Gophers connect with the glory years by honoring 1982 Big Ten title team at the Barn

Thank you for checking out Basketball Across Minnesota, my weekly look at some of the state's top hoops stories, from preps to pros. — Marcus Fuller

When the Gophers honored their 1982 Big Ten championship team Wednesday night, it marked the first time former coach Jim Dutcher had been in Williams Arena in seven years.

Dutcher was last there in late January 2015 to watch his 7-foot-3 center Randy Breuer's No. 45 jersey get raised to the rafters. But he preferred following the Gophers from afar until they reached out about honoring his 1982 team.

First-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson has worked hard to connect his program with its basketball alumni and successful teams from the past.

"They've done a fantastic job," said Dutcher, who coached the Gophers from 1975-86 and earned 1982 Big Ten coach of the year.

During the glory days, when the Barn had one of the most electric atmospheres in college hoops, Gophers faithful roared after Breuer's rim-rattling slams and Trent Tucker's smooth jumpers that caught all net.

As a former Minnesota player, Johnson cherished the opportunity to pay tribute to Dutcher's championship squad. The 40-year anniversary coming in his first season as head coach felt like perfect timing.

"To be able to honor what they've done is special," Johnson said. "I think we have a unique history here. And I think it's important that we understand the coaches, the assistants, the [graduate assistants], the players that set the bar for what we're trying to do."

The Gophers player intro video this season is narrated by the program's all-time scoring leader Mychal Thompson. Another of Dutcher's former big men, Jim Petersen, is also prominent in the video to pump up the crowd just before the opening tip.

"When Ben asked me to do that, I was so honored to be a part of it," Petersen said. "For Mychal to do the narration and talk about the Gophers' basketball past leading into the present — that's really what it's all about."

Petersen was thrilled Wednesday to join his '82 teammates back on campus, including Breuer, Tucker, Darryl Mitchell, Gary Holmes, Zebedee Howell, Kelly Scott and Andy Thompson, an executive producer for Michael Jordan's ESPN documentary, "The Last Dance."

"It was just a great group of guys and a very talented group," Petersen said. "Williams Arena was such a special and magical place."

Tucker, a Gophers All-America guard who went on to become an NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, headlined Dutcher's famed 1979 recruiting class that ranked among the nation's best. He became the first member of the '82 title team to have his jersey hung up in the Barn.

"It's always a good time to get back with your old teammates and reminisce about what it was like to become a Big Ten championship team," Tucker said. "How we stuck together during difficult times and how certain guys had to step up and make big plays to give ourselves a chance to win."

The Michigan native recalled the four-game win streak at the end of the 1981-82 season that clinched the program's first conference championship in a decade. Most notable were the road victories at Michigan and rival Iowa. The Gophers needed triple overtime to defeat the Hawkeyes 57-55 in Iowa City.

"Illinois does us a favor by knocking off the Hawkeyes on that Thursday night," Tucker said. "So now we go into Iowa City only a game behind them. It was the last game for them in the Fieldhouse. We knew it was going to be a tough road game, but we finally got ourselves into the position to decide the outcome of our season. Guys stuck together and knew what was at stake."

Dutcher and his players mingled at the Golden Dunkers booster club gathering in Huntington Bank Stadium before Wednesday's game. He's been following Johnson's team from the Gophers' 10-1 start until tougher times came in Big Ten play, but he's encouraged about the program's future.

"With no bench really and guys being put together for the first time," Dutcher said, "Ben has done a [great] job. They've been fun to watch."

Tucker believes the Gophers can ascend to the Big Ten's top tier by keeping the state's top talent home.

"If you've got a top-flight player in your backyard, you've got to get him," he said. "They make a difference in your program."

Visiting recruits can see the Gophers basketball alumni wall with signatures next to Johnson's office in the Athlete's Village athletic facility.

"We're aspiring to be and to go where they went," Johnson said about past champions. "It's good for our players to see them. It's good for myself, my staff, and the fans to see those guys honored. Hopefully, it shows our players that we have [rich] history. That there's a lot of people who put in the time before they got here."

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out this week:

Caleb Williams, Macalester College

The sophomore guard scored a career-high 30 points vs. St. Scholastica in the Scots' first playoff win since 2004 last Saturday, and he had 16 points in their first playoff road win Wednesday at Carleton.

Madison Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's

The state's leading girls' scorer and South Dakota State recruit set a school record with 55 points Monday in an 80-69 win against Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

Tori Wortz, St. Cloud State

The senior guard from Hutchinson scored a season-high 26 points in a win against Bemidji State last Saturday, which helped the Huskies clinch their first Northern Sun Conference regular-season title since 1984.

Tyler Riemersma, Augustana

The 6-8 senior from Bloomington had 31 points and 10 rebounds against Sioux Falls to lead the No. 5-ranked Division II Vikings to clinch the Northern Sun title.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves

The 7-foot All-Star center became the first big man to win the NBA's three-point contest since another Wolves star, Kevin Love in 2012. Towns had a record score of 29 in the final round.

2.8 — Number of seconds left when St. Olaf inbounded the ball before Dominic Bledsoe's buzzer-beating three in a 76-73 upset Wednesday over Gustavus in the MIAC quarterfinals.

9 — Number of times former Minnehaha Academy star and Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren has won the West Coast Conference freshman of the week award after Monday.

10 — Number of all-time MIAC regular season titles for St. John's men's hoops program, which clinched the top seed in the playoffs that run this week.

30 — Margin of victory last Friday for No. 1 Class 4A Park Center in avenging its only loss this season against No. 2 Class 3A Totino-Grace.

1,500 — Kansas State standout Ayoka Lee, a Bryon, Minn., native, reached this career milestone in points recently.

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don't be a stranger on Twitter after reading, as chatting about these stories make them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on Twitter