It's interesting because while I agree with a lot of what you say in this post, I disagree with all 3 points in the "a little perspective section"
1. This is the program Clem inherited:
https://main.gopherhole.com/bb1985-1986 His first two seasons featured records of 2-16 and 4-14 in conference play. Pitino took over a program that had just been to the NCAA tournament and won a game. His first year is still his second best conference record though hopefully that will change this season. The arrow on the program was definitely pointed down when Pitino took over, but he didn't take over a disaster like Clem did.
2. It was not Pitino's fault that they missed the tournament last year. It was his fault that they went 4-14 in conference play in what was arguably one of the weakest B1G seasons of all time. Wisconsin had a ton of injuries last year as well and Freshman Brad Davison was arguably their second best player behind Happ. They went 7-11 in conference play despite having less talent than the Gophers to begin the season and no better than similar talent for much of conference play. Pitino himself has admitted they should have won more games last year. I also want to point out that there were warning signs of disappointment before Reggie Lynch (and subsequent injuries) hit: the blowout losses at Arkansas and Nebraska, the shockingly close game with Drake, the loss against Miami in the biggest home non-conference game of Pitino's tenure...and the embarrassing 5 on 4 performance against Alabama. I think they make the tournament without the injuries last year but not sure they were the sweet 16 or better team many predicted. He also made a mistake taking Stockman as a sit one play one. That type of arrangement can't be done for someone who might give you average play as a backup center.
You make some good points here. As to the early signs of problems, you can bet your life that the players knew that the other shoe was going to drop on Lynch. IIRC the case had been pending for about a month and while kept secret publicly, the players had to know. I can recall discussions about what was wrong with Lynch prior to the suspension. His play was just off and it was easy to see- it's just that only the team knew what was going on.
3. I don't get how the outlook for next year is bright. The Gophers lose Murphy and McBrayer. They gain Marcus Carr who we hope is good. We hope for improvement from Gabe and Daniel who have had good Freshman seasons. Lets assume Amir stays so that gives us 4 really nice core players if Carr works out. We know Hurt can't make an impact at this level and we know Willis has been really bad statistically through two years at Vandy. Does Isaiah stay? Jarvis needs to make an enormous jump from basically unplayable to helping next season. Eric Curry is certainly capable of giving the Gophers some solid minutes, but will his recovery allow for him to be more than a rotational piece? Recruiting is at the bottom of the conference with 3 scholarships to give. I don't see how we can hope for even a top half of the conference finish next season without at least one big time immediate impact addition in the Spring. Whether that's a transfer, JUCO, or prep we need a big time addition.
That said, even after today's loss, I feel much better about the way the Gophers are playing than I did early in the season. I agree that the optimal scenario for the program/Pitino is to get hot and wrap up a tourney spot sooner rather than later and use that momentum to right the ship on the recruiting trail and also (maybe) with improved late season attendance/interest in the program.