ike, fair point re: more guys staying local than I'd probably realized.

But I think if you look at MN's hoops history from, say, Kevin McHale until now, the only time they've been good is when they cheated their balls off. (And even that was only one really good season.)

The other thing about kids staying home is that MN has terrible facilities, which isn't the be-all, end-all, but when competitors have beautiful, new facilities, it's a huge downgrade in the minds of a lot of kids.

True on all points.

The U itself has as much to do with the problem as Tubby did. It's not surprising or coincidental that all of their money sports are floundering. Although TCF is nice, the basketball/athletic facilities could definitely use an upgrade.

Gophers hire Richard Pitino.

The name will obviously resonate with recruits, which I think will definitely help. And I'll assume he's picked up at least some of his dad's coaching acumen. Could turn out to be a really nice hire.

Interesting take from a current ESPN and former Minny Star-Tribune writer:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/82864/gophers-need-to-give-pitino-full-commitment

^^^ Thats the same writer that accused the Timberwolves of being racist last season because they were only adding white guys. ^^^