Tubbs prepares for final games
Associated Press

FORT WORTH — Billy Tubbs says he won’t miss coaching — if indeed this is his last season.

After 593 wins and 12 NCAA tournament appearances with four schools over 28 seasons as a head coach, Tubbs is down to his final handful of games at TCU. He said before the season that this would be his last with the Horned Frogs.

David Dunai/ STAFF REPORTER Senior Marlon Dumont grabs a ball against DePaul Feb. 6. Dumont and the Frogs hit the road to face Southern Miss Saturday night. TCU has only three more regular season games left under the guidance of head coach Billy Tubbs.

“To be perfectly blunt, I don’t think I will miss anything about coaching,” Tubbs said. “The things that you do really enjoy are counterbalanced by the things that you don’t.”

Such as the long practice sessions, the losses and the constant pressure coaches are under even when they’re winning.

“The longer you coach, the highs don’t get any higher, but the lows get lower,” Tubbs said. “You would think that the longer you coach, the easier it would be to take losses. But for me, it isn’t.”

The Horned Frogs (14-13, 4-9 C-USA) have three regular season games left, and would have to win the Conference USA tournament to send Tubbs out with one more NCAA tournament appearance. If not, there is still a chance to get into the expanded NIT field.

Any postseason berth would be an accomplishment for his young team — there’s just one senior — that has struggled while adjusting to its new league. The Frogs lost their first six games in C-USA.

“We were beaten down bad enough that this team could have folded and could very well have been 1-15 in the league,” Tubbs said. “The players deserve credit for not giving up.”

But Tubbs, who says he’s been able to enjoy the season more knowing he won’t be around 10 or 15 more years, didn’t give any sentimental speeches.

“That’s not really a big issue for him,” said Junior Blount, a junior guard. “We want to win for him, but he doesn’t want us to look at it like that. He’s not doing anything different than what he’s done in the past.”

No matter what happens these last few games, starting Saturday at Southern Miss, Tubbs is a content man looking forward to his uncertain future.

“I don’t really want to do nothing, but I don’t have to do anything,” said Tubbs, who turns 67 next month. “I’ve got time to decide if, when and what I want to do. There’s no rush.”
While he won’t shut the door on coaching again, he said it would have to be the right situation.

“What is most relaxing is if the right coaching situation came up, I’m not burned out on coaching and could still coach some more,” Tubbs said. “Deep down, I know I’ll be better if nothing comes up. I’d like to know how I’d do in doing nothing.”

The Frogs, who won just 13 games the two seasons before Tubbs arrived, are going for their eighth straight winning season.

TCU athletics director Eric Hyman was privately preparing for the search by doing background checks and cross-references over the past few months. The search, and the interviewing of candidates, begins right after the season.

Hyman won’t disclose possible candidates but said he is “keeping an open door to every possibility.”

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