Gophers Basketball – Page 142 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Need to Avoid Panic Hire

Posted on January 8, 2014January 8, 2014 by David Shama

Dave Mona was retained as a consultant by the University of Minnesota in 2010 to assist in the search for a new football coach. It was a successful process leading to the hire of Jerry Kill as coach.

Hiring Northern Illinois’ Kill, a low profile coach who didn’t come from a football power conference, wasn’t enthusiastically endorsed by the public. However, Kill has improved the Gophers in each of his three seasons, demonstrating he has a plan and the ability to build a competitive Big Ten Conference program.

Mona, a University of Minnesota alum and now a recently retired business executive, isn’t surprised by Kill’s success. He and then Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi were repeatedly told during the search that Kill was viewed as a special coach by his peers.

Mona learned lessons during the search that apply to the Vikings who are looking for a head coach to replace Leslie Frazier. At some point there will be a candidate or two the Vikings will like a lot before completing their reviews. “There’s a bit of a panic factor that you don’t want to lose your guy,” Mona told Sports Headliners. “The thing (the search) gets compressed. In business, a search might take months, a series of interviews.”

The Vikings fired Frazier in late December. General Manager Rick Spielman wants to have a new coach by January 25, if not sooner. Spielman and Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf face that deadline and the competition of several other NFL teams looking for head coaches while knowing assistant coaches are in demand also.

Mona said if multiple NFL teams make hires before the Vikings, the organization can’t panic. “Can you stand up to the criticism you’re going to get in the media? ‘What’s wrong with the Vikings? Why aren’t they making their move?’

“I think no matter how tough Spielman is, it’s hard to resist that (pressure) when it looks like you’re falling behind the pack (even though) you may be doing it the right way.”

A factor sometimes receiving minimal mention during searches is “chemistry” between the decision-makers who have to work together. “You need to have strong chemistry between the ownership, the general manager and the coach who is hired,” Mona said. “…If there’s not good chemistry and you get off to a bad start, it rarely gets better. I think you’ve got to have people who philosophically are on the same page.”

Coaching searches often result in hires who are the opposite of the leaders they replace. A coach with a reputation for being offensive oriented is replaced by a defensive authority. A rah-rah leader is hired to take over for a coach who was quiet on and off the field.

Mona was warned by human resources experts about hiring opposites. “You have to be careful not to go too far because in solving one problem, you might create another,” he said.

The co-host for years of the Sunday morning WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” program, Mona has followed the Vikings since the franchise began in 1961. How does he describe the type of coach the club should hire?

“Ideally, I think this person is going to have to identify and develop a quarterback that can lead the team for the next decade. Someone with proven experience recognizing and developing skill in quarterbacks.

“I (also) think a good evaluator of people and the ability to put out a team that reflects what’s happening in a changing league. We’ve been a solid 4-3 team. There’s a lot of success out there with 3-4 defenses. There are offensive schemes we’ve probably stayed away from.”

Worth Noting

Expect a high school quarterback and junior college linebacker to enroll at the University of Minnesota later this month. Both would take part in spring football, with the quarterback having four years of eligibility and the linebacker three.

Gophers offensive tackle Ben Lauer has been named to the Football Writers Association Freshman All-America Team. He was a first team selection.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will visit Rice Lake, Wisconsin later this month to see highly recruited prep star Henry Ellenson, brother of Gophers sophomore forward Wally Ellenson.

The Gophers basketball team plays at Penn State tonight against a Nittany Lions roster that includes freshman guard Graham Woodward from Edina. Woodward has played in 12 games, averaging 2.6 points per game.

The Gophers avoided a 0-2 start in the Big Ten season by defeating Purdue, 82-79, on Sunday at Williams Arena. Coach Richard Pitino’s Gophers lost their first conference game last Thursday against Michigan at Williams Arena.

“Coach said it wasn’t really a must-win (Sunday) but we felt it was a must-win as a team,” said Minnesota guard DeAndre Mathieu. “…0-2 in the Big Ten wouldn’t have been what we expected. We expected to be 2-0 and we came out 1-1. We’ll just have to be satisfied (with) 1-1.”

The Gophers wore gold home uniforms for the Michigan game and then brought out their home whites on Sunday. Are they superstitious about uniforms? “I think so because we won every game in the whites so far,” Mathieu said. “Even the big game over Florida State we wore the whites.”

The Gophers led Purdue by 19 points multiple times but the game was close in the final minutes. Pitino said the first 35 minutes of the game’s 40 minutes “absolutely” were his team’s best of the season.

A look at the most immediate games ahead on the schedule indicates how important the Purdue win was. Although PennState is 0-2 in the Big Ten with 16 and 20 point losses to Michigan State and Illinois, Minnesota knows road wins don’t come easy (last season the Gophers lost eight of nine away from home). After Penn State the Gophers have consecutive games with top 25 ranked teams—at Michigan State, home against Ohio State, at Iowa and home with Wisconsin. OSU, MSU and Wisconsin are ranked among the top five teams in the nation.

Gophers forward Oto Osenieks was inspired as a teenager in his native Latvia when he watched American basketball on TV. He came to the United States where he first played AAU basketball followed by one year of high school competition. He has become a starter for the Gophers as a redshirt junior and turns 23 in March. “I am old,” he said.

There is an extraordinary new sports book on Ted Williams that reports on his life including the 1938 season with the Minneapolis Millers. There are other Minnesota references including to Bob Short who moved the Lakers from Minneapolis to Los Angeles before buying baseball’s Washington Senators and making Williams his manager. The Kid The Immortal Life of Ted Williams is written by investigative journalist Ben Bradlee, Jr. and is 855 pages.

Right wing Eriah Hayes, a La Crescent, Minnesota native, has played in two games for the NHL Sharks since being recalled from Worcester of the AHL. The former Minnesota State, Mankato player had eight points in 29 games for Worcester, his first full season of pro hockey. During the 2012-13 college season he led the nation in shots on goal with 186.

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Dutcher Won’t Judge Pitino Too Soon

Posted on January 3, 2014January 3, 2014 by David Shama

Jim Dutcher is impressed with Richard Pitino but told Sports Headliners not to completely judge the first-year Gophers coach for a couple of years until results of his recruiting will be apparent.

Dutcher, the 1982 Minnesota Big Ten championship coach, said Pitino and his staff “did everything right” when the Gophers were a surprising 11-2 during the nonconference season. Last night in their Big Ten opener the Gophers impressed with their energy and rebounding (38 to 24 advantage) but couldn’t make enough plays late in the game against Michigan, losing 63-60.

“He’s done everything you could hope for,” Dutcher said prior to the Michigan game. “There’s a reason to be optimistic but it’s too early to be really optimistic. We don’t know. Tubby had undefeated (and one loss) nonconference seasons. Then the conference was a whole different deal.”

Pitino wasn’t hired to replace Gophers coach Tubby Smith until early April of last year. It was a surprise move by athletic director Norwood Teague because the then 30-year-old Pitino had only one year of college head coaching experience — with low profile Florida International of the Sun Belt Conference.

Pitino didn’t seem like a logical choice to skeptical fans. Doubts surfaced because Pitino looked like an afterthought with established coaches like Shaka Smart, Buzz Williams and Flip Saunders reportedly turning the job down.

Was hiring Pitino a good decision? “I’ll tell you after he’s had two recruiting classes,” Dutcher answered. “The secret to winning in any program is getting good players. I don’t care how good a coach you are, if you don’t have good players you’re not going to do well. Whether this staff can recruit, we won’t know that for a couple (or) three years. We won’t know how successful they’re going to be.”

Smith was hired after a long run of success at Kentucky including a national championship. Both his coaching and recruiting, though, faltered over six seasons at Minnesota. He was fired after compiling a 46-62 regular season Big Ten record.

“The jury is definitely out (on Pitino),” Dutcher said. “When people ask me, I say we don’t know. They were having parades and putting up banners when Tubby was hired, and you know where it was five years later.”

And then there is this: Pitino was asked about building his program during the postgame news conference last night. “I think it’s all about recruiting,” he said.

Worth Noting

The Gophers reported 11,800 tickets sold as of this morning for Sunday’s Purdue home game. Williams Arena capacity is 14,625.

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders was at last night’s Minnesota-Michigan game to watch his twin daughters, Kim and Rachel, perform for the Gophers national championship dance team.

The new Vikings stadium scheduled to open in 2016 will have many enhancements compared to the Metrodome but for the general public none may be appreciated more than the restrooms. The new stadium will have 979 restroom fixtures compared with 435 at the dome.

Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin all lost bowl games because of ineffective passing games and not being able to come from behind at halftimes. Gophers coach Jerry Kill is rebuilding the Gophers the way he planned, making defense priority No.1. Since the 2011 season the Gophers are 0-21 in games when trailing at halftime. Look for that to change next fall.

Washburn running back Jeff Jones was the MVP for Team Nitro in yesterday’s Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown, according to Espn.com. Team Highlight defeated Team Nitro 31-21 in the prep all-star game. Jones has verbally committed to Minnesota although he is drawing more attention from college recruiters and was offered a scholarship this week by Florida.

Eric Curry, who is both a college basketball referee and VP of sales at Sun Country Airlines, is engaged to Gophers assistant women’s basketball coach Kelly Roysland. The two became engaged late last year and are finalizing a wedding date.

The 18^th annual Timberwolves Shootout’s first game tomorrow (9:15 a.m.) matches the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks against the Lakeville North Panthers. Lakeville is led by senior J.P. Macura, a Xavier recruit who has been averaging 37.4 points per game. The Thunderhawks’ starters include junior Alex Illikainen who could finish his high school career as the state’s all-time leading rebounder.

The Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders and Bettendorf (Iowa) Bulldogs will play in the second game at 11 a.m. Then at 12:45 p.m. the DeLaSalle Islanders meet the St. Rita Mustangs from Chicago. The Islanders’ Reid Travis, who averaged 26.1 points per game last year, has yet to play this season because of a broken bone in his foot. The Mustangs are led by Victor Law, a Northwestern signee who is ranked No. 66 by ESPN in the class of 2014 and junior Charles Matthews, ranked No. 11 in the 2015 class, and has received offers from Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State.

The Shootout’s last game matches the Apple Valley Eagles against the Blue Valley Northwest Huskies from Overland Park, Kansas starting at 2:30 p.m. Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones has been averaging 28.8 points per game this season. The Huskies’ starters include Clayton Custer, an Iowa State signee and two-time first team Class 6A selectee.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien thinks the final game of the day could be the best with two teams that are defending state champions. “Blue Valley really has a traditionally strong program,” he said.

All Shootout games are at Target Center. Fans with tickets to watch the Timberwolves versus Oklahoma City game at 7 p.m. tomorrow night are admitted free to the Shootout. Otherwise, tickets to watch all four games are available tomorrow for $15 at the Target Center box office.

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Austin Hollins Gives Gophers B- Grade

Posted on January 1, 2014January 1, 2014 by David Shama

The Gophers, 11-2 in nonconference games, begin their Big Ten schedule tomorrow night against Michigan, 8-4. Two months ago this looked like a game Minnesota was unlikely to win but the Gophers impressed during the nonconference schedule while the Wolverines, a preseason top 10 choice, are without center Mitch McGary, the 6-10, 255-pound potential All-American forward-center who has back problems.

The Gophers surprised with their performance during November and December. Preseason predictions had the Gophers, who lack size, skills and depth in the frontcourt, finishing near the bottom of the Big Ten. But during the nonconference the Gophers played to their strengths including harassing defense, three point shooting, fast breaks, maximum effort from players and making good use of their talented backcourt personnel. The focus was evident to new coach Richard Pitino who said “no eggs were laid mentally” during the nonconference schedule.

The Gophers won all their games at home including a Big Ten/ACC Challenge win over Florida State. In the Gophers’ only road game they defeated a now 10-4 Richmond team at Richmond. The Spiders also have an overtime loss at Wake Forest and 10 point neutral court loss to North Carolina. In neutral court games in Hawaii the Gophers put a scare into now No. 2 ranked Syracuse, and also lost to Arkansas, and defeated Chaminade during the Maui Invitational.

Guard and captain Austin Hollins said confidence is “very high” as the Gophers get ready to open their conference season with home games tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon with Purdue. How does he grade the Gophers so far?

“I would say like a B minus,” Hollins answered. “We can get a lot better, and this is just the beginning. We’ve got a long season ahead of us, the Big Ten season, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Gophers 6-11 junior center Elliott Eliason has been the MVP in the front court. Among Big Ten players during nonconference games he ranked second in blocked shots at 2.3 per game and fourth in rebounds per game at 8.2.

Eliason has observed the progress of a roster that only has a few returning players with experience who produced in past seasons. “We’ve come a long ways from the summer,” he said. “We didn’t know coach Pitino. It’s a new everything (including philosophy and style of play). You kind of have a little chip on your shoulder when you’re picked ninth in the Big Ten. (But) we handled our business in the nonconference pretty well and now we need to handle our business in the Big Ten. We’ve got two tough tests at home right away.”

The Gophers use a lot of energy with their max effort style of play, running and jumping at both ends of the court. To be successful in the Big Ten, Eliason said Minnesota will typically need eight or nine players to contribute each game. Those contributions could range from chasing down loose balls to making free throws.

“We’re gonna have to have it. It’s what it’s going to take to be successful,” said Eliason. “Every guy is gonna have to give something every night.”

Eliason knows from previous seasons how important it is to win at home. “It’s so hard to play on the road. Every time you get a road win it’s gravy.”

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher has been impressed with Pitino’s coaching. “For this team to be 11-2, I think Pitino has really managed the team well. He’s not bullheaded. He’ll do whatever he has to do to get the win. Change defenses, change lineups. I think it’s encouraging.”

Dutcher predicts the Gophers will finish seventh in the Big Ten. If so, that will compare favorably with last season’s more talented team that tied for seventh in the league standings.

Dutcher believes Michigan State is the Big Ten’s best team and he also predicts Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Illinois will finish ahead of the Gophers. Michigan State “played the best schedule” among Big Ten teams during the nonconference season and has talented starters. “Their history (as a program) is they get better,” Dutcher said. In a league game yesterday, MSU defeated Penn State.

Dutcher likes Ohio State’s quickness and conference best defense giving up 54 points per game during the nonleague schedule. The Buckeyes were 13-0 during a soft nonconference schedule before defeating Purdue on the road yesterday in their Big Ten opener. “They really didn’t play anybody,” Dutcher said.

“Wisconsin is the surprise team,” Dutcher said. “They graduated four starters and here they are again.” The Badgers have impressive nonleague wins including over Florida, and Dutcher said sophomore forward Sam Dekker is the league’s best player so far.

“Iowa is close to the most talented team in the league,” Dutcher said. “I think Iowa can be good.” The Hawkeyes defeated Nebraska in their Big Ten opener yesterday.

Michigan sophomore guard Nik Stauskas is making 47 percent of his three point shots. He typifies a Michigan offense that emphasizes three pointers. Although the Wolverines don’t have McGary, Michigan’s front court depth eases the transition, Dutcher said.

Illinois gave up only 60.6 points per game during the nonconference schedule, tied with Wisconsin for second best in the league. The Illini scoring is led by junior guard Rayvonte Rice who averaged 18.2 points in nonconference games. Illinois defeated Indiana yesterday in a Big Ten opening game.

Ohio State is ranked No. 3 in the country, Wisconsin No. 4 and Michigan State No. 5. Iowa is No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the USA Today coaches poll.

Worth Noting

Washburn running back Jeff Jones has received a scholarship offer this week from the University of Florida. Jones, a four-star recruit who has a soft verbal commitment to the Gophers, has been practicing in the Orlando area for the Under Armour All-America Game, a national prep all-star game to be played tomorrow on ESPN.

“Jeff Jones was offered by Florida as a result of all his hard work down here the last couple days,” Washburn coach Giovan Jenkins told Sports Headliners. “I guess he’s just been tearing it up from what I heard.”

Tommy Davis, a former all-conference guard for Dutcher who played on Minnesota’s 1982 Big Ten championship team, was in town last weekend. Davis played pro basketball in France until he was 40 and now coaches in Bordeaux. Davis is now a French and American citizen. “He speaks and writes and is fluent in French,” Dutcher said.

In his final game of the season Vikings rookie wide receiver and kickoff returner Cordarrelle Patterson left fans with a can’t wait attitude for 2014. Patterson scored the team’s only touchdowns in the 14-13 win over the Lions including a spectacular club record 50 yard run, the longest ever by a Vikings receiver. He also added 51 yards to his season total for kickoff returns setting another team record. For the year Patterson returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, including one for an NFL record 109 yards, and totaled 1,393 return yards.

The Vikings Greg Jennings, an NFL wide receiver for eight seasons, has a nickname for Patterson. “I call him The Special. Special people do special things and you see it every time you get the ball in his hands. He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen.

“I’ve seen a lot of players come through this league and I can’t say I’ve seen one that has been more explosive. There may be some that have been as special but he’s right there with them.”

Vikings reserve quarterback Josh Freeman is a free agent in 2014. He told Sports Headliners in coming weeks he will work on physical conditioning and “evaluate the situation” regarding where he to play in 2014.

The Vikings 5-10-1 record this season means they will have the No. 8 pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Locally there will be support to choose dynamic Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel who is an underclassman but is expected to enter the draft. His scrambling is reminiscent of Vikings Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin play in bowl games today. Only Wisconsin is favored to win, but a couple of victories today would provide a boost to the Big Ten’s sagging football reputation. For years the conference has disappointed in postseason games and in 2013 Minnesota and Michigan have already lost. Maryland and Rutgers, two programs that join the Big Ten next fall, have also been defeated in bowl games.

Ex-Becker High School tight end Matt Veldman moved up from the Lions practice squad last week and played on special teams in Detroit’s loss to the Vikings on Sunday at Mall of America Field. A former captain and tight end at North Dakota State, Veldman is the 76^th former player from the Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game to play or coach in the NFL.

Mike Tyson holds a news conference tomorrow afternoon in Minneapolis to enhance interest in the ESPN Friday Night Fights event at Target Center January 3. The evening’s 12-round main event will be an IBF Super Featherweight Championship fight between champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KOs) from Brooklyn versus No. 1-ranked and undefeated challenger Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (19-0, 12 KOs) from Miami.

The card includes several Minnesotans and features a 10-round televised semi-final non-title bout between USBA Middleweight Champion Caleb “Golden” Truax (23-1, 4 KOs) from Osseo against Ossie The Ghanaian Gladiator Duran (28-11-2, 11 KOs) from Patterson, New Jersey. A crowd of about 4,000 is expected to produce one of the largest ticket revenues in local boxing in a decade.

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