Gophers feeling good, aiming high under Tubby's tutelage

With the arrival of Tubby Smith, the bad memories from so many sources -- a 9-22 record last season, one NCAA berth since 1998-99, the academic scandal that ended Clem Haskins' tenure -- have been replaced by a sense of hope. The hiring of Smith, who has never had a losing season and won a national championship with Kentucky in 1998, has left Gophers Nation thinking of better days to come as today's season opener against Army arrives.

Fans and players rode an emotional rollercoaster last season that involved a crushing preseason loss to Division II Winona State, the firing of head coach Dan Monson and a 3-13 Big Ten finish.

The Gophers already look like a different team from last year, albeit based on two exhibition games against Division II opponents. The Gophers averaged 91 points during the two games and got a lot of help from their reserves.

But players have maintained that, under Smith's tutelage, they're already playing like a different team.

"It feels good," said senior guard Lawrence McKenzie, who's expected to play after suffering a groin injury in practice earlier this week. "I think everybody has a lot more confidence and a lot more confidence in the system. Not downing anybody, but it's just that you feel confidence in the system, and I think Coach Smith knows exactly what he's doing."

Smith has had three head coaching debuts -- at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky -- but they all had winning records in the season before his arrival.

At Tulsa, Smith said he was nervous in the first few games of his first head coaching job. He started 3-6, and some fans wanted him out. But he molded Tulsa into a Sweet 16 team in the NCAA tourney.

"It's similar," Smith said about his fourth debut as a head coach. "Again, after 30-some years in this business ... I know I'm excited about it, and I know our players are excited, too. We've had a couple of good practices, and we've had a couple of bad practices, but hopefully, I know we'll be focused and ready to play."

Smith recognizes that the team's true tests begin now. The Gophers have to overcome their tendency to play poorly on the road, as they did last season, when they finished 1-14 away from Williams Arena. And since they lack depth, especially after recently losing junior forward Brandon Smith, they'll have to rely on underclassmen to step up quickly.

The Gophers managed to play an up-tempo style in the preseason, enabled by aggressive defense. Smith expects his defenders to apply pressure and create turnovers. A chunk of practice is spent on deflection drills. They'll have to play tough against an Army team that shot 40 percent from beyond the arc last season.

Smith has a history with Army coach Jim Crews. When Smith was the head coach at Tulsa, he beat Crews, who was the head coach at Evansville for 17 years before he took over at Army. He also had an opportunity to travel to Kuwait a few years ago with Crews to honor the troops.

Army went 15-16 last season as a member of the Patriot League. The win total was a 10-game improvement over the 2005-06 season. Smith said Crews incorporates a motion offense that involves continuous movement.

Senior guard Jarell Brown averaged 17 points per game with only five starts last season for Army, and he's expected to be one of the conference's top players.

"We'll have our work cut out for us against a good Army team because they're a team that's very disciplined, and they're very tough, hard-nose guys," Smith said.

Myron P. Medcalf • mmedcalf@startribune.com