It just seems that whenever one of those made-for-TV movies is aired the plot seem too feel-good to be real. Cinderella was a fairy tale; fairy tales are not supposed to happen in real life.
But, as life likes to put those little twists and turns around every corner, someone somewhere must live the life that is just a prelude to an afternoon special.
Meet Dusty Rychart.
The senior power forward for the Minnesota men’s basketball team has led the Gophers in scoring the past two seasons and is currently second on the team this year with a 13.5 points per game average. Rychart is the kind of guy who takes the obstacles from off the court and turns them into points on the court.
While growing up in Grand Rapids, Minn., Rychart had the best possible playmate — his twin brother Jessy. However, Rychart faced his first obstacle when Jessy began suffering symptoms ranging from dizziness to hallucinations from an unknown cause.
While doctors never pinpointed what Dusty’s brother had, the best they could do was to determine that something was eating away at his brain. While his brother has slowly but surely recovered to live a life that now has him attending college, Dusty Rychart was just beginning to start his.
After a stellar senior season that earned him all-state honors, this walk-on-turned-scholarship-player is the last remaining player from the ill-famed Clem Haskins’ era. Haskins, the former head coach, resigned in 1999 after the scandal that rocked the Twin Cities surfaced. Haskins and his administration were exposed for helping out players with schoolwork. It was not just some little tutorial the staff gave; they were actually writing some of the players’ papers and doing their homework first-hand.
Suffice it to say Haskins and his assistants are no longer there. The academic fraud could not have surfaced at a worst time. Just two years after making a trip to the Final Four (that the NCAA has stricken), the Gophers were preparing to go up against Gonzaga in the first round of the 1999 NCAA tournament when they found out that four players would be suspended due to exposure of the scandal.
Step in Dusty Rychart.
Rychart learned that as a red-shirt freshman he would be receiving his second collegiate start. While most players are nervous in general about playing in the Big Dance, Rychart stepped up to the challenge.
Whether it was from Gonzaga’s lack of a scouting report on Rychart or because he was excited to finally get the chance to play, it didn’t matter. Rychart scorched the Bulldogs for 23 points and 17 rebounds. Not too bad for a player who came from northern Minnesota where a baby’s first pair of shoes comes in the form of ice skates.
Start writing out the checks.
Shortly after Rychart’s breakout performance that resulted in a loss, Haskins announced that Rychart would now be put on scholarship. Two weeks later, Haskins resigned. Replacing Haskins was Dan Monson, the former head coach of Gonzaga.
Despite Monson’s knowledge of Rychart’s ability to score, every player had to prove his worth to stay on the team — and on his scholarship. Rychart once again stepped up to the challenge.
In Monson’s first season, Rychart averaged 11.8 points to lead the team while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. He followed up that performance the next season by averaging 14.6 ppg to once again lead the Gophers.
Anyone care for a dance?
As this year’s conference action draws to an end, Rychart and his Gophers rest alone in third place, one game behind Big Ten leaders Indiana and Ohio State. Just three years after the violations of Haskins stripped the Gophers of scholarships and their Final Four appearance, Minnesota is once again ready to waltz.
With the emergence of true freshman Rick Rickert along with the consistent play of Rychart, UM is vying for a place not only atop of the Big Ten, but hopefully in the NCAA tournament.
With a 7-4 conference record and 14-8 record overall, Minnesota is in a good position to experience March Madness for the first time under third-year coach Monson. While the Gophers missed an opportunity to move into a three-way tie for first place when they lost Wednesday night to Northwestern, they will be looking to stay one up on the Badgers when they play host Saturday night at Williams Arena.
The Badgers are riding a three-game winning streak that included victories over the Buckeyes and Hoosiers. Like UM, Wisconsin is looking to prove to the NCAA selection committee that they should be playing in something other than the NIT come March.
Saturday’s contest will be one of the last that Rychart will play at home in Minnesota. His ability to overcome obstacles ahead of him has everyone waiting for one thing — the ending.
