Author: David Shama

Today and tomorrow more than a few Minnesota basketball fans will let their minds wander when they consider a what-if scenario that could have included North Dakota State guard Ben Woodside and Kansas center Cole Aldrich as Gophers.  If former Gophers coach Dan Monson had brought those two to Dinkytown, Minnesota would be included on anyone’s list of the better teams in the NCAA tournament.

The Gophers, 22-10 overall and coming off a 9-9 regular season Big Ten Conference finish, play Texas tonight in their opening NCAA East Region game.  The Longhorns, a No. 7 seed, figure to win against the Gophers, a No. 10 seed.  Texas, 22-11, has more experience with a team that played four games in the tourney last year.  The Longhorns also have more proven talent, featuring senior guard A.J. Abrams and swingman Damion James, both of whom were second team all-Big 12 Conference selections.  No Gopher players have NCAA tournament game experience.  The best Minnesota could do for post-season recognition was guard Lawrence Westbrook’s inclusion on conference honorable mention teams and forward Damian Johnson’s selection to the all-defense team.

Woodside, the former Albert Lea High School player, scored 60 points in a game earlier this season.  Now a senior leader for the Bison, the Gophers reportedly said no to him and instead opted for a San Diego prep guard named Rico Tucker who had a brief career at Minnesota.

Aldrich, the 6-11 center from Bloomington Jefferson, wanted to play for Kansas coach Bill Self.  Aldrich might have had a different desire, though, if the Gophers had been a winning program while he was in high school.  Now a sophomore, Aldrich is a cinch first round NBA lottery pick, perhaps this year.

Ken Lien, the Mr. Basketball chair, coached Woodside in AAU basketball.  Aldrich was a 2007 finalist for the Mr. Basketball award.  Lien was asked about the difference Woodside and Aldrich could have made for the Gophers.

“I think it would be dynamite,” he said.  “They would provide two strengths, leadership at point guard, and post play with a player who can score and defend.”

Minnesota’s starting point guard, Al Nolen, makes 34 percent of his field goals while averaging 6.6 points per game.  Woodside averages 22.8 points per game, making almost 46 percent of his shots with a near 43 three point field goal average.  He also had 202 assists, 64 better than any Gopher.

Aldrich averaged about 14 points and 10 rebounds while being all-conference and Big 12 co-defensive player of the year (league leader in blocked shots).  Freshman centers Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson combined to give the Gophers about 11 points and eight rebounds per game.  Both Iverson and Sampson have upside but there’s no guarantee either will be as good as Aldrich who ranks with the best three centers in the country, along with North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet.

Although Woodside and Aldrich will never play for the Gophers, their teams meet tomorrow morning at the Metrodome in a first round Midwest Region game.  That’s the closest they’re coming to Dinkytown.

Greg Davis, the Texas offensive coordinator, was in town last week to meet with Gopher coaches.  Davis, one of Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster’s best friends, discussed such topics as how to change offensive tempo and two-minute offenses, according to Brewster.

Brewster and Davis also talked about Minnesota freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray who will be participating in his first spring practice starting next Tuesday.  “He’s extremely similar to Vince Young in a lot of different ways,” Brewster said.

Davis coached Young, an All-American quarterback who led Texas to the 2005 national championship.  Davis and Brewster talked about how to use and develop a quarterback with the athleticism of Gray.  Although the Gophers won’t have a system emphasizing runs by the quarterback, Brewster made it clear Gray will have opportunities to use option plays where he can run.

Starting quarterback Adam Weber is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and won’t have contact this spring.  Gray is expected to benefit by directing the first team and gaining experience before he backs up Weber next fall.  Brewster regards Weber, who will be a junior, as a player who could rank with the nation’s best quarterbacks next fall.

Brewster, who has been the Minnesota coach for about 26 months, expressed  satisfaction with the team’s academic success.  He said the Gophers had 46 players with a 3.0 GPA or higher last semester.  He believes the total is the best in school history.

Brewster also said the program has experienced just one off field incident in two years where players got in trouble.  Other programs have fared much worse with irresponsible behavior.  Brewster said he tells his players, “Those who refuse to study history, are doomed to repeat it.”

Another athletic Gopher quarterback, Moses Alipate from Bloomington Jefferson, might be redshirted next season as a freshman, according to Brewster.

Frank White reported via e-mail that his grandson, Hopkins forward and Gopher recruit Royce White, has been invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday, April 18 in Madison Square Garden.  The game, featuring many of the nation’s best prep players, will be televised by ESPN2.

Frank speaks regionally and nationally to school, youth sports groups and others about sportsmanship.  He has upcoming engagements in St. Cloud, Mankato and Grand Rapids.  More at www.respectsports.com.

Alex Jacobson, a 7-foot reserve center for Arizona who played high school basketball in California, lived in Stillwater until ninth grade.  He’s the nephew of Minnesota Mr. Basketball Chair Ken Lien.  Arizona, 19-13, was a controversial selection for the NCAA tournament and plays Utah in the Midwest Region tomorrow night.

For a satirical look at the NCAA tournament visit the Onion’s site, https://www.theonion.com/content/video/ncaa_expands_march_madness_to?utm_source=a-section

As of Tuesday morning the Twins had 45 active players (10 non-roster) remaining in spring training camp: 20 pitchers (five non-roster), six catchers (one non-roster), 11 infielders (two non-roster) and eight outfielders (two non-roster).  Among the players reassigned earlier in the week was infielder Toby Gardenhire, manager Ron Gardenhire’s son.

Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano, based on his impressive spring training following last year’s recovery, looks like a “steal” for fantasy baseball players.

Minnesota State defeated Fort Lewis, 72-61, in the NCAA Division II Central Region Finals on Monday before the largest crowd (2,039) ever to watch a women’s basketball game at the Taylor Center in Mankato.  Minnesota State plays NCAA Midwest Region champ Michigan Tech in the Elite Eight on March 24 in San Antonio.

The Gophers play UMD tonight in the WCHA Final Five playoffs and goalie Alex Kangas has two shutouts in the past three games.  He currently has a scoreless streak of 64 minutes, 40 seconds.  Kangas has been outstanding during the postseason in his two years with the Gophers, with a 1.44 goals against average and .952 save percentage in nine career postseason games.

The Swarm’s Kevin Buchanan has been impressive scoring 18 points in the team’s last three games, all wins, according to the NLL Insider Website that lists him among the top candidates for National Lacrosse League rookie of the year. https://www.nllinsider.com/2009/03/17/national-lacrosse-league-nll-rookie-rankings-week-10/#more-5915

Four MIAC individuals have been awarded Central Region Indoor Track & Field honors by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.  Bethel senior Marie Borner was named the Central Region Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, Concordia junior Leah Kay was selected as the Region Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, St. Thomas senior Brian Sames was named the Region Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and St. Thomas head coach Steve Mathre was honored as the Region Coach of the Year.