CONCERNED FANS FOR

BASKETBALL

TUBBY SMITH SAYS
UK SHOULD AVERAGE
85-90 POINTS PER GAME
IN 2006-07

Get the facts, or the facts will get you.
And when you get em, get em right,
or they will get you wrong.
Thomas Fuller

Thank you Tubby for clarifying for all UK fans your goals and expectations for the 2006-07 Kentucky Basketball team with respect to scoring average.  Listen to Tubby himself explain that his goal for 2006-07 is to average 85-90 points per game.  However through the first 1/4 of the season, the team is barely averaging 70 ppg.  In addition, on Saturday, December 2, 2006, just two days prior to these remarks, Tubby employed a game plan that intentionally slowed down the pace to limit scoring opportunities.  The North Carolina game would have been the perfect opportunity for Tubby Smith to demonstrate his commitment to his own goal.

Here are the facts about Tubby Smith scoring and pace:

• After 12 games, UK's offensive efficiency stands at a pathetic 0.883 ppp, and if past seasons are any indication, and they are, this will fall as UK goes through the SEC season.
• At 0.883 ppp, UK would have to play at 95 to 100 possessions per game for these 12 games to average 85 to 90 ppg.
• Tubby's best offensive team posted an efficiency of 0.935 ppp. At that level of efficiency, 85 to 90 ppg would require a pace of 91 to 96 possessions per game.
• Rick Pitino's teams averaged 93 possessions, 87 ppg, and 0.934 ppp for 8 years. It is clear that Tubby's remark last night was not offered in isolation but has this exact context.
• Here are the UK scoring and pace averages for the last 9 years since Tubby Smith arrived:

The 2007 values represent the first 12 games only, and the reader should keep in mind that these averages tend to fall as UK enters and plays through the SEC season.  Therefore, rather than seeing any increase in either scoring or pace for the 2006-07 season as Tubby Smith has promised, it appears that the long term trend of declining scoring and declining pace will continue.

Why would Tubby make a public statement of this type. His teams have never averaged this level of pace or efficiency, and achieving the pace necessary to reach his 85 to 90 ppg statement at the efficiency that this team is now playing at has not ever been done at Kentucky since 1972 [Rupp's last year].

We will be watching with great interest as this season unfolds to determine whether your leadership is sufficient to achieve such a "lofty" goal, averaging 85-90 points per game. 

Thank you Tubby for clarifying these issues so well for all fans to see that you understand that UK rightfully belongs at the top of the SEC, as THE TEAM TO BEAT, and whether you, Mr. Barnhart, or Dr. Todd choose to read or ignore the internet, the Big Blue Nation does not ignore the internet, neither do members of the National Press.

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT HOW THE NEW $30 MILLION PRACTICE FACILITY HAS AFFECTED TEAM PLAY

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT WHETHER UK DESERVES TO BE RANKED IN THE TOP 25

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH, MITCH BARNHART, AND LEE TODD H
AVE TO SAY ABOUT THE BIG BLUE NATION

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT
HIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT UK BEING THE
TEAM TO BEAT IN THE SEC IN 2007

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE
IMPORTANCE OF WINNING AND LOSING

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT HIS FAILURE
TO PREPARE HIS TEAM PROPERLY TO PLAY MIAMI OF OHIO'S OFFENSE

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINAL FOURS AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

READ WHAT TUBBY SMITH HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE DEPTH POSSESSED BY
THE 2006-07 UK BASKETBALL TEAM

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SugarHill Communications of Kentucky
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