Tubby Smith is the Chuck Norris of College Basketball

Welcome back to another exaggeration period by yours truly. Today's lesson is the food chain in college basketball. At the top of the food chain are the legendary names and teams of college basketball. Names such as John Wooden and Bobby Knight and teams such as North Carolina, Kentucky, and Duke. However, maybe one more name should be added to that list. He is the coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Tubby Smith.

I remember as a kid watching the Gopher basketball. It was fourth grade and it was exciting as hell. The Gophers were led by big names such as Sam Jacobson, John Thomas, and Bobby Jackson. I even remember that Courtney James wound up being in deep trouble for beating his girlfriend. The Gophers were unstoppable that year. The Gophers wound up going to the Final Four where they lost to Kentucky.

Yes, that year techincally doesn't count in the record books due to the recruiting scandal that rocked the program, but I've been waiting for that same excitement from Gopher basketball for years now. I think the Gophers are finally going to deliver.

When the Gophers were a perennial NCAA tournament team, they had many intangibles. They had explosive players, players that if they were down in a game, they'd come back come hell or high water. They were led by a good coach in Clem Haskins. Say what you want about Clem, but he was a damn good basketball coach. Teams would come to the Barn, pee their pants, and leave with a 20 to 50 point loss. Life was good.

Now, Tubby Smith is bringing that feeling back. When he was hired a couple seasons ago, it was a head scratcher. Not from our standpoint, but why would Kentucky hate this guy so much to make him leave? Tubby didn't do much in Lexington. He guided his team to 10 NCAA tournaments, he got to a couple Final Fours and won a national championship. God, he sucked in Lexington. Ashley Judd had the complete right to rip his heart out and eat it in front of everyone. Shame on you. Actually, the entire state of Kentucky is an insane asylum. I'm pretty sure that the nation's highest incest rate occurs in the state as well.

Tubby is showing why he kicks ass in Minnesota. Tubby is already doing what Dan Monson couldn't. A) Field a competitive team and B) Get some kick ass recruits. Looking at the current team, Tubby has brought in Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III. This next year, our jaws just might hit the floor when Royce White and Rodney Williams set foot in The Barn. Not to mention that Tubby has led a team to a 16-2 record with mediocre talent. Tubby Smith does the most with the least amount of talent. Just ask a Kentucky fan right now how they are doing.

Although, the Gophers have been a bit sloppy lately, their wins against Louisville and at Wisconsin could be the start of something beautiful. If the Gophers can knock off Purdue at The Barn tommorow, the Gophers could be a team on the rise.