When Dan Monson was fired in the middle of the 2006-2007 season, a new optimism surrounded Golden Gopher basketball. Monson's 7+ year tenure had seen only one tournament berth, a 2005 appearance that saw the Gophers quickly eliminated by Iowa State. The former Gonzaga coach succeeded the long standing Clem Haskins, a coach who had very good success but was mired in a serious academic scandal. Haskins would be forced to resign and Monson was hired shortly thereafter on the heels of Gonzaga's tournament runs. His first job was to clean up a program that had been embarrassed by the scandal. To his credit, he was able to do that, overseeing an era that saw no scandals and a very good graduation rate. But the lack of wins had worn on the fans, and after year's of calling for Monson's dismissal, Athletic Director Joel Maturi bought out Monson's contract shortly into the non-conference schedule in 2006. Assistant Coach Jim Molinari took over as interim coach, but it was well known it would be a temporary gig. The Gophers needed a fresh face to give new life to a program that gone from annual tournament contender to cellar dweller in a short period of time.
Enter Tubby Smith. Smith and Kentucky had recently parted ways, mainly due to the Kentucky program's unrealistic expectations and poor grasp on reality. Tubby had already experienced success at Tulsa, Georgia, and Kentucky, a run that included a national championship in his first season at Kentucky. Smith was the big name that the team needed to make a splash in the Big 10. His stature as a coach and reputation as a great teacher and leader was a perfect fit. The buzz that surrounded the Gophers in the 80's and 90's was finally restored as Minnesota had a coach that could fill seats and rack up W's.
Smith got right to work. Kentucky fans had labeled him a poor recruiter, but he quickly silenced some of those claims as he landed two talented big men not long after he took the reigns. Athletic JUCO forward Paul Carter and South Dakotan high schooler Colton Iverson both gave their commitment to the Gophers, signaling that Minnesota had become a major player on the recruiting scene. That was only the start, however, as three more youngsters would commit in the coming months. Talented JUCO scorer Devron Bostick was the third recruit and should add a much needed scoring boost to next year's squad. The best was saved for last, as Top 100 big man Ralph Sampson III joined the program followed by Top 100 guard Devoe Joseph. It was clear that Smith intended on giving Minnesota some staying power as he has already made the University a much more desirable destination for young stars. With the program's future in taken care of, Tubby could turn his attention to the present.
Nobody knew what to expect during the 2008-2009 campaign. Tubby is a great coach but was dealt a horrible hand to start the year. The 2006-2007 squad had only won 9 games, and the only new faces were freshman Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber. Early expectations were tempered as many anticipated a team with subpar talent taking its lumps for much of the year. The Gophers got off to a 10-2 start in the non-conference, but much of that was insulated by a horrid strength of schedule. Florida State and UNLV were the only quality opponents on the Gophers slate and both handled the Gophers with relative ease. The team showed some bark early in the Big 10 season, taking conference heavyweights Michigan State and Indiana to the wire before dropping both contests. The rest of the conference schedule saw Minnesota win most of the games they were supposed and lose in the same fashion. A Big 10 tournament stunner over Indiana would be the highlight of the season, but any sort of miracle run to the NCAA tournament would be shot down in the semis by Illinois, a team that beat the Gophers thrice.
Tubby capped off his first season with a 20-13 record and a chance to add to that in the upcoming NIT tournament. The team was fairly mediocre throughout, but sapping 20 wins out of a squad that was a little short on talent is a testament to Smith as a coach. A talent infusion in the next few years could make the Gophers a dangerous squad and they should routinely be competing for an NCAA berth with the potential to go fairly deep.
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