Most Loved Coach
- Thread starter giffhawk
- Start date
Pitino would've been fired if he stayed and then put together the first 7 years he did at louisville here plus add in the ***** bang.
He always looked down on UK fans and thought we were beneath him. In fact he thought when he went to uofl we would follow him there...its not like he didn't have other offers.
The game changes and some ppl don't adapt. Happened to Bob knight, happened to Rick until Calipari pushed him to be better, pushing him to cheat. That's why Jay Wright and Huckleberry, etc retired...the game has changed. The game has now passed Cal by.
He always looked down on UK fans and thought we were beneath him. In fact he thought when he went to uofl we would follow him there...its not like he didn't have other offers.
The game changes and some ppl don't adapt. Happened to Bob knight, happened to Rick until Calipari pushed him to be better, pushing him to cheat. That's why Jay Wright and Huckleberry, etc retired...the game has changed. The game has now passed Cal by.
I'll go along with Joe B. Hall; I appreciate how Ricky P. revived the program, but Joe B. seemed more genuine and relatable to many UK fans.
In my lifetime. At the height of their tenure
Pitino
Cal, could move up
Hall
Tubby
Eddie
Billy G.
Rupp was really before my time.
Pitino
Cal, could move up
Hall
Tubby
Eddie
Billy G.
Rupp was really before my time.
Coach Rupp was my Coach 1969-1972 a brilliant tactical mind because of his lack of. Morals Pitino not even on the list
He said ‘most likable”. Nothing to do with on the court success. Tubby was a regular guy and a great ambassador. Pitino was a narcissist. Even Joanne hated the fans here. Donna Smith was a classy lady.
Actually, it was "most loved." That would obviously include on the court success, IMO.
I honestly believe if Rick would have stayed, it would have ended just as ugly.
I agree. In reality he left the bench and role players from the 96/97 success and Tubby won with it. Pitino left an aging roster that he didn’t think was talented, after Mercer and Anderson left, and basically Ryan Hogan and Myron Anthony as a recruiting class. He was smart enough to bail.
Tubby didn’t really inherit much and him winning year one actually made Pitino look better than he should. We were entering a rebuild period even if Pitino stayed.
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I didn't agree with much of anything of what you just said. You left out Michael Bradley from the recruiting class and left out the incredible experience of that roster filled with excellent college players. After those players graduated, Tubby only managed 2 E8's in the next 8 years he was the coach. That says a LOT.
I know all the players on the 98 team they are adamant that no Titles would happen if Pitino stayed
Tubby deserved all the credit for winning
I’m not taking anything away from Tubby, he coached us to a championship. I disagree with the rest. Rick installed the killer instinct we saw in the final four, and it carried over. Get down 17 or whatever it was and know you can and probably will overcome and win? They knew, and that’s from Rick. Get down 17 with Cal and it’s time to go home, screw the second half.
Agree with your rankings, however think #3 and #4 could change as CCC is burning a lot of goodwill with the fans. To me, to be the most loved coach would require a combination of personality and success on the job.
1. Joe B. Hall - a genuine person and good coach. Almost impossible job following Coach Rupp and he did it with class. I was at the Mideast Finals in 1978 when we beat Michigan State and Magic. Very tense game throughout as MSU played a tough 2-3 defense that made it difficult to get the ball inside to Robey and Phillips. Hall had Robey, I think, come to the foul line extended to set a pick and let Macy have room to get off a jump shot or pass. This was a time when no one set picks against a zone defense. Hall then kept the ball in Macy's hands down the stretch and Kyle helped win the game by hitting every foul shot.
2. Rick Pitino - When Sutton resigned and all the mess came out about the opened package of money sent to recruit Chris Mills, UK was probably at the lowest point in its basketball history. At his first press conference, Pitino said something like, we are going to win and win now. The basketball nation laughed but Pitino backed up his braggadocio and we won, then we won big in 1992, and even bigger in 96 and 97. Probably the greatest hire at UK because of the sanctions and Rick overcame them to a great extent as the media was saying Kentucky basketball is over. My opinion is the 1996 team was the greatest modern UK team (1960 onward) in history. It was said of that team who won the title, that the 2nd team were probably the 2nd best team in the country that season.
3. John Calipari - Up until the 2015 Wisconsin game, he was extremely successful on the court and popular with fans. Since then he has been on a downhill spiral both on the court and with the fans. I think the concept of the 1 and done started alienating the fans even though UK was still winning. The players first mantra and then calling the draft the greatest night in UK history. He started losing me as a fan then, although I think he was a great hire after BCG as he elevated recruiting, produced very successful teams and he is/was a great salesman. Do not believe Cal will turn things around.
4. Tubby Smith - Took basically the remnants of the 96 and 97 teams and won the NCAA title in his first year! That was an amazing and unexpected season where coach and players were so in sync and truly played for each other. I went to several UK games at Auburn, Georgia, and the dome in Catlanta during his tenure. Most every game, the crowd would chant Tubby, Tubby, Tubby during a TV timeout. He was beloved although the bloom fell off the rose the last several years. Like Joe B, I think he was a genuine person who loved the university, the fans, and his players.
5. Eddie Sutton - A brilliant coach who always had us either winning the SEC and SEC tournaments. Had personal demons that he could not overcome at UK but returned to Ok State and was extremely successful.
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I happen to agree
I think the syphilis affected his judgement
Would affect more than my judgment, but maybe my judgment is what gave me syphilis. I’m confused, but STD free. Mods delete
Donna Smith classy? Insinuated everyone was racist? Come on man you have got to be kidding. With that said I liked Tubby.
Seriously glad to see most of you giving JBH some love...my personal favorite. CAR was an icon but no doubt a salty old guy. Pitino was great and many UK fans loved him even after he came back to Birdville...then again many Germans still loved Hitler. I worked his camp once...took all the coaches to Bravo Pitinos... The place like him was fake as heck.
That is baseless speculation more predicated on the hatred for the man rather than anything factual. While he was here, there was not a hint of improprieties by him or his staff. As hated as UK was at that time, I am certain haters were working overtime trying to find something.
Other than leaving for the NBA, RP didn't harm the program at all which can't be said about CCC.
BINGO
Hall was a true son of the Commonwealth. He knew what UK basketball was about.
I was hoping that their relationship would’ve changed Cal a bit. And for awhile I thought it had.
Guess not. Hall would have NEVER talked down to the fans like Cal has at times.
History shows he freaked out, spent 15 secs in Porcinis, and let in the whores for his players. It happened there. It could well have happened in Lexington.
Ranked by how they were viewed when they left:
1. Pitino
2. Joe B.
3. Tubby
4. Eddie
5. Billy Clyde
Ranked by how they’re viewed right now:
1. Joe B.
2. Pitino
3. Cal
4. Tubby
5. Eddie
6. BCG
Not everyone will agree with this, but there has always been a contingent who preferred Rick, and he’s been gone from UL long enough to soften some of that hatred.
Cal is in danger of slipping lower than Tubby. 4 Final Fours still keeps Cal on top, but he’s alienating more of the fan base every day. He either needs to produce or leave pretty soon or he will easily be 4th on this list.
1. Pitino
2. Joe B.
3. Tubby
4. Eddie
5. Billy Clyde
Ranked by how they’re viewed right now:
1. Joe B.
2. Pitino
3. Cal
4. Tubby
5. Eddie
6. BCG
Not everyone will agree with this, but there has always been a contingent who preferred Rick, and he’s been gone from UL long enough to soften some of that hatred.
Cal is in danger of slipping lower than Tubby. 4 Final Fours still keeps Cal on top, but he’s alienating more of the fan base every day. He either needs to produce or leave pretty soon or he will easily be 4th on this list.
All I can tell you is how I view the ones I actually saw the program being ran by. Mine would be:
1. Pitino- right guy at the right time for the resurrection of Kentucky basketball
2. Calipari- see reason #1
3. Tubby- the right guy at the right time to lead UK because he helped Pitino resurrect the program.
4. There is no #4. I didn't like the BCG hire. I don't like the way he treated our players. I understand personal demons. I don't hate the guy, but when he was here he was a terrible ambassador for the UK basketball program and that while forgivable is not forgotten.
1. Pitino- right guy at the right time for the resurrection of Kentucky basketball
2. Calipari- see reason #1
3. Tubby- the right guy at the right time to lead UK because he helped Pitino resurrect the program.
4. There is no #4. I didn't like the BCG hire. I don't like the way he treated our players. I understand personal demons. I don't hate the guy, but when he was here he was a terrible ambassador for the UK basketball program and that while forgivable is not forgotten.
What’s funny is when BG was hired the majority on here loved it. Married to basketball. Didn’t eat lunch because he was so busy. He was quickly in over his head. Can you imagine if they told him a flood hit EK or a tornado hit WK.
Yeah, I see all the Joe B love and curious as to the age of those posters. Hall would have never survived the internet/social media age as every loss was his fault per the loud fans of the time. The standing joke shortly after hall retired from coaching and went into banking was that he got fired from the bank because they were being robbed and he wouldn’t let his guards shoot. (He was never fired, it was a joke).
What many today might not know is that UK (actually it was a state employee rule) had a rule that required employees to retire at age 65. Rupp didn’t want to retire and wanted UK to exempt him from the rule. It was said he felt Joe B worked behind the scene to thwart that effort so he could have the job. That was more than likely just Rupp finding a way of rationalizing his bitterness.