Gopher ‘Tails’ – A Collection of Short Tales about Minnesota Gopher Basketball

We present to you a few short tales — or should that be tails — about Minnesota Gopher basketball. Tales that include the two best coaches in men’s college basketball history, international drama, a “Goose”, and an intramural standout.

Jim Petersen, Timberwolves broadcast legend, originally planned to play collegiately for Duke University. However, when head coach Bill Foster left the program and was replaced by a young, unknown coach named Mike Krzyzewski, Petersen decided to reevaluate his options. Coach Krzyzewski flew to Minneapolis and met with Petersen at the Thunderbird Hotel (an iconic Bloomington hotel that was situated near the old Met Stadium and Met Sports Center – for our younger fans you might know this area as the Mall of America) to convince him to come to Duke but Petersen ultimately decided to stay home and play for the Gophers and head coach Jim Dutcher. While Dutcher certainly was no Coack K, he did win more than 60% of his games at Minnesota and led the Gophers to the Big Ten title in 1982, with Petersen being a key reserve on this team. Remarkably, this is the last official Big Ten title for Minnesota – a drought that is now 44 years and counting. Yes, the Gophers won the title in 1997 and had a magical run to the Final 4 but the NCAA found Minnesota guilty of rules infractions and vacated all records for that year. As a Gopher season ticket holder at the time who attended the Final 4, it would be nice if the NCAA would vacate all the expenses I incurred that year.

Former Gopher standout Osborne “Goose” Lockhart had a long, distinguished career with the Harlem Globetrotters. At Minnesota, Lockhart teamed with future NBA first round draft choices Mychal Thompson, Ray Willilams, and Kevin McHale to lead Minnesota to a 24-3 record in 1976-77, the best season in school history. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 6^th round of the 1978 NBA draft but was beaten out for the final guard spot by future hall of famer, Maurice Cheeks. After being released by the 76ers he quickly signed with the Globetrotters. The rest as they say was history. Lockhart played 17 years with the Globetrotters and was honored with his Legends Ring in 2019 at a special ceremony, fittingly in Minnesota at Target Center. The Legends Ring is presented to retired Globetrotters who have made significant contributions to the success and development of the Hall of Fame organization. He joined the likes of Meadowlark Lemon, Fred “Curly” Neal, and Marques Haynes. Lockhart was known for his ball handling skills and sharp shooting and is considered one of the greatest all-around athletes to ever wear the red, white, and blue. He was a Florida high school basketball star at Miami Jackson High School, as part of the unbeaten 1974 championship team, known as the “Miami Jackson Five,” which also featured his future Minnesota teammate Mychal Thompson. A native of Nassau, Bahamas, Lockhart was an outstanding soccer player as well, and at the age of 15 played for the Bahamas National Team in the 1971 Pan American Games. Two other former Gophers have gone on to careers with the Globetrotters – Townsend Orr and “Super” Mario Green. It’s here that I should probably mention that Jim Petersen’s father, Bob, played professional basketball for the Washington Generals, the famous foil of the Trotters.

Dave Winfield, Baseball Hall of Famer and Gopher icon, is arguably the greatest all-around athlete in U.S. history as evidenced by the fact that he is the only person to ever be drafted by the MLB, NBA, ABA, and NFL. On the hardwood, Winfield played a key role in helping the Gophers win the 1972 Big Ten championship. While at Minnesota on a baseball scholarship, Winfield’s intramural basketball exploits became mythical as he was the driving force behind the unbeaten “Soulful Strutters,” They were so formidable that many observers felt they could beat actual college teams. Legend has it that Gopher coach Bill Mussellman became aware of the intramural standout and convinced him to join the Gophers men’s basketball team. Winfield became a starter for the Gophers after several players, including Corky Taylor and Ron Behagen, were suspended for the season following the infamous brawl with Ohio State that drew national headlines, including the cover story on Sports Illustrated. He became part of the first rendition of the IRON FIVE in Gopher history – along with Jim Brewer, Clyde Turner, Bobby Nix and Keith Young. With his thin roster, Musselman had his team focus on controlling tempo, taking care of the ball and playing defense. The Gophers finished 11-3, one game ahead of the aforementioned Buckeyes and won their first NCAA tournament game before falling to Marquette. From intramurals to starting for a Big Ten championship team – now that is a “Soulful Strut”– likely unmatched in conference history.

Did you know that John Wooden was set to become the men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota before mother nature intervened? After two successful seasons at Indiana State, Wooden caught the eye of many prominent programs across the country, including the Gophers. Wooden and his wife preferred to stay in the Midwest, and he was ready to accept the Gopher coaching job in 1948, but a severe Minnesota blizzard knocked out phone lines, preventing Minnesota’s athletic director from getting the offer to Wooden by the stipulated deadline. Thinking Minnesota had lost interest, Wooden accepted an offer from UCLA. He of course, went on to become the most successful coach in college basketball history, winning a record 10 national championships in 12 years. Wooden once said, “If fate had not intervened, I would never have gone to UCLA.” Just our luck what could have been the Magician of Minneapolis became the Wizard of Westwood.

Jim Brewer is the only Gopher men’s basketball player to compete in the Olympics for Team USA. The 6’9 Brewer was a co-captain and starting forward/center for the 1972 team that suffered a controversial loss to the Soviet Union in the gold medal game. During the chaotic second half, Brewer was violently fouled by Alexander Belov and hit his head and suffered a concussion that knocked him out for the remainder of the game. The referees failed to properly assess a flagrant foul – just one of many inexcusable calls/no calls that marred the outcome of this game. Team USA literally won the game twice in the final seconds and yet somehow the Soviet Union came away with a 51-50 victory. After the game, Brewer and his teammates refused to accept the controversial silver medal. The 12 unclaimed silver medals remain locked in a vault at the Olympic Museum in Switzerland to this day. (For our younger fans I would suggest finding this game on YouTube and you will witness one of the biggest travesties in the history of basketball.) Brewer might be the most underrated, underappreciated player in Gopher history. He was a 3-time team MVP, earned All-American honors and was named MVP of the Big Ten in 1972, when he led Minnesota to the conference title, received the M Award as the outstanding student-athlete, and became the first player to have his jersey retired (#52). Brewer was selected 2^nd overall in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to be a 2-time All-Defensive team member and later a champion with the 1982 Lakers. In 2007, the Illinois High School Association named him one of the 100 legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament. He led Proviso East to their first ever state title and finished his high school career averaging a triple double: 15 ppg, 16 rpg, and 11 bpg. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

About the Author 

As Hoop Habits’ media contributor, Roger Johnson brings decades of basketball expertise to his articles. Having served as a marketing executive at Wells Fargo & Company and a content writer for Ultimate Hoops, Roger’s true passion has always been basketball. With experience as a collegiate player at Moorhead State University, coach, and parent of successful players, Roger offers unique insights into the game. His dedication shows through his Minnesota Timberwolves season tickets, University of Minnesota basketball support, and attendance at over 3,000 basketball games throughout his lifetime.