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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 29, 2018 3:58:13 GMT -5
I'm not going to create another thread for the purposes of tracking my favorite coach, Tubby Smith, but while reading about his return to his alma mater High Point as head coach, I found some interesting bits of information. There are potentially some lessens for U-D in the High Point story.
High Point is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. Approximately 4800 students attend High Point, with 4500 of them undergrads. High Point was established in 1924 and is affiliated with the Methodist Church. In 2005, High Point had only 1400 students, but by 2013 they crossed the 4,000 student plateau. Current President Nido Qubein took office in 2005. Per Wiki: "Since taking office in 2005, President Nido Qubein has been adding campus buildings and creating student amenities such as concierge services, an on-campus steak house, free carwashes, and an ice cream truck." The University will break ground this year on a new $130 million arena. HPU has benefited from aggressive fundraising, but has also borrowed a LOT of money, which resulted in their bonds being downgraded to "junk" status in 2009. However, in recent years, HPU has scored the highest grade in the Department of Education's financial responsibility score. HPU has an endowment of $42 million, per Wiki.
In 2017, well before it was considered a possibility that Tubby Smith would return to coach there, HPU announced it was naming the basketball court after Coach Smith. This was due not only to Tubby's status as one of HPU's most distinguished alumni, but also in response to the $1 million donation that Tubby and his wife made towards the construction of the new arena. (Maybe something my alma mater could have considered when re-naming the floor at Calihan.)
HPU is also a highly respected academic institution, named the top regional college in the South in the 2016 edition of America's Best Colleges/US News and World Report.
HPU is definitely on an upward trend as an institution. They have been helped in recent years by some athletic success and the hire of Tubby Smith has given them more publicity than they have gotten in probably decades. I think that U-D is on an upward trajectory academically, and hopefully that continues. A news making basketball program can only help.
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Post by motorcitysam on May 27, 2018 18:28:57 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Jul 12, 2018 15:50:21 GMT -5
As we ponder who the assistant coaches might be on the Titans, the High Point Panthers added one of the most successful high school coaches in North Carolina to the staff as an assistant coach. From the feedback I got from my North Carolina connections, this is a very good hire for Coach Smith. I wouldn't mind seeing Davis add a top Michigan high school coach to the staff if he is still looking. www.highpointpanthers.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 11, 2018 18:02:27 GMT -5
The first verbal commitment for Tubby's first full class at High Point is a solid one: Eric Coleman Jr. is a 6-6 forward out of Georgia who picked High Point from a final four of HPU, College of Charleston, Troy, and Mercer. (I know I said I wasn't going to devote a thread just to track Tubby Smith at High Point, but sometimes I can't help it. He is my favorite coach. Forgive me.) www.verbalcommits.com/players/eric-coleman-jr
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 25, 2018 1:49:43 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Dec 7, 2018 14:20:26 GMT -5
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Post by rbj on Dec 7, 2018 15:33:28 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that article, although he's had his ups and downs, Tubby Smith has had a very lucrative and successful career.
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Post by motorcitysam on Dec 7, 2018 18:09:06 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that article, although he's had his ups and downs, Tubby Smith has had a very lucrative and successful career. Yep. 27 seasons as a head coach, only two losing seasons, both in his first two years at Texas Tech after taking over a dead program. 18 NCAA tournament appearances, two NIT appearances. Except at Kentucky, he's always taken over bad programs that needed rebuilding. Has taken five programs to the dance and it would have been six this year had Penny Hardaway and the Memphis president not stabbed him in the back last season. I am hoping he gets there with High Point. Also, never even a suggestion of impropriety. Future Hall of Famer.
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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 29, 2019 0:42:40 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 16, 2019 21:33:01 GMT -5
Big win for Coach Smith and High Point. The Panthers were down at Hampton by 13 points midway through the second half and down by five with 18 seconds in regulation. Some timely plays put the game into overtime and HPU won by five. The Panthers are 14-12, 7-5.
It was a double winning day for Coach Smith, as the Panthers got a verbal commitment from a guard in the class of 2019.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 8, 2019 0:48:51 GMT -5
Coach Smith and the High Point Panthers fell to Gardner Webb Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament, 75-69. The Panthers, playing without two starters who were out with injuries, fell behind by 19 points with 14 minutes to go in the game, and were still down by ten with 4:28 to go. A furious rally cut the lead to two, 69-67, with 1 minute left. Unfortunately, the rally fell short and High Point fell 75-69.
The Panthers finished 16-15 overall, 9-7 in conference. This was a season in which the roster was crippled with injuries, as a forward who was, at worst, their second best front court option, missed all but two games due to injuries, and their best three point shooter and second leading scorer missed the final seven games of the year. The top recruit from 2018, a 6-10 center, took a redshirt year. Other injuries were sprinkled through the season; at one point late in the year the team was without five players expected to be in the rotation, including a couple of starters. Lots of bad luck hit the team, but the future is bright. The Panthers lose a front court player but should get back three difference makers who missed significant time this season, and will return their top two scorers and several young players who got experience this year. Generally speaking, players excel in their second year in Coach Smith's system. They also have two players committed for 2019, a forward and a guard.
I don't know if they are a post season candidate in one of the smaller tournaments, although Tubby's name might make them attractive. If the season ends today, this is another winning season for Coach Smith, who has only two losing seasons in his 28 years as a head coach, despite taking over rebuilding projects in every stop but Kentucky, where he won his national championship.
My favorite High Point game this year? Their last minute win on the road against Valpo. :-)
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 26, 2019 17:48:47 GMT -5
High Point gets hit by the grad transfer bug as their two top scores, both redshirt junior guards, are transferring. Both had transferred to HPU previously, one from Iona and one from Northeastern. They both played the best ball of their careers in their one season under Coach Smith, averaging 19 and 13 points. They have decided to take their talents elsewhere. That hurts the team's prospects for next season, but on the other hand, it opens up playing time for a couple of younger guards on the roster who showed promise, and a good guard they have coming in for the class of 2019. Coach Smith will get some of his players in and I expect the team to have a better record this coming season than this past season.
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Post by ptctitan on Apr 18, 2019 7:31:02 GMT -5
Sam - what is your take on the consent probation agreement between the NCAA and High Point? Is that affecting Tubby's recruiting? It's a school wide 2-year probation plus a $15,000 fine for the department's failure to provide adequate notice to students in all sports who were losing their athletic scholarships. The violations occurred before Tubby arrived and were self-reported by the school. But since you follow Tubby and High Point, I was wondering if you could add to our understanding of the issue and if or how it is affecting Tubby.
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 18, 2019 11:07:34 GMT -5
Sam - what is your take on the consent probation agreement between the NCAA and High Point? Is that affecting Tubby's recruiting? It's a school wide 2-year probation plus a $15,000 fine for the department's failure to provide adequate notice to students in all sports who were losing their athletic scholarships. The violations occurred before Tubby arrived and were self-reported by the school. But since you follow Tubby and High Point, I was wondering if you could add to our understanding of the issue and if or how it is affecting Tubby. PTCT, I don't think it is effecting recruiting. It is a one time $15,000 fine and two years "don't do it again" probation. There are no scholarship or recruiting restrictions. The violation stem from the athletic department not providing writing notification to student athletes who were losing their scholarships or aid. Seems like they were told verbally, but the notification process was not followed. There are three guys signed for the High Point basketball class of 2019, a 6-4 guard, a 6-8 forward, and a 6-10 center, and all were considered excellent signings for the program, as each had multiple mid major offers. None were considered the kind of "reach" recruits you see when programs are having a hard time landing players. One of the assistant coaches teased no Twitter that a fourth recruit was signing and would be announced today. They seem to be doing okay. Even with Coach Smith running the program, coverage of High Point basketball is slim, as you would expect from a mid major program in a state with multiple high major basketball schools. As you imagine, I follow the team closely and one of the signings announced yesterday caught me by surprise; I hadn't heard the name before. I add this part to compare the HPU situation with our situation as Titan fans, where we also have to deal with a lack of coverage, especially when it comes to recruiting. It is certainly frustrating.
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Post by ptctitan on Apr 18, 2019 15:30:58 GMT -5
Thanks for information, sam.
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