Keeping the Big Ten champions’ title may prove to be a difficult task for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team.At least according to Minnesota head coach Clem Haskins, whose Golden Gophers have lost five players from last year’s championship team. Last season, the Golden Gophers made its first ever Final Four appearance and won its first Big Ten title since 1982. Losing two key players to the NBA-John Thomas and Bobby Jackson-will create some holes for Minnesota. Jackson, the conference player of the year, led the team in scoring and assists, while Thomas led in rebounding.”To stand here and tell you we have the same ball club we had last year-any time you lose five quality players from a Final Four team-a 31-4 record last year-there’s no way we have the same amount of talent to compete night in and night out,” Haskins said.Haskins, the 1996-97 national Coach of the Year, feels that Minnesota will need help from its co-captains and young players. Haskins said the guard position should be a strong point for his Gophers.”I really like our guard situation,” Haskins said. “Eric Harris is a young man-without him we [wouldn’t have gotten] to the Final Four [last season].”Co-captains Harris and Sam Jacobson-both seniors-are Minnesota’s only returning starters. Having played in 97 games for the Golden Gophers, Harris, a 6-foot-3 guard from New York City, brings experience to the lineup. Jacobson, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Cottage Grove, Minn., was the Golden Gophers’ second-leading scorer last season, averaging 13.7 points. Jacobson is also a preseason All-Big Ten selection and feels that Minnesota has some room to improve.”I think we have a lot of inexperienced players now, and if we started the season now we’d be hurting,” Jacobson said. “But we have time to work it out.” The Golden Gophers don’t have much time to prepare for the regular season with only two exhibition games. Their season begins Nov. 14, when they take part in the Black Coaches Association Classic. Ohio State won’t face the Golden Gophers until Jan. 24 when the Buckeyes visit Minneapolis.Despite losing some of the main pieces of his Final Four team, Haskins feels optimistic about the 1997-98 Big Ten season.”Every time we step on the court we try to be real competitive, and we feel that we have an opportunity to win games,” Haskins said.Minnesota starts defending its Big Ten title Jan. 2 against Purdue.