Tubbs and Sampson

[50's PONY]

Reunion time arrives for Sampson, SMU’s Tubbs

By Justin Harper
The Oklahoman

DALLAS - Jimmy Tubbs came out of his office and looked over the Moody Coliseum floor. First he spotted Kelvin Sampson, then Kevin Bookout.
As he watched Oklahoma go through its shoot-around, it hit him.

“I knew then that this was going to be tough,” Tubbs said.

Tubbs didn’t mean competing against the 14th-ranked Sooners on the basketball court. He was talking about missing some old friends.

Tubbs is in his second season as Southern Methodist’s head coach. The 55-year-old has spent virtually his entire life in the Dallas metro area. But for two years, he was at Oklahoma.

Tonight, OU (8-2) and SMU (7-4) meet in Dallas for a 7 p.m. tip.

“That was just a great two years for me,” Tubbs said. “To come there and work in the program and also to learn from Coach Sampson. It was just some great, great memories developed.”

Which was why Tubbs, who was an assistant for Sampson during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, was moved to see his old boss and one of his former players practicing on his team’s court.

“I was very happy to see Coach,” said Tubbs. “You hope it’s not going to be emotional for yourself. But seeing Kevin Bookout and Coach, I was just so happy to see them. Once the ball goes up during the game, it gets back to coaching the team. But before we tip off, I think it will be emotional for me. I just know me and that’s how I am.”

Tubbs grew up in Oakwood, Texas, and attended Bishop College in Dallas. He coached Kimball (Texas) High School from 1979 to 1990 before taking an assistant’s position at SMU. He spent 12 seasons with the Mustangs before leaving coach Mike Dement’s staff to join Sampson in Norman.

“I had watched coach Sampson from afar,” Tubbs said. “We had played them to overtime in Oklahoma City one year. And I was always impressed with coach Sampson’s teams, the way they played hard. I thought it was a good move for me. And I thought I was a good fit because I knew the University of Oklahoma would want to recruit Texas. And I had ties here.”

When SMU went looking for a new head coach before the 2004-05 season, Tubbs was an obvious choice to top the school’s wish list.

“Well, it was a good fit,” he said. “No question about it.”

Even before leaving for Dallas, Sampson counted on it being a special reunion as well.

“Jimmy’s just a good friend,” Sampson said. “He’s a good coach, but a better person.”