Clem Haskins

Sent: 2/16/12
Received: 2/28/12
Time: 12 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1971-72 Topps, 1974-75 Topps, 1996 Skybox Team USA
Item Received: 1971-72 Topps, 1974-75 Topps, 1996 Skybox Team USA.  All signed in thin blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Should I be pissed at Clem Haskins?  I don't know.  I suppose I should be upset that the academic violations that occurred under his nose, stripping the Gophers' 1997 Final Four appearance and leaving the basketball program in shambles.  But, doggone it, I still can't help but love ol' Clem the Gem.  His teams were fun!  I have never had more fun watching college (or any kind of) basketball than the back-to-back Sweet 16 and Elite 8 teams of 1989 and 1990.  Except, perhaps, for the aforementioned Bobby Jackson-led run to the Final Four.  The Dan Monson and Tubby Smith regimes have been bad on the court.  Even worse, though, they've been boring.  Clem's teams were never dull, and neither was he.