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Posted January 8, 2007
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Flip, Knight, Majerus
Draw Speculation
Talk
among knowledgeable sources about the Gopher basketball job is that
Flip Saunders is the No. 1 choice. “The
job is Flip’s to turn down or accept,” a source said.
Saunders, Bob Knight and Rick Majerus continue to be the
top names drawing speculation about the position that opened up when
Dan Monson departed following the Clemson game on November 29.
Publicly none of the three has indicated he’s pursuing the job but
sources say Saunders, Knight and Majerus could be interested.
Saunders reportedly makes about $5 million per year to coach the Detroit
Pistons. Doubters ask why Saunders would walk away from so much money
while coaching at the highest level of basketball to accept the Gopher
job. But Saunders has made a lot of money already during his 12 year
NBA coaching career and earning perhaps $2 million as Gopher coach ain’t
bad.
Saunders is a former Gopher player and assistant coach, has two children
attending the University (he could coach son Ryan, a senior on
next year’s team), still has a home here, and could give up the intense
travel and egocentric players of the NBA to come home to be a college
coach. Don’t discount the possibility, too, that Saunders might enjoy
taking over some of the basketball interest in this town from the Timberwolves
who encouraged him to leave Minneapolis when they fired him.
A
source said Saunders was approached about the Gopher job in 1999 before
the University hired Monson. Saunders turned down the opportunity to
remain as the Timberwolves coach but reportedly said that in the future
he might be interested in college coaching.
Opinion is only Saunders or Knight could sell out Williams Arena for all
games next season, generating much needed revenue for the always budget
challenged University Athletic Department. The feel good story of the
charismatic Saunders coming home, or college coaching bad boy Knight
taking over the Gophers will juice University athletics like nothing
else since Lou Holtz dazzled Minnesotans with his one-liners and
coaching resume upon arrival here in 1984.
Does
Knight have influential upper Midwest friends who are promoting his
candidacy for the Gopher job? Sources say some successful Minnesotans
are pushing Knight’s name. Through his many years as Indiana and Texas
Tech coach Knight has enjoyed making friends in this area while
attending speaking engagements and hunting and fishing. Since being
ousted as Indiana coach in 2000, there has been speculation Knight is
interested in returning to the Big Ten Conference. Knight’s reputation
for controversy, though, makes it unlikely he will draw support from the
politically correct University administration and perhaps the Big Ten
office.
Has
Majerus already expressed strong interest in the Gopher job? The former
Utah coach who took the Utes to the final four has been out of coaching
since 2004. The guess from afar has been that at 58 years old and a
history of heart trouble the portly Majerus is more interested in having
his name linked to job openings than interviewing for them, but don’t be
so sure this time. If Majerus becomes the coach, you get a side show
watching the big guy navigate the steps to and from the raised
Williams Arena court. |
Flip Saunders
A source said Flip Saunders was approached
about the Gopher job in 1999 before the University hired Dan Monson.
Knight’s reputation for controversy,
though, makes it unlikely he will draw support from the politically
correct University administration and perhaps the Big Ten office.
Has Majerus already expressed strong
interest in the Gopher job?
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Hoiberg to Scout European Players
Check
out the rosters of the NBA’s top teams in the Western Conference and
look at the foreign players making an impact. San Antonio, NBA champion
in 2005, is built around Tim
Duncan (Virgin
Islands), Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili
(Argentina). Dallas, the hottest team in the NBA, is led by Dirk
Nowitzki (Germany). His former teammate Steve Nash
(Canada) has won two consecutive league MVP awards playing for Phoenix
where the supporting cast includes foreign talent like Leandro
Barbosa (Brazil) and Boris Diaw (France). Utah, among the league’s
surprise teams, counts Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and Mehmet
Okur (Turkey) among its elite players.
The
Timberwolves have never had a superb foreign player and currently have a
roster of only American talent except for Marko Jaric (Serbia).
Fred Hoiberg, Wolves assistant general
manager, noted the impact of European talent in a recent interview.
“What you get is very fundamental players,” he said.
Hoiberg will soon be visiting Italy and Spain to look at pro players in
those countries. He will be scouting players with the possibility one
or more may be drafted by the Timberwolves this year or in the future.
He will also be scouting college players as his “primary focus” becomes
helping the Wolves add future talent.
That
means for awhile at least Hoiberg, who played 10 seasons in the NBA
before becoming assistant general manager last April, spends less time
on non-basketball work. He has become a prominent face of the
franchise, attending corporate golf outings, speaking at breakfasts and
luncheons, and appearing regularly on WCCO Radio.
Asked
if he is filling a role that used to be played more by vice president
Kevin McHale whose popularity has declined, Hoiberg suggested posing
the question to McHale. “I know my responsibility is to get out and
talk to the public,” he said.
It’s
a role Hoiberg is comfortable with and he comes equipped with a resume
as a popular player here. He has a pleasant personality and conveys a
Midwestern sincerity associated with places like Minnesota and Iowa
where he played high school basketball. He literally has movie star
looks, too. Heywood Workman, a former teammate with the Indiana
Pacers, called him “Harrison,” likening him to movie star Harrison
Ford. |
Fred Hoiberg
Hoiberg will be scouting European
players with the possibility one or more may be drafted by the
Timberwolves this year or in the future.
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Lucia Sees Win Streak Ending
The
Gopher hockey team, No. 1 in the nation and working on a school record
22 consecutive wins, will see its streak end soon, according to coach
Don Lucia. The Gophers are in first place in the
WCHA with an 11-0-3 record, 19-0-3 overall, despite working their way
through injuries.
Lucia
said on WCCO Radio Sunday night the Gophers are looking at a difficult
schedule the next several weeks including games against Wisconsin in
Madison this weekend. “I think the big thing right now is we can’t have
any more injuries. …We want to try and get as many points as we can. …
Obviously we have put ourselves in great position for home ice and
probably in the top three in the league. ... The next four weeks with Wisconsin, Denver,
North Dakota and going up to Alaska before the week off is going to be
a critical stretch and we’re going to lose some games in there. We know
that. If we can just continue to get points every weekend we’ll be in
good shape.”
The
Gophers were able to win 5-1 over Minnesota State Mankato on Friday, overcoming
injury and the absence of five players who were in Sweden for the World
Junior Championship. Those players returned for Sunday’s 1-0 win,
following a 20 hour or so flight.
With
a young team that includes freshmen playing key roles, it will be
interesting to see how the Gophers perform from now through February 3
when they will play their last game against Alaska Anchorage before
having the next weekend off. The
Gophers host Denver, now in second place in the WCHA, on January 19 and
20.
The
team’s two leaders in goals scored are freshmen, Kyle Okposo with 15
goals and Jay Barriball with 12. Defenseman Erik Johnson,
the No. 1 draft choice in the NHL draft last year, is also part of the
heralded freshmen group. Any freshman who can score more than 10 goals
in the WCHA is having an exceptional season.
The
Gophers have been ranked among the nation's top 10 teams 45 of the last
46 weeks. Minnesota has been ranked No. 1 for nine weeks this season. |
Don Lucia
The Gophers have been ranked among the
nation's top 10 teams 45 of the last 46 weeks. Minnesota has been ranked
No. 1 for nine weeks this season.
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Worth Noting &
Quoting
Twins
president Dave St. Peter told Sports
Headliners via e-mail the Twins have sold about 2,000 new season tickets
for 2007, already exceeding the number of new season tickets sold for
the 2006 season. He predicts the Twins will sell over 10,000 season
tickets, perhaps an increase of 2,500 over 2006. He expects a season
ticket renewal rate of over 90% . St. Peter attributes increased
interest to the team’s on-field performance and new ball park scheduled
to open in 2010. (Season tickets are tickets purchased for the entire
season, or partial season ticket packages combined together to count for
season tickets).
TwinsFest will be January 26-28 at the Metrodome and “50 current, former
and future players” will attend to meet the public, according to the
Twins Web site. Although subject to change, Joe Mauer and
Justin Morneau are among the players scheduled. TwinsFest will be
the first opportunity for fans to purchase single game tickets. Tickets
to the event can be purchased via the Twins web site. TwinsFest
generates revenues for the Twins Community Fund.
A New
York Times article predicts that former Twin Doug Mientkiewicz,
recently signed to a one year contract with the Yankees, will play first
base, allowing slugger Jason Giambi to become a designated
hitter. Mientkiewicz, who played for the Red Sox, Mets and Royals since
leaving the Twins, won a Gold Glove in 2001 with Minnesota. The Yankees
are excited about what he can bring defensively to the team.
Coach
Mo Forte, a former Gopher player and assistant coach whose
Arkansas at Pine Bluff team competed against
Tarvaris Jackson when Jackson was in college, thinks the Vikings
future quarterback is “going to be good.” He described Jackson as a
“tremendous athlete” who will benefit from more game experience, film
work and coaching.
Sporting News speculates
that if Southern California football coach Pete Carroll, a former
Viking assistant coach, leaves for the NFL his replacement could be
Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio, the former Southern Cal and
Viking player.
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TwinsFest will
be January 26-28 at the Metrodome and “50 current, former and future
players” will attend to meet the public, according to the Twins Web site.
Tarvaris
Jackson |
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