One of the only things Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith didn't accomplish this season was to break the long string of defeats at the hands of Illinois. That streak reached 20 with a 54-50 loss in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament on Saturday.
But Smith, in my opinion, performed a miracle this year in bringing the program back by winning 20 games -- 11 more than the team won last year -- and they were competitive most of the season.
The Gophers likely will win a few more games this year because they will get an opportunity to play some more games in the NIT.
Like Smith was told by former Gophers coach Clem Haskins and friend and former Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey, Minnesota was a great program for a coach to step into.
Basketball was down, coach Dan Monson had a lot of critics, and the right guy could step into a great situation -- especially a successful coach such as Smith. Things have worked out well for the former Kentucky coach, and the future looks great.
I admit I was one of the few boosters of Monson, and questioned whether he should have been fired after seven games last season.
My theory was that whoever succeeded Haskins after the big academic fraud scandal -- which cost Haskins, vice president McKinley Boston and athletic director Mark Dienhart their jobs -- was going to have a hard time winning.
Through the bulk of the Monson era, he was operating under several NCAA restrictions which handicapped his recruiting. Smith walked in with a clean slate and a reputation as one of the great recruiters and coaches in the country.