This is typical Minnesota paranoia. It's a no-win scenario, we either get a coach that nobody wants or a coach that succeeds and everybody wants. The same thing has been discussed on the football board: "when PJ Fleck has success, how long will he stay at Minnesota?" All this before he has even coached his first game. Why is Minnesota such a bad place to coach? Answer: it isn't! It's a major metropolitan area, BIG10 Conference, only D-1 school in the state, a great new facility being constructed and one of the best "classic" venues for college basketball in the country. Why don't we just relax and enjoy the success the team is having this year. The U will take care of keeping our Coach.
I agree with you about everything you wrote go4rob, but the only thing I might disagree with about is the source of the "typical Minnesota paranoia". There is a reason for it, and maybe even a good reason. Gopher fans know that the administration has been at best, neutral about fb and bb, at worst they've been anti-fb and bb. And yes the admin has now gotten us a new football stadium, and they started paying Kill and his staff decent wages, and they got us the new Athletes Village, but here is where things get fuzzy. The admin boots Tubby, and they boot TC, BOTH moves which make ME a happy camper. I like that they had the guts to get rid of "nice guys" who were doing ok jobs, so that they could hire guys with far more potential to lead us to the promised land.
But...
But Minnesotans are too nice, they can't handle the idea of nice guys who did ok jobs being fired. They forget how much money those coaches got paid, and how much money is truly involved, and how many people are negatively affected by being happy with mediocrity. So they see those firings, and think negatively about the people who were influential in getting those men fired, instead of seeing those people who were influential in getting those men fired as possibly getting on board with the whole idea of NOT accepting mediocrity anymore.
What I SEE, me personally, or what I HOPE is going on, is that our administration had seen the light, or has at least started to see the light, and is doing what they feel necessary to make the U a fb and bb powerhouse down the line and for decades to come.
My guess is the next couple couple of things that will or could happen at the U, will be
#1 - a long term contract for Pitino
#2 - a long term contract for Fleck, IF he does something similar to what Pitino has done, improved recruiting, made his players better each year
#3 - either a long term contract for Lucia, if his hockey team starts making fans happy, or he'll get fired and one of the best coaches out there, or a coach with similar potential as Fleck and Pitino will be brought in.
#4 - renovations to Williams Arena OR, a donation drive will be started to bring in money for a new top of the line College BB Arena.
#5 - talk about raising funds for expanding the football stadium.
#1 could happen this year, or next year, a lot will depend on how they do in the Big Dance this year. Beating up on a weak B1G conf is one thing, doing well in the Big Dance is a whole other matter.
#2 would happen in about 2-4 years, depending on quickly Fleck can work his magic.
#3 could happen after this year, we all hope. Because it won't happen unless and until Lucia leads the Gophers to another Natl Title. Maybe a Frozen Four? But I hope that is not enough, maybe to keep his job, but not for an extension and a raise.
#4 could happen as soon as the end of this season, it would be unlikely to happen that soon, but it could if Pitino gets this bb squad to the Elite 8 or Final Four. Sweet 16 will just get #1 to happen. If he doesn't do well in the tourney this year, then we all hope it happens after the conclusion of next season, but that would only be if he gets them to at least the Elite 8, but probably only if he gets em to the Final Four. It's possible this one will take longer than this season or this season and next season? People may need to see that its not a repeat of the Clem Haskins hire, where he got one group to come in and do well, but then struggled to repeat that success for the next 6 years before his resorting to cheating helped him get to the Final Four. He may have to show that he can simply reload vs needing to rebuild before this one happens. But I'm excited about this whole thing.
#5 will need at least a Big Ten Western Division Title to be won first, before it even gets considered. It might take a Big Ten Title, or a cfb playoff appearance? It might take a Natl Title? It's been a long time since the people of the state of Minnesota felt a burning desire to see the Gophers live and in the stadium, so I'm just not sure how much success it will take to get interest high enough to start thinking about expansion, my guess is it will take a couple Big Ten West Division Titles, and a reasonable chance of victory in the Conference Title game, OR at least one Conference Title before the interest level gets high enough. Unless Fleck somehow gets the fb team to the Conf Title game in his first year, that could be enough of a jolt to wake up the throngs of bandwagon fans?!