Oh, I would never lay this at Gottfried's feet. Although I thought it was time for Gottfried to go, I concur that even when he was winning the house was rarely packed on a consistent basis. Also, I agree Coleman isn't bad, but we have nothing much else to show for...like a practice facility.
I can't completely answer what is wrong with the fan base, although I'll take a stab. This may seem sorta abstract, I think the dynamic and perception of the product has to change; consistency would go a long way in achieving that. Race may have played a part in things of the past, but I also think there was a denial of perception: "We are a football school, basketball is for schools who can't win in football."
College basketball may have always been a big deal in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, et al, but it didn't get the national importance until CBS made "March Madness" what it is in the 80s and ESPN made it bigger with consistent coverage. Other than basketball fans (like you and I), people never bought in even in Wimp's time because we were still a "football school." I think the national exposure in the rise of "football schools" like Oklahoma and Texas and especially schools nearby like Florida and Tennessee have made some people realize, "hey, we can do this."
People like you and I may go as much as we can, but the statewide base and (more importantly) the students need a push. I think the fanbase can blossom, but I don't think anyone is going to change hearts and minds about the program with seasons that end with a first round loss in the tourney. I'm not expecting NCs (although that would be great), but we need Sweet 16s followed by an elite 8 or a final 4 followed by another sweet 16...something that shows growth and consistency.
For all the successes our program has seen, we've never made any consistent national impact. Wimp never could get us past the Sweet 16, our best run ever was that elite 8 in a season that had 16 regular season wins...followed by a 23 win season when we got put out in the first round by Wisconsin-Milwaukee. So the fan base never buys in or becomes invested long term.
It's going to take someone to do like Donovan did at Florida, stay consistent build AND grow the program. So people talk about us a lot on Sportscenter or where ever and there's a buzz that people want to be a part of. Then the students and fans don't just think in the back of their mind, "yeah, it's just basketball."