Gophers Basketball – Page 114 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Group Aims for Winner’s Circle

Posted on July 11, 2016July 12, 2016 by David Shama

A horse named Tiger D is on a deadline at Canterbury Park this month. The five-year-old thoroughbred will make its six-man ownership group happy if he can earn a win before the Vikings head to training camp by the end of July.

Track announcer and Vikings radio play-by-play man Paul Allen heads an ownership group that also includes Vikings coaches Norv and Scott Turner, offensive lineman Brandon Fusco, trainer Eric Sugarman and Wild goalie Alex Stalock. They purchased Tiger D in Florida last spring and have yet to see the horse win a race at Canterbury Park.

Because of illness Tiger D won’t run in races at the Shakopee race track this week. The horse has been unable to run for awhile, and Allen told Sports Headliners Tiger D’s owners are very much anticipating his return to health.

Tiger D has third, fourth and fifth place finishes but no firsts. “(But) we haven’t been despondent,” Allen said.

Allen put up the largest share of the $16,000 purchase price for the horse, while the five others invested equal amounts. There are also other costs involved with owning a race horse but Allen said return on investment isn’t the No. 1 motivator for him and his partners.

“The most important thing to us is a winner’s circle,” Allen said.

The Vikings report to training camp in Mankato on July 28. Tiger D’s owners want to be present for the first win and stand in the winner’s circle to celebrate. That means Canterbury Park’s live racing dates of July 21, 22, 23 and 24 are final opportunities for Tiger D’s owners—at least for awhile.

If Tiger D gets that initial triumph later in the summer, even Allen might not be around to cheer on his favorite horse. Allen will be out of town for two Vikings preseason games in August and the thought has crossed his mind he won’t be available to pose for a photo in the winner’s circle with Tiger D.

Allen has called nearly 25,000 races as a track announcer, working a few years in California and 22 at Canterbury Park. A sports talk show host at KFAN for 18 years, Allen starts his 15th year as the Vikings radio play-by-play man this summer. He will call his 300th Vikings game during 2016.

Growing up in southern California in the 1980s, Allen listened to radio play-by-play legends Chick Hearn of the Lakers and Vin Scully of the Dodgers. The two men left lasting impressions on Allen. The now deceased Hearn was known for his enthusiasm and creative expressions—e.g.“Elgin Baylor yo-yoing the ball near the top of the circle.” Scully, with his soothing voice, is still calling games for the Dodgers and describing baseball like a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Allen is known for his passion and flair behind the microphone. “I am not afraid to describe things in an unconventional way,” Allen said.

Watch Allen call a race at Canterbury Park and you will see him following the horses with powerful binoculars. He also uses that tool while describing Vikings games. “I may be the only announcer in the NFL using binoculars,” he said.

The transplanted Californian has made a lot of friends here including at Winter Park where the Vikings train most of the year. A regular visitor there, including during the offseason, Allen was in the complex last winter when a conversation with Norv Turner quickly led to a six-man partnership to buy a racehorse.

Now all that’s left is a trip to the winner’s circle. At least once—and preferably before July 28.

Worth Noting

A local basketball source told Sports Headliners that highly recruited shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. “definitely” will not play his senior season at Apple Valley High School. Trent could name his college destination, and apparently he and his family believe an out of state high school can better prepare him for NCAA and NBA competition.

The decline of Gophers basketball in the 21st century means Minnesota apparently has the most minimal of chances to recruit Trent who is the son of former Timberwolves forward Gary Trent Sr. Junior seems likely to end up at a legendary college basketball school like Duke. That possibility is discouraging to Gophers fans who have watched Minneapolis area legends Khalid El-Amin, Cole Aldrich and Tyus Jones win national titles at Connecticut, Kansas and Duke.

Sports Headliners is told Jones has added about 10 pounds and lost approximately two percent of his body fat during offseason training. Jones, 20, was a first round draft choice of the Timberwolves in 2015 and his status for making the roster next season could be uncertain since the team used its No. 1 pick in June to select point guard Kris Dunn and also has five-seasons veteran Ricky Rubio. It’s not unusual, though, for NBA teams to carry three point guards on the roster.

Marcus Fuller, the Gophers basketball beat writer for the Pioneer Press, is moving from that newspaper to the same assignment at the Star Tribune. He replaces Amelia Rayno who will leave the sports department but remain with the Star Tribune and write about food.

Clyde Turner, a star on the Gophers 1972 Big Ten championship, is in his 30th year of running local basketball camps. Over 10,700 campers have participated including El-Amin, Jones, Devean George and Rashad Vaughn.

Schedule makers for the Iowa Hawkeyes found a “pastry shop” to their liking this summer while lining up the team’s upcoming nonconference basketball schedule that includes “cream puffs” Delaware State, Kennesaw State, Regis, Stetson, Savannah State and Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The Twins’ front office has often stumbled making player acquisitions but Eduardo Nunez can make club officials smile this week, although it wouldn’t be shocking if his name comes up in trade talks. The 29-year-old infielder plays in his first MLB All-Star Game tomorrow night after a spectacular first half of the season including a .321 batting average—10th highest in baseball.

Nunez entered this season as a nonstarter and a career .267 major league hitter. The Twins acquired him in a 2014 trade with the Yankees, giving up left-handed pitcher Miguel Sulbaran who is with Trenton in the Double A Eastern League and on the disabled list. With all-star status and a reported $1,475,000 salary, Nunez could be attractive to a contending team that wants to make a trade with the Twins this month, perhaps offering a super prospect or two.

The Twins might have another success story developing with 24-year-old first baseman-outfielder Daniel Palka who they acquired from the Diamondbacks last November, giving up catcher Chris Herrmann. Palka, recently promoted to Triple A Rochester, hit 21 home runs and drove in 65 runs at Double A Chattanooga. In four games with the Red Wings, Palka has two home runs and is hitting .400. Herrmann, now in his fifth major league season, looks like a journeyman catcher but he is having a career best average at the plate with the Diamondbacks hitting .291.

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100th Birthday Humbles John Kundla

Posted on June 28, 2016June 28, 2016 by David Shama

Former Gophers basketball players and family paid tribute to John Kundla yesterday at his assisted living residence in northeast Minneapolis. The former Gophers and Minneapolis Lakers coach turns 100 on July 3.

Kundla played for the Gophers in the late 1930s and coached at his alma mater from 1959-1968. Ex-Gophers Paul Presthus, Bill Davis, Don Linehan, Al Nuness and Larry Overskei presented the coach with a No. 100 Minnesota jersey. “We celebrated the 100th birthday of our coach, friend and a true gentleman,” Presthus said.

Kundla has lived a remarkable life. He coached the Lakers to five professional basketball championships from 1949-1954. Only Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach have won more titles. Kundla’s players included center George Mikan, who is often recognized as the greatest basketball player during the first half of the 20th century.

While coaching the Gophers, Kundla led teams to second and third place finishes in the Big Ten but never a championship. He helped pioneer opportunities for black players at Minnesota and in the Big Ten. Kundla’s 1964-65 team had three African-American starters—something that was unusual in the 1960s. Those starters were Lou Hudson and Archie Clark, who both became outstanding NBA players, and Don Yates who was another athletic contributor for Kundla.

Kundla’s son Tom said yesterday his dad spoke out against segregation in the 1950s when he was with the Lakers. “I couldn’t have had a better role model,” Tom said.

Overskei, Davis, Presthus, Nuness, Linehan, Wilson surround the coach.

Coaches are known for a “my way or the highway” mentality, but that wasn’t Kundla’s personality. He coached with a caring manner and his demeanor is recalled with fondness by former players.

A native of Minneapolis, Kundla attended the old Central High School on the city’s south side. He was a starting forward for the Gophers in the late 1930s. After college he coached at DeLaSalle High School and St. Thomas before becoming the Lakers coach in 1948 for an annual salary of $6,000.

A June 2nd online issue of the New York Times included a lengthy story about Kundla, referring to him as the oldest living hall of famer in any of the four major American sports. Louie Lazar’s article said the former coach is still active despite being in a wheelchair and having hearing aids.

Kundla lives now at the Main Street Lodge, and he has almost come home again. He is only six blocks from the apartment building he lived in when he first coached the Lakers.

Able to dress and cook breakfast for himself, Kundla plays bingo and cribbage. He credits being a gym teacher with forming good health habits. “I still to this day ride the (exercise) bike to stay in shape,” he said yesterday.

Karen Rodberg, Kundla’s daughter, joked (I think) that if yesterday afternoon had been a bingo day her dad wouldn’t have been available for the party. Yes, Kundla’s competitive nature is still on display when enjoying bingo or cribbage.

Jim Kundla, another son, lives near his dad’s residence and the two play cribbage every day. The older Kundla said the game is good for his mind. “We enjoy playing and it also kills time,” he said. “Jim is a great cribbage player and I learned a lot from him.”

The soon to be centenarian wouldn’t boast about his cribbage and bingo skills. Not bragging and giving credit to others is a trait that goes back to coaching days with the Lakers and the Gophers. It was the players that deserved credit, not the coach.

“He doesn’t pat himself on the back,” Presthus said. “He taught us a lot of life lessons.”

Presthus played for the Gophers in the mid-1960s and as the years have passed he has come to appreciate his former coach more than ever. “He did things the right way,” Presthus said.

That included encouraging players to give best efforts and attend classes. But there was something else that was part of Kundla’s “DNA” and it makes an impression on Presthus to this day. “Family was always No. 1,” Presthus said. “Faith, family and friends. Those are the three things (with Kundla).”

Kundla’s wife Marie died several years ago but his children share major roles in his life. They now have the opportunity to give back to the father they admire so much. “I couldn’t have had better parents,” Tom said.

The group at the party included not only family and ex-Gophers players but former U trainer Jim Marshall and ex-basketball student manager John Bell Wilson. Yesterday there was reminiscing, photo taking and cupcakes with the number “100” on each of them. There were also a lot of smiles and congratulations in the room.

“It was pretty nice of them to come,” the old coach said. “I sure appreciate the honor. I never thought it would be a hundred years. What a break!”

Worth Noting

Gophers coach Richard Pitino will headline Thursday night’s “Post Time” fundraiser at Canterbury Park. The event is open to the public and is organized by the Golden Dunkers organization that has supported Gophers basketball for more than 40 years. Fans can learn more about an evening of basketball conversation, horse racing, and food and beverage hospitality at Goldendunkers.com.

Jimmy Williams was one of the most effective recruiters in the history of Gophers basketball. After he left Minnesota in 1986 his coaching stops included Nebraska, and while with the Cornhuskers he recruited and instructed Tyronn Lue who now is head coach of the 2016 NBA champion Cavs.

It looks like almost $100 million in fundraising has been committed for the University of Minnesota Athletes Village project. That’s about two-thirds of the necessary total for the project that is already under construction. Part of the project is the new football facilities which the Gophers are likely to occupy by 2018.

Former Gophers and Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz is rebuilding his Orlando home that was struck by lightning last year. Holtz, 79, coached the Gophers in 1984 and 1985 and still has friends in Minnesota.

Among those Minnesota friends is Minneapolis businessman Harvey Mackay who wrote about the late Muhammad Ali in his syndicated newspaper column last week. In a story headlined “Lessons Learned from The Champ,” Mackay referenced the “1,000 megawatt smile” of Ali. “He knew smiling was the universal language,” Mackay wrote.

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Ex-U Student Managers Change Lives

Posted on June 19, 2016June 21, 2016 by David Shama

As Drew Boe flew to Africa yesterday, he may have thought about former Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith. No one realized when Smith was let go by the University of Minnesota in March of 2013 that his firing would help establish a nonprofit organization now making annual mission trips to Africa.

Boe is executive director of the St. Louis Park-based Managers On A Mission organization. The nonprofit has three groups working right now in Kenya, Liberia and Uganda. Boe is assisted by college sports student managers on the three week assignments that mentor African orphanage children through athletics.

MOAM's Joseph Kuykendall in Ghana. — MOAM’s Joseph Kuykendall in Ghana.

Boe knew Smith after working as a student manager for him during the 2010-2011 season. After Smith was fired by the Gophers, Boe connected with the coach and received a large donation of his apparel and footwear. College and professional coaches have sponsorship deals with companies like Nike that provide them clothing, shoes and caps.

The donation by Smith provided start-up inventory for Managers On A Mission. All the items from Smith led to the Clean Out For A Cause Program, and then to the sale of apparel and footwear to the public on the Authentic Athletic Apparel eBay Store. Smith’s donation set in motion contributions of apparel and footwear that have been ongoing including the largest gift ever received by MOAM—a one-ton donation delivered on seven pallets.

At the Authentic Athletic Website consumers can shop for items from many schools including Duke, Louisville, Minnesota and Notre Dame. Over 15,000 items for sale are listed with hundreds of pounds of new donations arriving every week.

Since the website’s inception in September of 2013, over 12,000 sales have been made to customers. “We’ve been blessed by really being able to utilize an incredible market that exists for affordable sports clothing,” Boe told Sports Headliners.

Sales to the public provide much of the $200,000 budget for MOAM. Boe is paid fulltime but MOAM mostly goes about its work with part-time help and volunteers. The volunteerism is part of the organization’s mission, to reach out to college student managers and encourage them to develop as leaders who help others.

Student managers are young adults who work tirelessly to do a lot of organizational and grunt work for teams including the glamour college sports of football and basketball. Ask appreciative coaches and athletes how much better run their practices, conditioning and game days are because of student managers who seldom receive public recognition and praise.

For the last couple of years groups of student managers have gone to African countries for three weeks at a time. Their flights, lodging and meals are paid for, but they receive no compensation for time and work while in Africa. And before going the student managers must pay their own costs to attend a two-day training session in Florida at the Rafiki Foundation offices. MOAM coordinates its mission with Rafiki orphanages.

Boe and the others work with kids in Africa teaching them the fundamentals of basketball, soccer and volleyball. They also bring and donate sports gear and clothing.

What they also do is touch hearts and improve the lives of kids who have known the roughest of times in their young lives. “One of the students last year had very significant scars all across the top of his head that just looked so bizarre,” Boe said. “His parents (before the youngster came to the orphanage) were not only not taking care of him, but really the intention was for him to die through the cuts that they had placed on him.”

The young man’s name is Williams. Boe remembered Williams’ cheerful personality last week in an email to Sports Headliners. “Williams had a new joke or riddle to share every single day,” Boe wrote. “Always trying to make people laugh!”

Some of the children at the orphanages are very young. Boe recalled a four-year-old girl who had come to an orphanage with her younger brother. The parents died from AIDS and the children had lived without adult care prior to the orphanage.

“Essentially the four-year-old had been the caretaker for the two-year-old for who knows how long,” Boe said.

Getting to know the children and bonding with them makes up for the inconveniences of being in a different culture. After multiple trips to Africa, Boe knows what his American colleagues will usually find as the major adjustment.

“The food can be a challenge,” he said. “That’s definitely the biggest challenge for the time over there…is the adjustment to the food. We’re certainly well fed and there’s no risk of anything being contaminated, or anything like that. It just requires…a different preference in terms of food choices. There’s a lot of rice and beans.”

There can, however, be a contrarian. “It seems like there is always one person that for some reason ends up loving it (the food),” Boe said. “They can’t get enough rice and beans, or can’t get enough eggplant.”

MOAM was founded in 2013 by Boe and two other Gopher student managers, Chris Herkenhoff from football and Ryan Wieland of men’s basketball. The organization is assisted by an advisory council of former Gopher basketball players Roger Arnold, Pat Fitzsimmons and Al Nuness, and ex-student manager John Bell Wilson.

Fitzsimmons e-mailed Sports Headliners urging readers of this column to visit www.authenticathleticapparel.com and make a purchase to help all the activities of MOAM which include college scholarship assistance for student managers and others involved with athletics. “As you check out MOAM’s awesome selections, keep in mind 85 percent of all purchases go to youth scholarships, mission trips and support of the Rafiki orphanages with food, sports equipment and clothing,” he wrote.

Boe, who is currently in Kenya, never set a career goal of helping to start and guide an endeavor like MOAM. He thought his career track might be in a college athletics department working in administration but a mission trip to Rwanda during graduate school began to change his life. He was touched by the joy and peacefulness of the Christians who lived there, and he said the experience further helped define his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Boe grew up in the small southeast Minnesota town of Taopi, population 53. He played football and golf in high school. He attended a Catholic church and while religion was part of his life, including during college years, he looks back and feels like he was just “checking the boxes.”

What the trip to Rwanda prompted was a beginning awareness of how he wanted to help others, while following the Lord. Boe describes what happened to him in Rwanda as a “seed” being planted that ultimately led to MOAM. He and the other two founders of MOAM came to realize there is a void in Africa for sports camps and the need for young men like his student managers to fill it.

They have an opportunity to show African children that it’s not just older adult couples, or females in their 20s and 30s who come to Africa as missionaries—that mentors can be young males in their 20s like those who serve through MOAM. Younger male role models are important, because according to multiple accounts, more than 20 million children live in Africa without fathers present in the home.

“This is something that has been put very heavy on my heart (serving as MOAM’s leader),” Boe said. “I don’t see myself ever leaving Managers On A Mission, or being away from it. …We’ve just been trying to keep up with what the Lord has been doing. It’s pretty cool.”

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