Tubby Smith, Former College Basketball Coach, w/ Jamal Mashburn

Former championship-winning college basketball coach Tubby Smith, plus special guest Jamal Mashburn, sit down with Dave Softy Mahler at the Final Four down in Phoenix.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
You're listening to our Final four coverageand Dave Softy Muller live from Radio Row
at the Final Four, brought toyou by Twin Peaks and by Hunt Service
Suits on your home for the FinalFour and the National Championship. Sports Radio
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right here on ninety three to threeKJRFM. Big thanks to our friends at
Twin Peaks and Hunt Services. Bigthanks to our friends at Coles as well.
It's a new season at Cole's.Find fresh everyday styles for you in
your home at great prices shop Coalsand Coals dot Com. Today. Well,
a guy who's got tremendous style,A guy who won the National Championship

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at Kentucky way back in nineteen ninetyeight, one of our favorites every year.
Getting a chance to talk to TubbySmith is always an honor coach.
How are you? Thank you?Dave? I appreciate this opportunity, and
boy, I'm gonna go buy someat cole right now. We got we
got Wendy's on here, we gotMarriott, We got Judah standard shirt.

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Whatever you need, man, whateveryou need. We got your great sponsors.
Man. Well, we appreciate youstopping by here. You're you're kind
of one of those guys. Ialways tell people you're like EF Hutton,
right when you talk people listen.People want to know what Tubby Smith you
remember. That's well, you knowwhat the problem is? They don't remember
you. F Hutton. Yeah Ido because I'm fifty years old for crying
out loud. But tell me aboutjust kind of your thoughts on the state

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of college basketball and the state ofcollege athletics as a whole. That's interesting.
That's a deep question too, becauseit's it's but it's growing. Yeah,
I mean the sport is sort oflike people look at us at all
these issues and it's always been thatway. But but guess what, there's

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not the greatest sport being played thencollege basketball. That's why we're here today
at the Final four and the theHow can I say the popularity of the
game is at an old time high. It's all like our country people talk
about this, so this is notworking. That's not working. It was

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probably an old time high. Asfar as all the other stuff that's going
on right, Jamal Mashburgh, thereyou go. How about that Jamal Mashburg
walking by givin Tubby Smith a bigol'd hug man. That is awesome.
That is great seeing those guys together. Where's the last time you saw that
guy? By the way, Iwas down in Miami hanging out with it.
I love it. I love itat a Miami heat gain Jamal,

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jump on the air with us fora second. Here, jump on that
microphone right there, because well,one of the greats of Kentucky basketball comes
by to say hello. You gottastop and put him on the air.
Jamal Mashburn now with Tubby Smith.How are you man? Good to see
you. I'm doing well. Howyou doing? Tell us about what this
guy means to you? Sitting righthere. Let me tell you he was

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one of the reasons why I wentto University Kentucky. I mean, Rick
Patino was the primary recruiter and atthat time also Hurts send Deck. And
when Tubby into the building, firstthing my mom thought of was, why
is Richard Pryor here? And shejust fell in love with Tubby and I

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fell in love with him as well. And uh, he's one of the
reasons why I would see you wowwow, and that doesn't get told a
lot. Oh listen, we triedto recruit him the year before when I
was at the University of South Carolina, if you remember, but we didn't.
But then I show up and we'rerecruit him at Kentucky. I was
assistant coach, Rick Patino and Herbsand Ralph were all there. But what

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are great? Yeah? We stillsee him in Miami, comes down and
blesses the city with lives in FortLaughter jail. So I go here.
I love that. I want toget thoughts from both you guys on on
NIL today. First's kind of whatwas going on behind the scenes twenty five
thirty years Come on, come on, come on tell us because I'm curious,
Jamal, if you if you playedthe day, what would your NIL

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resident looked like. You know,I look at it completely different. I
don't know what it would have lookedlike back then. I'm sure there would
have been many of opportunities to dosomething. You know, my son is
in the transfer portal now. Myson is probably one of the unique kids.
He didn't accept in IL money.Why not from the University of New
Mexico. He just felt like whatthey were offering at that time he was

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worth more. And then also he'sin a different situation than other kids maybe
in that he doesn't have to acceptit. And you know, I just
think at that particular time, hewas more concentrated on the season and being
a part of that team. AndNIL can get a little bit murky,
you know, when it gets comesto a team sport of what individuals are
getting and different things like that,and what they think they're worth. So

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that's never really been a concern ofhis. I think for certain kids,
you know, it may pay apriority for them, But I'm always a
believer that, you know, ifyou want to pursue professional basketball, you
got to develop, And sometimes developingwith money on the mind is not the
best course of action because that's alittle bit short sighted and you got to
go with you know, the NILand also the I think the couple with

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the transfer portal has really thrown thingsin a loop for a lot of coaches,
especially old school coaches, when they'reabout development in three or four years,
you know. But you know,in the reality of it is when
I say old school development, that'snecessary for the feeder of NBA basketball totally,
and because kids nowadays are not comingin developed and ready to play at

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any style. So you know,I understand the importance of kids wanting to
move forward. And if coaches havean opportunity to leave, then they may
have the opportunity to leave as well. Because one thing that doesn't even talked
about a lot is that the relationshipsthat are built with coaches and players,
and everybody talks about the institution that'swhere the kid is going. Now,
the kid is really following a relationshipthat he's built with a Tubby Smith or

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Rick beteam Well, you mentioned theportal. We had a guy that played
for Washington that was on I thinkit's fourth by the time he showed up
here. How do you think hewould have handled this guy, Tubby Smith?
How would he have handled guys comingand going? I think, you
know what I think in my opinion, and I'll let him answer that.
In my opinion, I think hewould have handled it well. And the
reason why he'd have handled it wellbecause Tubby's all about truth and honesty at

(06:16):
the end of the day, andso he's going to be real with the
kids and be honest with the kids, and most people don't realize this that
good players and great players want tobe held accountable and want honest feedback.
Yeah, you know, and Ithink Tubby would have throw well, I
think you hit it and nailed onit, being sincere, being honest,
being truthful, and then letting thekids because the great ones they want to

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know. Yeah, you know,coach like Jamol you know, you know
he had that drive and energy,but he needed to be the truth about
what I needed to do to improveto reach his dream and reach his goal.
Correct. And then he was nowyou he accepts that, and you
can you know, you can puta lot on your plate. You got
to do more. You got tobe in the gym at this time,
you got to put in this manyyou know. Now you're willing to do

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whatever it takes correct. And Ithink the respect that you show. And
I've always been a servant. Ifelt like my job is there to serve
the community, the school, thatthe young men are families and uh so,
and that's that's the respect that we'vetried to give to the players as
well. By the way, Itell you, Jamal Mashburn Tuppy Smith are

(07:25):
with us here on the air andever since you sat down. All I
see now is Richard Pryor. That'sall I see. Right. He sounds
like him too. But it's unbelievablesaying I hadn't even thought about that.
You know, he sat out.But my son was a kid and I
was in a record shop back whenyou had the albums, and you said
Richard Pryor was so now I didhave a thick mustard. I remember a

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parent telling me that one time Iwas recruiting who was it. I was
recruiting Charles Barkley Wow and out ofLeeds, Alabama and his grandmother, and
it was like, you know whoyou look like? You look like Richard
Pryor, and you sound like himtoo. That that's hilarious. Well,
there was a lot of talk afterKentucky lost about coach cal and he's coming

(08:07):
back. For those that say,hey, coach Cow's lost, it doesn't
have the connection anymore. Nil ischanging the game. What do you say
to those fans that think that JohnCalipari needs to step aside? Well,
I'm gonna be honest with you.I mean to each his own, but
I don't think he should have leftthe University of Kentucky. I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be honest. You know, Tubby Smith. I don't think he

(08:28):
should have been affordable opportunity to leave, but obviously things happen for a reason.
And when you look back on andyou look at his track record,
right, and you compare it toothers, Yeah, pretty Come on,
man, come on, man,you know what. I'm not just saying
that because he's here. Oh yeah, five teams to the tournament. Five
it's you know, it's a toughsituation now, unlike when I was you

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know what I'm talking about what withcoach with cal right now it's and Jamal
hit it on the head about what'shappening in the locker room, how you're
being viewed with your nil deal versusmy you know, my not having the
deal. That throws a whole differentand the opportunity for me to just leave

(09:16):
and go play somewhere else. Imean, you got guys that you mentioned
guy watching fourth year, fourth schoolin five or six years, they already
got they got an extra year becauseof COVID. You throw that in so
and I remember I was on ashow when they asked me, a coach,
you can leave? I said,yeah, I can get fired too,
and I have been. So isthat what you want for your son?

(09:41):
Is that what you want for youngpeople? For us to just And
that's what's happening. You have coachesgoing in you know what I need two
or three scholarships. You see whatI mean. It works both ways,
no question, no question. Buton the periphery is the fans. And
I gotta tell you our heads arespinning, not just in basketball, Jamal,
but you know what college football too. But the game is still it's

(10:05):
still popular for sure. The seasonnever ends. Basketball is going to continue
to grow. Is going the popularityof it at all time? Well,
you know it's it's and he saidit right. We're often just, I
would say, disguising. This isprofessional sports. You know, it's professional
sports, professional sports for a longperiod of time, you know. And

(10:26):
I think there are things that aregoing to happen moving forward. And the
players have changed, you know whatI mean, and what they're looking for.
I remember back in my day,you know, in order for you
to leave early, you had tobe a top four, top five pick.
Now guys leaving early if they canbe a second rounder. Is doing
Ronnie James, Yeah, yeah,a little bit but he's not ready for

(10:48):
the NBA. Different situation. Youknow, bab has been great. Hey,
listen before you go, I'm gotto ask you if your coaches versus
cancer. You're here with Exact Sciencehit A raise awareness for colon cancer,
right, Yeah. I've teamed upwith them to get people to screen that.
Look at that forty five years andold to get screened. My mother
was impacted by colon cancer. Shedealt with it in two thousand and one

(11:11):
when I was making my first NBAAll Star team and then off the course
she was dealing with that. Wow, and she was in remission for eighteen
years, lived a beautiful life.And Tubby knows she passed along pre COVID
and from a heart issue, sohe knows how special my mom is to
me. I'm an only child,and anything that I can do to keep

(11:31):
her memory alive and also share myexperience with it, you know, it's
something that I have to do.I love this wonderful well. You know
with the PSA, I've been toa public service announcement since I was at
Kentucky with brought prostate cancer and it'ssomething that affected me obviously twelve years now
in remission, so which is somethingthat kills a lot of African American males.

(11:52):
So we need to and colon canceralong with prostate cancers too, the
major and I'm on the cancer coachesversus cancel board, so we're doing a
lot. Yeah, I appreciate Jamaland his impact and his influence. That's
going to mean a lot. Ifyou guys look great. You look like
you did when you were eighteen.You know, doesn't he look good?
And you look like Richard Pryde.I don't even don't ever ever look at

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you differently ever again, Jamal Mashburn, great to see both of you guys,
best of luck to thank you allright, Jamal Mashburn, Tubby Smith
joining us live here at Radio Rowin Phoenix. That was great. We
got a lot more to get toit a busy Friday from the Final four
right here on ninety three three kJR FL