Daily Oklahoman

[50's PONY]

OU assistant Tubbs is new coach at SMU
2004-03-26
By Carter Strickland
The Oklahoman


NORMAN -- Oklahoma men's basketball assistant Jimmy Tubbs will be announced as the SMU coach at 10:30 a.m. today during a news conference, The Oklahoman has learned.
The 54-year-old former Mustang assistant will replace his former boss, Mike Dement, who was fired Feb. 27.

"He is the best person for the job," OU coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He knows that area. And knows how to recruit it."

Less than two weeks ago it looked as if Tubbs, a native of Dallas, was a long shot for the job. After Tubbs' first interview, it was believed SMU was more interested in hiring a proven head coach and not a career college assistant as Tubbs has been, said a source familiar with the proceedings.

Tubbs' age was also believed to be a hindrance. The Mustangs, a program that slid under Dement, had reportedly interviewed candidates -- Michigan State assistant Doug Wojcik, Kansas assistant Norm Roberts and American coach Jeff Jones -- younger than Tubbs.

But Sampson said only a close-minded person would rule a potential coach out because of age.

"It's also a trend," Sampson said. "Look at Lon Krueger at UNLV, or (Tom) Penders at Houston or at Washington State. I was 31 when they hired me. They hired [deleted] Bennett, and he's 60.

"What you have to do is get the best person for the job."

Tubbs received a groundswell of support from Dallas area high school coaches. He went to the SMU campus Wednesday for a second interview.

Roberts also interviewed Wednesday, and it appears as if SMU athletic director Jim Copeland made his choice between Tubbs and Roberts.

Tubbs had been with the OU staff for two seasons. He replaced Ray Lopes when Lopes got the top job at Fresno State.

Tubbs getting the SMU job "is a feather in our cap," Sampson said. "I don't want assistants who are going to be around me forever. You want them to go out and get the opportunities."

For Tubbs, the SMU job also represents an opportunity to return home. He has maintained a house in Dallas during his two- year stay in Norman.

Tubbs has twice been a finalist for head coaching jobs in the past four years. In 2000, he was involved in the search at Southwest Texas. In 2001, he was a finalist for the North Texas State job.

Tubbs built his reputation on recruiting. In his last seven seasons at SMU, he focused on Texas recruiting and landed 15 players from the state. Ten of those were All-State players.

Sampson has set no timetable for hiring a replacement.





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