Clem Haskins

Clem Smith Haskins (born August 11, 1943) is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. In the fall of 1963, he and fellow star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky University (WKU) basketball program.[1] This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the South.[2]

Clem Haskins
Haskins as a senior at WKU
Personal information
Born (1943-07-11) July 11, 1943
Campbellsville, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolTaylor County
(Campbellsville, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (1964–1967)
NBA draft1967: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1967–1976
PositionPoint guard
Number11, 14
Coaching career1977–1999
Career history
As player:
1967–1970Chicago Bulls
1970–1974Phoenix Suns
1974–1976Washington Bullets
As coach:
1977–1980Western Kentucky (assistant)
1980–1986Western Kentucky
1986–1999Minnesota
Career highlights and awards
As player
As coach
* Vacated by the NCAA or Big Ten
Career NBA statistics
Points8,743 (12.8 ppg)
Rebounds2,087 (3.1 rpg)
Assists2,382 (3.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Assistant coach for  United States
men's national basketball team
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1996 AtlantaTeam

Haskins served 13 years (1986–1999) as head coach of the University of Minnesota's men's basketball team, but was forced to resign due to his part in the University of Minnesota basketball scandal.[3] Due to his actions in the scandal, he was given a seven-year show-cause penalty which effectively ended his coaching career, as he has not coached since.[4]

Early life

Haskins was born and grew up in Campbellsville, Kentucky, the county seat. He is the fifth of eleven children of Charles Columbus and Lucy Edna Haskins, who were sharecroppers. During his freshman and sophomore seasons, he attended the all-black Durham High School (public schools were frequently in those years still segregated in the South, years after the practice was declared illegal). In 1961 Haskins attended Taylor County High School, the first African American to do so in the previously segregated system. His younger brother, Merion, was a standout player at the University of Kentucky, graduating in 1977.[5]

College career

Haskins and teammate Dwight Smith were heavily recruited by Western Kentucky Hilltoppers coach Edgar Diddle and joined the team in 1963. They became the first African-American athletes to play for Western Kentucky. They won the Ohio Valley Conference two years in a row under the direction of the popular WKU head coach John Oldham, who succeeded Diddle their sophomore year. Haskins was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1966. In the 1966 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the Hilltoppers were 2 points away from defeating Michigan and meeting the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the Mideast regional final. A controversial foul called against Smith during a jump ball put Cazzie Russell on the free throw line for Michigan, where he scored the tying and winning baskets.[6] In 1967, Haskins had broken his wrist in a game against Murray State on February 6. His team still won the Ohio Valley Conference again. In the 1967 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the #3-ranked Hilltoppers lost to eventual national runner-up Dayton in overtime in the Mideast quarterfinals.

NBA career

After a successful college career, Haskins was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1967 NBA draft and by the Kentucky Colonels in the American Basketball Association draft.[7] Haskins played 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.

Coaching career

After his NBA career, Haskins returned to Western Kentucky University, first as an assistant coach in 1977 and then as head coach in 1980.[8] As head coach, he led Western Kentucky to two NCAA appearances and one NIT appearance.

In 1986, Haskins was hired by the University of Minnesota to rebuild the school's men's basketball program.[9] He led the Gophers to a school-record 31 wins and the Final Four in 1997, winning the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award in the same year. He also led Minnesota to NIT titles in 1993 and 1998. He joined Lenny Wilkens' staff to coach the United States men's basketball team to the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Haskins was known for sitting on a four-legged bar stool at Minnesota home games. Williams Arena has a raised floor which was hard on his knees, and ordinarily the team sits off the floor.

Minnesota academic scandal
Main article: University of Minnesota basketball scandal

On the day before the 1999 NCAA tournament, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Jan Gangelhoff, the manager of the school's academic counseling office, claimed to have written more than 400 pieces of coursework (including theme papers, homework assignments and take-home tests) for 18 Golden Gophers players from 1994 to 1998, including the Gophers' run to the Final Four. The Gophers suspended four then-current players, including two starters, for the school's first-round game against Gonzaga; the Gophers lost that game.[10] At the time, it was not known whether Haskins was involved. The Pioneer Press was harshly criticized for the timing of the report.[11] The university forced Haskins to resign after the season for his part in violations. Minnesota withdrew its team from postseason consideration for the 1999–2000 season, docked itself 11 scholarships from 2000 to 2004, and imposed other sanctions on the basketball program.

Initially, the university bought out Haskins's contract for $1.5 million. However, it sought to recover funds after learning more about Haskins' activities and, in 2002, a state judge ordered Haskins to return $815,000 of the buyout money. The decision was based on an arbitrator's recommendation and the university's conclusion that Haskins had lied to NCAA investigators and committed fraud by accepting the buyout.[12]

The university had learned during its internal investigation that Haskins had paid Gangelhoff $3,000 to write papers for the players. Haskins had initially denied making the payment during an interview in June 1999, but acknowledged it a month later. In October 2000, the NCAA placed the Golden Gophers program on four years' probation, and stripped the school of its wins in the 1994, 1995, and 1997 NCAA Tournaments, as well as its NIT wins in 1996 and 1998. The Gophers were docked an additional five scholarships over three seasons.[13] A few days later, the Big Ten Conference stripped Minnesota of the 1997 conference title and forced it to vacate every regular season game it played from 1993–94 to 1998–99. Officially, Minnesota's record for those years is 0–0. If not for these vacated games, Haskins' 242 wins would rank second on the Golden Gophers' wins list.

The NCAA imposed a seven-year "show-cause" order on Haskins. This meant that he would have to accept sanctions from the NCAA if he ever returned to coaching before the 2007-08 season unless his new employer could convince the NCAA that he'd served his punishment. The penalty was made so severe because Haskins had not only lied about the $3,500 payment, but advised several of the players involved to lie to the NCAA.[14] Since most schools will not even consider hiring a coach with an outstanding "show-cause" on his record, Haskins was effectively blackballed from collegiate basketball until 2007.

After coaching

Haskins did not return to coaching when his show-cause expired. He retired to his 750-acre (3.0 km2) ranch near Campbellsville, Kentucky, where he raises cattle.[15] He has also worked as a color commentator for Western Kentucky basketball home games.[3]

Awards
  • High School Scholastic All-American, 1963
  • Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, 1966, 1967
  • First team All-American, 1967
  • Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, 1982
  • Associated Press Coach of the Year, 1997

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1980–1982)
1980–81 Western Kentucky 21–812–21stNCAA Division I First Round
1981–82 Western Kentucky 19–1013–3T–1stNIT First Round
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Sun Belt Conference) (1982–1986)
1982–83 Western Kentucky 12–164–107th
1983–84 Western Kentucky 12–175–96th
1984–85 Western Kentucky 14–145–97th
1985–86 Western Kentucky 23–810–42ndNCAA Division I Second Round
Western Kentucky: 101–73 (.580)49–37 (.570)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1986–1999)
1986–87 Minnesota 9–192–169th
1987–88 Minnesota 10–184–149th
1988–89 Minnesota 19–129–95thNCAA Division I Sweet 16
1989–90 Minnesota 23–911–74thNCAA Division I Elite Eight
1990–91 Minnesota 12–165–139th
1991–92 Minnesota 16–168–106thNIT First Round
1992–93 Minnesota 23–911–74thNIT Champion
1993–94 Minnesota 22–13[Note A]10–84thNCAA Division I Second Round
1994–95 Minnesota 19–13[Note A]10–84thNCAA Division I First Round
1995–96 Minnesota 20–13 [Note A]10–84th
1996–97 Minnesota 31–4[Note A]16–21stNCAA Division I Final Four
1997–98 Minnesota 20–15[Note A]6–108thNIT Champion
1998–99 Minnesota 17–1210–86thNCAA Division I First Round
Minnesota: 239–166, .590
(243–170, .588)		119–120 (.498)
Total:340–239, .587
(344–243, .586)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

Notes
^A . Tournament appearances from 1994 to 1998 were vacated by the NCAA. Minnesota also gained 1 win each in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons via forfeits by opponents.[16][17] Following a Big Ten Conference order to vacate all regular season games from 1993–94 to 1998–99, Minnesota erased all individual and team records from those seasons.[18]

References
  1. Hilltopper Legend Dwight Smith Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine Hilltopper Haven
  2. Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem – "My thoughts on UCLA in the Final Four". Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-13. Los Angeles Times, 31 March 2008. Western Kentucky was at the forefront of the fight to integrate college basketball in the 1960s and early 1970s.
  3. Thamal, Pete – Catching Up With Clem, New York Times, 27 March 2008.
  4. PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL; N.C.A.A. Upholds Haskins Penalties, New York Times, 7 April 2001.
  5. "Haskins, Merion". Notable Kentucky African American Database. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  6. O'Donnell, Chuck – Cazzie Russell: converting two free throws with no time left advanced Michigan in the 1966 NCAA Tournament – The Game I'll Never Forget – University of Michigan versus Western Kentucky University. Basketball Digest, January/February 2004 issue
  7. "BasketballReference.com Clem Haskins page". Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  8. "Clem Haskins". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Archived from the original on January 28, 1998.
  9. Weiner, Jay – "COLLEGE BASKETBALL '87: CLEM HASKINS; FRESH START FOR HASKINS AND MINNESOTA". New York Times, February 1, 1987
  10. Dohrmann, George (March 10, 1999). "U basketball program accused of academic fraud". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on December 30, 2001. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
  11. Robertson, Lori – "Body Slam" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, American Journalism Review, May 1999
  12. "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Haskins Ordered To Return Money". New York Times. May 14, 2002. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  13. "University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Public Infractions Report". NCAA. October 24, 2000. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  14. "NCAA Infractions Report - University of Minnesota". Minnesota Public Radio. October 24, 2000. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  15. Chicago magazine | Former Chicago Athletes: Where Are They Now?
  16. "Vacated and forfeited games" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 48. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  17. "Minnesota Golden Gophers Index".
  18. "Year–by–Year Records" (PDF). Gopher Basketball 2008–09. Minnesota Golden Gophers. 2008. p. 178.
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