A new contract for Minnesota Golden Gophers head basketball coach Tubby Smith has been in the rumor mill for a good while now, and despite a short bunch of rumors that LSU was looking to swipe him away, the conversation is now back on an extension for Smith.

According to 1500ESPN, Minnesota's new athletic director Norwood Teague appears to be confident that the two sides are very close to agreement on a new contract. Nothing is set in stone, especially since both sides seemed confident on the very same thing two months ago when Teague was first introduced as the new AD, but Teague is saying that negotiations are now 'in the 11th hour' despite the number of times that the negotiations have stalled so far:

"We've been in discussions with his agent (Ricky Lefft) and I know it's pretty far down the road," Teague said. "I think it's in the 11th hour and you'll hear more about it pretty soon, but I need to talk to the legal council before I talk about any specifics."

Smith currently has two years remaining on his contract with the Gophers.

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