<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Tubby Smith is leaving Kentucky after 10 seasons to take the head coaching job at Minnesota.Smith, who had four years remaining on his contract, will be introduced at a 1 p.m. ET news conference Friday in Minneapolis. A Kentucky source said that the school would still honor the $1.5 million incentive bonus that Smith is due on April 3.Smith informed Kentucky players and athletics director Mitch Barnhart about his decision earlier Thursday and also phoned former Minnesota coach Dan Monson, who was fired in November, to tell him he was accepting the job.However, in a statement issued late Thursday afternoon by Kentucky's athletics department, the university said Smith had yet to confirm with UK officials that he is leaving for Minnesota.Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi contacted Barnhart on Thursday morning requesting permission to speak with Smith, the statement said, and at that point Smith confirmed to Barnhart that his agent had been in discussions with Minnesota.According to sources, Smith called Monson for an education about the opening, Minnesota's basketball facilities, the atmosphere around the program, and how the job compares to others in the Big Ten. The program was on probation for five of Monson's seven seasons after an academic scandal under former coach Clem Haskins.Monson cleaned up the program, but the Gophers didn't win; they were 9-22 this season, 3-13 in the Big Ten.During his decade at Kentucky, where he replaced Rick Pitino, Smith was 263-83 and reached the NCAA Tournament every season, winning the national championship in 1998 -- Smith's rookie season in Lexington. But the Wildcats have not been back to the Final Four since."Tubby is an outstanding individual and he's been a credit to the conference and a credit to the game," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Thursday. "We definitely wish him well. Kentuucky has a great basketball tradition, and that great tradition will continue as the university moves ahead."This season, in which the Wildcats finished 22-12 overall, 9-7 in the SEC and lost to Kansas in the second round of the tournament, saw a growing faction of Kentucky fans calling for Smith's ouster.Earlier this month, before the Wildcats played their first-round NCAA Tournament game, Barnhart issued a statement supporting Smith, saying "Tubby's our basketball coach."But Barnhart also said that he and Smith would sit down after the season to discuss potential changes -- and declined to say whether any of Smith's assistants might be replaced.Meanwhile, while watching the defending national champion Gators practice in St. Louis in preparation for their Sweet 16 game against Butler on Friday, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley did not seem particularly concerned if Kentucky pursues coach Billy Donovan.When asked whether he expected Kentucky to contact Donovan, Foley replied, "It's a free world. There's nothing to prevent them from doing that.""We're trying to win an NCAA championship. He's our coach and he's been tremendously loyal for a long time. That's all I'm going to say about it."Donovan and Foley have been discussing a contract extension but have not agreed to one. Foley said he expected it to get done.Donovan had not heard about Smith's decision when approached by a Louisville Courier-Journal reporter just before the start of practice Thursday. When asked about it, Donovan said, "I know you have to ask me that, but right now I'm here to coach my team and win a national championship."According to sources, Marquette coach Tom Crean, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Memphis coach John Calipari, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Notre Dame's Mike Brey, Texas' Rick Barnes, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie and Villanova's Jay Wright are expected to be candidates for what is one of the few premier jobs in men's college basketball.</div>Wow. That list of coaches are some of the top coaches in the nation to replace Tubby. I think if Kentucky got Donovan, Kentucky would again join the elite once again. Same with Izzo, Calipari, and Barnes. They're 3 of top coaches and recruiters in the nation and are definately better than Tubby.
Btw, with the loss of Tubby Smith, Jai Lucas, the top PG recruit left (4 stars Scout.com, #6 rated PG in the nation) will really hurt and maybe eliminate Kentucky from the list. That means Oklahoma State, Maryland, and Oklahoma are the teams left on the top of the list.MARYLAND JAI!!! MARYLAND!!!!!!!!!!
