The firing of Tubby Smith brought about a ton of reaction on Startribune.com. By 9 p.m., the story had more than 300 comments. Here is a sampling:
kevinmickd: Wow. We better have someone good lined up to replace him. I don't like Tubby, but I don't want a Dan Monson.
cityperson: The mark of a good coach is he can get his/her players to play over their heads. Tubby could never do this.
th3171: Go ask Tyus Jones who he wants to play for and hire him.
kev5115: When someone gets let go this soon I think [AD Norwood] Teague had his mind made up months ago. Tubby was in over his head as a Big Ten coach. You can't continue to go on like this year in and year out with the same ugly style of play that we have witnessed. I'm sure Tubby is a good man just not a good coach.
bjflorida28: Flip Saunders are you reading this? The Gophers need you.
buskah: Whoever leaked this to the media before Tubby knew of it should also be fired. I would never have someone like that working for my organization.
bstrom45: Tubby wasn't the one missing shots and not rebounding (Sunday).
mulefarm: They must be using monopoly money for these buyouts. Does the cash cow ever end?
purppride1: Tubby may not be the trendy youthful pick, but he's solid and is producing positive results. If it wasn't for the hot streak to begin the year, when opponents were probably taking the Gophers lightly, people would have been thrilled to get in the dance and win a game!
zataway: I don't think Teague would make such a swift and bold move if he didn't have a pretty specific plan in mind. I basically like Tubby, but his teams were very erratic from game to game. And while that may not be all his fault, there's no doubt that some of it is. Just from afar, he also seemed to lack the fire any longer, especially when compared to Billy Donovan in the Florida game.
rwertis: I can't wait to see who the Gophers will be firing in three years.
