Author: David Shama

David Shama is a former sports editor and columnist with local publications. His writing and reporting experiences include covering the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Gophers. Shama’s career experiences also include sports marketing. He is the former Marketing Director of the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL. He is also the former Marketing Director of the United States Tennis Association’s Northern Section. A native of Minneapolis, Shama has been part of the community his entire life. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he majored in journalism. He also has a Master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas. He was a member of the Governor’s NBA’s Task Force to help create interest in bringing pro basketball to town in the 1980s.

Saunders & Teague Meet in Indy

Posted on March 30, 2013March 30, 2013 by David Shama

Flip Saunders and Norwood Teague met yesterday morning in Indianapolis to discuss the Gophers’ basketball opening, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.

The source, who spoke to Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity because of his relationships with the University of Minnesota, expects Saunders to become the school’s next coach replacing Tubby Smith who was fired on Monday. Saunders and Teague have met twice this week, the source said.

Teague, who became the Gophers’ athletic director in July, is making his first high profile hire. It’s believed that Teague first tested the interest of current high profile college coaches such as VCU’s Shaka Smart prior to the meeting yesterday with Saunders who has spent most of his coaching career in the NBA.

Saunders played for the Gophers in the 1970s and was an assistant coach at Minnesota following his playing career. Although he hasn’t been a college assistant for more than 20 years and has coached 16 seasons in the NBA, Saunders has remained passionate about his alma mater.

Saunders, who left his job as head coach of the NBA’s Wizards last year, is a close friend of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans played last night in Indianapolis in their NCAA Tournament game against Duke. Saunders was in Indianapolis to support Izzo, according to the source.

A news conference regarding the next Gophers’ coach may happen within a few days.

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Andre Hollins Staying; Flip No Sure Hire

Posted on March 26, 2013March 28, 2013 by David Shama

Sophomore point guard Andre Hollins, the best of Minnesota’s returning players for next season, told Sports Headliners yesterday he didn’t want to talk about the basketball coaching change but apparently fans don’t have to worry about him transferring to another school.

“I am not leaving,” Hollins said.

Hollins was the team’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game. He also led the Gophers in three-point shots made and three point percentage, .416. His 116 assists were tops on the team by 29.

There was concern this past winter that if Gophers’ coach Tubby Smith were fired, Hollins might leave the program. Hollins is a projected 2014 first round draft choice by NBAdraft.net and college programs across the country would welcome him.

Hollins and center Trevor Mbakwe were the team’s two most valuable players but Mbakwe and forward Rodney Williams were both senior starters who won’t be around next season. Key senior reserves Julian Welch and Andre Ingram have used up their eligibility too.

Whoever the new coach is replacing Smith, he will be happy to build around Hollins. Forward Joe Coleman, who will be a junior next season, and shooting guard Austin Hollins, a senior in 2013-2014, join Andre Hollins as returning starters on a 21-13 team that won only six games after January 8.

The opinion here is athletic director Norwood Teague and other members of his staff prefer hiring someone who is presently a college head coach. Their expertise is with current college coaches, and so I have doubts if Flip Saunders will be offered the Gophers’ job.

Saunders, the former Gophers point guard and NBA head coach, has never been a major college head coach and it’s been more than 20 years since he was a college assistant. Saunders, who is out of coaching now after leaving the Wizards in 2012, might be interested in the Gophers job, and there’s no question he has the backing of many Minnesotans including donors and others of influence.

Hiring Saunders looks like a financial jackpot for the Gophers. Unlike hiring a prominent college coach, there would be no buyout from another school. And Saunders, 58, has made millions coaching in the NBA and possibly agree to a more minimal salary than a high profile college head coach.

Saunders’ immediate financial impact on ticket sales, donations, corporate sponsorships and other revenue areas could be dramatic. It’s not out of the question that the Gophers might sell out Williams Arena for the season with a Saunders hire. They almost certainly would sell out the Big Ten season in advance of next January.

Saunders has important relationships in this town and strong sales ability. With his contacts and communication skills, he would stir the pot for contributions to a new practice facility like very few potential hires could.

Saunders could jump-start game day enthusiasm in a way many local fans might not expect. When Saunders was a Gopher, the players participated in a lively ball handling drill set to music. With fans applauding and yelling approval, Williams Arena came alive long before tipoff.

Saunders told Sports Headliners a few years ago that if he ever coached college basketball again, he would use the Harlem Globetrotters style warm up routine. Such a move is much needed because the pre-game atmosphere at Williams Arena — and sometimes game environment — badly needs energy.

Look for Teague to make a strong pitch for VCU’s Shaka Smart, the man Teague hired when he was athletic director at that school, and one of the hottest names in college basketball coaching. Don’t be too sure that Smart and his family want to live in the crowded and superficial world of southern California where UCLA has an opening and many Bruins fans hope he will be the new coach. Smart, raised in the Midwest, might prefer Minneapolis and working for a man he trusts and has had a previous successful relationship with.

That past relationship has to be important to Teague, too. As Smart’s former boss, he knows what he’s getting in Smart.

That figures to count for a lot if the two men can agree it’s time for another high profile member of the VCU athletic department to join the Gophers.

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Two ‘Hot Seats’ at U-Bruins Game Tonight

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by David Shama

“One and done” is a cliché that has characterized the NCAA Tournament for decades. The single elimination tournament sends losing teams home to wonder what might have been. That will include the loser of tonight’s South Region game in Austin, Texas between the Gophers and UCLA.

But there’s speculation that “one and done” also applies to Minnesota coach Tubby Smith and Bruins coach Ben Howland. Will the loser in tonight’s game be out of a job?

At storied UCLA, expectations are about competing in Final Fours and winning national titles. Howland hasn’t had the Bruins in the finals since 2008. UCLA is also criticized for not being exciting, and attendance at home games is an issue.

Among the candidates rumored as a potential successor to Howland is VCU coach Shaka Smart whose name is frequently linked to the Minnesota job. Howland may need a Final Four appearance this spring to continue working at UCLA.

Smith may need an Elite Eight finish to hang on at Minnesota. The sixth-year Gophers’ coach has many critics after never winning an NCAA Tournament game at Minnesota and compiling an overall Big Ten regular season record of 46-62 (best conference finish is sixth place).

The coach set high expectations for this year’s team, telling Sports Headliners before the season he had three potential first round NBA draft choices (Andre Hollins, Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams). In January, Minnesota was a top 10 ranked team with a 15-1 record. Since then the Gophers, 20-12 overall this season, have won only five games.

Sources close to the University of Minnesota and Gophers basketball have told Sports Headliners they believe a change in coaches is likely. But as expected, athletic director Norwood Teague and University president Eric Kaler are not saying much so far.

Teague said on WCCO Radio Wednesday morning that all the athletic department coaches are evaluated at the end of their seasons. Kaler told Sports Headliners the same in late February. But if asked, I wonder if Teague would say exactly the same about Don Lucia — the Gophers hockey coach whose team tied for the WCHA title and is a prominent contender for a national championship.

A source said the cost of the reported $2.5 million buyout for Smith won’t deter a change in coaches if that is what administrators want. The department could receive a loan from the University to finance the buyout. Also, television dollars paid to Big Ten teams are increasing, including a jump this year, according to the source.

Another factor regarding a decision is the financial impact of retaining Smith. After multiple disappointing seasons including the free fall of 2013, basketball revenues will decline next fall and winter — and maybe dramatically. Potential areas of impact include season tickets, single game tickets, parking, concessions, arena advertising, corporate sponsorships, merchandising and donations.

And then there is the image of the University. Administrators talk about high profile sports such as basketball being the “front porch” to their colleges. What do Minnesota school officials want the eye test to say about their heavily criticized basketball program?

Worth Noting

The Gophers-Bruins game, with a 9 p.m. tipoff CDT tonight, caused a radio scheduling problem on 1500 ESPN which broadcasts Gophers basketball and hockey. Minnesota’s WCHA Final Five game will be on 1500 ESPN while the basketball game will air on FM 107.1.

Despite the Gophers’ slump, NBAdraft.net projects Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe as second round picks in June. The website has Williams at No. 40 going to the 76ers with Mbakwe chosen by the Bucks at No. 45. In the 2014 draft Gophers point guard Andre Hollins is projected as the 21^st pick by the Warriors while shooting guard Austin Hollins is the No. 37 choice of the Cavs.

The Gophers’ hockey team is 23-1-1 this season when sophomore forward Kyle Rau scores a point. He has seven game winning goals this season — best in the nation.

Tonight in the WCHA Final Five the Gophers play Colorado College coached by Scott Owens who is a former assistant under Minnesota coach Don Lucia. Two other head coaches in the tournament, Bob Motzko from St. Cloud State and Mike Hastings from Minnesota State, are former Lucia assistants.

Minnesota, 26-7-5 overall, has won five consecutive games and is among the favorites to play in the Frozen Four next month. The Gophers haven’t lost consecutive games all season. The 2003 national championship team was the last Gophers team to accomplish that.

All-session ticket packages go on sale Monday for the 2014 first ever Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament to be held March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center. Ticket sources include Ticketmaster and Xcel.

The Wild, who have won four consecutive games and are in first place in the Northwest Division, have a chance for payback on Monday night in Dallas against the Stars. Minnesota hasn’t won there since 2003 – 16 consecutive losses.

Gophers’ spring football practice starts on Tuesday with 15 total sessions scheduled and all are open to the public. Practices begin at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday of next week, and at 10 a.m. on March 30.

Day time highs are expected to be in the upper 30’s next week with a high of 48 predicted for April 1, according to Myforecast.com. The Twins open their regular season with games against the Tigers on April 1, 3 and 4. Despite what you may have heard, the Twins won’t be heading indoors to the Metrodome.

“We are 100 percent focused on playing at Target Field,” Twins president Dave St. Peter wrote in an email to Sports Headliners.

The Twins are adept at preparing for cold weather games and a heating system allows the ground temperatures to be controlled. With commitments to season ticket holders, suite purchasers and stadium advertisers, moving a game is highly unusual in major league baseball. Several years ago snowed forced the Indians to move their early April home series with the Angels to Milwaukee’s retractable roof stadium.

The Twins announced this morning they have sent outfielder Joe Benson and pitcher Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A Rochester. Pitcher Luis Perdomo has been reassigned to the minor league camp. The Twins now have 38 players in camp including 20 pitchers.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team needs to win two more games to play for the Division III national championship in Atlanta on April 7. The Tommies play Williams College (Massachusetts) today at 11 a.m. (CDT) in Salem, Virginia. The winner plays the winner of the St. Mary’s (Maryland) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) game on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Tommies’ coach John Tauer said UST, 29-1, will face a Williams team, 26-4, that uses a patient offense. “You can play (defense) 33 seconds and one guy slips up and they’re going to hit you with a back-cut,” Tauer said.

But the Tommies have defined themselves as a special team this season, earning a No. 1 national ranking. “They really believe in themselves,” Tauer said. “I think they feel they can beat anybody in the country if they play well. If they play poorly they can get beat.”

There are seven Tommies on the team that were part of the 2011 national championship team. Tauer, who was an assistant coach on that team, now is within three games of winning his first national championship.

He’s more excited than nervous. “I am not a real nervous guy to begin with,” said Tauer, a psychology professor.

Tauer said new school president Julie Sullivan won’t be in Salem this weekend but told the coach she hopes her schedule will allow a trip to Atlanta.

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