Author: David Shama

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.

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.

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.