Change ‘healthy’ for Smith

As improbable as it seemed at the time, Tubby Smith's move from Kentucky to Minnesota makes perfect sense now. The more he talks about it, the more he smiles.

Who was not surprised in March, when Smith left the Wildcats to coach the Golden Gophers? He left a college basketball power for a rebuilding project.

On the surface, it was a head-scratching career move. But for Smith, it was the pursuit of happiness and the desire for a different challenge.

Anyone who sits at the same desk, day after day, year after year, might be able to relate.

"Everybody has a point in time in their life where you look at it and say, 'Is this what I want to be doing right now? Is this where I want to be?' For me it was just a matter of ... I needed a change," Smith said.

Smith spent 10 successful years at Kentucky. He has been at Minnesota for nine months and has coached nine games. He explains, and does so convincingly, why he made the right move.

"This has been inspiring and invigorating," he said Thursday, after pushing the Gophers through a two-hour practice at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Minnesota (8-1) meets Nicholls State (4-8) at 5 p.m. today in the opening game of the four-team, three-day Duel in the Desert tournament. UNLV (8-3) faces Kennesaw State (2-8) at 7:30.

The featured game of the event matches the Rebels and Gophers at 4 p.m. Sunday.

"Tubby's got them playing with a lot of confidence, and they're off to a good start," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "It will be a huge challenge for us. I think they're an NCAA Tournament team."

Kruger and Smith each coached their son in college and have more than that in common. They are two of four active Division I coaches to lead three schools to the Sweet 16.

Smith coached at Georgia in 1995-96, when Kruger was in his last season at Florida. Kruger left the Southeastern Conference to coach in the Big Ten, where Smith is now.

"Tubby had done a terrific job at Kentucky and won a national championship. And sometimes, maybe 10 years there is a long time," Kruger said.

Smith won the national title in 1998, his first year with the Wildcats, and advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament every year. But after going 44-25 in his last two seasons, not everyone was still thrilled, including Smith.

"We were pretty happy at Kentucky; it just was a time for a change," Smith said. "Lon has moved a few times, too. In this business, the Jim Boeheims and the Dean Smiths, you're not going to find many guys like that anymore, because the business is so volatile.

"Everybody always looks and says, 'Well, what was the problem?' It just happens ... you can get dull in your approach sometimes because you're in this place and you're recruiting a certain kind of guys, and you think, 'Let's see what I can do somewhere else.' "

Smith signed a seven-year, $13 million contract and received a warm welcome in Minnesota, where the program had bottomed out and needed a boost from a high-profile coach.

The Gophers, 9-22 last season, are led by three seniors -- forward Dan Coleman, guard Lawrence McKenzie and 6-foot-9-inch, 270-pound center Spencer Tollackson.

Kentucky has not been so lucky, struggling to a 5-5 start under coach Billy Gillispie.

"I know the change has been healthy for me. I don't know about Kentucky," Smith said. "This is the best thing for me.

"The kids were great at Kentucky, and the kids are great here. You do it because you love being around young people and you love teaching the game. There's no reason why we can't compete for a championship."

• NOTES -- Behind a game-high 14 points from Wink Adams, UNLV beat Minnesota 62-58 last year. ... Nicholls State has played nine road games, including an 88-78 loss to No. 1 North Carolina on Dec. 19.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.