Clem Haskins

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Clem Smith Haskins (born July 11, 1943 in Campbellsville, Kentucky) is a former professional basketball player who later served 13 years (1986-1999) as head coach of the University of Minnesota's men's basketball team.

The son of sharecroppers, Haskins was a star at Taylor County High School in rural Kentucky. He wanted to play for Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky, but Rupp ignored him, allegedly because Haskins was black [1], and Haskins enrolled at Western Kentucky University. After a successful college career, Haskins was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1967 NBA Draft, and he went on to play nine years in the NBA with three teams (the Bulls, the Phoenix Suns, and the Washington Bullets). He retired in 1976 due to knee injuries, having tallied 8,743 career points.

After his NBA career, Haskins returned to Western Kentucky University, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach. In 1986, Haskins was hired by the University of Minnesota to rebuild the school's men's basketball program. He led his team to the Final Four in 1997, winning the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award, but his legacy would be tarnished by scandal. In 1999, Jan Gangelhoff, a university employee, explained that she had written hundreds of papers for Golden Gophers players over the last five years, including the Gophers' run to the Final Four. Haskins was deemed responsible for the debacle, and he agreed to resign as coach in June 1999. Afterwards, the Golden Gophers program was placed on a four-year probation by the NCAA.