Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith still gets some love from Kentucky fans. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The Kentucky fans made a semi-circle around Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith, asking the former Wildcats coach to pose for photos and sign autographs.
Smith was a popular man at the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention in Indianapolis on Friday. Kentucky fans were roaming the wide convention center halls and Smith drew a crowd when he emerged from a meeting.
Smith was not the most beloved of Kentucky coaches. He succeeded Rick Pitino and won a national championship in his first season of 1997-98. The Wildcats very demanding fan base always seemed a bit disappointed during his 10 seasons. Smith took the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament every year. He never reached another Final Four and eventually left for Minnesota.
“You know everybody has there opinion. You do the job the best you can. Half the people agree with you. Half the people don’t,” he said.
But he has no hard feelings for Kentucky and Wildcats fans.
“I love the people of Kentucky. Great folks,” he said. “I always felt secure in who I was. And secure in that people treated me fairly.”