Author: David Shama

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sunday Sports Huddle program that he wants his first recruiting class to have “24-27” scholarship players, plus “10-12” walk-ons.

There will be a Signing Day ’Sota Social tonight starting at 5 p.m. in the DQ Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium.  Kill will speak at 6:30 p.m. with comments on his recruits.  Although the event is sponsored by the Goal Line Club, nonmembers are welcome and for $25 can register at the door.  For more information, or to join the Goal Line club, visit www.GoalLineClub.com.

Minnesota, 5-4 in the Big Ten, needs to win tonight’s basketball game against mediocre Indiana, 2-7, in Bloomington.  The Gophers have five home conference games remaining and after tonight only three on the road.  Minnesota has won five of the last six games against Indiana, although coach Tubby Smith’s team had an unexpected loss against the Hoosiers in Bloomington last season.

Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe leads all Big Ten players in double doubles with 13 and is tied for seventh in the country, according to stats released by the Big Ten office on Monday.

Former Gophers basketball player Walter Bond, now a nationally recognized motivational speaker, turned 42 yesterday.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he expects MLB commissioner Bud Selig to announce this spring or early summer a National League site for the 2013 All-Star game.  As an American League team, the Twins organization remains in pursuit of the 2014 game.  “We continue to be very bullish on our chances for 2014,” St. Peter said.

The franchise will induct pitcher Jim Perry into the Twins Hall of Fame at a Target Field game June 11.  The Twins will retire pitcher Bert Blyleven’s No. 28 at a home game ceremony on July 16 before he’s inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on July 24.  Blyleven wore that jersey number for most of his major league career but was No. 22 with Pittsburgh.

The Twins have commitments from most of their players from the 1991 World Series championship team to participate in a 20^th anniversary celebration in Minnesota the weekend of August 5-7.  Shane Mack and Chuck Knoblauch aren’t committed yet but the Twins are working on their participation, too, according to club marketing executive Patrick Klinger.

FOX Sports North will televise five Twins spring training games including March 14 starting at noon against Florida.  Other telecasts will be March 21, 23, 28 and 30.

The NBA’s Charles Barkley and NFL’s Michael Strahan were eating at Chicago Cut Steakhouse as the Wild had its annual rookie dinner last week.  Barkley and Strahan talked with the players for about an hour.

The Wild, which plays its first post All-Star break road game tomorrow night in Denver, is 14-8-3 away from home.  That tops the road record for the entire 2009-2010 season, 13-24-4.

There’s a Minnesota connection to the San Diego State basketball program that has stirred national attention with a surprising 21-1 record and top 10 national ranking.  University of Minnesota alum Brian Dutcher is assistant head coach of the Aztecs who won 20 consecutive games before losing last week to Brigham Young in Provo.

Dutcher, 51, grew up in Bloomington and had a 24 hours, seven days a week college basketball tutor named “Dad.”  Jim Dutcher was the Gophers’ head coach from 1975 until 1986 and his achievements included the 1982 Big Ten title.

During a visit to San Diego, a writer asked Brian about Dad’s impact on his career.  He could have responded with coach talk about X’s and O’s but said his father taught him to “treat people right.”

The Dutchers are quality folks, and a commitment to coaching with dignity is a characteristic that helped Brian bond with Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher.  The two have been together for more than 20 years, first at the University of Michigan and now San Diego State.

When Brian’s father coached the Gophers there weren’t on-court theatrics like berating game officials or players.  Jim had a steady approach to his job, not too high or low regardless of the circumstances.  Brian used similar words to describe Fisher.  “They’re both real gentlemen,” he said.

Brian has father’s demeanor, although in his role as Fisher’s top assistant he plays “good cop, bad cop” with the players.   He makes assessments of what the players and Fisher need.  “We all react to coach,” Brian said.  “He sets the tone.”

A willingness to continue learning from Fisher and others is part of how Dutcher still approaches basketball after all these years that included being around his dad at Minnesota, three years as an assistant at South Dakota State and 10 seasons at Michigan.  Looking for input, he regularly sends his father “four or five tapes” of San Diego State games.  “You’re always open to suggestions, even from fans,” Dutcher said.

Fans are giving the Aztecs a lot of approval these days.  Dutcher said the team will finish its home schedule having sold out all but one of its games.  Not surprising since the Aztecs have been rated as high as No. 4 nationally and last year’s team was 25-9 and played in the NCAA tournament.

San Diego State returned all five starters from last season’s team and Dutcher said he knew “we would be good” but didn’t foresee a 20-0 start.  Even the great “Fab Five” team at Michigan coached by Fisher and Dutcher never started 19-0, although that group did earn a No. 1 national ranking.

Dutcher, known as an outstanding recruiter who still talks weekly with former “Fab Five” star Juwan Howard, compared the Aztecs with two of the best Gophers teams ever.  He said San Diego State has senior leadership like his father’s 1982 Big Ten champs.  The Aztecs are a physical team, too, similar to the 1997 Minnesota Final Four team.

Often the most talked about Aztec is 6-7, 225-pound forward Kawhi Leonard, a physical but athletic senior and likely No. 1 NBA draft choice.  “He’s got the biggest hands I’ve seen since Chris Webber,” Dutcher said, comparing Leonard to the former Michigan superstar and “Fab Five” member.

Like the 1997 Gophers, the Aztecs have balance in various basketball skills, along with team depth and respect for one another.  “This is as unselfish of a team as we’ve had,” Dutcher said.

The Aztecs will get another shot at Brigham Young, the team that gave them their only loss, and next time (February 26) the game will be in San Diego.  Both schools are in pursuit of the Mountain West Conference title.  The league doesn’t receive the national attention of the Big Ten and other conferences but San Diego State could beat any team in America.

Dutcher and the Aztecs hope for a No. 1 seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament.  And this year they want to be closer to home than in 2010 when the selection committee sent them packing for an opening game (and loss) all the way to Providence, Rhode Island.  Good for frequent flyer miles, but not much else.

A first round assignment closer to San Diego will require less energy and provide more fan support.  “I think the less travel, the easier it is,” Dutcher said.

Not that Dutcher is thinking much about the tournament.  The night this Minnesotan saw him in San Diego the Aztecs were about to play Air Force and he said: “Tonight’s game is the only game that matters to me.”

Spoken like a coach’s son.