We were sad to learn earlier today that former coach Billy Tubbs passed away at the age of 85. He was a 4-time Big 8 COY at Oklahoma during a 6-year stretch from 1984-1989, then had a winning record in each of his 8 years at TCU despite playing in 3 different conferences, then finished off his career at Lamar by getting his 641st career win (which remains in the top-100 all-time). He coached a lot of great players during his time on the sideline but 1 of the best was Kurt Thomas, who as a senior at TCU in 1995 became the 3rd player to ever lead D-1 in scoring/rebounding in the same season (joining Hank Gathers/Xavier McDaniel). Last year HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Tubbs about Kurt’s career and we now bring you that never-before-published interview below. We extend our condolences to all of Coach Tubbs’ family/friends.
(photo credit: tcu360.com)
Kurt grew up in Dallas: how did Coach Moe Iba convince him to stay local for college? I was coaching at Oklahoma at the time and was unaware of him at all until I took the TCU job. I should have been, I guess! My 1st connection was with him after taking the job.
His PPG/RPG/SPG/FG% increased during each of his 4 years at TCU, including huge leaps after sitting out the 1992-93 season: how was he able to keep improving every single year? When I took the job I was unfamiliar with the team but was told that Kurt was a pretty good player. He had a lot of injury problems throughout his career: as a junior he played the last 10 games of the season with a broken wrist, but fortunately for me he was healthy as a senior. He was a talented player who was held back by injuries.
As a senior he led the nation with 28.9 PPG/14.6 RPG, becoming the 3rd player to ever accomplish this feat (the other 2 being Hank Gathers/Xavier McDaniel): how was he able to balance his scoring with his rebounding? He had always been a good rebounder. There were a few players who did not return before I showed up so he seemed to be the best player I had. Within the 1st 15 minutes of our 1st practice I figured out 2 things: he was a perfect player for the offense that I ran (a low-post player who could make turnaround jump shots) and a really good rebounder. My up-tempo style of play was totally different than Moe’s slow-down offense. We got the ball inside to him a lot: he was an instinctive/ferocious rebounder with great hands/timing. You can run all the drills you want but the really great rebounders just have a natural feel for where the ball is going. He was also a natural shooter who could also score off of missed shots.
On February 25, 1995, he recorded the 1st triple-double in school history with 23 PTS/14 REB/11 BLK against Texas A&M: where does that rank among the greatest all-around performances that you have ever seen? I do not distinctly remember that performance but he had great timing as a shot-blocker. I am surprised that TCU has not had more triple-doubles: most of the teams I have been around have had a few.
He finished that year by being named conference POY/All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? I certainly thought he deserved them as the 3rd guy to ever lead the nation in scoring/rebounding, which caught a lot of attention. There was no doubt that he was the best player in our conference and his draft stock went way up.
In the summer of 1995 he was drafted 10th overall by Miami (5 spots behind Kevin Garnett): did he see that as a validation of all his hard work, or the realization of a lifelong dream, or other? It meant a lot to him and I am sure that it is 1 of his goals. I have had several players make the NBA but he played the longest. I think he received his degree in 4 years or soon after that because he was good academically.
He made the 1999 NBA Finals with the Knicks as a #8 seed before losing to the Spurs: how close did he come to winning a title? I followed all of my players after they left campus and was impressed with Kurt. He is a winner even though the teams he played on before I arrived at TCU were not that great. He was largely responsible for our turnaround. He was a unique individual: he was a quiet person so we did not have a lot of long conversations together.
His 1110 career games played remains top-75 all-time: how was he able to stick around so long despite breaking his ankle 4 times in 2 years? I do not know. He was a bit injury-prone early on: I think that he even broke his ankle 1 time in a restaurant! I think he stuck around a long time because he is very smart and a fearless competitor. When I took the job I had several alums who said the 1st thing I had to do was kick Kurt off the team because he was trouble on the floor due to getting technical fouls during games. He thought that he was supposed to dominate the paint and if it was not going right then he would get mad. I never had any problems with him: he might have been the only player I had with more technical fouls than I did…and he did a lot of wind sprints for me in practice as a result!
He was known for his intensity on the court but has done a lot of community service off the court: are most guys able to switch it on and off like that or was he the exception to the rule? I know that he does a lot of good work in the community where he still lives in Dallas. It does not surprise me: there are a lot of good people who are very competitive on the court.
The school retired his jersey in 2017: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I went to the ceremony in the arena: I think it was based on everything he did both in college and the pros. When you look back at Kurt he had an outstanding senior year for me and then an awesome 17-year career in the NBA. You do not play that long unless a lot of people think you are very good. He really cared about winning and people at TCU are very proud of him.