Tubbs question

[CoxSMU]

I will not argue the mans recruiting ties and resume. But I have a question about his coaching ability. I am not "questioning it" but I am asking a question about it. Has he proven that he can actually coach at this level? I ask that in all seriousness and not to question his ability. I really want to know. It seems like the Tubbs camp repeats his recruiting abilities over and over again in regards to hiring him. But I want to hear from the Pro-Tubbs people about his coaching abilities.

He obviously can lead a horse to water, but can he make him drink???

[DiamondM]

What do we really know about any assistant's ability to coach "at this level." Hiring any basketball assistant w/o head coaching experience is somewhat of a crap shoot. Heck, hiring a head coach with moderate success and NCAA tourney experience from in the mid-major ranks is a crap shoot (witness Dement).

What we can say is that Tubbs actually was a head coach. A very successful head coach. Yes, it was at the high school level, so it is difficult to say whether or not for sure he can coach "at this level." However, it was high school basketball in Dallas, which has a very high talent level. We can also say that the players who have been here when Tubbs was here believe he can coach.

We are not going to get a proven head coach from a top 7 conference to come here. So we are left with a choice of assistants from top level conferences (which would include Tubbs), all of whom are similarly unproven, or a head coach at a low/mid major program (which I personally would be against unless the name and the pedigree really make people stand up and take notice, which I will leave to you whether that means he has proven he can coach "at this level."

Given this reality, the positives for Tubbs are HUGE, and recruiting is among the biggest of those positives. That's why it's being repeated so frequently -- not because he doesn't have other skills, but because that is what absolutely sets him apart from the other candidates that we are going to be choosing from. That and his true DESIRE to come to SMU and be a head coach HERE, and his relationship with the greater Dallas community (in addition to the recruiting relationships). For example, Haith has a really good resume. But has he "proven" himself as a coach at this level significantly more than Tubbs? No. And he may have won some recruiting battles, but is that because he is Frank Haith, or is that because he recruits for the Longhorns? We KNOW that Tubbs could recruit great talent to SMU by being head coach here. We don't KNOW that about Haith because he's never had to do it. We can't really talk about their coaching "at this level" because there's not much there to talk about for either of them.

I use Haith only as an example. I'm sure he is very qualified, as are many of the other assistants we are and should be taking a look at. But their qualifications, name, and or pedigree better blow people away if that outweighs the KNOWN assets that Tubbs brings to SMU's table.

[moodymadness]

The man has led teams to high school championships in Texas so he can obviously coach. And he has been an assistant for nearly a decade which has surely brought a wealth of knowledge. And I've said it before and I'll say it again...being a head coach is so much more than X's and O's...it is leading, getting players to play hard for you, teaching, and of course recruiting. Unlike another other coach mentioned, Tubbs has proved that he can get elite players to come to SMU. In my opinion, getting kids to go to a Michigan St or Texas as a recruiter is not very difficult when you have had the success and exposure of those schools...but getting talented kids to go to SMU when the program has had ZERO success and ZERO exposure is REMARKABLE. Tubbs is the choice in my mind.