It may be obvious given the animal is a burrowing rodent, but no grass is growing under the feet of the Gophers of Minnesota's men's basketball program.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press had a story this week suggesting the 2008 recruiting class of Tubby Smith -- his first full class with Minnesota -- could be the Gophers' best in 30 years.
One of the recruits is 6-foot-11 Ralph Sampson Jr., who certainly has the bloodlines and is said to have a rapidly improving game.
The Pioneer Press' story:
Tubby on the Trail
The news isn't quite so cheery at Michigan, where sophomore center Ekpe Udoh has decided to transfer.
Udoh played in all 67 of the Wolverines' games the last two seasons, averaging 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
His former high school coach in Oklahoma said Udoh's goal is to play in the NBA. Good luck with that.
As the linked Detroit News story points out, this makes five Wolverines who have left John Beilein's program since he came aboard a year ago. So Tony Freeman leaving Iowa last week is apparently just another day in the college basketball business.
Adios, Udoh