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. 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. 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. 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 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. At the time, it was not known whether Haskins was involved. The Pioneer Press was harshly criticized for the timing of the report. 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