Choices, and the will to live

It took me until today to be able to sit and think competently about the state of the Kentucky program. Reading a few fan responses did little to inject any sense of hope, excitement or even goodwill into my thinking. In fact, the more I read, the less I enjoy being a Kentucky fan. And yet, I still read.

After sifting through the detritus of Tuesday's disappointing and thoroughly will-sapping 57-52 loss at home to Vanderbilt, several major items emerged as either potential changes, possible suggestions or basic options for the rest of this season and beyond. None of them is perfect, and some of them are downright aggravating. But with the Cats at 10-5, 0-1 in the SEC, lacking support at home or abroad, seeking a soul and getting hammered -- and understandably so -- by everyone from the usual suspects (Decourcey, Forde) to the newer suspects (embarassed fanbase), it's time to at least entertain the unthinkable options, including the dreaded 'nuclear option.'

(1) Tubby Smith should be fired immediately and replaced by Richie Farmer

It's true that Richie didn't play as much as he should have. I mean, that moustache alone was worth the price of admission. Throw in his five o'clock shadow at halftime and there's clearly enough manhood piping through those veins to turn Brandon Stockton into a 20-10 guy. Richie may not have any collegiate coaching experience, knowledge of defense, recruiting skills or free time (there is still that Milk deal, and the much-anticipated follow up to his "book"), but he does know what it means to give everything you've got to the jersey.

Plus, all that free milk would keep the boys in blue bone-hardened.

(2) A roster shakeup is needed

In all seriousness, I endorse this option. The current lackluster play points to a combination of poor chemistry and slumpsville. The starting five Tubby has stubbornly stuck to has got to be scrapped, and it doesn't take a rabid fan to see this. I appreciate what Patrick Sparks has given the Cats, including sacrificing his scholarship for a year, but sometimes you go through slumps and this one is absolutely killing the Cats right now. Ramel Bradley isn't perfect, and he isn't shooting all that much better of late either. But he is a more athletic and varied player with better defensive skills. Perhaps Sparks' shooting touch would return and be more effective coming in as a streaky guy off the bench rather than a turnover machine shooting blanks in the first 5 minutes before being pulled for Bradley anyway.

That Randolph Morris did not start Tuesday is unthinkable. OK, fine, the kid made a mistake. He has been duly punished. But whatever energy Wookash brings to the table (and that's about all he is bringing) is only effective for a few minutes, and the start the Cats got off to on Tuesday can be linked directly to the fact that their starting center WASN'T STARTING. Tubby is a strong father-type coach, and that's one of the reasons I refuse to throw him under the bus like so many other frustrated fans. But you punish the whole team by continuing to focus on what's not working.


Bottom line: Rajon Rondo, Bradley, Morris, Joe Crawford and either Rekalin Sims or Sheray Thomas is the best combination of talent and enthusiasm the Cats can put on the floor. Maybe it doesn't work, who knows. But what are they gonna do, lose to Vandy with that lineup?

(3) Tubby Smith can't coach at UK and must be let go

There has been, since the day he was hired, a contingent of fans that didn't like Tubby Smith. Whether it was related to his game-calling, his strategy, his demeanor or the fact that he wasn't the previous coach, the bottom line was Tubby was a bold hire and one with potential unknowns. Unlike grabbing a coach already familiar with being the head man at a program with the fervent fans and media spotlight of a Kentucky, C.M. Newton thought outside the box and brought in an overacheiving up-and-comer. That he was African-American only added to his fit for the job.

However, UK is not Georgia. It's not Texas and it's not South Carolina. There is no football season (c'mon, people, seriously...). There is basketball season and basketball recruiting season. And Tubby's strengths as a coach have occasionally masked his weaknesses in other areas. He never had the wherewithal or resources to recruit as a head man at Georgia or Tulsa the way he does at UK. And many times, it seems like Tubby's experiences recruiting elsewhere have bled into his recruiting at UK. Which, to a degree, is fine. Why give a man who drives a NASCAR Ford as well as anyone a Formula 1 car? The logic makes sense, and witness the 2003 Wildcats, one of the most successful, enjoyable and root-worthy teams in decades. And it was a Tubby team to the nines.

But to watch Smith struggling so mightily with a team that features now three McDonald's All-Americans, an All-SEC player in Sparks and an NBA-caliber talent in Bradley seems odd, to say the least. I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- pile-on broadcasters be damned -- there is talent in the stables. They're unfortunately running the wrong race. Any fan who wants to agree with Dick Vitale, who watches Kentucky exactly five times a year, or Eddie Fogler, whose coaching resume at this point includes several years coaching the Local Radio All-Stars, or Jimmy Freakin' Dykes, whose basketball acumen and knowledge of the UK program can be summed up in three words -- Big West Conference -- is welcome to do so. I tend to believe my eyes, and I've seen Crawford, Sims, Bradley, Morris, Sparks and Rondo all have big games on big stages in the past. They can do it ... they just aren't doing it.


Thus, the issue becomes one of coaching, and to my mind Tubby Smith has more than earned the right to fix this mess. There are recruiting shortcomings. There is a lack of ability in the frontcourt, and the junior class is not among the strongest in UK history (to say the least). However, the list of talented juniors in the nation is not an impressive one. Darryl Watkins? Leon "six knee surgeries" Powe? The best juniors are all hidden gems: Morrison, Fazekas, Diaz, Boone, Stinson, Dudley, Tucker. Hardly a prep All-American to be found.

No, Tubby has his work cut out for him, and he hasn't been perfect. But the idea that a coaching change somehow fixes the program in the short- or long-term is wishful thinking. Worse yet, it's "grass is greener" thinking. None of the names listed as people's choices has a better shot of winning at UK except in theory. And in theory, lots of things work great.

(4) Tubby needs an offensive assistant

Now, this is an interesting idea. Scuttlebutt tends to be that Tubby is a bit of a control hog and that his assistants, excepting David Hobbs, are given short leash. Unlike what most people think, that is probably generally a good thing. It's often overzealous assistants who get programs into trouble recruiting illegally to try and impress future employers.

But no one can deny that Tubby is a defensive coach of the highest caliber. It's why he's so sought after. It's why he's worth the pain. However, the Cats' struggles on offense are not new. Even in the best of times, the Cats struggle to score. And when they do score effectively, it's usually because of strong defense. One idea that has been floated which I find extremely intriguing is the possibility of bringing in an assistant whose job is principally offense. One name that I find particularly interesting is current South Alabama coach John Pelphrey.

Pelphrey, a name synonymous in the Bluegrass with hard work, shooting and bleeding blue, has not exactly wowed anyone at USA. In fact, before this year's improved 10-3 early record, Pelphrey's teams have been average at best. This may be because it's South Alabama, or it may be because Pelphrey is not yet ready for the big time. South Alabama under John P. has scored plenty, they just haven't won. So what would the Billy Donovan offense-trained Pelphrey combined with the Tubby Smith defense-trained Pelphrey look like?

The next Kentucky coach.

Pelhprey as is cannot be even considered on the long list for the job. But were he to bring his offensive-minded Pitino/Donovan skills into the fold, become associate-level head coach and groomed as Tubby's successor, there would be few who could argue with a Kentucky-born legend with that pedigree. There has been zero indication Pelphrey is looking for anything but a head job. And it's a typically Kentucky fan's arrogance that says a head coach would want to become as assistant again at UK. But if the UK job is Pelphrey's dream -- and here's betting ten bucks it is -- he's a long way away toiling at South Alabama.

As for the viability of having a Hobbs defensive coach and a Pelphrey/Reggie Hanson offensive coach, it's hard to say. Big time college football coaches are more like CEOs, mastering the art of delegation and being more of an overseer and big picture guy than making every decision. But if there was any basketball program where it could work, it would be Kentucky, where the demands of the job include media scrutiny, job training and pressure unparalleled on the college level.

(5) It's time to cut some players loose who aren't getting it done

The final "option" which is most often whispered among the Big Blue Nation is a personal pet peeve. While it remains the policy that scholarships are yearly renewed or not, there is a distinct difference between a collegiate basketball program and a professional basketball factory.

One of the primary reasons this writer respects Tubby Smith over Rick Pitino is that Smith has run this program with a strong, but ultimately gentle hand ... occasionally to his own detriment. Giving second, third and fourth chances has both paid off (Fitch) and burned him (Carruth). But unlike Pitino's waiver-wire recruiting philosophy -- which as an educator and UK grad was personally embarassing to me -- where players are meat to be exchanged or not so softly jettisoned, Smith runs the Cats like a family. There are no Toomers, Timberlakes or Rhodeses under Tubby. None of those guys were in trouble with the law or with academics, so far as any of us knew. They just weren't as good as Delk, Dent or Mercer, respectively.

That's not collegiate basketball. That's a pro team, where players are "signed" to perform and when they don't, they are "waived." Some UK fans will say this is the nature of big time hoops, but look around. Who else does this? Who else among the game's elites gets rid of players who don't perform? No one not named Pitino or Calhoun. And I don't think for a second UK, and Smith, should start.

Shagari Alleyne has nearly academic-ked his way off campus. And if he does that, he does that. But sending him packing to free up scholarships is lame. And it would be lame to do for any of the lesser profile players. If that means Tubby's recruiting hasn't paid off, then so be it. He, and we, will live with the consequences.

But despite the fact that my ego takes a gut punch every time someone else hoists the NCAA title, I will not -- and no self-respecting UK fan should -- sacrifice good morals for winning, or understanding for material success or fatherhood and learning for basketball.

And with that, I go off to call Richie Farmer ...