HASKINS SAYS BEST IS AHEAD : GOPHERS BUILT BY NATIVE OF KENTUCKY.

Byline: Michael Vega Boston Globe

The tattered nylon net hung by only a few strands. The Minnesota fans had stood and cheered in the Alamodome as their beloved Gophers ascended a stepladder, one by one, to cut down the nets after Saturday's 80-72 victory over UCLA in the NCAA Midwest Regional final. But there was one important figure who had yet to take part in this Texas-style fiesta.

Coach Clem Haskins.

The crowd reserved its loudest cheer for Minnesota's 53-year-old head coach when he carefully climbed the ladder, scissors in hand, to make the final snips. Then, to a deafening roar, Haskins took the netting and twirled it above his head like a lasso.

``I felt like I was on top of the world,'' said Haskins, savoring Minnesota's first trip to the Final Four. ``I don't drink or do drugs, so I can only imagine what it feels like to be on a high. But that was pretty close to being as high as I've ever been.''

It was a euphoric moment that led to some quiet reflection by the normally reserved Haskins. With his son Brett, a student trainer, at his side on the Minnesota bench and his wife, Yevette, and daughter, Clemette, watching from the stands, Haskins flashed back to his playing days at Western Kentucky from 1964-67, when he met and married his wife and fathered the oldest of his three children, Clemette.

``When she was born, ol' Clem Haskins was struggling, I'll tell you what,'' said Haskins, whose daughter is head women's coach at the University of Dayton. ``I raised her at Western Kentucky University. We were living in an Army barracks and my wife made $47.50 a week and we had one one of those two-bedroom places where you could actually throw a cat through the front door - after you closed it.

``So, you know, it was hard times. I was playing in college and my wife worked when I was married those last two years, and so now, to be here going to the Final Four, it's something my whole family and I will enjoy. I'm just so happy for my players, my coaches, and the University of Minnesota.''

Haskins has gained a greater appreciation for the moment since a life-altering experience two years ago when he lay in a cardiac care unit of a Minnesota hospital after undergoing an angioplasty to repair 90 percent blockage in his left descending artery. He was 51 then. And because he was a workaholic who arrived at his office at 6:30 every morning - sometimes startling his assistants with 4 a.m. wake-up calls - Haskins knew he had to alter his lifestyle or else he never would live to be 52.

``You start looking at things differently,'' he said. ``The next breath? You might not have another breath. After it happened, they put a stint in my heart and I couldn't move for 6-8 hours. I was in pain and I couldn't even scratch my nose - man, that's when you realize how precious life is. It's so precious; to be able to breathe fresh air, to be able to get up and come and go as you please. That's when I realized, `When I get off this bed, I'm looking at life different.' I enjoy coaching, but it's not something I'm going to do for the rest of my life.''

Those times seemed a distant memory as Haskins leaned against a wall outside Minnesota's locker room in the Alamodome and recounted his rags-to-riches story for a cluster of reporters.

A farm boy from Campbellsville, Ky., who was barred from playing at the then segregated University of Kentucky, Haskins went on to become one of the all-time greats (and No. 2 scorer) at Western Kentucky, where this diamond in the rough came to be known as ``Clem the Gem.'' After a nine-year career in the NBA, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant under Gene Keady and succeeded his mentor in 1980, guiding his first Hilltoppers squad to a 21-8 record.

``This is something people have to realize: How many coaches in their lifetime have gotten to the Final Four?'' Haskins asked. ``Gene Keady is one of the outstanding coaches who had teams good enough to win the national championship, but he's not been as fortunate in the NCAA Tournament. Going to the Final Four is something I'll cherish, but it's something I'll share with Gene Keady because this is for him, too.''