Were any of you guys posting on here even fans of the Gophers when Clem became coach? It seems that some important information is being missed in this post. Clem took over a program that was as bleak as it's ever been in Minnesota Gopher history. The year before we had to forfeit a Big 10 game and played another where 5 guys played all but 2 minutes of the game. Dutcher had resigned in the middle of the year and three players were dismissed from the team because of the scandal in Madison. Because of this, Clem's first two years we won a total of 6 games in the B1G. The team and program was gutted. In his 3rd coach at Minnesota, Clem got the team to the Sweet 16, losing to Duke is my memory serves me correctly. That year, the Big 10 was loaded, with Michigan, Indiana and Illinois all being top 10 teams, with Michigan winning the tournament, beating Illinois in the Final Four. That was in an era when the Big 10 was at it's peak as a top basketball conference. The next year the Gophers were within a basket of making the Final Four....losing to Georgia Tech 93-91. To try and compare the position Pitino has this team in to the place Clem had the team in after 5 years is one of the most laughable things I have seen on Gopherhole. I have no problem giving Pitino another year if we make the NCAA tournament, but don't compare the coaching job he has done to the coaching job Clem did at the beginning of his tenure at Minnesota.
This site didn't exist. But I was around and a season ticket holder. I remember it well. Clem took over a program in dire straits- no doubt about it. The advantage to that is that he was under no pressure to win right away and he got left a borderline great recruiting class by Dutcher (Newbern, Burton and Schick). Pitino took over the total opposite. Some pretty decent older players but zero young recruits. Therefore it was logical that Pitino's bottom out year was going to be year three when he had to bring in young kids to replace. So both Clem and Pitino had their 2-16 year to deal with but for different reasons and at different times. If I were a new coach in a position- I'd have preferred the situation Clem took over: start from scratch and build from the bottom. Pitino made the mistake of thinking he could win right away and he brought in transfers and took wild swings and 5 stars and missed. Youthful error and it cost him.