Exactly 20 years ago Wednesday is when the Gophers men's basketball team lost 78-69 to Kentucky in the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Several players who were on the 1996-97 squad talked recently to the Star Tribune about what making the Final Four meant to them, despite the fact that it later was vacated after an academic fraud scandal.
John Thomas was a senior center from Minneapolis and got drafted in the first round (No. 25 overall) by the New York Knicks in 1997. Thomas, now a national training manager for Ultimate Hoops, was trying to get his team back together in Minnesota to celebrate the anniversary together.
"We weren't just a basketball team," Thomas said. "We were part of a lot of people's memories. That's where I think the level of impact for us is really felt. Twenty years from then people are still talking about it. What made that part so special to me were the people and the relationships we had with our fans and the relationship we had to the community. That's what made it so special."

Bobby Jackson, the Big Ten player of the year and leading scorer, was a first round pick (No. 23 overall) by the Seattle Supersonics in 1997. Jackson can't believe how fast 20 years have gone by.
"We felt really like a brotherhood; it was such an amazing thing," Jackson, now a Sacramento Kings radio analyst, said. "When you have such an amazing coach in Clem Haskins, it just made it special. Why did it have such an impact on people? Because out of all the Minnesota Gophers teams we were the one that went the furthest in the (NCAA) tournament. We accomplished a lot. We did a lot in the community. Coach was at the pinnacle of his career. He was a very successful coach. Regardless of it not being on record, I think the fans and the players we still recognize it."
Jackson about his teammates: "Everybody was special. Everybody was different. Everybody had a different personality about them. Everybody came from a different part of the country. John, Sam (Jacobson) and Trevor (Winter) were from Minnesota. Courtney (James) was from Indiana. Quincy (Lewis) from Little Rock, Ark. Eric Harris was from New York. I was from North Carolina. Charles Thomas was from Kentucky. You look at our starting five there was such a bond. Everybody had their special moment with the team and everybody contributed. We did a great job of understanding how to play together but be successful."
Trevor Winter was a senior backup center on the Gophers who is celebrating his 20-year wedding anniversary. The 7-footer from Slayton, Minn. got married the summer after the Final Four season.