And Then There Were Four

Up until sometime early last week, many Minnesotans seemed to be skeptical about the University of Minnesota men's basketball team's success. Local talk radio shows were full of callers who were predicting the Gophers would quickly bow out of the NCAA tournament. It is doubtful many of these callers were hard-core college basketball fans but rather it is more likely they were among the many burned and scorned Minnesotans not used to success of our athletic teams. These people seemed to be unable to enjoy the team's marvelous season because they knew at some point, just as they were beginning to care, they'd be let down.

But this is a very special team that has enjoyed a very special season. Back in the fall when the Sporting News picked them to win the Big Ten, I was skeptical. But then when Clem Haskins started saying that he expected them to win the league we were all forced to listen. Clem has been notorious for downplaying his team's talents to lower everyone's expectations and thus anything achieved seems somewhat satisfying. But right from the start it was clear this team was going to be very good (especially after that dazzling if just a little lucky overtime win in Indiana early in the season).

It is a team without any weaknesses: quick, well coached and excellent defensively (are there any other teams that can boast of such wonderful defensive guard play from both positions?). The team has eight players who legitimately could start for most teams. It says a lot that the two most physically talented, Sam Jacobson and Courtney James, had up and down seasons and still the team steamrolled its way through the opposition. One of the biggest reasons for their success is they really don't rely on one player to win games. If Bobby Jackson has an off night there are others to pick up the slack.

I became a Gophers basketball fan in 1976 with the team that many followers claim was the greatest Gopher team of all time featuring Kevin McHale, Ray Williams, Mychal Thompson and Osborne Lockhart. I was lucky enough to see McHale play for Hibbing in the high school championship game at the Civic Center a few years back (it now appears that was my fifteen minutes of fame as my classmates and I square danced at half time in front of the enthralled eyes of a state. For some reason the camera focused on me- probably seeing the strange sight of an oriental country western dancer twirling his Scandinavian partner had something to do with it). McHale became my favorite player with his awesome low post game (which I styled my own 5'5" play after).

Many have said that the '76 Gophers could beat this year's squad. I'm not so convinced. That team did boast the best starting lineup in the history of the school but when you had to rely on Dave Winey to provide valuable backup minutes, it means a team as deep as this year's Gophers would stand a chance of winning. The 1997 Gophers do what they have to do to win. They have won so many close games- a true sign that they do not panic and their precision approach to the ups and downs of the game is impressive.

The team I had the most emotional attachment to was the 1982 version, the last time the Gophers won the Big Ten title. It was the last season for seniors Gary Holmes, Trent Tucker and Daryl Mitchell who had arrived at the University four years earlier, with Mark Hall and Leo Rautins to much fanfare, supposedly the best recruiting class ever. Their struggles for three years were mighty and it was truly rewarding to be there on the final day of the season to watch them clinch their title by beating Ohio State.

The program fell upon some difficult times in the mid-80's with that horrible weekend in Madison. It was a weekend that in a way detached me from college basketball- the three players accused of rape, not only kicked off the team (proper), but out of the University (not proper); the resignation of Coach Jim Dutcher and the subsequent not guilty verdicts left a nasty cloud hanging over the entire program. I cared enough to be there the next game when the "Iron Five" played for an emotional catharsis but until these past couple of weeks, the connection somehow wasn't as encompassing.

You have to like a good Rocky like story and to see where this team has gotten after how far the program had fallen is rather special and uplifting. To some it may just seem like another sports story but it is more than that. It has been a wonderful ride with a wonderful team. I think many have even learned to let the walls down for a moment and enjoy all that has been accomplished.