I'm not old enough to remember him, but I wish I could've witnessed that slate of Big 8 coaches.
Johnny
Billy Tubbs
Norm Stewart
Eddie Sutton
Roy Williams
Johnny
Billy Tubbs
Norm Stewart
Eddie Sutton
Roy Williams
Billy Tubbs passes away
- Thread starter CloneGuy8
- Start date
Larry Brown as well for awhile at KU
I know Larry Brown was at KU for a while, didn't know how much overlap he had with those other guys. Not that it matters too much.
Big 8 coaches are certainly memorable. Gary Thompson, on a CyclonesTV segment, tells about Norm Stewart and Joe Cipriano of Nebraska calling timeouts near the end of games, just so sports broadcasters would not have time to do interviews that would appear on TV - depriving that coach from getting a chance to promote their school's program.
If we just take the Johnny Orr era (81-94) in the Big Eight...
Colorado - Bill Blair ([77] 81), Tom Apke (82-86), Tom Miller (87-90), Joe Harrington (91-94 [96])
Kansas - Ted Owens ([65] 81-83), Larry Brown (84-88), Roy Williams (89-94 [03])
KSU - Jack Hartman ([70] 81-86), Lon Kruger (87-90), Dana Altman (91-94)
Mizzou - Norm Stewart ([68] 81-94 [99])
Nebraska - Moe Iba (81-86), Danny Nee (87-94 [00])
Oklahoma - Billy Tubbs (81-94)
OSU - Paul Hansen ([80] 81-86), Leonard Hamilton (87-90), Eddie Sutton (91-94 [06])
Colorado - Bill Blair ([77] 81), Tom Apke (82-86), Tom Miller (87-90), Joe Harrington (91-94 [96])
Kansas - Ted Owens ([65] 81-83), Larry Brown (84-88), Roy Williams (89-94 [03])
KSU - Jack Hartman ([70] 81-86), Lon Kruger (87-90), Dana Altman (91-94)
Mizzou - Norm Stewart ([68] 81-94 [99])
Nebraska - Moe Iba (81-86), Danny Nee (87-94 [00])
Oklahoma - Billy Tubbs (81-94)
OSU - Paul Hansen ([80] 81-86), Leonard Hamilton (87-90), Eddie Sutton (91-94 [06])
Hilton Magic was just as much a product of the Big 8 being REALLY GOOD at basketball for a long time as it was the fans.
I don't even remember which yr it was but OU rolled into Ames and they were ranked right up there, I was in the student section behind their bench, They brought those #1 foam fingers along with them they are waving them the student section is giving them hell, they threw a water at the student section during a time out. It was crazy. God I miss the old Big 8 coaches with big personalities, hard core fans and great arenas. The stuff that went down in the 80's would get a letter from the commissioner today and condemned on Sports Center, but it was a lot of fun when you were living it.
I'm fairly certain that was 1988 when they had Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King. If it wasn't for Danny Manning and KU playing almost a perfect game....they are national champs. Think of that......two Big 8 teams playing for it all.
Billy Tubbs was once interviewed by **** Vitale prior to a game that was going to be broadcast on ESPN. Getting on ESPN was a rare event back then, especially for a Big 8 school. This was also an era when almost every team played a 4 corners offense.
"We play a fun and exciting brand of basketball and you all should turn on your TVs to watch this game but turn down the volume so that you don't have to listen to **** Vitale." (this is a paraphrase)
"We play a fun and exciting brand of basketball and you all should turn on your TVs to watch this game but turn down the volume so that you don't have to listen to **** Vitale." (this is a paraphrase)
From soonersports
During Tubbs' tenure, the NCAA introduced college basketball's first shot clock (1985) and 3-point line (1986). Tubbs’ teams took full advantage of the changes, averaging 98.4 points per game over the first five seasons of the 3-point era.
Oklahoma ranked in the top three nationally for points per game for seven consecutive seasons (1984-90). The Sooners averaged more than 100 ppg in 1987-88 (102.9), 1988-89 (102.2) and 1989-90 (101.3).
Eight other NCAA records are credited to Tubbs' teams, including most points in a half vs. a Division I opponent (97 vs. U.S. International in 1989) and most steals vs. a Division I opponent (34 vs. Centenary in 1987).
"Some people call it run and gun or run and shoot," Tubbs said about his style of play. "I hope it's not run and shoot… I hope it's run and SCORE."
During Tubbs' tenure, the NCAA introduced college basketball's first shot clock (1985) and 3-point line (1986). Tubbs’ teams took full advantage of the changes, averaging 98.4 points per game over the first five seasons of the 3-point era.
Oklahoma ranked in the top three nationally for points per game for seven consecutive seasons (1984-90). The Sooners averaged more than 100 ppg in 1987-88 (102.9), 1988-89 (102.2) and 1989-90 (101.3).
Eight other NCAA records are credited to Tubbs' teams, including most points in a half vs. a Division I opponent (97 vs. U.S. International in 1989) and most steals vs. a Division I opponent (34 vs. Centenary in 1987).
"Some people call it run and gun or run and shoot," Tubbs said about his style of play. "I hope it's not run and shoot… I hope it's run and SCORE."
Took me a while to find this Tubbs quote … from a sidebar to a feature written by Hank Nuwer in Sport magazine (I think it’s in 1988-89 college basketball preview issue, maybe).
"My wife’s upset because she says I love basketball more than I do her. ‘But honey,’ I said. ‘I love you more than track.’”
"My wife’s upset because she says I love basketball more than I do her. ‘But honey,’ I said. ‘I love you more than track.’”
There was a lot of "riverboat gambler/snake oil salesman to him. That being said, there were 2 big positives that he brought to the table.
1. He was willing to tell a joke. This was at a time when the giants of basketball coaching (Dean Smith, John Thompson, Bobby Knight) could hardly crack a smile.
2. They played a fun style of basketball. Most teams were playing a slow down, rough-and-tumble style when Billy started. There were a few coaches that refused to play this style. These coaches included Johnny Orr, Paul Westhead, Jerry Tarkanian, Guy Lewis, and Rick Pitino, even a young Coach K allowed his team to shoot a bit more than the average team. Not all of these coaches were great guys but college basketball became a much more enjoyable product because they were having success.
Watch the cyclones.tv feature on Gary Thompson, where Gary is telling John Walters about how much fun he had as the color guy for the Big 8 network at that time. Gary mentioned one story in particular where it was a big deal to be in the Big 8 "game of the week" for recruiting purposes. Particularly the winning coach getting interviewed after the game. Near the end of a game where Missouri was getting beat by Nebraska Norm called a couple of timeouts to extend the game. He walked over toward half court and told the NU coach, "you're not getting on TV." So later in the season Missouri led late and the NU coach called a couple timeouts and walked to half court and said the same thing to Norm. It was very funny hearing Gary tell that story.
And KU beat Mitch Richmond and K-State in the E8 along the way. That was a loaded Big 8 conference.
My favorite Billy Tubbs memory is the year Hurl Beechum dropped in about 4 or 5 deep daggers on OU in Hilton. You used to get to hear some of the opposing coach's press conference on the postgame show and part of Billy's statement was something along the lines of, "can somebody tell me who the hell Hurl Beechum is?"
Somebody earlier said part of Hilton Magic was how good the conference was. I agree to some extent especially the entertaining brand of basketball that was played,, but I also think it was the "villians" who were manning the opposing benches. Tubbs, Stewart and Sutton were so easy to hate and they ate it up. I think Johnny was the same way on the road, although we weren't nearly as good as those teams on the road. You'd look long and hard to find personalities like that in today's PC college game. I used to yell at those guys for all I was worth, but looking back, I'm glad we got to see those teams and coaches in person. Self and Huggins are throw backs to those days, but aside from them, nobody gets fans bases foaming at the mouth the ways those guys used to. It was part of the experience.
RIP Billy. Even though I know I read off your pedigree more than once, it was never personal.
Oh we boo'd the hell out them, doesn't mean it wasn't fun and exciting.
See that was part of it though everybody gave as good as they got and nobody got butt hurt about it. Our student section bring cap guns to shoot and chant "Suicide Steve" at Steve Stipanovich from misssourri when he accidently shoot himself in the leg while cleaning a gun. OU and the foam fingers, it was just a great time to be in attendance fan in the Big8. That group of coaches were just plain fun.
