Gophers menâÄôs basketball head coach Tubby Smith isnâÄôt planning on leaving Minnesota any time soon, he announced Wednesday afternoon. SmithâÄôs name often comes up in discussions of coaching vacancies at other schools due to the way he has turned around MinnesotaâÄôs program, and discussion heightened earlier this week when Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried resigned. âÄúI know there is a lot of speculation on the Internet, in the media, on my status,âÄù Smith said. âÄúIâÄôm happy here in Minnesota. IâÄôm not looking for any other jobs.âÄù Smith came to Minnesota before last season, bringing an instant improvement that raised some eyebrows across the country. The Gophers went 9-21 in Dan MonsonâÄôs final season and 18-12 in SmithâÄôs first. Under Smith this year, the Gophers are 17-3, have been ranked as high as No. 18 and upset then-No. 9 Louisville in December. They are on a good pace to make their first NCAA tournament since 2005. âÄúWe have a great recruiting class coming in,âÄù Smith said. âÄúIâÄôm excited about where the Gopher program is, and IâÄôm not a candidate for any jobs.âÄù Rivals.com rated SmithâÄôs first recruiting class âÄî the current freshmen âÄî the 23rd best in the nation, and his current 2009 class is No. 20. âÄúHeâÄôs quite the celebrity around here,âÄù sophomore guard Al Nolen Jr. said. âÄúEver since heâÄôs come up here, everyone has been, âÄòTubby, Tubby, Tubby.âÄô HeâÄôs the man around here.âÄù