2000-2009 The Lost Decade.

[John Henry]

Tubby and Billy Clyde. This was a UK fans purgatory with no hope, no faith and nobody to pray us out of it.

So when I have a negative thought I just need to think about what was and is no more and I pray and trust will never be again.

 

[tncatsfan]

Seriously?

The 2002-2003 team and the 2004-2005 teams are two of my favorites. Both elite eight teams that had some memorable plays, runs, and players.

It ended badly, for sure, with the last few Tubby years and the Gillespie debacle.

 

[harlanhomeboy_rivals210142]

With the exception of the mini run from 03-05 where Tubby gave us hope, I agree. Thank goodness for Cal!!

 

[fisherscat]

With the exception of the mini run from 03-05 where Tubby gave us hope, I agree. Thank goodness for Cal!!

I think this is where UK fans can be a bit nutty. The 2001 and 2002 teams both made the sweet 16.

1980-1989 was a lost decade despite the FF appearance in 84.

 

[Raptureme]

'02 - '03 was an incredible team! Won 26 in a row and ran into somebody known as Dwyane Wade or we may have hung a banner....wasn't expecting that considering we lost Tayshaun from the year before

 

[mktmaker]

As recently as the 2000's we didn't have as much national coverage on the internet or on TV.

When I would get dragged to the grocery store I would look at the pre-season basketball magazines.

By the late 2000's I would have to look to see if we even made the Top 20-25.

 

[spotter34]

Tubby fell apart after signing the #1 recruiting class in ‘04. We made a nice run that year but went down hill after that. Then the BCG debacle. We were on the verge of becoming what Indiana is today. I was skeptical about hiring Calipari because of his history (even though no wrong doing was found on his part) but I knew he would instantly take us to the pinnacle of college basketball.

I loved the ‘03-‘05 teams but neither took us to a FF. Sure Wade was on that team (29 pts 11 reb 11 assist) but it was their big man shooting 3’s (Steve Novak 5-8 from 3) and the other big inside getting every rebound imaginable (Robert Jackson 24 puts 15 reb) that killed us. Then the next year going out in the 2nd round against UAB.

 

[John Henry]

Say what you will and spin it like you want but it was a decade without a single Final Four. Yes I consider that a Lost Decade. From 1998 to 2011 we missed every year.

Now if you just want good teams that fall short it was a good decade for you.

 

[zannmann]

One of the darkest decades for Kentucky basketball. Especially the Drunken years. Barney should have been fired for that hire.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

Those were Dark Times young Luke.....

 

[fisherscat]

Say what you will and spin it like you want but it was a decade without a single Final Four. Yes I consider that a Lost Decade. From 1998 to 2011 we missed every year.

Now if you just want good teams that fall short it was a good decade for you.

Fall short of what? A FF? A national title? No spin but I dont necessarily consider a decade lost without a title. Making a FF but missing a title is still coming up short.

 

[John Henry]

Fall short of what? A FF? A national title? No spin but I dont necessarily consider a decade lost without a title. Making a FF but missing a title is still coming up short.

Would you like to repeat 2000 - 2009? Sounds like you like a program that has the record we had in 2000-2009. May I remind you we are the University of Kentucky basketball program. We are not UL or Indiana. We went over a decade without one final four. That is not who we are and thankfully we now have a coach who understands that. Tubby and Billy G fell short after 1998.

 

[kevcat]

Fall short of what? A FF? A national title? No spin but I dont necessarily consider a decade lost without a title. Making a FF but missing a title is still coming up short.

Wrong. Final Fours we hang banners. Getting to the Final Four is still a big deal.
That didn’t happen once in the decade from 2000-2009.... it was a lost decade for many.

 

[UKthe_blue_manUK]

What do you think life after Cal will be like? Hit and miss with multiple coaches over the span of another subpar decade or riding what Cal has built for years to come?

Just curious. As for me, I don’t really know what to expect, but I know the Cal era has been fun and won’t be easy to replace.

 

[skcatfan]

What do you think life after Cal will be like? Hit and miss with multiple coaches over the span of another subpar decade or riding what Cal has built for years to come?

Just curious. As for me, I don’t really know what to expect, but I know the Cal era has been fun and won’t be easy to replace.

I feel sorry for who has to replace Cal. 4 FF’s in 8 years so far. Also a couple of Elite 8’s thrown in. And that’s with some royal screw jobs by a guy named Higgins. Even with that kind of success plenty of people still want to ***** and moan. Those will be big shoes to fill no doubt.

 

[Panthur]

We would have been champions in '03 if Bogans hadn't blown his ankle, and probably again in '04 if not for the stupidest off-the-court decision in history. Neither of those had anything to do with coaching.

 

[fisherscat]

We would have been champions in '03 if Bogans hadn't blown his ankle, and probably again in '04 if not for the stupidest off-the-court decision in history. Neither of those had anything to do with coaching.

To me a "Lost" period would be like 88-90 or 06-09 when it really was hopeless or seemed that way. Lets say Cal doesnt make the FF the next few years will 2016-2020 be a lost period?

 

[fisherscat]

Wrong. Final Fours we hang banners. Getting to the Final Four is still a big deal.
That didn’t happen once in the decade from 2000-2009.... it was a lost decade for many.

Dont we hang banners for conference and SECt titles?

 

[morgousky]

There's too much revisionist history for Tubby but approval always goes up when the people in power are gone. Hell Bush is hovering around 50% today I believe. Human nature.

I was in high school from 01-04, those years through 09 were pretty brutal for UK. We weren't as nationally relevant as the 90's and today. Kids paid us little attention and recruits were picking juco and incarnate word over us. I love the teams with Bogans Prince too, but we just weren't the draw then. The program regressed under Smith badly. And that was also the longest final four drought in UK history.

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

What do you think life after Cal will be like? Hit and miss with multiple coaches over the span of another subpar decade or riding what Cal has built for years to come?

Just curious. As for me, I don’t really know what to expect, but I know the Cal era has been fun and won’t be easy to replace.

When Cal leaves we will start cycling through coaches and b miserable for about 20 years. That's why we need him to hang banners. We will have a mini wooden effect and our fans will destroy everything the next coaches try to build.

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

There's too much revisionist history for Tubby but approval always goes up when the people in power are gone. Hell Bush is hovering around 50% today I believe. Human nature.

I was in high school from 01-04, those years through 09 were pretty brutal for UK. We weren't as nationally relevant as the 90's and today. Kids paid us little attention and recruits were picking juco and incarnate word over us. I love the teams with Big and and Prince too, but we just weren't the draw then. The program regressed under Smith badly.

You seem to be a big Hall fan and the same thing will happen for Tubby. You weren't around for Halls era but you still discuss it without knowing the actual environment and emotions of the time. Halls era wasn't much different than Tubby's.

As time moves on Tibby's first 8 years won't look bad when you use win percentage and average tournament seeding.

 

[John Henry]

What do you think life after Cal will be like? Hit and miss with multiple coaches over the span of another subpar decade or riding what Cal has built for years to come?

Just curious. As for me, I don’t really know what to expect, but I know the Cal era has been fun and won’t be easy to replace.

There's too much revisionist history for Tubby but approval always goes up when the people in power are gone. Hell Bush is hovering around 50% today I believe. Human nature.

I was in high school from 01-04, those years through 09 were pretty brutal for UK. We weren't as nationally relevant as the 90's and today. Kids paid us little attention and recruits were picking juco and incarnate word over us. I love the teams with Bogans Prince too, but we just weren't the draw then. The program regressed under Smith badly. And that was also the longest final four drought in UK history.

Who was the kid that picked prep school over a UK scholarship?

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

Rupp won 4 Titles in 42 years, Hall won 1 in 13 years, Pitino won 1 in 8 yrs, Tubby won 1 in 10 yrs, and Cal has won 1 in 8 yrs. so far.
Not a big difference in Titles won and years coached % among the 5 NC coaches !

 

[fisherscat]

When Cal leaves we will start cycling through coaches and b miserable for about 20 years. That's why we need him to hang banners. We will have a mini wooden effect and our fans will destroy everything the next coaches try to build.

This really bugs me. Cal is just as lucky to have UK as we are to have him. If we struggle for 20 years after Cal then we are not the gold standard of a college bball program you think we are. What if Cal doesnt make another FF at KY? His tenure will look a lot like Joe Hall.

Cal is the best in the business. But even he says there are different ways to go about building championship-contending teams. The next coach may go about it differently, and may not be as splashy a recruiter, but I will still expect excellent results and teams that consistently contend for a FF

 

[kevcat]

Dont we hang banners for conference and SECt titles?

No

 

[AnarchoNeoLuddite_rivals]

Remind me what was the stupid off court descion of 04?

 

[fisherscat]

No

Great pic by the way. That's right...the SEC and SECt banners are individual with the years included, and these hang in Memorial

 

[Panthur]

Remind me what was the stupid off court descion of 04?

Tubby inviting Nolan Richardson to watch our practice and game-planning before the UAB game so Richardson could turn around and prep his best friend, UAB coach Mike Davis.

 

[king of cali]

Who was the kid that picked prep school over a UK scholarship?

Tyrone Nash. He ultimately ended up at ND. Wasn’t that good of a player.

 

[king of cali]

Tubby inviting Nolan Richardson to watch our practice and game-planning before the UAB game so Richardson could turn around and prep his best friend, UAB coach Mike Davis.

Nolan had been playing Tubby led teams for a close to a decade at UK and UGA. I don’t think a single game plan revealed something great that UK was gonna use. That is an overplayed angle by UK fans.

 

[EliteBlue]

Fall short of what? A FF? A national title? No spin but I dont necessarily consider a decade lost without a title. Making a FF but missing a title is still coming up short.

FF is the benchmark. If you are a top 5 program then sweet 16s are meaningless.

Elite 8 is still a successful season as long as that isn't the peak over a decade. If you are relevant then you are competing for FF and beyond every couple years.

 

[Panthur]

Nolan had been playing Tubby led teams for a close to a decade at UK and UGA. I don’t think a single game plan revealed something great that UK was gonna use. That is an overplayed angle by UK fans.

Maybe and maybe not. Yours is an unsupported opinion by one guy.

 

[Big John Stud]

Yeah, it was nowhere near as bad as the 80's. I mean the 80's had probation, a losing season, and Kentucky shame, but that glorious 1984 Final Four makes up for it all.

 

[preacherfan]

Nolan had been playing Tubby led teams for a close to a decade at UK and UGA. I don’t think a single game plan revealed something great that UK was gonna use. That is an overplayed angle by UK fans.

Actually, it has both a strategic and a motivational advantage to attend a practice and see exactly what a team is going to do and run. Teams to prepare specifically for the competition, afterall.

This was the event that caused me to jump completely off the Tubby bandwagon. I felt if he were either that clueless or that dumb, he certainly didn't need to be the UK coach any longer. Having said that, 1998 is still my favorite championship team of all time.

 

[preacherfan]

Yeah, it was nowhere near as bad as the 80's. I mean the 80's had probation, a losing season, and Kentucky shame, but that glorious 1984 Final Four makes up for it all.

That was truly the lost decade. We made the FF but then lost to GW in a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE game.

 

[king of cali]

Actually, it has both a strategic and a motivational advantage to attend a practice and see exactly what a team is going to do and run. Teams to prepare specifically for the competition, afterall.

This was the event that caused me to jump completely off the Tubby bandwagon. I felt if he were either that clueless or that dumb, he certainly didn't need to be the UK coach any longer. Having said that, 1998 is still my favorite championship team of all time.

I get all that if Nolan was unfamiliar with UK under Tubby.But again, Nolan had been playing Tubby teams for years. On occasion as much as twice in a season. That one practice didn’t reveal something that was previously unknown and got UK beat.

But i agree wholeheartedly, not the wisest decision that Tubby made.

 

[UKnCincy_rivals]

I think this is where UK fans can be a bit nutty. The 2001 and 2002 teams both made the sweet 16.

1980-1989 was a lost decade despite the FF appearance in 84.

From 2000-2009, we were ranked in the top 10 in about 33% of all of the weekly AP polls. That was 10th best in the country during that time, and there were teams ahead of us that have no business being ahead of us in anything.

From 1980-1989, we were ranked in the top 10 in nearly 60% of the weekly AP polls. That was 2nd best in the country, behind only UNC.

Completely disagree with your take.

 

[preacherfan]

From 2000-2009, we were ranked in the top 10 in about 33% of all of the weekly AP polls. That was 10th best in the country during that time, and there were teams ahead of us that have no business being ahead of us in anything.

From 1980-1989, we were ranked in the top 10 in nearly 60% of the weekly AP polls. That was 2nd best in the country, behind only UNC.

Completely disagree with your take.

Wow!!!! Never would have thought that.

 

[UKnCincy_rivals]

Wow!!!! Never would have thought that.

I noticed it a couple years ago when combing through the polls data. It's the best quantitative data point, in my opinion, to illustrate why UK fans had an issue with Tubby (and to shut up idiots like Dick Vitale).

It's even more damning if you look at number of times ranked as a top 5 team. To compare the same two decades, we were ranked in the top 5 in 38% of the polls during the '80s. Also second best in the country.

From 2000-2009, we were ranked as a top 5 team in only about 9% of the polls. That shows how infrequently we were considered an elite team during that time. And this was 18th best during that period. Kentucky should never be 18th best in anything.

Stanford, Pitt, UC and Ohio State spent more time ranked as a top 5 team during the 2000s than Kentucky. That's completely unacceptable.

 

[morgousky]

You seem to be a big Hall fan and the same thing will happen for Tubby. You weren't around for Halls era but you still discuss it without knowing the actual environment and emotions of the time. Halls era wasn't much different than Tubby's.

As time moves on Tibby's first 8 years won't look bad when you use win percentage and average tournament seeding.

Tubby wasn't terrible, he was just not suited for UK. I think Hall's time is still to this day severely underrated. Hall followed Rupp, if not for that he would have been seen as the coach he was. The fan base also had a faction that sided with Rupp on everything, Hall was never going to add up unless he walked with 4. Tubby took over foe Rick during incredible times, he had an uphill mountain from the jump too, but it's different. We had been through so much when Tubby took over, good and bad, when Hall took over it was only compared to our founder and GOAT.

As far as their similarities, there isn't really any as far as accomplishments go. I wasn't alive until 85 but I'm well aware of the hell Hall went through. For a coach with 3 final fours, 2 title games, title, NIT title, It's absurd. Tubby on the other hand led the longest final four drought in UK history and left us pretty bare by our standards. I just don't see any comparison at all.

You could be right. Maybe history will judge them equally, but It's a lie, and totally pitiful imo. If Cal goes a few more years without a final four, he's closer to Hall than Hall is to Tubby.

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