Marketing Consulting Blog

I'm jumping out of the business and marketing bag for just a moment to talk about sports and something that has been frosting my ass for awhile. Since I live in Kentucky, I hear this garbage all the time about Tubby Smith and wanted to share some facts to question both sides of UK fans' arguments about their former coach. Here's an e-mail I sent to one of the local radio sports talk show hosts (Lachlan McLean) in hopes that he shares this on the air.
-------------------------------------

First off, let me state for the record that I’m a HUGE Louisville fan and loathe the Cayuts. With that said, I’m worn out by the UK contingent whining about Tubby Smith not being able to recruit and/or coach. Which one is it? Far be it from me to defend a former UK guy, but here are a couple of arguments to consider.

If somebody says he can’t recruit, how did he produce 9 NBA players in 10 years? We’re talking NBA—not NBDL, overseas, or any minor league pro basketball. In six plus years of Rick being here at UofL, we have ONE player in the NBA (Francisco Garcia). Here’s Tubby’s list of NBA players for good measure so no one can question the number:

1. Tayshawn Prince
2. Keith Bogans
3. Gerald Fitch
4. Erik Daniels
5. Chuck Hayes
6. Kelenna Azubuike
7. Rajon Rondo
8. Randolph Morris
9. Jamaal Magloire

Of that bunch, the most heralded players were Rondo and Morris—the rest were not super sought after. So that begs the question—is it recruiting or coaching? One could easily argue, with 9 NBA players in 10 years, it was not recruiting.

If it’s coaching, how did Tubby guide them to 1 NCAA title, 3 Elite 8 and 2 Sweet 16 appearances? He never lost a first round game at UK. In the span Tubby was coach at UK, he won 76.0% of his games. The all-time percentage for UK Basketball is (drum-roll please) . . . 76.3%! Compare his winning percentage at UK to that of (mouse face) Mike Kryzewski’s at Duke (77.8%), and he’s not that far off (1.8%). If Kryzewski is considered one of the best college coaches, where does that leave Tubby? What that means, with all things being equal, Kryzewski would win a whopping one extra game in every 55 played based on those numbers. You don’t have to be a genius to realize that’s not very significant.

Let’s compare Tubby’s winning percentage to other coaches in UK’s history:

• Rupp won 82.2% of his games at UK (which equates to winning 1 more game in every 16 than Tubby)
  
• Joe B Hall--74.8%
  
• Eddie Sutton—69.2%
  
• Rick Pitino—81.9% (which equates to winning 1 more game in every 17)
  

So looking objectively at UK basketball historically illustrates the point that Tubby’s performance was very much in line with the tradition at UK. This notion that Tubby “underperformed” emphasizes how unrealistic UK fans truly are. When placing these facts into their proper context (remember: it's a UofL fan analyzing them objectively), it makes you wonder what is in UK fans’ cool-aid to make them believe they deserve so much more. Look at the numbers before making the argument that Tubby can’t recruit or coach, and it’s pretty clear neither of those are valid points.

The reason for sending this e-mail and asking these questions is I am sick and tired of hearing UK fans whine, belly-ache, and complain about how terrible things were under Tubby. Ok, the style wasn’t the most enjoyable, but who cares? You won games at an extremely similar clip to what you have all-time so quit whining already!

It's not my nature to contribute to anything UK related, but the facts tell a far different story than UK fans would like everyone to believe, and it’s time for them to own up to those facts.

You've all heard the phrase from the pro-gun crowd: "guns don't kill people; people kill people." True statement which I agree with in principle, but there was an incident in Jeffersontown, KY (a sub-city of Louisville) where a retired J-Town cop (Richard Koenig) and a citizen (Darren Pickerill) got into a bit of a road rage battle over a 4-way stop sign that makes you wonder.

To make a long story short, Pickerill, the citizen, is in the hospital in critical condition as a result of six to eight shots fired by Koenig, the retired cop. Apparently, Pickerill went out of turn at the 4-way intersection that incited a verbal exchange that quickly escalated into a shooting spree. Unconfirmed initial reports suggest that Pickerill possibly showed a gun as the two were arguing over the 4-way stop, and that propelled Koenig to open fire. Pickerill allegedly never fired a shot. All of this over a stupid 4-way stop sign? Amazing!

Yes, the guns in this case are not to blame, but would either of these people be in the position they are in today if neither of them had a gun? The worst that could have resulted is the two might have gotten into a physical confrontation where one or both got roughed up a bit, but they'd both live to talk about it and possibly even laugh about it one day. No one is laughing now, and I'd imagine Koenig is going to have some legal battles to wage as a result of his quick trigger. Pickerill is in pretty dire shape all because of the threat of showing a gun that caused another to flip out and shoot first.

I can't say what I would have done in the exact situation because I've never been in it, and I hope I never am. I can say that I've been furious at 4-way stops several times because they really aren't that hard to navigate, yet some people seem to think they are like solving a Rubik's cube or something. It deeply concerns me that there are seemingly more and more people out there hunting for situations like this so they can shoot first then cry "self defense" (as Koenig is in this case) if something bad happens.

There are way more dumb drivers roaming the earth than any of us would prefer, but it's not the end of the world when you encounter one. Flip them off, yell a little, maybe even stand on the gas to get around them, but let it go just as quickly as you blew up. You never know who might be packing heat looking for any reason to unload some rounds to compensate for some pitiful insecurity they have.

The moral of the story for me is nothing good comes from carrying a gun around even if you never plan to use it. The sheer fact that it's there is a threat that it COULD be used, and people don't tend to act rationally when they experience a little road (or instant) rage. The gun itself provides zero protection--using it does. Why tempt yourself and fate?

I generally try to stay away from soap opera garbage, but this one is simply too good to pass up. First, let me say I consider myself a Trump fan as I admire what he's done in the business world. In contrast, I have never seen what Rosie O'Donnell brings to the table. She's always come across to me as an obese loudmouth with very little talent and ability. I have yet to figure out why or how she ever got on television in the first place, but it must have been a case of right place right time somehow. Whoever signed off on propping her up on television should be ashamed!

In things such as this, I'd normally try to see both sides, but I'm so happy someone finally blasted Rosie in a public forum that it is hard for me to look past my own giddiness to evaluate whether Rosie even has a point or not. In the Miss America case, I'm going to side with our Kentucky girl (Tara Conner) because what is the real harm in living it up a bit in the Big Apple? Everyone makes it sound like she committed murder by drinking before she turned 21, but 75% of us have done that so what's the big deal? I know, I know--she's supposed to be a role model for young aspiring beauty queens, and she has "duties" to perform. In my mind, she made a mistake that far too many of us have made, and it's not the end of the world nor should it be the end of her crowned career.

People like Rosie never have been viewed as attractive by the mainstream, and she's always battled the bulge so she's likely speaking from a position of extreme jealousy when it comes to Tara Conner. Same with her out lash at Trump--he gets to interact with these young beautiful women and befriend them in many cases whereas Rosie is more like a drunken sailor washed ashore. My only hope is that Rosie does disappear from television for good, and we no longer have to endure her loud and obnoxious antics again. Not that I watch The View now, but I certainly wouldn't with her on it. Her television show was a turd so how could she possibly add anything to The View? Anyway, I hope The Donald keeps blasting her again and again until she disappears from television's sight.

Advantage: Trump by a landslide.