Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. The Golden Gophers
have played in the Big Ten since the conference began sponsoring basketball in 1905. The team plays its home games in Williams Arena
and is currently coached by Tubby Smith
.
The Gophers had great success in the early years of basketball, but have been largely overshadowed by other programs since the end of World War I
. In total, the Gophers have won nine Big Ten championships
, but only four since 1919. College basketball research organizations have retroactively awarded Minnesota national championships in 1902, 1903, and 1919.
The team has also had several instances of NCAA sanctions on the program that have affected performance and recruiting. In the 1970s, the Gophers were in a violent brawl with the Ohio State Buckeyes
and were barred from post-season appearances for two seasons after an incident involving the illegal resale of tickets. Still more severe was the mid-1990s academic scandal under then-coach Clem Haskins
that resulted in the forfeiture of a Final Four appearance.
took over the team in 1897. Cooke was put on the University payroll on a part-time basis in early 1897 and full-time by the fall; this made him one of the earliest professional coaches.
Cooke remained the coach of the Gophers for 28 seasons, and his .649 winning percentage is the second highest in school history. Dave McMillan
, who coached the team from 1927 to 1942 and 1945 to 1948, had the second longest tenure as coach at 18 seasons. John Wooden
almost succeeded McMillan as Gophers head coach; Wooden claims that a dispute over retaining McMillan as an assistant coach and a delayed phone call led him to accept the job at UCLA
instead.
The Gophers have had several NBA
coaches grace the sidelines. John Kundla
took over as Gophers head coach after the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles
. Bill Fitch and Bill Musselman
both coached the team for a couple seasons before departing for the NBA and ABA
respectively, where each had success and coached for many years.
The program has had a fair degree of stability with their coaching staff. Tubby Smith became the 16th head coach in Gopher basketball history when hired in 2007; this total includes interim coaches Jim Molinari
and Jimmy Williams
. Five coaches led the team for more than 10 seasons: Cooke, McMillan, O. B. Cowles
, Jim Dutcher
, and Clem Haskins.
was a dominant center, and the first All-America for the Gophers in 1905. Frank Lawler was another early star: he led the Big Ten in scoring in 1911 and was also named to the All-America team, and helped the Gophers to a contested conference title.
In 1950, Lawler was named the greatest player in Gopher basketball history, but the subsequent decades of Gopher basketball have largely forgotten his legacy. Hall of Fame coach John Kundla was also a Gophers star and helped lead the team to its 1937 Big Ten Championship.
With the decline of the stature of the Gophers program, fewer elite players have joined the team. The diminished reputation has not, however, prevented some superior athletes from coming to the Minneapolis campus. Lou Hudson
played thirteen years in the NBA and had his number retired. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield
played for the Gophers in the early 1970s, and he played at the same time as star post player Jim Brewer. Mychal Thompson was a Gophers star and was the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft
. Among Thompson's teammates were former Minnesota Timberwolves
and Detroit Pistons
head coach and current Washington Wizards
head coach Flip Saunders
and basketball hall of fame
forward Kevin McHale
. Trent Tucker led the 1982 squad to the Big Ten Championship. Voshon Lenard
was a key player for the Gophers in the early 1990s and went on to play more than a decade in the NBA. Willie Burton
once scored 53 points in an NBA game with the Philadelphia 76ers
. Other former Gophers with long NBA careers include Randy Breuer
, Mark Olberding
, and Ray Williams
. Five players from the 1997 Final Four team played in the NBA: Bobby Jackson, Sam Jacobson
, Quincy Lewis
, John Thomas
, and Trevor Winter
. Currently several former Gophers play in the NBA, including Joel Przybilla
and Kris Humphries
. Jamal Abu-Shamala
, a Jordanian-American, plays internationally for the Jordan national basketball team
.
's father, Ralph Lee Sampson
, was a three-time Naismith Award
winner at the University of Virginia
. This roster is current for the 2011–12 men's basketball season.
The precise founding of the Gophers men's basketball program at the University of Minnesota is somewhat nebulous. Unlike many other universities with later foundations, the team did not form as a conscious act of the campus administration. The University's student newspaper at the time, the Ariel, reported on basketball throughout 1895 as the sport was introduced to the campus from a rival school, Minnesota A&M in St. Paul, later incorporated into the larger University of Minnesota Twin Cities. In 1896, a team from the school began to participate in a league with the Agriculture school, YMCA
teams, and other local associations. The establishment of the Armory
on-campus gave the team a new place to play. In February 1897, L. J. Cooke, a director of the Minneapolis YMCA, was hired on a part-time basis to coach the basketball program, and became the full-time coach and director of physical education by the fall of that year. Cooke was one of the first full-time professional coaches in all of college basketball and would remain at the program for 28 seasons.
Cooke began to improve the team significantly and was responsible for shifts in the Gophers' scheduling that foreshadowed other changes to come. The team never played a YMCA team after the 1903–04 season, and beginning in 1900, began to schedule large neighboring universities that would join Minnesota in Big Ten competition. This shift to playing similar competition helped the Gophers to become one of the premier programs in the nation. From the 1899–00 to 1903–04 seasons, the Gophers had a 59–6 record. The 1901–02 squad has been retroactively named the national champions by both the Helms
and Premo Polls; the Premo Poll also names the 1902–03 Gophers as national champs. When the Big Ten established basketball in 1905, the Gophers won the first two conference titles.
After 1907, Cooke's dominance of the national basketball scene was greatly reduced. He led the team to two more conference titles (1916–17, 1918–19), and one consensus retroactive national championship for the 1918–19 season, but the team was never the consistent winner that it was in the first decade under Cooke. He retired after the 1923–1924 season. His successor, Harold Taylor
, was Cooke's assistant coach in his final season and had previously a successful high school coach; however, he had little success with the Gophers and was fired after never finishing higher than sixth in the conference in three forgettable seasons.
for the previous seven seasons and had previously played for the Original Celtics
during the 1910s. McMillan would dominate the program for the next thirty years, coaching the team from 1927 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1948.
McMillan's teams in 1928 began to play in the University of Minnesota Field House
, a new on-campus arena. Basketball had been off-campus for several seasons when the team moved downtown. McMillan's teams had middling success. His 1930–31 and 1931–32 teams competed near the top of the Big Ten, but his teams dropped off again until 1936. John Kundla joined the team for the 1936–1937 season and helped the team to the Big Ten Championship, which was ended up being its last until 1972. McMillan's squad also competed in a tournament in 1936 to represent the United States in the 1936 Summer Olympics
in Berlin
; the team advanced several rounds before being ousted by DePaul
. Many Gophers players in this era were recruited from Minneapolis public high schools, and in some seasons this even constituted a majority of the roster. McMillan resigned in 1942, but returned in 1945 after three poor seasons for the Gophers in the interim. When he resigned for the second time in 1948, he was replaced by O. B. Cowles
.
Cowles was known for playing slower tempo basketball like was most common in the 1920s and 1930s and was known as a defensive-minded coach, especially early in his career. His squads were led by two-time All-American Jim McIntyre
and three-time NBA Champion Whitey Skoog for the early years of his career and Big Ten MVP Chuck Mencel
for the middle ones. Another notable Gophers star from the era was Pro Football Hall of Fame
coach Bud Grant
. Cowles squads were consistent winners, and he had a .612 winning percentage at the school. The Gophers were unable to win a Big Ten title, however, despite a solid nucleus in Cowles' early seasons. The team finished fourth or better in the conference seven times in Cowles' eleven seasons as Gophers head coach.
In 1959, John Kundla stayed behind in Minneapolis as the Lakers prepared to leave town and succeeded O. B. Cowles as head coach of the Golden Gophers. Kundla remained head coach until 1968. In 1963, he broke the color barrier in the Minnesota program and recruited three African-American players to come to the school. One of these first three players was Lou Hudson
, who played in the NBA and is one of only four Gophers to have his number retired by the school. The other two players recruited by Kundla, Archie Clark and Don Yates, also were both drafted by NBA teams. That trio helped the Gophers to a third place Big Ten finish in 1963–64 and a second place finish in 1964–65, but those were the high points for Kundla's collegiate career. Kundla's personal assessment of his Gophers career was that his personal weaknesses in recruiting were marring the team by the end of his tenure.
Kundla was succeeded by Bowling Green head coach Bill Fitch. Fitch remained with the Gophers for two seasons before being hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers
as their first head coach in 1970 to make the leap to the NBA, where he later won an NBA title as coach of the Boston Celtics
. Fitch did recruit Jim Brewer
before he left, laying the first seed for the 1972 Big Ten title. George Hanson
, a longtime assistant coach at the school, was hired as his replacement, but resigned after only one season.
hired Cal Luther
away from Murray State
to coach the team in 1971, but he changed his mind and turned the team down after accepting the position. Instead, Bill Musselman
took over the program. Musselman was a defensive minded coach and designed his team around Brewer, recruiting several junior college players and University of Minnesota baseball star Dave Winfield
to support him. The starters on the 1971–72 squad became known as the "Iron Five." Musselman's strategy succeeded, and the team took the Big Ten title, the first since 1937. This was achieved despite an ugly brawl against Ohio State
on January 25, 1972, in which several Gophers players attacked Ohio State center Luke Witte
after a game of physical play and an especially hard foul against Gophers point guard Bob Nix. The brawl was publicized in Sports Illustrated
, and some Ohio State players alleged that the Gophers players were going after white Buckeyes.
This was not to be the only scandal of Musselman's tenure as coach. In 1973, former player Greg Olson accused Musselman of having attempted to strike him in a practice. It was also revealed that Olson had sold complimentary season tickets to a booster named Harvey Mackay
, which prompted NCAA investigations. Musselman's coaching style also brought about significant transfers away from the Minnesota program to other schools. In 1975, Musselman resigned and was named the head coach of the San Diego Sails
of the ABA. After his resignation, Musselman admitted to giving money to players for rent and transportation. These charges, coupled with the earlier ticket selling scandal and other transgressions regarding payments and aid revolving around Harvey Mackay, resulted in a list from the NCAA of more than 100 rule violations in Musselman's four seasons at the school. The extent of the consequences would not be known until early in Jim Dutcher
's eleven season tenure as Gophers head coach.
Clem Haskins
was hired as the Gopher basketball coach in 1986, expected to clean up and rebuild the Gopher program which had been torn apart by the Madison
sexual assault
allegations (of which the players were later acquitted) during the final year of coach Jim Dutcher. Though wins did not come easily in the first couple years of Haskins regime, by the 1988–89 season he had the Gophers in the NCAA tournament
as a #11 seed, and directed a Cinderella run
into the Sweet 16. In the 1989–90 season Haskins led the Gophers to the Elite Eight, and the team came within a basket of reaching their first ever Final Four. Though Haskins led the Gophers to post-season success in his first three seasons, the 1990
Elite Eight appearance would be the last time under Haskins the Gophers would "officially" appear in the NCAA tournament.
On March 10, 1999, the day before the #7 seed Gophers were to open the NCAA tournament
against #10 Gonzaga
, the St. Paul Pioneer Press
ran a story detailing allegations of massive academic fraud in the men's basketball program. Former basketball office manager Jan Gangelhoff had gone to the newspaper claiming she had written over 400 papers for at least 20 Gopher men's basketball players over a period of several years, ending in 1998. When the Gophers played Gonzaga on March 11, the University suspended players Antoine Broxie, Kevin Clark, Jason Stanford, and Miles Tarver since they allegedly had papers written for them by Ganglehoff in previous seasons. With their roster depleted, the Gophers lost to Gonzaga, the season came to an end, and an internal investigation at the University began.
By June 1999 and in the midst of their investigation, the university had negotiated a buyout
of the remainder of Haskins contract, worth $1.5 million dollars over three years. In the summer of 2000, Haskins came forward and admitted that he had paid Gangelhoff $3,000 for her services; this revelation came to light after Haskins turned his financial records over to the NCAA. In addition, more details were emerging in which Haskins was also accused of mail fraud in an incident regarding a recruit's transcript
, giving players cash, dismissing sexual harassment
concerns against his players, as well as his staff trying to persuade professor
s to give his players inflated grades they had not earned.
After the details of Haskins' ever-growing involvement became more clear, the University initiated legal action to recover the buyout money. A judge ultimately ruled that Haskins must return just over half of the original $1.5 million buyout.
During this time an NCAA investigation was also underway. Ultimately, it emerged that massive fraud had occurred under Haskins' watch. The NCAA stripped the Gophers of all postseason awards, titles, personal records, and statistics dating back to the 1993–94 season citing a "lack of institutional control." Haskins was also slapped with a seven-year "show cause" order, which effectively banned him from coaching at any level in the NCAA until 2007. Besides lying about the $3,000 payment, he had also told several of his players to lie to the NCAA. Later, the Big Ten forced the Gophers to vacate their 1997 conference title, as well as all regular season games dating to 1993–94. As a result, Minnesota's official record from 1993–94 to 1998–99 is 0–0.
In addition, the basketball program was hit with massive sanctions, including a loss of five scholarship
s over the following three seasons, recruiting limitations, and department-wide probation lasting four years. There was no post-season ban instituted by the NCAA, but the Gophers withdrew from postseason consideration for the 1999–2000 season.
In addition to Haskins, Athletic Director Mark Dienhart
, Vice President for Athletics, Student Development McKinley Boston
, Associate Athletics Director Jeff Schemmel and academic counselor Alonzo Newby also resigned. The University also agreed to return 90% (approximately $350,000) of the profits earned by the basketball program during their appearances in the NCAA tournament, including the 1997 Final Four run.
Following Haskins' departure, the University hired Gonzaga's Dan Monson
to be their next head coach, who coincidentally had just beaten the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament the previous March. Monson was the coach for part of eight seasons, but made the NCAA Tournament only one time
, that being in 2004-05. Monson almost left the Minnesota program for the University of Washington following the 2001–02 season, but was thought of highly by the athletics department under Tom Moe and was persuaded to stay despite limited success. These trends did not reverse after he remained at the program. During his final full season the Gophers were 5–11 in Big Ten play, and after a 2–5 start to open the 2006–07 season
, Monson and Athletics Director Joel Maturi
announced Monson's resignation on November 30, 2006. Despite Monson's inability to field a consistent winner, he was lauded by University officials for bringing integrity and cleanliness back to the program. Assistant coach Jim Molinari
was named head coach on an interim basis and, after a 3–13 Big Ten record to finish the season, was not retained as head coach. Maturi began an extensive search for a new permanent head coach at season's end.
On March 23, 2007, Maturi made a move that surprised many when he hired Tubby Smith
after he resigned from the University of Kentucky
to be the next head Gopher basketball coach. Smith's name recognition and winning reputation has given the program a new optimism, something it badly needed to counter its dwindling fan interest.
Smith's coaching has had an immediate impact on the previously unsuccessful Gophers squad. The team went from 8–22 in 2006–07 to 20–13 in 2007–08. Smith also lead the Golden Gophers to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals after defeating 2nd seeded Indiana. Coach Smith also harvested a top 25 recruiting class, the best in years for the program. Smith returned Minnesota to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005 in the 2008-09 season. Smith's team struggled throughout the 2009-10 season with off court issues, but advanced to the championship game in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in school history (losing to regular season co-champion Ohio State) and made the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.
Big Ten Coach of the Year
Henry Iba Award (National Coach of the Year)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Consensus All-Americans
Academic All-American
.
The Gophers saw some moderate success in the early 1980s, appearing in the 1980
, 1981
, and 1983
NITs and the 1982 NCAA Tournament
, where they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Multiple problems plagued the Gophers during the 1976–1977 season, Jim Dutcher's 2nd as head coach. Heading into the season the team knew they would not be eligible for the post season because of sanctions from the Bill Musselman era. Even so, this turned out to be one of the best teams in Gopher history, with the team finishing at 24–3. But if not being post-season eligible was not punishment enough, it was later found out that Mychal Thompson had sold two complimentary tickets to Gopher home games. When it was discovered, the profits were donated to University of Minnesota scholarship funds. The school and several prominent supporters, including Senator Wendell Anderson
attempted to back Thompson and the team. Nevertheless, when the NCAA discovered Thompson's act, Minnesota's record for the season was forfeited and the accomplishments of that season are considered unofficial and not included in NCAA records.
When the Gophers first organized, they played games in the on campus YMCA
. In 1896, the team moved into the campus Armory
, a large building with gymnasium space for the team to use, even if basketball was not its primary purpose. They remained in the Armory for almost thirty years. Halfway through the 1924–25 season, coach Harold Taylor
moved the team from the University Armory to the Kenwood Armory in downtown Minneapolis. This significantly increased the attendance; capacity at the University Armory was 2,000, and it was 6,500 at Kenwood. The team only played at Kenwood for a few seasons, however, as the University of Minnesota Field House — later known as Williams Arena
— opened partway through the 1927–1928 season. The team moved in on January 31, 1928.
The Field House increased attendance capacity further, to 9,500. It was named after Henry L. Williams
, the former Minnesota Golden Gophers football
coach in 1950, and was named after him when it was remodeled and expanded in 1950, bringing the arena to a capacity of 18,025, which was the largest in the country for twenty years and significantly larger than the capacity of Williams Arena today. Gophers fans refer to Williams Arena as the Barn. Consequently, the student section is known as The Barnyard. Williams Arena was remodeled in 1993 again, to create a new facility for the women's team to use. The team continues to play there to this day, making it one of the longest used arenas of any college basketball team and the oldest arena in the Big 10. Williams Arena is also one of the few remaining arenas with a raised court, in which players have to go up stairs to reach the playing surface.
In the early years of the program, the Gophers had several rivalries that have not extended into the modern era. Among them was a rivalry with Hamline University
, now a Division III school in St. Paul. Hamline had one of the earliest college basketball programs in the country and it was several years before Minnesota competed on equal footing with them; they played as late as 1935. The greatest rival of the early years of the program was the Minnesota Aggies, representing the Minnesota School of Agriculture and Mining, which has since been incorporated into the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as the St. Paul campus. Minnesota A&M dominated the Gophers, winning ten consecutive games; Minnesota did not get its first win against the Aggies until 1899. This rivalry expired especially early, and the two teams did not meet after 1901. The University of Minnesota is currently the only Division I basketball school in the state of Minnesota, so there are no intense intra-border rivalries as there are in most states.
The Gophers were also an active participant in the early rivalry between Eastern schools and Midwestern schools for basketball preeminence. Minnesota broke up a stretch of Ivy League
dominance from 1901 to 1906 with their successful 1902 season. The Eastern teams - Yale
, Columbia
, and Dartmouth were early powers - played with a more physical approach, while Midwestern teams used a different method. Wisconsin coach Walter Meanwell
used the motion offense and "stress[ed] finesse." W.C. Hyatt, who played for Yale, claimed that "The Minnesota and Wisconsin men played in the style prevalent among most of the girl colleges in the East, that is, the 'no contact' game."
In the modern era of the program, as is the case with most Big Ten sports, Minnesota's primary rivals are the Iowa Hawkeyes
and Wisconsin Badgers
. In recent years, the rivalry with Wisconsin has become more intense than that with Iowa, primarily due to Wisconsin's recent successes on the court. Minnesota and Wisconsin's games together count towards the Border Battle, an annual trophy given to the points winner of several sports played between the two school throughout the year.
The Gophers also have a less heralded rivalry with Ohio State
. The two teams have very little history together, outside of the 1972 brawl between the teams at Williams Arena. That incident still lingers in the hearts of many long-time Buckeye fans.
:Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The Golden Gophers
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
have played in the Big Ten since the conference began sponsoring basketball in 1905. The team plays its home games in Williams Arena
Williams Arena
Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams, and the men's and women's hockey teams until 1992, when the hockey teams received their own buildings...
and is currently coached by Tubby Smith
Tubby Smith
Orlando "Tubby" Smith is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the men's basketball head coach at the University of Minnesota...
.
The Gophers had great success in the early years of basketball, but have been largely overshadowed by other programs since the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In total, the Gophers have won nine Big Ten championships
Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball regular season champions
Big Ten Conference men's basketball regular season champions:-Championships by school:* Chicago withdrew from the conference in 1946.** Due to NCAA sanctions, Ohio State has vacated the records of 34 games in 1998-99, 16 games in ‘99-00 and the entire ‘00-01 and ‘01-02 seasons.-See also:* Big Ten...
, but only four since 1919. College basketball research organizations have retroactively awarded Minnesota national championships in 1902, 1903, and 1919.
The team has also had several instances of NCAA sanctions on the program that have affected performance and recruiting. In the 1970s, the Gophers were in a violent brawl with the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...
and were barred from post-season appearances for two seasons after an incident involving the illegal resale of tickets. Still more severe was the mid-1990s academic scandal under then-coach Clem Haskins
Clem Haskins
Clem Smith Haskins is a retired American college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He and star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the fall of 1963. This put Western Kentucky at the...
that resulted in the forfeiture of a Final Four appearance.
Coaches
Initially, the Gophers team formed without any organized coach. L. J. CookeL. J. Cooke
Louis Joseph "L. J." "Doc" Cooke was the first head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. He coached the Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball team for 28 seasons...
took over the team in 1897. Cooke was put on the University payroll on a part-time basis in early 1897 and full-time by the fall; this made him one of the earliest professional coaches.
Cooke remained the coach of the Gophers for 28 seasons, and his .649 winning percentage is the second highest in school history. Dave McMillan
Dave McMillan
David MacMillan was an American basketball coach. He was a longtime men's basketball coach at the University of Minnesota, and coached the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1950....
, who coached the team from 1927 to 1942 and 1945 to 1948, had the second longest tenure as coach at 18 seasons. John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
almost succeeded McMillan as Gophers head coach; Wooden claims that a dispute over retaining McMillan as an assistant coach and a delayed phone call led him to accept the job at UCLA
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...
instead.
The Gophers have had several NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
coaches grace the sidelines. John Kundla
John Kundla
John Albert Kundla is a former college and professional basketball coach.-Playing and early coaching careers:...
took over as Gophers head coach after the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Bill Fitch and Bill Musselman
Bill Musselman
William Clifford Musselman was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was a fiercely intense coach who once was quoted as saying "defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat."-Early life:Musselman was the second of five children....
both coached the team for a couple seasons before departing for the NBA and ABA
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
respectively, where each had success and coached for many years.
The program has had a fair degree of stability with their coaching staff. Tubby Smith became the 16th head coach in Gopher basketball history when hired in 2007; this total includes interim coaches Jim Molinari
Jim Molinari
James Molinari is an American basketball coach. Molinari is head coach of the Western Illinois University Leathernecks. Prior to being named coach at WIU, Molinari was as assistant coach at Ball State University after serving as the interim head coach at the University of Minnesota, replacing Dan...
and Jimmy Williams
Jimmy Williams (basketball coach)
Jimmy Williams is an American basketball coach. Williams is a native of Havana, Florida, Williams graduated from Ashland University in 1970.Williams began his coaching career in 1969-1970 at Ashland University, as the head coach of the junior varsity team. Williams became an assistant coach at the...
. Five coaches led the team for more than 10 seasons: Cooke, McMillan, O. B. Cowles
O. B. Cowles
Osborne Bryan "Ozzie" or "Ossie" Cowles was an American basketball player and coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at Carleton College , River Falls State Teachers College , Dartmouth College , University of Michigan , and...
, Jim Dutcher
Jim Dutcher (basketball coach)
Jim Dutcher is a former head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.Dutcher took over the Gophers program in 1975 following the departure of Bill Musselman, previously having been a head coach at Eastern Michigan University and an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under Johnny...
, and Clem Haskins.
Players
The Golden Gophers have had many successful players come through the program throughout its history. In the early years of basketball, when the Gophers had success, they recruited some of the best players in the country. George TuckGeorge Tuck
George Tuck was a former men's college basketball player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Tuck, a center, was one of the two first Big Ten basketball players to be named as an All-American, along with Chris Steinmetz, when he made the team in 1905....
was a dominant center, and the first All-America for the Gophers in 1905. Frank Lawler was another early star: he led the Big Ten in scoring in 1911 and was also named to the All-America team, and helped the Gophers to a contested conference title.
| Retired basketball jerseys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Year |
| 14 | Lou Hudson Lou Hudson Louis Clyde Hudson is a former NBA basketball player.-NBA career:Lou graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro. After starring at the University of Minnesota, Hudson was selected by the St. Louis Hawks with the 4th pick of the 1966 NBA Draft... |
1966 |
| 32 | Trent Tucker | 2009 |
| 41 | Whitey Skoog | 2009 |
| 43 | Mychal Thompson | 1978 |
| 44 | Kevin McHale Kevin McHale Kevin Edward McHale is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Houston Rockets. After his playing career, he worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the team's general manager and later its coach. He was fired as coach in June 2009... |
1980 |
| 52 | Jim Brewer | 1973 |
With the decline of the stature of the Gophers program, fewer elite players have joined the team. The diminished reputation has not, however, prevented some superior athletes from coming to the Minneapolis campus. Lou Hudson
Lou Hudson
Louis Clyde Hudson is a former NBA basketball player.-NBA career:Lou graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro. After starring at the University of Minnesota, Hudson was selected by the St. Louis Hawks with the 4th pick of the 1966 NBA Draft...
played thirteen years in the NBA and had his number retired. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
played for the Gophers in the early 1970s, and he played at the same time as star post player Jim Brewer. Mychal Thompson was a Gophers star and was the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft
1979 NBA Draft
The 1979 NBA Draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 25, 1979, before the 1979–80 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
. Among Thompson's teammates were former Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
and Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
head coach and current Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
head coach Flip Saunders
Flip Saunders
Phillip "Flip" Saunders is an American basketball head coach of the Washington Wizards. He previously coached the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves.-High school and college player:Saunders was born in Cincinnati, Ohio....
and basketball hall of fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
forward Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale
Kevin Edward McHale is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Houston Rockets. After his playing career, he worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the team's general manager and later its coach. He was fired as coach in June 2009...
. Trent Tucker led the 1982 squad to the Big Ten Championship. Voshon Lenard
Voshon Lenard
Voshon Kelan Lenard is an American professional basketball player. He is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA . He was listed as 6' 4" and 215 lbs, and was born in Detroit, Michigan...
was a key player for the Gophers in the early 1990s and went on to play more than a decade in the NBA. Willie Burton
Willie Burton
Willie Ricardo Burton is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the 1st round in the 1990 NBA Draft from the University of Minnesota. Burton played for numerous NBA teams as a journeyman from 1990 to 1999. He was born in Detroit, Michigan where he...
once scored 53 points in an NBA game with the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
. Other former Gophers with long NBA careers include Randy Breuer
Randy Breuer
Randall W. Breuer is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round of the 1983 NBA Draft. A 7'3" center from the University of Minnesota, Breuer played in 11 NBA seasons from 1983-1994...
, Mark Olberding
Mark Olberding
Mark Allen Olberding is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'8" forward from the University of Minnesota, Olberding played 12 seasons in the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association as a member of the San Diego Sails , San Antonio Spurs , Chicago Bulls ,...
, and Ray Williams
Ray Williams (basketball)
Thomas Ray Williams, known as Ray Williams , is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is 6'2½" and 188 lb guard. He averaged 15.5 points per game and 5.8 assists per game during his NBA career, with a career-high of 20.9 points per game with the New York Knicks in 1979-80...
. Five players from the 1997 Final Four team played in the NBA: Bobby Jackson, Sam Jacobson
Sam Jacobson
Samuel Ryan Jacobson is an American professional basketball player. He plays at guard or forward. He formerly played for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves....
, Quincy Lewis
Quincy Lewis
Quincy Lavell Lewis is an American former professional basketball player who last played with the pro club Iurbentia Bilbao Basket in Spain.-College career:...
, John Thomas
John Thomas (basketball)
John Thomas is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for Hapoel Holon in the Israeli Super League...
, and Trevor Winter
Trevor Winter
Trevor Winter is a retired American professional basketball player.The 7'0" center from the University of Minnesota played just one game in the National Basketball Association. In the lockout-shortened 1999 NBA season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, in five minutes of action against the L.A...
. Currently several former Gophers play in the NBA, including Joel Przybilla
Joel Przybilla
Joel Przybilla is an American professional basketball player. A 7'1" center, he last played for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA.- High school career :...
and Kris Humphries
Kris Humphries
Kris Nathan Humphries is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He became an unrestricted free agent in 2011.-Early life:...
. Jamal Abu-Shamala
Jamal Abu-Shamala
Jamal Abu-Shamala is a Jordanian American basketball player who formerly played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Abu-Shamala plays internationally for the Jordanian national team, first playing internationally in 2008...
, a Jordanian-American, plays internationally for the Jordan national basketball team
Jordan national basketball team
The Jordan national basketball team is the official basketball team of Jordan in international competitions. It is one of the top teams in Asia and is the defending champion of the 29th William Jones Cup....
.
Current roster
Ralph Sampson IIIRalph Sampson III
Ralph Lee Sampson III is a college basketball player who currently plays for the University of Minnesota. His father, Ralph Sampson, was the first overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft and a 4-time NBA All-Star....
's father, Ralph Lee Sampson
Ralph Sampson
Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...
, was a three-time Naismith Award
Naismith College Player of the Year
The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball , Dr. James Naismith....
winner at the University of Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball program represents the University of Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I. The team is coached by Tony Bennett.-Statistics:-Retired numbers:-Retired jerseys:...
. This roster is current for the 2011–12 men's basketball season.
Program establishment (1895–1927)
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
teams, and other local associations. The establishment of the Armory
University of Minnesota Armory
The University of Minnesota Armory is a building on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. The Armory was constructed in 1896 after the previous space for military training on the campus burnt in a fire in 1894...
on-campus gave the team a new place to play. In February 1897, L. J. Cooke, a director of the Minneapolis YMCA, was hired on a part-time basis to coach the basketball program, and became the full-time coach and director of physical education by the fall of that year. Cooke was one of the first full-time professional coaches in all of college basketball and would remain at the program for 28 seasons.
Cooke began to improve the team significantly and was responsible for shifts in the Gophers' scheduling that foreshadowed other changes to come. The team never played a YMCA team after the 1903–04 season, and beginning in 1900, began to schedule large neighboring universities that would join Minnesota in Big Ten competition. This shift to playing similar competition helped the Gophers to become one of the premier programs in the nation. From the 1899–00 to 1903–04 seasons, the Gophers had a 59–6 record. The 1901–02 squad has been retroactively named the national champions by both the Helms
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
and Premo Polls; the Premo Poll also names the 1902–03 Gophers as national champs. When the Big Ten established basketball in 1905, the Gophers won the first two conference titles.
After 1907, Cooke's dominance of the national basketball scene was greatly reduced. He led the team to two more conference titles (1916–17, 1918–19), and one consensus retroactive national championship for the 1918–19 season, but the team was never the consistent winner that it was in the first decade under Cooke. He retired after the 1923–1924 season. His successor, Harold Taylor
Harold Taylor (basketball coach)
Harold Taylor was an American basketball coach. He succeeded L.J. Cooke as the second coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team. Taylor was the Gophers head coach for three seasons, from 1924 to 1927, and finished with a 19-30 career record. Taylor served as Cooke's assistant...
, was Cooke's assistant coach in his final season and had previously a successful high school coach; however, he had little success with the Gophers and was fired after never finishing higher than sixth in the conference in three forgettable seasons.
Dave McMillan and beyond (1927–1959)
Following the firing of Harold Taylor as coach, the program underwent a national search for a successor. Many of the candidates for the job were high profile coaches of other conference foes. The team opted, however, to hire Dave McMillan, who had been coaching the University of IdahoUniversity of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
for the previous seven seasons and had previously played for the Original Celtics
Original Celtics
The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional basketball team in the 1920s. There is no relation to the modern Boston Celtics. The Original Celtics are often credited with extending the reach of basketball across America and for establishing the importance of aggressive defensive play...
during the 1910s. McMillan would dominate the program for the next thirty years, coaching the team from 1927 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1948.
McMillan's teams in 1928 began to play in the University of Minnesota Field House
Williams Arena
Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams, and the men's and women's hockey teams until 1992, when the hockey teams received their own buildings...
, a new on-campus arena. Basketball had been off-campus for several seasons when the team moved downtown. McMillan's teams had middling success. His 1930–31 and 1931–32 teams competed near the top of the Big Ten, but his teams dropped off again until 1936. John Kundla joined the team for the 1936–1937 season and helped the team to the Big Ten Championship, which was ended up being its last until 1972. McMillan's squad also competed in a tournament in 1936 to represent the United States in the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
; the team advanced several rounds before being ousted by DePaul
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
. Many Gophers players in this era were recruited from Minneapolis public high schools, and in some seasons this even constituted a majority of the roster. McMillan resigned in 1942, but returned in 1945 after three poor seasons for the Gophers in the interim. When he resigned for the second time in 1948, he was replaced by O. B. Cowles
O. B. Cowles
Osborne Bryan "Ozzie" or "Ossie" Cowles was an American basketball player and coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at Carleton College , River Falls State Teachers College , Dartmouth College , University of Michigan , and...
.
Cowles was known for playing slower tempo basketball like was most common in the 1920s and 1930s and was known as a defensive-minded coach, especially early in his career. His squads were led by two-time All-American Jim McIntyre
Jim McIntyre (basketball)
Reverend James "Jim" McIntyre was an American basketball player for the University of Minnesota from 1945–46 to 1948–49. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he led Patrick Henry High School to two state championships before becoming a two-time consensus All-American at Minnesota...
and three-time NBA Champion Whitey Skoog for the early years of his career and Big Ten MVP Chuck Mencel
Chuck Mencel
Charles "Chuck" Mencel is a former professional basketball player with the Minneapolis Lakers.Mencel played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, and was named the Big Ten MVP in the 1955 season, his senior year with the Golden Gophers. He was drafted in the second round of the 1955 NBA...
for the middle ones. Another notable Gophers star from the era was Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
coach Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
. Cowles squads were consistent winners, and he had a .612 winning percentage at the school. The Gophers were unable to win a Big Ten title, however, despite a solid nucleus in Cowles' early seasons. The team finished fourth or better in the conference seven times in Cowles' eleven seasons as Gophers head coach.
Kundla and Fitch (1959–1971)
Lou Hudson
Louis Clyde Hudson is a former NBA basketball player.-NBA career:Lou graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro. After starring at the University of Minnesota, Hudson was selected by the St. Louis Hawks with the 4th pick of the 1966 NBA Draft...
, who played in the NBA and is one of only four Gophers to have his number retired by the school. The other two players recruited by Kundla, Archie Clark and Don Yates, also were both drafted by NBA teams. That trio helped the Gophers to a third place Big Ten finish in 1963–64 and a second place finish in 1964–65, but those were the high points for Kundla's collegiate career. Kundla's personal assessment of his Gophers career was that his personal weaknesses in recruiting were marring the team by the end of his tenure.
Kundla was succeeded by Bowling Green head coach Bill Fitch. Fitch remained with the Gophers for two seasons before being hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
as their first head coach in 1970 to make the leap to the NBA, where he later won an NBA title as coach of the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
. Fitch did recruit Jim Brewer
Jim Brewer (basketball)
James Turner Brewer is a retired American National Basketball Association player. Brewer was the first notable player to come out of Proviso East High School, which has one of the most successful high school basketball programs in Illinois. In 1969, Brewer, playing center, led his team to the...
before he left, laying the first seed for the 1972 Big Ten title. George Hanson
George Hanson
George Hanson is a former American basketball coach. Hanson was the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the 1970-71 season, where he finished 11-13 and led the squad to a 5th place finish. Hanson resigned after one season and was replaced by Bill Musselman. Hanson played for the...
, a longtime assistant coach at the school, was hired as his replacement, but resigned after only one season.
Musselman and NCAA sanctions (1971-1975)
The Gophers under Athletics Director Marsh RymanMarsh Ryman
Marshall W. "Marsh" Ryman was a former collegiate hockey coach and athletic director at the University of Minnesota. Ryman played baseball and hockey for Minnesota and was the hockey team captain for the 1931-32 season...
hired Cal Luther
Cal Luther
Cal Luther is an American basketball coach. He was head men's coach at DePauw, Murray State, Longwood, Tennessee-Martin, and Bethel College. He was also head coach of the Egyptian national basketball team.-Early life:...
away from Murray State
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
to coach the team in 1971, but he changed his mind and turned the team down after accepting the position. Instead, Bill Musselman
Bill Musselman
William Clifford Musselman was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was a fiercely intense coach who once was quoted as saying "defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat."-Early life:Musselman was the second of five children....
took over the program. Musselman was a defensive minded coach and designed his team around Brewer, recruiting several junior college players and University of Minnesota baseball star Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
to support him. The starters on the 1971–72 squad became known as the "Iron Five." Musselman's strategy succeeded, and the team took the Big Ten title, the first since 1937. This was achieved despite an ugly brawl against Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
on January 25, 1972, in which several Gophers players attacked Ohio State center Luke Witte
Luke Witte
Luke Witte was a U.S. college and professional basketball player who is now a church minister. He played at the collegiate level for Ohio State University and professionally for the Cleveland Cavaliers...
after a game of physical play and an especially hard foul against Gophers point guard Bob Nix. The brawl was publicized in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, and some Ohio State players alleged that the Gophers players were going after white Buckeyes.
This was not to be the only scandal of Musselman's tenure as coach. In 1973, former player Greg Olson accused Musselman of having attempted to strike him in a practice. It was also revealed that Olson had sold complimentary season tickets to a booster named Harvey Mackay
Harvey Mackay
Harvey Mackay is a businessman and columnist. Mackay is perhaps best known as the author of five business bestsellers, including Swim With the Sharks , Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt and Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty...
, which prompted NCAA investigations. Musselman's coaching style also brought about significant transfers away from the Minnesota program to other schools. In 1975, Musselman resigned and was named the head coach of the San Diego Sails
San Diego Sails
The San Diego Sails were an American Basketball Association team based in San Diego, California; the team played an incomplete season only, beginning the 1975-1976 ABA season but folding before its completion.-San Diego Conquistadors:...
of the ABA. After his resignation, Musselman admitted to giving money to players for rent and transportation. These charges, coupled with the earlier ticket selling scandal and other transgressions regarding payments and aid revolving around Harvey Mackay, resulted in a list from the NCAA of more than 100 rule violations in Musselman's four seasons at the school. The extent of the consequences would not be known until early in Jim Dutcher
Jim Dutcher (basketball coach)
Jim Dutcher is a former head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.Dutcher took over the Gophers program in 1975 following the departure of Bill Musselman, previously having been a head coach at Eastern Michigan University and an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under Johnny...
's eleven season tenure as Gophers head coach.
Success, and scandal, under Haskins (1986–1999)
Clem Haskins
Clem Smith Haskins is a retired American college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He and star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the fall of 1963. This put Western Kentucky at the...
was hired as the Gopher basketball coach in 1986, expected to clean up and rebuild the Gopher program which had been torn apart by the Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
allegations (of which the players were later acquitted) during the final year of coach Jim Dutcher. Though wins did not come easily in the first couple years of Haskins regime, by the 1988–89 season he had the Gophers in the NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
as a #11 seed, and directed a Cinderella run
Cinderella (sports)
In American and Canadian sports, a Cinderella or "Cinderella Story" refers to a team or player who advances much further in a tournament or career than originally anticipated. Cinderellas tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the championship game at the end of the...
into the Sweet 16. In the 1989–90 season Haskins led the Gophers to the Elite Eight, and the team came within a basket of reaching their first ever Final Four. Though Haskins led the Gophers to post-season success in his first three seasons, the 1990
1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado...
Elite Eight appearance would be the last time under Haskins the Gophers would "officially" appear in the NCAA tournament.
On March 10, 1999, the day before the #7 seed Gophers were to open the NCAA tournament
1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....
against #10 Gonzaga
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
, the St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
ran a story detailing allegations of massive academic fraud in the men's basketball program. Former basketball office manager Jan Gangelhoff had gone to the newspaper claiming she had written over 400 papers for at least 20 Gopher men's basketball players over a period of several years, ending in 1998. When the Gophers played Gonzaga on March 11, the University suspended players Antoine Broxie, Kevin Clark, Jason Stanford, and Miles Tarver since they allegedly had papers written for them by Ganglehoff in previous seasons. With their roster depleted, the Gophers lost to Gonzaga, the season came to an end, and an internal investigation at the University began.
By June 1999 and in the midst of their investigation, the university had negotiated a buyout
Buyout
A buyout, in finance, is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" control of the target company....
of the remainder of Haskins contract, worth $1.5 million dollars over three years. In the summer of 2000, Haskins came forward and admitted that he had paid Gangelhoff $3,000 for her services; this revelation came to light after Haskins turned his financial records over to the NCAA. In addition, more details were emerging in which Haskins was also accused of mail fraud in an incident regarding a recruit's transcript
Transcript (education)
In education, a transcript is an inventory of the courses taken and grades earned of a student throughout a course.- United States :In United States education, a transcript is a copy of a student's permanent academic record which usually means all courses taken, all grades received, all...
, giving players cash, dismissing sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
concerns against his players, as well as his staff trying to persuade professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s to give his players inflated grades they had not earned.
| Stripped banners and records | |
|---|---|
| Season | Banner/Record |
| 1993–94 | NCAA Tournament 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the championship game on April 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina... 2nd round |
| 1994–95 | NCAA Tournament 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,... 1st round |
| 1995–96 | NIT 1996 National Invitation Tournament -Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Tulane 87, Alabama 76... 2nd round |
| 1996–97 | NCAA Final Four 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1997, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Indianapolis, Indiana... |
| 1996–97 | Big Ten MVP Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball The Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball was an award that was presented annually by the Chicago Tribune to the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference for both men's and women's basketball in the United States through 2007. The Chicago Tribune awarded the Silver Basketball for men's basketball... Bobby Jackson |
| 1996–97 | Big Ten Defensive POY: Bobby Jackson |
| 1997–98 | NIT 1998 National Invitation Tournament -Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Georgia 95, Fresno State 79Minnesota later forfeited its entire 1997-98 schedule due to an academic fraud scandal.... Champions |
| 1998–99 | NCAA Tournament 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St.... 1st round |
During this time an NCAA investigation was also underway. Ultimately, it emerged that massive fraud had occurred under Haskins' watch. The NCAA stripped the Gophers of all postseason awards, titles, personal records, and statistics dating back to the 1993–94 season citing a "lack of institutional control." Haskins was also slapped with a seven-year "show cause" order, which effectively banned him from coaching at any level in the NCAA until 2007. Besides lying about the $3,000 payment, he had also told several of his players to lie to the NCAA. Later, the Big Ten forced the Gophers to vacate their 1997 conference title, as well as all regular season games dating to 1993–94. As a result, Minnesota's official record from 1993–94 to 1998–99 is 0–0.
In addition, the basketball program was hit with massive sanctions, including a loss of five scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s over the following three seasons, recruiting limitations, and department-wide probation lasting four years. There was no post-season ban instituted by the NCAA, but the Gophers withdrew from postseason consideration for the 1999–2000 season.
In addition to Haskins, Athletic Director Mark Dienhart
Mark Dienhart
Mark Dienhart is the former athletic director at the University of Minnesota and the current Senior Vice President at the University of St. Thomas....
, Vice President for Athletics, Student Development McKinley Boston
McKinley Boston
McKinley "Mac" Boston is the athletics director at New Mexico State University. He was named athletics director on December 14, 2004.Boston is from Elizabeth City, North Carolina and graduated from P. W. Moore High School in 1964. He attended the University of Minnesota from 1964 to 1968 where he...
, Associate Athletics Director Jeff Schemmel and academic counselor Alonzo Newby also resigned. The University also agreed to return 90% (approximately $350,000) of the profits earned by the basketball program during their appearances in the NCAA tournament, including the 1997 Final Four run.
Recovery and revival (1999–present)
Dan Monson
Daniel Lloyd Monson is an American college basketball coach. He was hired as the head coach of the Long Beach State 49ers on April 7, 2007. Previously he was head coach at the University of Minnesota for over seven seasons, from July 24, 1999, to November 30, 2006...
to be their next head coach, who coincidentally had just beaten the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament the previous March. Monson was the coach for part of eight seasons, but made the NCAA Tournament only one time
2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St...
, that being in 2004-05. Monson almost left the Minnesota program for the University of Washington following the 2001–02 season, but was thought of highly by the athletics department under Tom Moe and was persuaded to stay despite limited success. These trends did not reverse after he remained at the program. During his final full season the Gophers were 5–11 in Big Ten play, and after a 2–5 start to open the 2006–07 season
2006-07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2006, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 2, 2007 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, Monson and Athletics Director Joel Maturi
Joel Maturi
Joel Maturi is the athletic director at the University of Minnesota. He previously held the same post at the University of Denver and Miami University.-Early career:...
announced Monson's resignation on November 30, 2006. Despite Monson's inability to field a consistent winner, he was lauded by University officials for bringing integrity and cleanliness back to the program. Assistant coach Jim Molinari
Jim Molinari
James Molinari is an American basketball coach. Molinari is head coach of the Western Illinois University Leathernecks. Prior to being named coach at WIU, Molinari was as assistant coach at Ball State University after serving as the interim head coach at the University of Minnesota, replacing Dan...
was named head coach on an interim basis and, after a 3–13 Big Ten record to finish the season, was not retained as head coach. Maturi began an extensive search for a new permanent head coach at season's end.
On March 23, 2007, Maturi made a move that surprised many when he hired Tubby Smith
Tubby Smith
Orlando "Tubby" Smith is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the men's basketball head coach at the University of Minnesota...
after he resigned from the University of Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
to be the next head Gopher basketball coach. Smith's name recognition and winning reputation has given the program a new optimism, something it badly needed to counter its dwindling fan interest.
Smith's coaching has had an immediate impact on the previously unsuccessful Gophers squad. The team went from 8–22 in 2006–07 to 20–13 in 2007–08. Smith also lead the Golden Gophers to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals after defeating 2nd seeded Indiana. Coach Smith also harvested a top 25 recruiting class, the best in years for the program. Smith returned Minnesota to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005 in the 2008-09 season. Smith's team struggled throughout the 2009-10 season with off court issues, but advanced to the championship game in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in school history (losing to regular season co-champion Ohio State) and made the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.
Awards
Big Ten MVP- Chuck MencelChuck MencelCharles "Chuck" Mencel is a former professional basketball player with the Minneapolis Lakers.Mencel played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, and was named the Big Ten MVP in the 1955 season, his senior year with the Golden Gophers. He was drafted in the second round of the 1955 NBA...
– 1955 - Jim Brewer – 1972
- Mychal Thompson – 1978
- Bobby Jackson – 1997 (later revoked due the academic fraud scandal)
Big Ten Coach of the Year
- Jim DutcherJim Dutcher (basketball coach)Jim Dutcher is a former head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.Dutcher took over the Gophers program in 1975 following the departure of Bill Musselman, previously having been a head coach at Eastern Michigan University and an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under Johnny...
– 1982 - Clem HaskinsClem HaskinsClem Smith Haskins is a retired American college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He and star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the fall of 1963. This put Western Kentucky at the...
– 1997 (later revoked due to the academic fraud scandal)
Henry Iba Award (National Coach of the Year)
- Clem Haskins – 1997
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
- Bobby Jackson – 1997 (later revoked due the academic fraud scandal)
- Travarus BennettTravarus BennettTravarus Bennett is a basketball player who has played professionally in Europe and the North American minor leagues. He played collegiately at the University of Minnesota....
– 2002
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- Rick RickertRick RickertRick Rickert is an American-born basketball player. He is a 2001 graduate of Duluth East High School where he was a basketball star and highly recruited college prospect. He was named 2001 Minnesota Mr...
– 2002 - Kris HumphriesKris HumphriesKris Nathan Humphries is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He became an unrestricted free agent in 2011.-Early life:...
– 2004
Consensus All-Americans
- Jim McIntyreJim McIntyre (basketball)Reverend James "Jim" McIntyre was an American basketball player for the University of Minnesota from 1945–46 to 1948–49. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he led Patrick Henry High School to two state championships before becoming a two-time consensus All-American at Minnesota...
– 1948 - Dick GarmakerDick GarmakerRichard Eugene "Dick" Garmaker is a retired American basketball player who played professionally in the NBA from 1955 to 1961.Garmaker was a 6'3" guard/forward from the University of Minnesota...
– 1955 - Mychal Thompson – 1978
Academic All-American
- Blake HoffarberBlake HoffarberBlake Hoffarber is a Senior shooting guard on the University of Minnesota men's basketball team. The 6'4", 200 lbs Hoffarber is a Minnetonka, Minnesota native who gained fame by way of numerous highlight reel shots during the course of his basketball career...
- 2011 (2nd Team)
Post-season
The Gophers enjoyed fairly regular post season appearances under former coach Clem Haskins, making the post season in 10 of his 13 seasons as coach (6 NCAA tournament, 4 NIT), including all of his last 8 seasons. The team advanced to one Final 4, one Elite 8, one Sweet 16, one second round appearance, and suffered two first round losses. However after the academic fraud scandal in 1999, the last 6 years of post season records were wiped out. So officially, the Gophers made 2 NCAA Tournament and 2 NIT appearances in the 13 years Haskins was coach. They advanced to the Elite 8 in 1990, the Sweet 16 in 1989, and were NIT champions in 19931993 National Invitation Tournament
-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - UAB 55, Providence 52...
.
The Gophers saw some moderate success in the early 1980s, appearing in the 1980
1980 National Invitation Tournament
-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Illinois 84, UNLV 74...
, 1981
1981 National Invitation Tournament
-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Purdue 75, West Virginia 72...
, and 1983
1983 National Invitation Tournament
-Semifinals & Finals:...
NITs and the 1982 NCAA Tournament
1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, where they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Multiple problems plagued the Gophers during the 1976–1977 season, Jim Dutcher's 2nd as head coach. Heading into the season the team knew they would not be eligible for the post season because of sanctions from the Bill Musselman era. Even so, this turned out to be one of the best teams in Gopher history, with the team finishing at 24–3. But if not being post-season eligible was not punishment enough, it was later found out that Mychal Thompson had sold two complimentary tickets to Gopher home games. When it was discovered, the profits were donated to University of Minnesota scholarship funds. The school and several prominent supporters, including Senator Wendell Anderson
Wendell Anderson
Wendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson is an American politician and was the 33rd Governor of Minnesota from January 4, 1971 to December 29, 1976. In late 1976, he resigned the governor's office in order to be named U.S. Senator to replace Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President of the...
attempted to back Thompson and the team. Nevertheless, when the NCAA discovered Thompson's act, Minnesota's record for the season was forfeited and the accomplishments of that season are considered unofficial and not included in NCAA records.
Facilities
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. In 1896, the team moved into the campus Armory
University of Minnesota Armory
The University of Minnesota Armory is a building on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. The Armory was constructed in 1896 after the previous space for military training on the campus burnt in a fire in 1894...
, a large building with gymnasium space for the team to use, even if basketball was not its primary purpose. They remained in the Armory for almost thirty years. Halfway through the 1924–25 season, coach Harold Taylor
Harold Taylor (basketball coach)
Harold Taylor was an American basketball coach. He succeeded L.J. Cooke as the second coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team. Taylor was the Gophers head coach for three seasons, from 1924 to 1927, and finished with a 19-30 career record. Taylor served as Cooke's assistant...
moved the team from the University Armory to the Kenwood Armory in downtown Minneapolis. This significantly increased the attendance; capacity at the University Armory was 2,000, and it was 6,500 at Kenwood. The team only played at Kenwood for a few seasons, however, as the University of Minnesota Field House — later known as Williams Arena
Williams Arena
Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams, and the men's and women's hockey teams until 1992, when the hockey teams received their own buildings...
— opened partway through the 1927–1928 season. The team moved in on January 31, 1928.
The Field House increased attendance capacity further, to 9,500. It was named after Henry L. Williams
Henry L. Williams
Dr. Henry Lane Williams was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a career college football record of 141–34–12...
, the former Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
coach in 1950, and was named after him when it was remodeled and expanded in 1950, bringing the arena to a capacity of 18,025, which was the largest in the country for twenty years and significantly larger than the capacity of Williams Arena today. Gophers fans refer to Williams Arena as the Barn. Consequently, the student section is known as The Barnyard. Williams Arena was remodeled in 1993 again, to create a new facility for the women's team to use. The team continues to play there to this day, making it one of the longest used arenas of any college basketball team and the oldest arena in the Big 10. Williams Arena is also one of the few remaining arenas with a raised court, in which players have to go up stairs to reach the playing surface.
Rivals
Hamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
, now a Division III school in St. Paul. Hamline had one of the earliest college basketball programs in the country and it was several years before Minnesota competed on equal footing with them; they played as late as 1935. The greatest rival of the early years of the program was the Minnesota Aggies, representing the Minnesota School of Agriculture and Mining, which has since been incorporated into the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as the St. Paul campus. Minnesota A&M dominated the Gophers, winning ten consecutive games; Minnesota did not get its first win against the Aggies until 1899. This rivalry expired especially early, and the two teams did not meet after 1901. The University of Minnesota is currently the only Division I basketball school in the state of Minnesota, so there are no intense intra-border rivalries as there are in most states.
The Gophers were also an active participant in the early rivalry between Eastern schools and Midwestern schools for basketball preeminence. Minnesota broke up a stretch of Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
dominance from 1901 to 1906 with their successful 1902 season. The Eastern teams - Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and Dartmouth were early powers - played with a more physical approach, while Midwestern teams used a different method. Wisconsin coach Walter Meanwell
Walter Meanwell
Walter E. Meanwell was an English college men's basketball coach in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. The Leeds, England native coached in the U.S...
used the motion offense and "stress[ed] finesse." W.C. Hyatt, who played for Yale, claimed that "The Minnesota and Wisconsin men played in the style prevalent among most of the girl colleges in the East, that is, the 'no contact' game."
In the modern era of the program, as is the case with most Big Ten sports, Minnesota's primary rivals are the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and...
and Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball
The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the Kohl Center, located on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in Madison, Wisconsin....
. In recent years, the rivalry with Wisconsin has become more intense than that with Iowa, primarily due to Wisconsin's recent successes on the court. Minnesota and Wisconsin's games together count towards the Border Battle, an annual trophy given to the points winner of several sports played between the two school throughout the year.
The Gophers also have a less heralded rivalry with Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...
. The two teams have very little history together, outside of the 1972 brawl between the teams at Williams Arena. That incident still lingers in the hearts of many long-time Buckeye fans.
See also
- Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
- College basketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Minnesota Golden GophersMinnesota Golden GophersThe Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
:Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players