Fire Tubby?

I would like to welcome a new contributor to firetubby.com. He has been sending in article ideas and commentary for a while now so it was time to give him his very own account to post as he see’s fit. He shares a lot of the same ideas about this site that I do, which to some people means “Fair and Balanced” so that should be cool. All kidding aside I’m sure he will be writing some funny stuff. You should see him around in the next day or two. Enjoy.

And now for the obligatory press release info

firetubby.com is primarily a University of Kentucky Basketball news and entertainment site. Founded in February 2006 (holy crap, four months; that’s like the equivalent of three people years as far as up kept blogs go) to give a different “spin” on the wacky world of UK basketball.

Well, ce, you were right. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to comment on this article.

My comments would be more appropriate on my new football site firerich.com. BUT DON”T CLICK THE LINK. Damn it. I told you not to click the link. There isn’t anything there yet. You couldn’t help yourself could you? Ok, back to the regularly scheduled comment.

We should do everything in our power to get this guy’s last season at UK. Every sideline needs more Cooter.

ce

James Robert Cooter. Jim Bob Cooter. Why in the wide, wide world of sports would his parents do that. How fitting that a Jim Bob plays for Tennessee though. Talk about a match made in orange. I don’t think I would want him to play his last season at UK though ce. Billy Jack was enough, we really don’t want to tack on a Jim Bob.

To repeat what you probably have already read directly below this post, Shagari is gone. There was hope (for Shagari at UK) in the form of this article from WKYT. In the article Tubby said “I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk with him.”

Then only a day later the news comes that Shagari has asked for and been granted release from his scholarship.

And now for a little commentary about the changes this off-season:

When the season ended a lot of people were screaming for changes. Changes that some of those people wished would start at the top, with Mr. Orlando Smith. As I said somewhere back at the beginning of this site, that wasn’t going to happen this year. Tubby stated that there would be changes made, and with the exception of different assistant coaches (and that could still happen), the team will look markedly different next year. What is yet to be seen is if there will be enough talent on the floor to win games. Next year should be Tubby’s most difficult coaching job yet.

Shagari Alleyene is no longer a part of the University of Kentucky basketball team. He has been ruled academically ineligible. No one can say they didn’t see this coming he has been threatened with an athletes most prized possession; playing time. He has been benched numerous times and even suspended games for not getting his grades up. Hopefully Shagari can go to a school that is less academically taxing and get on a team.

I’m sure there are plenty of schools out there that would be more than willing to take the 7′ 3” giant. Good luck Shag.

You can read the MAXTRACK ALAN CUTLER coverage in the link above.

(thanks CE)

Here is a recap of the news stories that I didn’t write about during my unannounced (and unforgivable) vacation. Thanks for sticking around.

Tubby Smith honored in Tulsa –

Former University of Tulsa and current Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith returned to Tulsa to accept the 2006 Legacy Award from the Greenwood Cultural Center.

Smith was selected for his career accomplishments, including a college basketball national championship at Kentucky, and his “earnest commitment to youth and the community,” said GCC board president Dwain Midget.

Regardless of what you think of Tubby as a coach, he “seems” to be a friendly, playful guy and does a lot of good things for the community both here in Lexington and his previous coaching stops.
——————————-
Kentucky pays $183,803 for every basketball player -

No, no no, don’t get your underoos in a bunch. We aren’t going Claude Bassett again and paying players. This number comes from the U.S. Department of Education (pull a number out of our…uuuuhm hats division) about how much it costs to put each player on the court. This article probably doesn’t mean anything in the end but it’s an interesting read nonetheless. Sorry it’s from a UT site.
——————————-
Tyler Smith picks Iowa over Kentucky -
One of the top 50 senior recruits chose Iowa over UK. Unfortunate. He chooses to go to Iowa with Steve frickin’ Alford? Did you hear that that Iowa recently changed their name from the Hawkeyes to the Corn? You know, like syracuse Orangemen to Orange. Same difference except in Iowa.
——————————-

More old news later.

Looks like our buddy Mr. Positive Gregg Doyel is on the warpath again. In his current article he talks about the falling giants in college basketball for next season. Among the schools on the list are Arizona, Maryland, Michigan State, and you guessed it our very own University of Kentucky WIIIILDCATS!! Who knows, maybe he’s right. Only next season will tell. I hope to hell not. What do you think UK nation?

Thanks CE!

Faithfull firetubby.com followers, don’t stray to far, we haven’t forgotten about the site. I’ll be posting about the latest news from our team in the next day or so. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Rekalin Sims has notified Tubby that he wishes to transfer. This wasn’t really a big surprise since his playing time all but disappeared after he had some injury problems last season. This will also free up another scholarship for another freshman. Read more about it here:

ESPN article
Courier Journal article

The freefall has started. Rondo is all the way down to #24 this week. He was 16th the last time I checked in about a week ago. On the other front Shagari is surging upward in next years draft up to #56. Good to see Shagari have another solid week.

update:

nbadraft.net article regarding the Rondo slippage.

It appears that incoming freshman Jodie Meeks has his very own website. I have to say it’s actually pretty nice. He didn’t design it himself though. Checking out the source code of the site it was designed by a company called Athlete Web Services, Inc. Hmm.

He does update it though; he has a news section where he posts articles about himself and his team(s). He also has a journal where most recently he discusses his experience at the Derby Festival. He really does seem like a nice guy, this being my first impression of him.

Now as always here on firetubby.com we try to have a little fun. Let’s compare an excerpt from Jodie Meeks’ site to a selection from all-world basketball star O.J. Mayo’s myspace page. I’ll let you guess who each quote came from.

Quote #1

Well today is game day. I have had a wonderful time. This morning we heard a motivational speaker named Jim Fannin. He was VERY good. He talked about getting and staying in “The Zone”, both on the court and in life.

Quote #2

I am just a guy from redacted that loves sports and to hangout with friends. There isnt nothing better than home cooked meals. My favorite food is Fried Chicken. I hate school.

As I’m sure you could easily guess, the first quote was from possible new fan favorite wildcat Jodie Meeks. Hmm, which player would want to play for Bob Huggins at Kansas State? I wonder.