Since 2009, every fan in the state of MN has become fed up with illegal activities, sexual harassment, academic cheating, and promotion of thug behavior--but mostly the people of MN grew tired of seeing all the great young basketball talent leave. Other teams were getting better from our talent pool.
After the scandals and suspensions subsided, Monson quit, Pitino name was brought in but he couldn't recruit and wasn't interested in doing so locally. MN looked to a guy that was a Gopher, smart, has seen other successful programs, and could recruit locally. There was some pressure in Mnpls to hire a person of color after St. George was targeted randomly by rogue police officers, but the hire wasn't racially motivated despite claims of the woke experts in the media.
His first two seasons were brutally difficult through little fault of his own. Players left with Pitino name, off-season injuries decimated all depth, and the team was unable to play a style of ball that CBJ wanted. Finally, MN recruits started coming into the program, and this year's team has the depth and ability to compete in BTN conf. for the first time under CBJ. Subs finally can be rotated in and the team has the capability to theoretically allow fresh legs for a full game. Currently, this team has the capability to battle any BTN team on any given night. Being able to compete on a level floor is a positive step, and the future looks good in the quality of recruits coming in with aspect to skill levels and being non-trouble making team players.