Gophers Basketball – Page 112 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Pieces Fit with Gopher AD Finalist Coyle

Posted on May 11, 2016May 11, 2016 by David Shama

It’s understandable why Mark Coyle has emerged, according to numerous sources, as the preferred candidate to become the Gophers’ next athletic director.

University of Minnesota representatives are reportedly meeting with Coyle today. Media outlets say he has resigned as athletic director at Syracuse. His willingness to travel to Minneapolis and have his named revealed in national media as the lone finalist for the U job indicates an agreement is all but completed. High profile candidates don’t put their names in the spotlight without intent to move on from present positions.

Coyle, 47, is a surprise name but Sports Headliners was told by a source close to Gophers athletics earlier in the week the short list of candidates for the job could include someone who hasn’t drawn media speculation. Coyle was hired at Syracuse last June with assignments that included dealing with a troubled athletic department facing image and NCAA concerns.

The Gophers Athletic Department has its own problems including a basketball program with issues specific to winning, academic performance and behavior of its players. University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler no doubt believes Coyle can provide guidance with basketball and other top priority issues at Minnesota.

Among those tasks will be completing the fund-raising for the $190 million Athletes Village project. Coyle was athletic director at Boise State from 2011-2015 and was credited with raising millions of dollars including seven-figure gifts. Prior to taking over at Boise, Coyle was Associate Athletics Director for Development at Kentucky where his responsibilities included fund-raising. He reportedly raised more than $140 million while at Kentucky.

Coyle joined the Wildcats after working for Gophers athletic directors Tom Moe and Joel Maturi. Coyle’s responsibilities while at Minnesota included overseeing corporate sponsorships and suite sales, marketing and promotions, athletic communications, video services, the ticket office, licensing and gophersports.com.

While Coyle was at Boise State, his teams posted the highest grade-point average in school history, with 18 teams establishing GPA records and more than 72 percent of the athletes earning GPAs above 3.0. The Broncos placed the most student-athletes on the Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete team in late 2014.

Coyle has a football background that includes playing the sport at Drake University in Des Moines. He also hired successful Boise football coach Bryan Harsin. After last season at Syracuse he replaced Scott Shafer with one of the hot names in college football coaching, Bowling Green’s Dino Babers.

Moe was impressed with Coyle’s skills and personality back when Coyle was developing his career. “You could see that he had a great future in athletics administration,” Moe told Sports Headliners today.

Media reports indicate Syracuse officials are sorry to see Coyle move on. “You can just tell from the places he’s been and the reviews he’s received, he’s been consistently highly thought of,” Moe said. “I think Syracuse was…both surprised and sorry to see him leave.”

Kaler no doubt finds a lot to like in Coyle who fulfills several criteria considered to be essential for the Gophers’ AD job. Those include prior administrative success, experience in fund-raising and other revenue producing areas, football knowledge, and a familiarity with the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul and the state.

Kaler might be as right with this hire as he was off on Norwood Teague who he made Gophers athletic director in 2012.

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U Boosters Voice Concerns to Governor

Posted on April 25, 2016April 26, 2016 by David Shama

Jim Carter thought it was an idea going nowhere. Carter’s friend Jim Brunzell told him a few weeks ago he requested a meeting with Governor Mark Dayton to talk about University of Minnesota athletics.

Not only did the Governor’s office respond but a lunch meeting was scheduled with Brunzell, Carter and Alvin Ray Hawes. Last Friday the three U alums met with Dayton at the Governor’s residence in St. Paul. Shannon Patrick, Dayton’s senior policy advisor for higher education, was also there.

Brunzell, Carter and Hawes played football together at Minnesota in the late 1960s. They and many other Gophers boosters have been concerned for some time about the school’s leadership in athletics, and the performances and reputations of football, and men’s basketball and hockey—the highest profile sports at the University and major producers of revenues contributing to a $100 million annual budget supporting 25 men’s and women’s sports.

Carter came to the meeting with a list of facts and concerns including how long it’s taking to find a permanent athletic director, how fundraising is stalled on the $190 million Athletes Village project, the missed opportunity to place former football coach Jerry Kill in a high level position within the Athletic Department, how department monies have been used inefficiently, and how the revenues, culture and image of the department could be much better.

“We just wanted the Governor to know how frustrated we are,” Carter said of the meeting. “How frustrated we’ve been with the lack of pursuit of excellence in athletics at the University. With the long time—almost a year now—to put an athletic director in place. What we see with continuing issues in the Athletic Department that make us wonder where the tradition of the Golden Gophers has gone. We shared that with the Governor.

“It was very positive (the discussion), not mudslinging. We talked with him…and discovered he’s got the same love for Golden Gophers football, hockey, basketball, and many of the sports that we all do.”

The Governor, 69, is about the same age as Carter, Brunzell and Hawes. A Minneapolis native, Dayton grew up in Minnesota and loved hockey. He was an all-state goalie for Blake and followed Gophers hockey and football teams. “He seemed to be one of us,” Carter said.

Carter said during lunch Dayton expressed similar concerns to what his visitors voiced. Dayton also recalled an offer he made to former Gophers athletics director Norwood Teague and later to interim AD Beth Goetz. Dayton is willing to use his residence to help the Athletic Department, including to host Gopher donors. While Teague didn’t take him up on the offer, Goetz has scheduled a dinner.

What may transpire from the meeting last Friday? “I think the only thing that we could expect for him to do would be to use influence,” Carter said. “Not financial necessarily but he speaks with the president of the University. He speaks with people over there.”

Vikings & NFL Draft

The Vikings have eight selections in next week’s NFL Draft and a priority should be finding a speed receiver who runs disciplined routes. At least that’s the opinion of former Viking Bob Lurtsema who remains close to the franchise.

Lurtsema is an admirer of third-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who he said “can throw the ball” but doesn’t receive enough praise from the media. Bridgewater ranked No. 22 in the NFL last season with 3,231 passing yards. The 23-year-old had a just okay 88.7 passer rater.

Teddy Bridgewater (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings).

It takes awhile for young quarterbacks to establish themselves but Lurtsema believes Bridgewater’s numbers and the perception of him would be more positive if his wide receivers ran better routes than they did last season. Bridgewater, he said, often made superior judgments compared to his targets.

“They (wide receivers) would come off the routes,” Lurtsema said. “They weren’t reading the same (as Bridgewater). A lot of it is the responsibility of the receiver.”

Lurtsema hopes to see improvement among the wide receivers next season. “You talk to the players themselves and you talk to them off the record, they tell you all the little things that Teddy Bridgewater can do,” Lurtsema said.

The first of the Vikings’ eight selections comes Thursday night when Minnesota has the No. 23 pick in the first round. Mock drafts frequently project the Vikings will use the selection on a wide receiver, perhaps TCU’s Josh Doctson, Notre Dame’s Will Fuller or Ohio State’s Mike Thomas. All three have first round credentials but on their NFL.com profiles none draws praise for route running.

The Vikings will also draft No. 23 in rounds two through five, then No. 5 in the sixth round, and 19th and 23rd in the seventh and final round. The first round begins at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday. Rounds two and three start at 6 p.m. Friday, while rounds four through seven begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. All three days of the draft from Chicago will be televised by ESPN and the NFL Network.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman meets with the media tomorrow (Tuesday) to preview the draft.

Lurtsema talking about 33-year-old linebacker Chad Greenway who has decided to play an 11th season for the Vikings and whether a player that age slows down: “You might lose a half a step but your experience picks up a half a step—so you’re still a pretty good athlete.”

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Here’s Help Forecasting NCAA Tourney

Posted on March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 by David Shama

Don’t overlook the University of Arkansas at Little Rock when filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket.

That’s the advice of former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher who has been studying tournament fields for 50 years. He predicts the Trojans, a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, will upset No. 5 seed Purdue in an opening round game this week. “They’re a real sleeper team,” Dutcher said about the 29-win Trojans.

Upsets are common during the first week of “March Madness” and there is a lot of parity in the field of 68 teams but only a handful are seen as potential Final Four entrants next month in Houston. Dutcher thinks the last four teams will be Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Kansas is the No. 1 overall tournament seed and Dutcher’s choice to win the national championship.

All four of his predicted finalists are either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in their regions. “I really went out a limb,” he said.

North Carolina may have the most talented team in the tournament but Dutcher said there might be some glory coming for J.P. Macura and his Xavier teammates. The former Lakeville North guard is Xavier’s fifth leading scorer at 9.6 points per game. The Musketeers are the No. 2 seed in the East behind Carolina and if you’re looking for a mid-major to make a deep tournament run it could be the Musketeers. “Xavier is pretty good,” he said.

A problem for Macura and teammates, though, is the East Region is loaded with strong teams including Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. “I think the toughest route to the Final Four is out of the East,” Dutcher said.

California, the No. 4 seed in the South, has Dutcher’s attention. “Cal is playing really strong,” he said. “They have at least two No. 1 (NBA) draft choices.” Draftexpress.com predicts forward Jaylen Brown will be the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, with forward Ivan Rabb also a first rounder, and point guard Tyrone Wallace a second round choice.

Dutcher believes Iowa State has “got a chance” to be a surprise team in the Midwest but the Cyclones’ in-state rival Iowa isn’t likely to do much in the South. The Hawkeyes have lost five of their last six games and Dutcher said a problem is Iowa plays too many different defenses and doesn’t execute. “They don’t play great defense,” Dutcher said. “They just give up too many points.”

If pressed for a possible surprise team from the West Region, Dutcher goes with Texas A&M. The Aggies are a physical team and got a Final Four vote from college basketball authority Seth Davis on the CBS tournament selection show yesterday.

Worth Noting

The Gophers men’s basketball program has only qualified four times for the NCAA Tournament this century. Minnesota participated in 2013, 2010, 2009 and 2005, with a cumulative record of 1-4.

Coach Richard Pitino’s three-year Big Ten regular season record is 16-38. Minnesota was 2-16 this year, the most conference losses in school history.

The Gophers’ average attendance for the team’s 18 home games was 10,292. That’s the lowest since the 1970-1971 season, 8,395.

Ken Lien will announce the 2016 Mr. Basketball award winner at 5:15 p.m. on 1500 ESPN. The prediction here is the winner will be Amir Coffey from Hopkins High School.

The amazing Sid Hartman—who no longer drives a car but still writes multiple columns per week for the Star tribune and voices opinions six times weekly on WCCO Radio—has his 96th birthday tomorrow, March 15.

Does Jordan Schroeder sleep with a suitcase next to his bed? The 25-year-old forward and Lakeville, Minnesota native has been recalled from the Wild’s Iowa AHL team six times this season. The latest pack your bags notice came when Wild GM Chuck Fletcher announced Friday Schroeder was rejoining the team to fill a roster need. Schroeder, who has scored one goal in 16 games for the Wild, has been among the scoring leaders for Iowa where he has 34 points in 40 games.

P.J. Fleck, 35, is one of the most hyped young head football coaches in the country. Featured in Sports Illustrated last year, Fleck has impressed with his charisma while coaching at Western Michigan. He will be a headline speaker on March 31 at the annual Minnesota Football Coaches Association Clinic at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park.

While the clinic is annually attended mostly by high school coaches, new this year is the Youth Coaches Clinic April 1 and 2. Sessions on blocking and developing young quarterbacks will be among the offerings for coaches from youth football organizations. There will also be an opportunity to hear Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema speak to all MFCA Clinic attendees April 1. More at mnfootballcoaches.com.

Ron Stolski, executive director of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, is also head coach at Brainerd where this fall he will be in his 55th season of prep coaching.

Lovie Smith went to a Super Bowl and won NFC North Division championships coaching the Bears so the surprise announcement last week that he is the new Illinois head coach adds another prominent name to the Big Ten. With his NFL roots and known brand in Chicago, Smith can change Illini recruiting for the better but Ryan Burns thinks Notre Dame will still get “the cream of the crop.” Burns is publisher of Scout’s GopherDigest.com.

The Illini have fallen on hard times since a Rose Bowl appearance in 2008. Establishing a winning program will be needed to change recruiting, and that figures to take awhile. Still, Burns predicts improvement in Illinois recruiting for 2017.

“This (2017) will probably be Illinois’ best class in the last five years or so, just because Lovie is a big name,” Burns said. “But I don’t think they’ll be competing with the Penn States, the Michigan States of the world. Even the Minnesotas. If they were able to get on par with what Minnesota has been doing, I think that would be a pretty good jump for them, but I don’t think it will be dramatic.”

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