U's checkered history doesn't end with Smith

In just two days, the water cooler talk about Gophers men's basketball switched from promise to peril.

Royce White, the Gophers' top freshman, was arrested for shoplifting and fifth-degree assault two weeks ago. Coach Tubby Smith, whose team opens its exhibition season tonight, said Tuesday that he suspended White and senior Devron Bostick for unspecified rules violations.

Athletic director Joel Maturi announced Monday that Trevor Mbakwe won't play until his felony assault charge is resolved.

Mbakwe and White were expected to give the Gophers immediate help in the post, where the team has had inconsistent production under Smith. Now it's unclear what role the two talents will play this season.

"It's a different anticipation than what you had, what you were saying there two weeks ago," said booster Paul Presthus, a team captain in the 1960s. "I think the [national preseason] rankings that we got considered the presence of all the players that were there initially."

It's an unfortunate fact that some of the program's supporters have come to expect and anticipate problems. While the team's greatest black eye was the academic scandal of the late 1990s, the university has dealt with the backlash of repeated NCAA violations, academic woes and criminal problems since the arrival of Bill Musselman in 1971.

Musselman committed more than 100 NCAA violations during his four-year tenure and was courtside at Williams Arena during an infamous 1972 brawl against Ohio State. The 1977 Gophers, despite going 24-3, were ineligible for postseason play, a result of Musselman's infractions.

Under Jim Dutcher, three Minnesota players, including Mitch Lee, were dismissed from the team following a sexual assault accusation during a 1986 road trip to Wisconsin. Dutcher left the school, citing unfairness for the way the players -- who were ultimately acquitted -- were treated by the university.

Clem Haskins was hired in the spring of 1986 to rescue the Gophers, but his time at the school ended with the nationally publicized academic scandal that forced Minnesota to vacate its 1997 Final Four appearance.

Smith arrived in 2007 with a national title at Kentucky, a winning pedigree and an ability to recruit quality players -- a challenge for his predecessor, Dan Monson. But today, Smith is just another Gophers coach facing what appears to be an immovable wall in Minnesota men's basketball legacy.

Why? Start with this: In a region that lacks a comparable talent pool to Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis, the Gophers have struggled to find highly skilled players that arrive without baggage.

Maturi said recruiting is a mixed bag that comes with varied results for any program.

"Problem is no one knows which one will succeed and which will fail," he wrote in an e-mail. "If you take no chances, good luck with successful stories in the classroom and in the sport. We have had many success stories for young people academically disadvantaged and who have done something they should not have done prior to their arrival. They get their degrees and perform well. They are kids who come from different environments and, in some instances, are a good 'gamble.'

"We would all like straight-A students who are members of the National Honor Society who have never been in any trouble and are at least all-state and hopefully All-American. [It] does not work that way and even some of those young people do something wrong, occasionally."

Like his predecessors, Smith took major risks with his latest group of recruits. Some would argue that he had to with an in-state star like White, who was kicked out of DeLaSalle in 2008 for academic transgressions. White's abilities -- like so many of the precarious Minnesota talents before him -- were too awesome to pass up, even if he entered the year with a well-documented list of behavioral issues and challenges.

Smith also welcomed Mbakwe, even after learning he'd been charged with felony assault stemming from an incident in Miami in April and would not necessarily be allowed to compete. He took Rodney Williams, who didn't get through the NCAA Clearinghouse until July due to academic challenges.

Two weeks ago, Smith sent out this message on Twitter: "Team is working hard. ... We focus on getting better every day. I am excited about how hard the guys are working."

On Tuesday, after he had announced the suspensions of White and Bostick and discussed Mbakwe's legal situation, he wrote: "Tough times never last, tough people do."

If Smith arrived in the Twin Cities with full knowledge of the school's basketball history, he knew he was going to have to be tough.

Myron P. Medcalf • mmedcalf@startribune.com