cheezyq
3/19/2008, 09:04 AM
Billy Tubbs was on the radio this morning in KC on 810 AM. He reminisced about a lot of stuff, it was cool. He talked about how coaches were allowed to speak their mind more 20 years ago than they are today.
He talked about a golf game where he and Norm Stewart were partners and were playing versus Bob Knight and Dean Smith. I guess Bob and Dean were ahead quite a bit, and Dean offered to shave a few strokes so that they could catch up a little quicker. Norm, being ultra-competitive, got ticked off but Billy calmed him down and said, "hey, we could use a little help". He also talked about how he and Norm would get into it on the sidelines, nearly choking each other if they'd been close enough during the game, and then 20 minutes after the game they'd go have a steak together.
But the one thing that really caught my attention was when he said that he wished he could roll his '88 team into this tournament. He said that the '88 team would mop the floor with this year's field. Specifically he was saying that in today's game, there are very few teams with real experience. If the Tisdales, Kings, Grants, Graces, and Blaylocks of the 80s played today, they'd be one and done just like Beasley, Durant, etc.
He talked about the parity of the game today, but in a way that kind of suggested that it hurt the game. You're not looking at good quality basketball like those days, because the teams aren't together very long. And the game is less fun because the coaches are required to be so politically correct. He actually lamented Knight's retirement because it signified the end of an era where coaches actually spoke their mind.
Anyway, it was an interesting interview, as it always is with Billy T. One funny quote, after one of the interviewers mentioned that Dave Sieger hit 5 3-pointers in that first half against KU: "Well, it shows you how much us coaches know. When I first saw him play, I told my assistant coaches that we'd be in trouble if that guy ever started for us."
Good stuff. Boomer!
He talked about a golf game where he and Norm Stewart were partners and were playing versus Bob Knight and Dean Smith. I guess Bob and Dean were ahead quite a bit, and Dean offered to shave a few strokes so that they could catch up a little quicker. Norm, being ultra-competitive, got ticked off but Billy calmed him down and said, "hey, we could use a little help". He also talked about how he and Norm would get into it on the sidelines, nearly choking each other if they'd been close enough during the game, and then 20 minutes after the game they'd go have a steak together.
But the one thing that really caught my attention was when he said that he wished he could roll his '88 team into this tournament. He said that the '88 team would mop the floor with this year's field. Specifically he was saying that in today's game, there are very few teams with real experience. If the Tisdales, Kings, Grants, Graces, and Blaylocks of the 80s played today, they'd be one and done just like Beasley, Durant, etc.
He talked about the parity of the game today, but in a way that kind of suggested that it hurt the game. You're not looking at good quality basketball like those days, because the teams aren't together very long. And the game is less fun because the coaches are required to be so politically correct. He actually lamented Knight's retirement because it signified the end of an era where coaches actually spoke their mind.
Anyway, it was an interesting interview, as it always is with Billy T. One funny quote, after one of the interviewers mentioned that Dave Sieger hit 5 3-pointers in that first half against KU: "Well, it shows you how much us coaches know. When I first saw him play, I told my assistant coaches that we'd be in trouble if that guy ever started for us."
Good stuff. Boomer!