Bill Self recalls Billy Tubbs, legendary Oklahoma coach and KU Jayhawks nemesis
A former player and assistant basketball coach at Oklahoma State University, Bill Self had the utmost respect for Oklahoma coaching legend Billy Tubbs, who died Sunday at the age of 85 following a five-year battle with leukemia.
“Being from Oklahoma, there’s three men that brought basketball to Oklahoma — Mr. Iba (Henry) did back in the earlier years, but from a popularity standpoint Wayman Tisdale, Nolan Richardson and obviously Billy Tubbs,” 18th-year Kansas coach Self said Friday after learning a few hours earlier that Tubbs had entered hospice care.
“They did more for basketball in our state in the modern generation than anybody has,” added Self, a native Oklahoman who starred at Edmond High School and was a starter at OSU.
“He (Tubbs) was one of those guys that you loved or you love to dislike. And I know Kansas fans had their moments where they certainly disliked,” Self added. “What’d he do? Have his team cut down the nets here after winning the Big Eight one time?”
Yes indeed, in February of 1984, Tubbs, who coached at OU from 1980-94, had his Sooners clip the nets in Allen Fieldhouse after OU clinched at least a tie for the Big Eight title by beating KU, 92-82, in overtime. In all, he won four Big Eight crowns at OU.
The Sooners’ clipping of the nets led to former KU coach Larry Brown’s famous one-liner: “The world is round,” meaning, “what goes around comes around.”
The Jayhawks gained revenge less than three weeks later when KU beat OU, 79-78, in the title game of the Big Eight tourney in Kemper Arena. And four years later KU beat Tubbs’ Sooners, 83-79, in the 1988 NCAA title game again at Kemper Arena.
“He had players at Colorado wear the foam finger to make sure that the people knew they were saying number one instead of maybe something else,” Self stated with a smile, referring to a game at Colorado in which Tubbs’ Sooners wore foam fingers in response to being accused of previously making obscene gestures while playing the Buffs.
“I know When UNLV introduced their starters they did a fireworks show (at Thomas and Mack Center before games). So he got everybody sparklers when he took his TCU team to play there and they ran through the sparklers during pre-game introductions,” Self continued, telling stories about the colorful Tubbs.
“I could go on and on about so many things he did that created controversy and interest at the same time,” Self stated. “Who would ever forget what he did with Missouri and Norm Stewart when he got on the microphone and said, ‘Hey, nobody throw anything else on the floor no matter how bad the officiating is.’’’
Tubbs In a home game against Missouri on Feb. 9, 1989, indeed grabbed the public address microphone and told fans in Lloyd Noble Center: “The referees request that regardless of how terrible the officiating is, do not throw stuff on the floor.”
“I mean, he did stuff like that all the time,” Self said with a laugh.
Self noted in a serious tone: “You just can’t help but like him, and so wish him nothing but the best, he and his family and Pat (Tubbs’ wife) and Tommy (Tubbs’ son) and their group. That’s a man that created a lot of memories for a lot of people, and that’s just off the top of my head. I could list more, probably, just if I’d had 30 seconds to think about it.”
On Sunday night, KU’s coach wrote on Twitter: “No one has combined ability, humor, and entertainment in our sport better than Billy Tubbs. He made cheering for or rooting against more entertaining. He, Nolan Richardson, and Wayman Tisdale did more for BB in okla than anyone else ever could. Rest In Peace Billy.”
Tubbs, a 2006 Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has most wins of any OU coach in school history with 333. In 31 years as a head coach at four schools, Tubbs went 641-340 with 12 NCAA tournament appearances.
He won with personality and flair. His 1988 national runnerup team averaged 102.9 points per game, the Sooners playing with the brashness of their head coach.
“Bob (Huggins, West Virginia), when he came to K-State (in March of 2006), I thought it was one of the best things for our league. He brought personality to our league in a day and time there’s not as much personality because there are not as many ‘lifers’ in the business,” Self said. “Our league used to have the best personalities ever — coach Brown, coach (Jack) Hartman, at K-State, coach Stewart and Johnny Orr at Iowa State. And the biggest personality of all, coach Tubbs. OU people were entertained. Now everybody says, ‘Great game, good job (after games).’ It’s a lot different than it used to be.”
Tubbs, who was born in St. Louis but spent most of his childhood in Tulsa, is survived by survived by Pat Tubbs, his wife of 62 years, daughter Taylor McDaniel and by Tommy Tubbs.
Some tributes came pouring in on social media and in news articles from various publications Sunday regarding the death of Billy Tubbs:
From former KU guard Rex Walters on Twitter: “Very sad to hear the news. Loved the short time we got to compete with his teams. The kind of coach I would have loved to play for. RIP Coach Tubbs.”
Former KU assistant coach Matt Doherty on Twitter: “One of CBB’s true characters. Jack Nicholson would play Billy Tubbs if there was a movie on his life. College basketball lost an OU legend.”
ESPN announcer and former Duke player Jay Bilas on Twitter: “I was fortunate to play against Billy Tubbs’ Oklahoma Sooners, and to get to know him in later years. One of the game’s truly great coaches and an all-time character. Billy Tubbs always made you smile. RIP Coach Tubbs.”
ESPN’s Dick Vitale on Twitter: “Just received text from Oklahoma Super AD Joe Castiglione that Billy Tubbs passed . May Billy RIP My prayers to his family /A tough year losing John Thompson - Lute Olson- Eddie Sutton - Tom Jernstedt -David Gaines -Lou Henson etc Hope they all RIP.”
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes on Twitter: “Some of my favorite memories coaching at Barton County were spent with coach Tubbs when he would come up to Great Bend to recruit. Billy loved to win, loved to have fun, and was never afraid to speak his mind. There were very few, if any, like Billy Tubbs. He will he missed. RIP.”
TCU coach Jamie Dixon on Twitter: “I first knew coach Tubbs when I played against his OU teams and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. He’s one of the great college coaches and had success here as the head coach at TCU. Coach Tubbs’ style was unique and he was his own man. He will be deeply missed.”
Former Nebraska coach Tim Miles on Twitter: “RIP Coach. Billy Tubbs was one of the first coaches I ever met at a Final Four.”
From OSU Cowboy basketball on Twitter: “Sending our deepest sympathies to the family of Billy Tubbs and @OU_MBBall. We’ll always remember coach Tubbs as an ambassador for the game and a great Bedlam rival.”
From former OU guard Bo Overton to newsok.com: “Everybody knows all the stuff about him. He’s a fierce competitor and all that stuff. That kind of came through in how he coached. And what it meant to the players was, you never wanted to let him down. That was the big thing that he would always get across.”
Current OU coach Lon Kruger to newsok.com: “The history and tradition of the Oklahoma basketball program is rooted in Billy Tubbs and his legendary teams. Coach Tubbs was an incredible innovator and mastermind behind some of the highest-scoring teams in college basketball history. His historic run with Sooner basketball continues to be the foundation of our program to his day.”
From the Tubbs family in a statement: “The love expressed by his former players and staff members has been amazing and is a reflection of how he coached. He had been gone from the University of Oklahoma since 1994, but it’s hard to express how much our family has always revered and continues to love OU. Just last night, he was wearing his ‘Cheer Like a Champion’ shirt while watching the football team’s big win (over Texas Tech). Wherever Billy Tubbs was, he made it the best he possibly could. And we know that’s true right now, too.”
The family statement added: “Though his passing represents a tremendous loss for everyone close to him, our family is comforted by the knowledge he lived an extremely spirited life full of outstanding accomplishment in and out of sports. Many are aware of his remarkable achievements as a basketball coach, but we will remember him for way more than all of his wins, conference titles and NCAA tournament success. He was a fierce competitor in everything he faced, and that was never more evident than in his final days.”
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione to ESPN.com: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of coach Billy Tubbs. Billy is one of the most successful, popular and colorful figures in the history of OU Athletics. His passion and vision of the game defined an era of Sooner basketball and forever changed the trajectory of our hoops program. His teams also helped usher in a fan-friendly style of basketball during a time when college basketball was really growing and evolving. His teams would go anywhere, at any time, to play anyone if it helped the program in the long run.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Bill Self recalls Billy Tubbs, legendary Oklahoma coach and KU Jayhawks nemesis."
