ANTHONY EDWARDS – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Potulny & Raboin Might Be Top Targets for U Hockey Job

Posted on March 20, 2026March 22, 2026 by David Shama

A trusted source tells Sports Headliners two names are at the top of the candidates list for the University of Minnesota men’s hockey head coach opening. The source said people “close to the program” tell him that Grant Potulny and Garrett Raboin are the top targets of athletics director Mark Coyle. Another source couldn’t confirm that but wasn’t surprised to hear the report.

Potulny, the former Gopher national championship player in 2002 and 2003, was an assistant coach at the U from 2008-2017 under Don Lucia. The 46-year-old was a three-time captain for the Gophers. He’s been coach of the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack since June of 2024. Prior to that he was head coach at Northern Michigan for seven seasons and was WCHA Coach of the Year in his first year. A challenging place to win, he was 128-113-17 with the Wildcats.

Raboin has Gopher roots, too. He was an assistant coach at the U for four years prior to taking over as head coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls in April of 2022. At Minnesota he was an effective recruiter who helped bring gifted players to Dinkytown. He launched the Augustana program into Division I and had a winning record by his second season. This year the Vikings are even more successful with a 22-11-4 overall record. Raboin is 40 years old.

Bob Motzko parted ways with the Gophers earlier this week. It’s not known what, if anything, Motzko will do careerwise in the foreseeable future. He is 64 and sources say he wants to relax and enjoy himself at least for a while. He has carried the weight of his high pressure job and the tragic loss of his son in a 2021 car accident.

Potulny and Raboin know the culture of the U hockey program. Coyle is likely to see that as a favorable thing. He presumably also wants someone who can excel as a teacher, strategist and recruiter including effective use of Name, Image and Likeness money.

Coyle, who meets with the media to discuss the men’s and women’s hockey head coaching openings on Monday, is likely relying on an advisor or two with puck knowledge to help with the search.

He hired Motzko in March of 2018. That hire didn’t bring the Gophers the national championship they have sought since 2003. This past season the Gophers were 11-22-3 overall and 7-15-2 in Big Ten games. It was the program’s worst season since 1971-72.

Long considered the best hockey coaching job in the nation, sources tell Sports Headliners that is still true. The program’s actual and potential resources include access to high quality high school talent from the state of Minnesota, revenue from the Athletic Department to pay players, high potential NIL money, large and loyal fanbase, quality facilities and a great tradition. The Gopher men’s hockey program is one of the few in the nation that is a money maker for its athletic department.

Motzko reportedly earned a base salary of $750,000. The Gophers can afford to pay their next coach with similar money, making their guy among the best paid college hockey coaches in the country.

Interestingly, Coyle’s name has drawn speculation as a replacement at Kentucky for retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart. Coyle was deputy assistant athletics director in Lexington under Barnhart from 2006-2011. The Wildcats are basketball blue blood and Coyle is a hoops aficionado who was the top administrator overseeing the Kentucky program.

Coyle’s basketball knowledge helped him identify two outstanding hires now at the U. Women’s coach Dawn Plitzuweit has the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament in her third season. Men’s coach Niko Medved has been lauded for his first-year work in rebuilding the Gophers.

Coyle has been the U AD since 2016. His family has put down roots in St. Paul and as an Iowa native he has spent much of his life in the Upper Midwest.

Worth Noting

Former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor — Glen Taylor

Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners he doesn’t know if the Mavericks contacted his Timberwolves over a year ago concerning a trade of superstars. The rumor last winter was the Mavericks and Wolves talked about sending Anthony Edwards to Dallas with Luka Doncic coming to Minneapolis.

Doncic, 27 and now playing for the Lakers, leads the NBA in scoring with an average of 33.4. Edwards, 24 and out for a while with a knee injury, is third in scoring at 29.5.

Taylor, who finalized his ownership sale of the Wolves last June, has been spending a lot of time in Naples, Florida. He’s passionate about his former club and “watches all the games” on TV.”

Taylor said he’s long liked the “potential” of the Wolves to go far in the playoffs. He doesn’t think the defense is as effective as it can be.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher, whose 1982 team won the Big Ten championship, turns 93 on April 17. Other than troublesome knees, his health is good. His brother Norman from Alpena, Michigan passed away earlier this year at age 97.

Dave Christian, the Warroad native who was a member of the legendary 1980 U.S. gold medal winning Olympic team, joined hosts Patrick Klinger and Dave Boden on the latest “Behind the Game” show. Google the most important sports event in US history, and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” comes up No. 1.

The U.S. team had a strong Minnesota influence with native sons like Christian playing and St. Paul’s Herb Brooks coaching and masterminding his amateur players to a stunning semi-final win over the heavily favored Soviet Union before going on to defeat Finland in the finals. “Behind the Game” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuGnBTx-4f0

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At 24 Anthony Edwards Can Build Off Superstar Status

Posted on September 30, 2025September 30, 2025 by David Shama

Anthony “Ant” Edwards, only 24 years old, starts his sixth training camp with the Timberwolves this week and is one of the best basketball players in the world. Tim Connelly, the franchise’s president of basketball operations, told a media gathering Monday his superstar guard can become one of the “greatest players of all time.”

At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Edwards might be in the best condition of his life after an offseason addressing his training and his skillset—preparing to take the next step in his elite career. That step could include an NBA MVP Award and lifting his franchise to a first ever NBA Finals.

What would it take to win his first league MVP Award after having twice been named All-NBA in his career? “We gotta win,” Edwards said. “I think all MVPs win at a high level (and) average a whole bunch of points.”

Michael Jordan won five MVP awards. The first came when he was 25.

This offseason an intermediary between Edwards and Jordan provided some input for the Minnesota MVP. Edwards said he picked up on the tip of using his back to lean in on a defender, rather than establishing leverage with his butt as he has done in the past. That was trademark positioning for the GOAT.

Edwards said his communications with Jordan are just beginning. “Nah, we don’t really have no relationship how y’all think we got one right now. It’ll come in years to come but right now it’s just through somebody.”

Edwards, Finch photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s been suggested that Edwards needs to be more consistent against mediocre competition. In the past his approach has been more about getting his teammates involved than himself. He predicted a change for this season to establish more consistency and production: “Try to get a career high in points,” he said. “…I think that’s how I am going to stay engaged.”

Edwards has been diligent this off-season and hinted at a new offensive move that could be used in crunch times of games. Coach Chris Finch sees that development as one of the ways Edwards can elevate his game.

What is it? “I can’t tell you. You’ll see,” Edwards teased.

Edwards did offer that improving his clutch work could tie to playing closer to the rim. He did add, however, that what he can do sometimes is dictated by frequent double teams that limit his options.

During the off-season Edwards, who admitted today he has a troublesome lower back, wore gloves while dribbling the ball and noted “I’ve never been able to handle the ball this good in my life. “

Edwards can be a dynamic scorer with his outside shooting and driving to the hoop, plus his playmaking for teammates. He doesn’t finish at the rim with the consistency he is capable of. Finch would also like to see more consistency in his gifted player’s defense, which can be suffocating.

One of the things that should benefit the Wolves this season is having second leading scorer Julius Randle and valued sub Donte DiVincenzo with the team from the beginning of training camp. The two joined the team just before last season in the famous trade with the Knicks sending Karl-Anthony Towns to New York.

Adjustments take time and both Randle and Edwards recalled, for example, posting up in the same space on the floor during a game. That kind of confusion should be less likely now, plus all the nuances that come from teammates knowing how to work and benefit from one another. Edwards said he and Randle have been in Minneapolis all summer, adding to their experience with one another.

Other teammates were in town early, in advance of camp. Edwards thinks that can give the Wolves an edge early in the season when other teams are trying to find themselves with changed personnel. The Wolves return six of their top seven players including the starting five.

The Wolves are coming off two consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals. Teams that go deep in the playoffs, Edwards believes, have togetherness. “They really care about each other,” he said.

And there’s no doubt Edwards’ teammates and the front office care about him. “He’s going to have another great year,” Connelly said about Edwards who averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game last season.

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Shannon Overcame Challenges to Become Wolves Hero

Posted on May 25, 2025July 8, 2025 by David Shama

Terrence Shannon Jr. came off the bench last night to ignite his teammates and the Target Center crowd as the Timberwolves defeated the Thunder 143-101. He contributed to the team energy and physicality that overwhelmed the Thunder and delivered the first win for Minnesota in Game 3 of the best of seven Western Conference Finals series.

The seldom used rookie, 23 years old, scored 15 points in 13 minutes, making five of eight shots and all four of his free throws. He was electric dribbling toward the basket and also hit a three-pointer as the Wolves set a franchise playoff record scoring 143 points. He joined a stealth defensive effort by his teammates, too, and had a steal.

Shannon had played briefly in six previous playoff games, averaging one point. He entered the game last night in the second quarter when the score was somewhat competitive and when he left the floor he had scored nine points in four minutes. The delirious crowd gave him a standing ovation.

What prompted coach Chris Finch to use the 6-4, 220-pound guard so early in the game? Well, he was looking for an additional talent to be part of the player rotation. And he hit the jackpot with Shannon who played in just 32 regular season games and averaged 4.3 points.

“…He’s just a guy that can stretch the floor in transition,” Finch said. “Downhill player, got a good body…we needed some physicality out there. Kind of just a different type of player than we have in other positions, so, we kind of knew coming into the game what we were gonna get.”

Shannon certainly delivered last night, just like he did at Illinois where he was a third team All-American in 2023-2024 averaging 23 points per game. “… I feel like with the way I play, the defense has to adjust to me because I’m going so fast and fearless downhill that they gotta adjust. And when they crowd the paint, I’m gonna kick it out, and if they don’t, I’m just gonna score the ball.”

Shannon was a hero last night but his journey to the NBA has produced challenges. The Wolves selected him at No. 27 in the first round in the 2024 NBA Draft last June, just a couple weeks after a Kansas jury found him not guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman.

The alleged crime hung over Shannon for much of his senior season at Illinois and potentially jeopardized his pro future. The verdict last June brought closure and Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly saw a prospect with tantalizing offensive skills to attack the basket, along with the athleticism and instinct to be a special contributor defensively.

Shannon didn’t draw much attention from Division I schools when he was a high school player in Chicago. So he spent a year in prep school, at IMG Academy in Florida. He made himself into a four-star, top 100 recruit.

He played three seasons at Texas Tech where he did make the Big 12 All-Freshman team in 2019-2020. But he didn’t show the drastic improvement for the Red Raiders that he achieved at Illinois where he averaged 17.2 points per game his first season and then followed up with a senior season that included being named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as the Illini defeated Wisconsin for the tourney championship.

Shannon values being a good teammate. At Illinois, he wanted his bio to include that he was the funniest guy on the team. In Minneapolis he hit it off with superstar Anthony Edwards, 23, who had a game-high 30 points last night.

“That’s my dog man,” Shannon said. “We talk all the time, give each other feedback. …We both work hard, and we love the game, so we gelled right away when I got here.”

Wolves Notes

The Wolves had a noticeable difference compared with the Thunder in energy and physicality from the game’s start. Minnesota led 34-14 after the first quarter and then 72-41 at halftime.

“…They were here to play, and they did everything correctly from the jump,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault . “Dug ourselves a hole. I thought we tried to jump out a couple different times, but they did a good job holding us off as well. We can learn from it, obviously. Not our best punch, but again, we tip our hats to them.”

Led by Shannon’s playoff career-high 15 points off the bench, the Wolves subs scored a postseason franchise-high 66 points in the victory, besting the previous high by 20 points (46: May 8, 2025, against the Warriors).

The Wolves had seven players with 10-plus points (Edwards: 30, Julius Randle: 24, Shannon: 15, Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 12, Leonard Miller: 11, Naz Reid: 10, Jaden McDaniels: 10). That set a franchise record for most players with 10-plus points in a playoff game.

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