BleedGopher
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Men's basketball
THEN
Record: 18-14 (2001-02)
Coach: Dan Monson
The good: Lured from emerging midmajor Gonzaga, Monson was trying to repair a program disgraced by the academic
University of Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi answers questions from the media during a press conference that unveiled the plans for the TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota on January 3, 2007 at the McNamara Alumni Center on campus.
scandal under Clem Haskins. He kept the program clean, attracted high-profile recruit Rick Rickert and made a second straight NIT in 2002.
The bad: The Gophers missed the 2002 NCAA tournament in Rickert's freshman year, despite a sixth-place conference finish and three wins over top 25 teams.
NOW
Record: 23-16 (2011-12)
Coach: Tubby Smith
The good: Hiring Smith away from high-pressured Kentucky seemed a coup, and he has taken the Gophers to four postseason tournaments in five years, including two NIT and two back-to-back NCAA bids. A 2012 NIT final and Trevor Mbakwe's likely return has the Gophers in position to return to the NCAA tournament.
The bad: The past two seasons, the Gophers finished a combined 12-24 in the Big Ten and missed the NCAA tournament. Smith is waiting for a contract extension, and there's no practice facility in the works. Six players have transferred in the past three years.
ADVANTAGE: NOW. Monson wasn't the right fit. It's still not certain if Smith is. But he'll have another NCAA tournament-caliber team going into this season.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_20874147/gophers-athletics-under-joel-maturi-better-off-then
Go Gophers!!
THEN
Record: 18-14 (2001-02)
Coach: Dan Monson
The good: Lured from emerging midmajor Gonzaga, Monson was trying to repair a program disgraced by the academic
University of Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi answers questions from the media during a press conference that unveiled the plans for the TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota on January 3, 2007 at the McNamara Alumni Center on campus.
scandal under Clem Haskins. He kept the program clean, attracted high-profile recruit Rick Rickert and made a second straight NIT in 2002.
The bad: The Gophers missed the 2002 NCAA tournament in Rickert's freshman year, despite a sixth-place conference finish and three wins over top 25 teams.
NOW
Record: 23-16 (2011-12)
Coach: Tubby Smith
The good: Hiring Smith away from high-pressured Kentucky seemed a coup, and he has taken the Gophers to four postseason tournaments in five years, including two NIT and two back-to-back NCAA bids. A 2012 NIT final and Trevor Mbakwe's likely return has the Gophers in position to return to the NCAA tournament.
The bad: The past two seasons, the Gophers finished a combined 12-24 in the Big Ten and missed the NCAA tournament. Smith is waiting for a contract extension, and there's no practice facility in the works. Six players have transferred in the past three years.
ADVANTAGE: NOW. Monson wasn't the right fit. It's still not certain if Smith is. But he'll have another NCAA tournament-caliber team going into this season.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_20874147/gophers-athletics-under-joel-maturi-better-off-then
Go Gophers!!