Gophers Basketball – Page 121 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U AD Search Needs Top Committee

Posted on March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 by David Shama

Any day now University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler will announce the names of approximately 10 individuals to help lead the search for the school’s next athletic director. Kaler announced the formal start of the search last month and his office’s website has a form accepting nominations for search committee members.

There is no shortage of highly qualified and motivated candidates that can form a blue-ribbon group. Former U athletic directors and athletes, present coaches and athletes, business leaders and other professionals offer a rich and diverse resource to Kaler if he will seek their counsel. “There is a huge talent pool,” Jim Carter said.

Carter played fullback on the Gophers’ last Big Ten championship football team in 1967. In his day the halls were sacred in the athletic building because of the school’s big time achievements in sports. When Carter was a sophomore, Minnesota was seven years removed from a national championship in football. The athletic department was a few years away from being a basketball powerhouse, and on its way to winning NCAA hockey titles during the 1970s.

These days, the glory is minimal in the high profile sports of men’s basketball and hockey and football. Decades of disappointment on the court, ice and field have become the norm with the basketball and football teams seldom able to win more than half of their Big Ten games each season, while the hockey program has often fallen behind state rivals and hasn’t produced a national championship since 2003.

Worse, the athletic department has become a national newsmaker for its scandals and other troubles. The latest woes include the suspension of three men’s basketball players. Last year the department’s negative headlines included the resignation of athletic director Norwood Teague who faced sexual harassment complaints from women at the University and also Star Tribune reporter Amelia Rayno.

Carter said his friend Tom Van Arsdale, a former Indiana basketball star, told him the national perspective of the Gophers is that they are a “laughing stock.”

“How did we get to that, from where we used to be?” Carter wonders.

The opinion here is the search committee should have a strong representation of sports-savvy individuals from varied backgrounds and interests. The viewpoints that need to be represented are those of people like Carter who are knowledgeable about the revenue-producing sports and want to see leadership demanding excellence in those programs that carry the athletic department’s brand and fuel the 23-sport, $100 million budget.

It’s an understatement to say Carter has been recommended for the search committee. “I know for sure I have over 125 nominations that have been sent to the president’s office,” Carter told Sports Headliners. “So if it’s by volume, I would guess they would have to put me on the committee, but you know…I’ve been outspoken a lot over the years.

“I’ve tried to be a truth teller—at least truth the way I see it, and it’s not been popular. I’ve been critical of Dr. Kaler and some of the people over there—so I certainly wouldn’t be their first choice, I am sure.”

Carter is skeptical about the final roster Kaler will approve for the committee. His concern is the group will be comprised primarily of people the president is most comfortable with and will include Kaler staffers, University faculty and regents, and compliant donors. How involved ex-Gophers, current athletes and coaches, and business leaders will be remains to be seen.

Another concern of Carter and others is that even if the committee has leadership committed to sending the athletic department on a mission of excellence, the final selection of the next athletic director will be made by a smaller group. Will a three or four person executive committee chosen by Kaler make the final choice of AD?

Kaler stumbled badly in hiring Teague. In addition to complaints about Teague’s behavior, he hired the inexperienced and now struggling men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino, didn’t get along with popular football coach Jerry Kill and was a disappointment in fundraising. Also under Teague’s watch the feds launched a still ongoing Title IX investigation. Title IX bans gender discrimination at federally funded schools.

Kaler’s career expertise is mostly in academics, not athletics. Carter, who grew up a passionate Gophers fan in South St. Paul and still lives in the Twins Cities, is a former linebacker for the Green Bay Packers and experienced businessman. He went to Kaler’s office in December proposing he head a small volunteer committee to conduct a search for the next AD. Instead of the University paying $125,000 for a professional search firm to assist with the process, Carter and a few others would deliver the best AD possible to the president.

“Forget a big committee of people that really don’t know much about sports,” Carter told Kaler. “Let me chair a committee and we will go find you the best athletic director to come to Minnesota and run this department, and turn it around. I will do it free of charge. I’ll do all the leg work. I’ll find the people. I’ll use my contacts… and there will be no issues with Title IX. There will be no issues with background checks that didn’t happen. We’ll get that (search) done.

“He (Kaler) just smiled and he said, ‘Well, we appreciate your interest.’

“Now you see what’s happened,” Carter continued. “Now we’ve gone to a search firm (name to be announced). We’ve gone to a big committee, and it will be fascinating to see who is on it.”

In a letter to Kaler last December Carter prioritized the most important qualifications he believes the next AD should have and that includes being a former Gopher athlete, an M letterwinner. Carter suggested such an individual “would provide immediate credibility as someone who understands the people and the culture of Minnesota and Gopher athletics.”

Carter also called for top level skills in fundraising, and for a person who believes in and is committed to recognizing and implementing the entertainment aspect of Gophers athletics—someone who “rejects the participation model and the mediocrity it produces, and understands how to intelligently invest in the fan experience for all sports.”

Teague was let go last summer and Beth Goetz was announced as interim AD on August 7. Kaler has been deliberate in finding a permanent AD. He has suggested that identifying qualified candidates will be made easier by waiting until spring when sitting athletic directors at other programs are finishing their school years. He plans to announce the name of the search firm this month and have a public review of the AD finalist or finalists late in the spring.

Carter and others wonder why the pace has been slow, particularly when the athletic department is under scrutiny and in need of a turnaround. “They’re in no rush,” Carter said. “It’s going to be a year without an athletic director in a department that is in disarray. I don’t understand it at all. I can’t imagine how they could take this long when this thing is such a mess.

“You know, we got two coaches (hockey’s Don Lucia and basketball’s Pitino) teetering. We’ve got a brand new football coach (Tracy Claeys), the jury is out (on). Attendance is dwindling. We have no brand. We have no tradition left.

“They (the administration) obviously either don’t see—or don’t care to see—the things that guys…that have been around here for 50 years see in that athletic department. I see it as a complete turnaround, a complete starting over, and yet we have waited a year to have a person in charge. I am mystified.”

Carter won’t give his AD vote to Goetz who has never been a major college athletic director. “I think she is a very capable administrator but I don’t think she is what we need right now,” he said.

Kaler might have a different view. “He likes Beth a lot,” Carter said. “I like Beth a lot. He also told me he wished she had more experience, and everyone does. I think that’s the deal-breaker for me. I don’ think it probably is for him. I think his first choice would be Beth Goetz.”

Worth Noting

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Kirby Puckett’s death. Puckett, the club’s centerfielder on two World Series title teams, was a 10-time American League All-Star, six-time Gold Glove Award winner and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

The Timberwolves made a franchise-record 68.4 percent (52-of-76) of their field goals Saturday night in a 132-118 win over the Nets at Target Center. The field goal percentage is the highest by an NBA team since the Clippers shot 69.3 percent against the Raptors in 1998.

The Class 4A boys basketball tournament starts Wednesday. Prep basketball authority Ken Lien rates the teams as follows: 1. Osseo; 2. Hopkins; 3. Apple Valley; 4. Lakeville North; 5. Maple Grove; 6. North St. Paul; 7. Eden Prairie; 8. Blaine. Lien directs the Mr. Basketball award program and the 2016 winner will be announced soon.

Tracy Claeys, now involved with his first spring practice as the Gophers head football coach, speaks to the CORES luncheon group on Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Reservations must be made by today, Monday. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Comments Welcome

U Contractor Role Next for Jerry Kill

Posted on February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 by David Shama

The public may not understand that Jerry Kill will have a role with the University of Minnesota in the coming weeks. News reports last week made it clear the former Gophers football coach and the University couldn’t agree on a full-time position for Kill, but he has accepted an invitation to be an independent contractor for his ex-employer.

Kill was upbeat speaking to Sports Headliners on Friday from Las Vegas where he was vacationing with family. His conversations with Gophers’ interim athletic director Beth Goetz led to an understanding that Kill, depending on his schedule, will be available to appear at University events. “I said whatever works out, if you need me, give me a call,” Kill said.

Goetz tweeted the following last week: “Looking forward to continuing our relationship with Jerry, already planning some great engagement this spring.” (An unsuccessful request for an interview with Goetz was made by Sports Headliners.)

Kill said dates and specifics regarding events for the University are so far undetermined. Since moving from Minneapolis to his lake home in Illinois, Kill has become self-employed with a busy schedule that includes public speaking.

“I don’t know how many times (for University activities)—or even if I am going to be available—because I’ve got a pretty good (busy) schedule,” Kill said. “I think they’re trying to tie some things in there because I am speaking in Minnesota twice in March. I am probably speaking six or seven days in Minnesota in the month of April, so I think I can tie some things in when I am there.”

Kill is revered by University boosters. At the time he resigned as head coach last fall because of his health, he had become the face of the athletic department and the most popular University figure. His influence with school supporters, including financial donors, is needed by the University including for the still in progress fundraising for the Athletes Village project.

Will Kill, as an independent contractor, be asked to raise funds? “If they ask me (to be) in a donor situation, I have no problems with it,” he said. “It’s whatever they need me to do. I have no problems at all.”

Friends of Kill wish he and the University had reached agreement on a full-time position. It appears a stumbling block to such an agreement was defining a role that included the lifetime coach having direct interaction with student-athletes.

Kill, 54, will be in Fort Worth this week helping Gary Patterson, the TCU coach, evaluate the Horned Frogs football team. Kill is still shaping his post-football life but is already involved with speaking assignments, looking after his Chasing Dreams Fund through the Epilepsy Foundation, and writing a book.

Last week he was having fun in Las Vegas with wife Rebecca, and Kill’s brother and his wife. “We don’t ever get to do these kinds of things because we’ve been involved in football so much,” Kill said. “So this is a real treat.”

Did he win any money in Vegas? “No, I haven’t won any money. The first night I dropped $90 and quit.”

Worth Noting

Rivals.com Gophers basketball writer Ryan James praises Rochester John Marshall senior guard Michael Hurt. James said Hurt, who will be on scholarship with the Gophers next season, excels at catching and shooting the ball. He described Hurt as a “hard worker,” effective team defender and a player with a high on-court I.Q. “You can trust Michael,” James told Sports Headliners.

The Gophers’ only scheduled men’s basketball game this season with Wisconsin is Wednesday night at Williams Arena. The Badgers, among the nation’s winningest programs since 2000, have built part of their success on recruiting Minnesota high school players. Wisconsin’s roster this season includes Minnesota natives and reserves Alex Illikainen and Jordan Smith. Illikainen, a 6-9 freshman from Grand Rapids, is averaging 10.9 minutes per game and 2.6 points. Smith, a 6-3 redshirt senior guard from Orono, averages 1 minute and 0.6 points per game.

Gophers football coach Tracy Claeys said that despite going into spring practice tomorrow with a new offensive coordinator “probably about 75 percent of the offense is the same.” As for position switches of players, defensive lineman Mose Hall is moving to offensive tackle for a trial period. Claeys said after five or six practices evaluation will be made about other players possibly switching positions.

Ex-quarterback Chris Streveler will continue as a wide receiver and special teams player. Claeys said he didn’t see a scenario right now where Streveler, who for much of last year was a QB, would return to that position. “The kid works hard,” Claeys said. “He’s a good athlete (and) he loves the game of football.”

Former Gophers administrator Phil Esten, who helped lead planning for TCF Bank Stadium, is involved with a review of Penn State’s facilities for its 800 athletes. Esten is deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer for the Nittany Lions athletic department.

The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association will sponsor two all-star games for seniors this year. The June 25 game for 2016 seniors will be at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. The December 10 game for 2017 seniors will be at the new downtown U.S. Bank Stadium. In 2017 and after, there will be only one all-star game per year and it will be played in December at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Former Eden Prairie High School running back Anthony Anderson is now at Iowa Western Community College and has a scholarship offer from Marshall University, but is still deciding on his college football future, according to Western coach Scott Strohmeier.

The first of 11 Twins spring training games on Fox Sports North will be this Thursday when Minnesota plays the Red Sox in Fort Myers starting at 6:05 p.m.

Rick Prescott from Minneapolis has written a book called “The Dome Is Down: Saying Goodbye to the Metrodome.” The dedication page says, “This book is dedicated to anyone who just before entering the Metrodome for an indoor baseball game on a sunny day, looked up at a beautiful blue sky and thought, ‘Today would be a great day for outdoor baseball.’ ”

WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson is expecting near sellout or sellout crowds for the women’s WCHA Final Face-Off on Saturday and Sunday at Ridder Arena. “We’ve got three of the top 10 ranked teams in the country competing in this tournament, which is outstanding,” he told Sports Headliners.

In the latest USCHO.com national poll Minnesota is ranked No. 2, followed by Wisconsin at No. 3, and North Dakota No. 8. Minnesota Duluth is the fourth team in the tournament involving WCHA teams who advanced from the first round of playoff games.

Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, then starting at 5 p.m. the Gophers play North Dakota in the second semifinal. Winners advance to Sunday’s championship game at 2 p.m.

General admission and reserved seating are available for the tournament. More information about tickets is on the Gophers and WCHA websites.

Comments Welcome

Wild & GM Face Playoff Pressure

Posted on February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 by David Shama

Chuck Fletcher has hired three head coaches for the Wild including interim boss John Torchetti who took over earlier this month for the fired Mike Yeo. A hockey source knowledgeable about the NHL told Sports Headliners that Fletcher, the Wild’s general manager, could be dismissed if the club doesn’t make the playoffs this spring.

The source, who asked that his name not be used, believes Fletcher is under scrutiny by owner Craig Leipold. Fletcher, who was named the team’s general manager in 2009, hired Todd Richards as his first coach shortly after coming to Minnesota. Richards was let go and replaced by Yeo in 2011. Like any general manager, Fletcher will be evaluated for his coaching hires, personnel decisions and overall performance by the team.

The Wild has been unable to make a deep playoff run during the Fletcher era and twice didn’t qualify for the postseason. This year’s team has underachieved and it’s debatable whether Minnesota will qualify for the playoffs. Under Yeo the Wild struggled this winter with goal scoring, and players seemed uptight on the ice.

The Wild impressed winning its first four games under Torchetti who was promoted from Minnesota’s Iowa farm team. The Wild’s roster is talented enough to make the playoffs but the club’s spotty play—including eight consecutive home losses prior to Yeo’s dismissal—has agitated fans.

The source said the Wild may want to raise ticket prices for next season, but a non-playoff spring wouldn’t effectively position a price hike with customers. The club’s winning streak ended in last night’s 4-1 loss to the Islanders. More will be learned about Torchetti and the team after road games Thursday and Friday against the Flyers and Capitals. The interim coach’s fate could be determined by whether Minnesota qualifies for the playoffs.

The Wild are coming off a high from last Sunday’s 6-1 Stadium Series win against the Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium. Although the franchise has long promoted itself as representing the “State of Hockey,” Sunday’s game was the first time the NHL allowed the Wild to host an outdoor contest. The reason? The club’s lackluster won-lost records and image season after season.

The Wild, no doubt, would like to some day host a January 1 NHL Winter Classic, an even more prestigious outdoor game than the Stadium Series. The impressive way the organization handled Sunday’s game will help the cause but there might be a problem. That game didn’t sell out, and Leipold said in the February 21 Star Tribune a reason was because the NHL sent 4,000 tickets to his club on late notice. The Sports Headliners source said the NHL office didn’t like the publicity, and he added that last minute tickets were available for half the face value price.

Worth Noting

The Wild’s next home game is Sunday against the Panthers, the only franchise never to win a regular season game at Xcel Energy Center. All-time Minnesota is 6-0-2 at home against Florida.

The University of Minnesota received $800,000 in rent for last Sunday’s Wild-Blackhawks Stadium Series game.

It was 36 years ago today that the U.S. Olympic Hockey team won its gold medal game against Finland. The “Miracle on Ice” roster included Minnesota players and was led by legendary ex-Gophers coach Herb Brooks. The trainer was Gary Smith who is now working with Eden Prairie High School teams.

Ex-Gophers head football coach Jerry Kill spoke at an NFL seminar in Tampa last Saturday. Speakers included former Gophers quarterback and Vikings assistant coach Tony Dungy who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. Kill told Sports Headliners he will be in Fort Worth next week to help his friend Gary Patterson, the TCU head coach, evaluate the Horned Frogs.

Gophers football coach Tracy Claeys speaks to the CORES luncheon group on Thursday, March 10 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations and more information are available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Minnesota’s first spring football practice is next Tuesday. The annual spring game starts at 12:45 p.m. on April 9 at TCF Bank Stadium.

Gophers’ freshman forward Jordan Murphy earned his eighth double-double of the season last night in Minnesota’s 83-61 win over Rutgers at Williams Arena. He had 19 points and 14 rebounds. That performance followed up on last week’s 17 points and game-high 11 rebounds in Minnesota’s upset win over top-10 nationally ranked Maryland.

Big Ten career scoring leader Rachel Banham plays her last regular season home game tonight for the Gophers against Ohio State. She and fellow seniors Mikayla Bailey and Shayne Mullaney will be recognized in front of an appreciative crowd. Draftsite.com has projected Banham as the first pick in the second round of the 2016 WNBA Draft.

Yesterday would have been the 61st birthday of former Timberwolves coach and executive Flip Saunders who died last fall.

Former AWA tag team champions Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne will sign autographs Saturday as part of the Triple Crown Sports Show at Southtown Center in Bloomington. The “High Flyers” will be available from noon to 2 p.m. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Reader Bob Klas, Jr. noted that among the more obscure Minnesota pro sports franchises not mentioned in Monday’s Sports Headliners column was a short-lived professional bowling team—the Twin Cities Skippers who were part of the National Bowling League and competed at a Bloomington facility that later became the Carlton Celebrity Room. “San Antonio had the good sense not to spend a dime on a facility for their team, as they played every match on the road,” Klas wrote in an e-mail.

1 comment