If Hewitt leaves, would Tubby coach Tech? UPDATED!
Update: Apparently it’s a moot point now: ESPN and the New York Daily News are reporting that Paul Hewitt has turned down St. John’s and is staying at Georgia Tech.
We don’t yet know what Paul Hewitt will decide regarding St. John’s, but the inevitable speculation has begun: If Hewitt leaves, then Tubby Smith must be the first choice to replace him — mustn’t he?
Two things to note about Tubby Smith: First, that of all the college basketball coaches I’ve known, he’s my favorite; second, that of all the Tubby rumors since he left Georgia for Kentucky in 1997, not one has been accurate. And there have been a bunch.
Tubby to Auburn this year. (Obviously didn’t happen, given that the Tigers just hired Tony Barbee from UTEP.) Tubby back to Georgia last year. Tubby to South Carolina a while back. (Almost happened but didn’t.) Tubby to the Atlanta Hawks on at least three different occasions. (Never got close.) Tubby to the Charlotte Bobcats. Tubby to Michigan in 2007.
Back to that last one: Tubby finally did leave Kentucky in 2007, but it wasn’t for Michigan. It was for Minnesota, and here, as I understand it, is the way that happened: Smith got so fed up with the lack of support from AD Mitch Barnhart that he called his agent and said, “See what’s out there.” The Gophers didn’t pursue Tubby. He pursued them. It happened so fast that there wasn’t even a Tubby-to-Minny rumor.
Speculation has long held that Tubby won’t stay in Minneapolis because it’s cold up there. Two things more: The man is 58, and he’s not apt to want to start over many more times before he retires, and I have it on good authority he can afford a house with central heating.
I don’t see him coming to Tech if the job comes open — and let me stress: It might not – and I can’t see the Jackets pursuing him if it does. He’s a a fine man and a great coach, but he is, as noted, 58. I would guess Dan Radakovich would prefer a younger man. Just my guess, you understand.
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212 comments Add your comment
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:24 pm
Duke Blue, a better question would be whey would Fox stay in Athens if he had a chance to coach just about anyplace else? Nobody even goes to the games in Athens, and any school in the ACC would be better than any school in the SEC, with the possible exception of UK.
Stan
March 25th, 2010
12:25 pm
Tubby—hell no….Steve Alford taught by the best Robert Montgomery Knight is our next coach
Eman
March 25th, 2010
12:26 pm
NO TALENT= 5-6 ACC WINS A YEAR= NO NCAA APPEARANCES= SAME OLD GT!!
HugoStiglitz
March 25th, 2010
12:29 pm
If Paul Hewitt goes to St Johns and wins 5 National Championships I still wont want him back. I like Hewitt and I wish him the best but whatever he is doing here isnt working and a change would be better for everyone.
» Random notes from Syracuse before Kentucky-Cornell John Clay’s Sidelines
March 25th, 2010
12:29 pm
[...] Reports are popping up that Paul Hewitt appears to be taking the St. John’s job. If so, who does Georgia Tech go after? It won’t be Tubby, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
Duke Yellowjacket
March 25th, 2010
12:30 pm
Let us Tech fans not count our chickens before they’re hatched!
What if Hewitt’s wife “pulls a Carolyn Cremins”?
Duke Blue
March 25th, 2010
12:32 pm
supersize that order, mutt …I think the man is building something over there in a couple of years will give UK a run. The games I watched on TV towards the end of the season the place looked as full as the Tech gym did. Only time will tell but I think he is there for the long haul. He knew going in it had to be built from the ground up. Looks like he has got the foundation started pretty good.
Mark Bradley
March 25th, 2010
12:32 pm
Cuonzo Martin? Great name, boilerup. And a terrific college player.
GT in CT
March 25th, 2010
12:35 pm
Jeff Goodman of FOXSports: “Sources close to Hewitt have told me the Yellow Jackets head man has yet to make a decision and is torn.”
Bruce Mac
March 25th, 2010
12:36 pm
Supersize, how is it that the great ACC that everyone wants to coach in has one team in the Sweet Sixteen. ACC is so yesterday.
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:40 pm
Eman, so I assume you prefer mediocrity with “NBA players” to a winning record with “team players.” I personally could care less about the NBA or NBA players; I want players who will fit into some kind of “system” and contribute to a team-type mentality, not players who think of their college experience as only a stepping stone to the NBA. That is not the kind of players Hewitt has recruited and coached.
aztec
March 25th, 2010
12:42 pm
lets bring in steve alfords assistant noodles(craig neal, who was one of the most enthusiatic tech player ever and is one of the top assistant coaches out there
Eman
March 25th, 2010
12:43 pm
Yeah okay, Kentucky will win a championship with four freshman one and done players.
Eman
March 25th, 2010
12:44 pm
You have to have NBA talent to win it all!!
AUSTEN
March 25th, 2010
12:44 pm
NOTHING against Tubby or any other coach, but I want MARK PRICE. I want GT to go get their own. And I just emailed DRAD as well. For this program to never have had that opportunity is mindless. Price was the pioneer of putting GT basketball on the map. Mr. Free Throw in the ACC and NBA, not to mention a point guard like a ship captain who could navigate his way thru any storm. Price doesn’t have to take a back seat to anyone. Talk about rallying the true GT fan base, Mark Price is your man.
Tech Bball Fan
March 25th, 2010
12:44 pm
Brad Stevens should be the first call. The man can flat out coach.
Chris
March 25th, 2010
12:45 pm
Mark Price would be the greatest thing on Earth. Look what he did with the Hawks free throw shooting.
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:47 pm
Bruce, I believe that from the start of the season, everybody in the country concluded that this was a down year for the ACC. To be honest, I am surprised that Duke is even in the Sweet 16; they’re certainly not as good as in past years. UNC was way down this year, but look for that to change soon. I honestly believe that if Tech had a coach, with the talent we had, Tech would have been there too. The Big East, which was supposedly the DOMINANT conference this year only has 2 left in the tournament.
David
March 25th, 2010
12:48 pm
I wish we would go after Travis Ford, Mark Pelphrey, or Mark Price. What do you think?
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:50 pm
Hiring Mark Price for head coach would be like hiring Bill Curry as head football coach in the 80s — great guy and loved by the Tech “family,” but he couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag. Mark Price COULD be a great coach, but it’s been 20+ years since he played college ball, and he has never been a head coach anywhere. HE IS NOT THE MAN FOR THE JOB !!!
some sense
March 25th, 2010
12:50 pm
This sounds particularly disrespectful, but it’s not meant to be.
Fact of the matter is that if Coach Hewitt leaves Georgia Tech for St. John’s, he raises the standards of both institutions.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
12:51 pm
You know you delusional tech fans are well, delusional.
You think you will be in the national championship hunt with your middle school offense.
You think your program will lure top tier coaches
You think you attend a BCS game for the 1st time in 40 years your now a powerhouse
Now you think your basketball program is the level of duke and north carolina to merit all of this chatter
Well you don’t get it
Fill your stadium
Beat UGA basketball
Beat UGA when they are better than a middle of the road team in the SEC for more than 1 time in 9 yrs
And maybe win the ACC in football 8 years in a row (since the conference sucks so bad it is possible) you might be considered a FSU
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:53 pm
Small, you THINK you know what you are talking about, but you apparently don’t even know the difference between “your” and “you’re.” Enough said.
wesleywhatwhat
March 25th, 2010
12:53 pm
eman, stop commenting please.
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:53 pm
By the way, all you mutt fans, FURMAN ??? OMG, the mutts can’t even beat the Paladins.
Joe
March 25th, 2010
12:54 pm
Missouri coach Mike Anderson would be a good replacement.
GT home grown
March 25th, 2010
12:54 pm
go get the winners at GT…Mark Price, Dennis Scott, the first Brian Oliver, etc…if it doesn’t work, at least we tried it. Too many sucessful players in GT history to ignore them and go after outsiders. WHY HIRE THEM without some long coaching resume? Because when they were on the bench MAGIC HAPPENED. Just get them back in some capacity. I am also sick and tired of continuing hiring outsiders that have been around the block time after time. I know it, you know it and the American people know it, GT needs to go after their own. BTW, Mark Price was coached in high school by his father.
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
12:58 pm
home grown, yes, magic happened when they were on the bench, but that was 25 years ago, and not one of them has coached college basketball since then. Plus, the game of college basketball, not to mention the “personality” of the players has changed tremendously over those 25 years. If you want a home-grown one, then at least go after somebody like Craig Neal, who HAS coached as an assistant. But I don’t see the need to go after home-grown’s anyway. You said, “if it doesn’t work, at least we tried it.” Tech, nor any other school, can afford to take that chance and waste that time.
Tiger
March 25th, 2010
1:00 pm
Could someone on this blog call a GT toilet engineer and fix my toilet. I ate all of this “GT is a great program stuffing” that I dropped a huge log that clogged my toilet.
I HEARD WRAMBLING WRECK PLUMBERS WAS A GOOD PLUMBING SERVICE
Harry
March 25th, 2010
1:01 pm
Main reason i’d like Bobby knight to coach us is because it would PISS off UGA fans
A. Einstein
March 25th, 2010
1:05 pm
Mark,
What about looking at anyone on Tom Izzo’s staff who has been there for 4-5 years. The man seems to always have his teams in the hunt.
Elin
March 25th, 2010
1:05 pm
It’s the golden age of UGA mens athletics!
1st Shreveport
then last in the SEC in hoops
last night we lose to Furman in baseball
It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!
Bruce Mac
March 25th, 2010
1:07 pm
Supersize, surely you didn’t just throw a baseball mid week loss out as example of your superiority. Talk about making yourself look dumb?
Tiger
March 25th, 2010
1:07 pm
It’s the golden age of UGA athletics.
First Shreveport
Next we finish last in the SEC in basketball
Then we lose to Furman in baseball.
It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog
Harry
March 25th, 2010
1:08 pm
AVERY JOHNSON
Bruce Mac
March 25th, 2010
1:08 pm
Ditto for you Tiger. Like that matters to anyone.
richtfan
March 25th, 2010
1:09 pm
if tubby went from where he is not to GT that would be a huge career risk.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
1:10 pm
Supersize my
Again you tech fans are laughable you know you program is joke so all you can come up with is spelling and gramatical comebacks. This is about sports not academics but since you think your academics is so great there are more famous and important contributors to American society that have graduated from UGA than tech. Look it up, dimwitt.
Oh if you or your Tech budds want to take the time out to grade blogs go ahead, I could care less Im not wasting my time.
Could you check the spelling for the meaning of GT (LOSER). Was LOSER spelled correctly because thats what your program is.
Basketball School, not
March 25th, 2010
1:11 pm
Who is still playing in NCAA BBall tourney. Wait for it, that would be UGA. It is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg.
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
1:11 pm
Bruce Mac, the last time I looked, the mutts have lost on weekends as well as in mid-week. If you’re a true fan, it doesn’t matter when the game is played. The fact is that mutt baseball sucks this year. And so far against ACC competition, the mutts have been SWEPT !!!
Basketball School, not
March 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
No arguement with the fact that the UGA Baseball team ain’t good but that wasn’t my point. Mid week games are throw aways for reserves in College Baseball.
JB
March 25th, 2010
1:15 pm
If they offer the new guy the same deal Hewitt has, they may need crowd control to start interviewing.
Hewitt is crazy…….I would make Tech fire me……………………..Hewitt, your coach for life………
Tiger
March 25th, 2010
1:16 pm
HEY TIGER WANNA BEE
YOU TALK ABOUT UGA
YET GT LOST TO THEM IN FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL
SAYS A LOT FOR SUCH A SORRY PROGRAM
YOU LOSE TO A SORRY BASKETBALL TEAM AND TO A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD SEC TEAM THAT FIRED THEIR D COORDINATOR
THE ACC MUST BE PAYING THE ORGANGE BOWL A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO ALLOW SUCH A SORRY CONFERENCE AS THE ACC TO PLAY IN THEIR GAME.
A SORRY CONFERENCE WHOSE CHAMPION BEAT A CLEMSON TEAM WHO LOST TO THE GAMECOCKS
WHAT A JOKE TIGER WANNA BEE
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
1:16 pm
Small, how about naming a few, even one, of those great contributors to society who are butt-licking mutts. I can name a few fromTech—Sam Nunn, SEVERAL astronauts, including one who landed on the moon, Bobby Jones (and yes, he was more than just a golfer)
James Brown
March 25th, 2010
1:17 pm
Former Jacket Craig Neal….top assitant at New Mexico and cheif recruiter there….Has brought in top ten talent to this school!
supersize that order, mutt
March 25th, 2010
1:17 pm
Basketball School, NO GAME should be considered a throw away game. With that kind of mentality, you lose the non-throw-away games too.
Tiger
March 25th, 2010
1:17 pm
Seriously BruceMac…other than a few womens sports, what has UGA done recently? I mean look at you…you’re reduced to trolling the GT blogs. On any objective level that’s really pathetic.
UGA is so 3 DECADES AGO
March 25th, 2010
1:18 pm
Eman – u r a fool – but you know that already. I could care if he goes to St John’s and wins a natl championship. I, along with everyone else, just want him gone! We need a renewed sense of optimism at GT – it will only come with change. Buh-bye to Palu H …..and u too!
Paul's Johnson
March 25th, 2010
1:18 pm
I can’t see why Tubby would leave Big 10 for the ACC. MIGHT be a step up prestige-wise. But I think he’s in a good situation. We DO have warmer weather and more basketball recruits, so that could be a draw.
West TN
March 25th, 2010
1:18 pm
GT needs to go with an energetic, bright young coach who has already proven he can recruit as he has a top 3 class coming in at Memphis next season. That is Josh Pastner…He has helped Memphis forget about Coach Cal!