The High Court

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Doyel’s Drivel

It’s too bad, really.  A madly successful college basketball program that has won more games (1,903) than anyone else in history is now headed down a road of destruction and embarrassment.  Surely you have heard by now.  A once-respected head coach is on the verge of destroying everything the program has accomplished over the past century-plus.  And he’s letting one player force him into it.

 

According to Gregg Doyel of CBS SportsLine.com, Tubby Smith is in danger of “diluting one of the most powerful brands in sports” (the University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program).  Not by delivering NCAA sanctions for cheating, but by showing compassion and understanding to one of his players.  You might ask, what happened since the Wildcats season ended in heartbreaking fashion a dribble or two away from the Final Four?  The simple answer is that a terribly immature 19-year old on Smith’s team made a poor decision and handled the situation poorly – and Smith is willing to forgive him!

 

Shocking.  Outrageous.  Smith cannot allow a player to make a mistake like that and get away with it, can he?  If Smith is truly the disciplinarian he claims to be, shouldn’t he invoke a “One Strike and You’re Out” policy before Randolph Morris takes down the whole UK basketball empire?  According to Doyel, Smith should do just that. 

 

The basis of Doyel’s argument is that Morris doesn’t want to play for Kentucky, and only is willing to come back because he was passed over in the June NBA Draft.  This is undoubtedly true.  Morris has made it clear that he prefers to play in the NBA instead of the NCAA.  So for this reason, Doyel claims that Smith better cut ties with Morris before he damages the program.  He even tried to strike an emotional chord by reminding Tubby that players like Patrick Sparks, Ravi Moss, and Brandon Stockton are more than happy to have a Wildcat uniform and will pay any price to remain at Kentucky.  That is true as well, but that is not the point.

 

Plenty of kids come to plenty of college programs without reeking of loyalty to the school.  That doesn’t mean they should be dropped.  You think Rashad McCants really wanted to be in the “jail” that was North Carolina basketball the past three years?  NO.  So where was Doyel’s criticism of Roy Williams for allowing McCants to remain a Tar Heel?  There was none, because it is understood by most that college basketball is simply a springboard for many kids to a professional career. 

 

It’s a lot easier for guys like Doyel to take potshots at coaches like Smith than it is to report the truth.  And the truth is this – Tubby Smith is a great coach and better person.  The reason so many parents are glad to send their sons to Lexington is because Smith will treat them like his own sons.  Making mistakes is part of the maturation process for college kids, athletes included.  Smith understands this and will allow his players to make decisions that he knows are wrong.  He counseled Morris about his pro prospects, and Morris went ahead and made the mistake.  The good news for Morris is that Smith is a class act and will forgive and continue to work with Morris to help him reach his personal goal – as long as he works within the framework of the team.

 

Smith has not promised Morris his starting job back.  Without a doubt, Morris will have to work hard to rebuild his relationship with the coaching staff and his fellow players.  This is a lesson he couldn’t have learned if Smith had turned him away.  Doyel misses the point of Morris’ return by shortsightedly accusing Smith of only wanting Morris back for the wins he could help him achieve.  Painting Smith in this light is blatantly unfair and proves Doyel knows very little about coaching.

 

Coaching is more than X’s and O’s and recruiting blue chippers.  It is about shaping the lives of the young men you coach.  If forgiving a kid for being immature is the worst thing Smith ever inflicts upon the vaunted UK program, then his legacy will be tremendous.  An hour down the road in Louisville, Rick Pitino has long been known as a coach willing to remove scholarships from players he mistakenly recruited.  Smith is loyal to his kids, almost to a fault.  Smith allowed the misfiring Josh Carrier to remain on scholarship for four years because he saw the little things Carrier brought to the team.  This type of loyalty is often missing in the cut-throat world of college basketball.  In my opinion, Smith should be praised not vilified for his treatment of players.

 

Does Smith really need Randolph Morris in order to succeed at Kentucky?  Of course not.  But that is what makes Tubby special.  He knows Morris needs him – and he is willing to take the heat in the name of helping the kid.  Too many coaches wouldn’t. 

 

Some day in the future, Morris will likely join the list of pro players who are quick to give Smith credit for helping them make it professionally.  Morris will have to get in line behind Tayshaun Prince, Nazr Mohammed, Jamal Magloire, Keith Bogans, Erik Daniels, and Gerald Fitch.  All of these guys suffered ups and downs at UK, but each will admit they are better for having (eventually) listened to Tubby. 

 

Doyel should spend his time learning what true coaching is all about.  If he wants to write about programs potentially headed for trouble, he should go after Bob Huggins at Cincinnati or go ask Kelvin Sampson why kids are fleeing from his team?  It’s a lot easier for you to write from your ivory tower of righteousness than it is to coach young men at a critical time in their development.  Smith has neither damaged nor tarnished the UK program with his actions.  We can’t say the same thing about the beloved Eddie Sutton.

 

Keep up the good work, Coach Smith.  Doing right by the kids who represent the program you head will never “dilute” the Kentucky Wildcat brand.

 

 

 

Contact The Wig at powderedwig@thehighcourtofsports.com.

Tubby must have just taken a look at Gregg Doyel’s column on CBS Sportsline.  Don’t worry Coach Smith, The Powdered Wig had the very same reaction.

(bbc.co.uk)