hoops was built on. He isn't the circus master despite running the wildest three-ringer in college hoops.
But he doesn't ever try to be anything other than who he is.
"He is the definition of a coach," guard Joe Crawford said.
Nine seasons in, that has turned out to be more than enough for the Big Blue Nation. Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Click here to follow him on Twitter. Send Dan a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast. Updated on Sunday, Nov 13, 2005 12:10 pm, EST Email to a Friend | View Popular
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