Gophers Basketball – Page 143 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Coach Likens Jeff Jones Style to A.P.

Posted on February 5, 2014February 6, 2014 by David Shama

Jeff Jones, the Washburn High School running back who is the state’s top prospect, officially committed to the Gophers today on national Signing Day but he will have to improve academically before he can fulfill “the sky’s the limit” potential predicted by his prep coach Giovan Jenkins.

Jones has to improve either his GPA or ACT score before the Gophers open their preseason camp next summer to be eligible for playing time. Jenkins told Sports Headliners he is confident Jones will do the necessary work. “He will do that between now and the end of the school year,” Jenkins said.

Jones told Sports Headliners he needs to raise his ACT score to a 19, two points better than his best right now. He is determined to become eligible and has no thoughts about attending junior college.

Jones decided over the weekend to choose the Gophers over Iowa State. The relationship he built during the recruiting process with the Gophers staff including head coach Jerry Kill was a deciding factor in selecting Minnesota. “I don’t want to pick a school where a coach is happy now and he loves the way I play now, but when I get there he’s a totally different person,” Jones said. “I didn’t see that in coach Kill at all.”

As a Minneapolis native, Jones is aware of the post graduation opportunities that attending college in his hometown can provide. He said only “one percent” of football players go on to a career in the NFL.

Why did he wait until this morning to announce his decision in front of an audience including media at Washburn High School? He wanted to add a little theater to the process and “keep Minnesota fans on their toes.”

Jones is the only Rivals.com four-star prospect in the Gophers 2014 recruiting class. He’s also the biggest name among Minnesota prep players that Kill has signed since taking over as Gophers coach in December of 2010.

Jenkins compares his all-state, Mr. Football award winner to a runner Minnesota sports fans know all about. “His running style is similar to Adrian Peterson. He’s big and strong and fast. I think he may have a little bit better vision. He might have a better first step in terms of his explosion.

“His top-end speed might not be quite as good as Adrian Peterson but in terms of just being dominating and people not wanting to stand in his way and tackle him, he reminds me most of Adrian Peterson with his running style.”

Jenkins said Jones loves competition. Even at football camps Jones will identify the better defenders and want to compete against them in drills. And although the Gophers have a returning starter in David Cobb, who rushed for 1,202 yards last season, Jones will push for playing time. “That’s just going to make him come in and work harder,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins believes Jones could also challenge for playing time as a slot receiver. At Washburn, Jones was a valuable pass receiver because of his running ability and exceptional hands. “He can catch the ball with the best of them,” Jenkins said.

Jones could also make big plays for the Gophers returning kickoffs like he did in high school. Will he be used in that role at Minnesota? “I sure hope so because every time he has the ball in his hands he has the possibility of taking it to the house,” Jenkins said.

At Washburn, the 6-foot, 200-pound Jones scored 44 touchdowns his senior season including 34 rushing and eight receiving, according to MaxPreps.com. He averaged 9.13 yards per carry rushing and helped the Millers to a fifth straight Minneapolis City Conference title under Jenkins.

Jones was a last minute invite to the prestigious Under Armour All-America Game in Florida last month but he made a big impression, gaining 72 yards and being named Team Nitro MVP. Jenkins attended the prep all-star game and observers couldn’t believe Jones came to the event as a reserve.

Jenkins said the Washburn coaches have held Jones accountable for his behavior, wanting to make sure he carried himself with the right attitude. “It would be easy for a young man with his athletic ability to be, let’s just say, pretty cocky and that’s not the case with him,” Jenkins said.

The Gophers have been recruiting Jones for a couple of years and offered him a scholarship after his sophomore season. Becoming involved early with Minnesota led to a verbal commitment by Jones about a year ago. Then later Jones opened up the recruiting process, exploring other schools but the Gophers didn’t waver in their commitment to him.

Jones is aware of Kill’s reputation for taking care of his players, looking out for their best interests. Loyalty is important to Jones who could have left Washburn and not finished his football career there. Instead of choosing a state power program, he stayed with Jenkins and Washburn, a program that doesn’t have the roster depth of long ago when the Millers could play with any team in Minnesota.

Jones admired Kenith Pope, the former Iowa State running backs coach no longer with the program. Pope’s departure may have hurt the Cyclones’ chances of getting him.

“Jeff Jones is a relationship kid,” Jenkins said.

The Gophers found that out today.

Worth Noting

The Gophers basketball team can enhance their chances of making the NCAA Tournament next month with a win tonight at Purdue where they have lost six consecutive games. The Gophers, 4-5 in the Big Ten and 15-7 overall, have lost two straight after upset wins at home against Ohio State and Wisconsin last month.

Minnesota has won only one Big Ten road game so far. The most recent road defeat came in Lincoln against a mediocre Nebraska team. “We’re struggling on the road right now so we gotta get a big road win,” said Gophers point guard DeAndre Mathieu.

Mathieu was a hero in the Wisconsin victory, frequently driving the lane to score and finishing the game with 18 points. Since then defenses have paid more attention, often having two defenders ready for him in the lane. Mathieu said the strategy stops him from driving all the way to the basket but he can adjust. “I just gotta get better at finding guys (passing to teammates) and shooting pull-up jump shots.”

The Gophers were able to win the Wisconsin game without leading scorer Andre Hollins after he was injured in the opening minute. However, their drive for the NCAA Tournament likely will be determined by how soon he plays again after missing two games since, losses to Nebraska and Northwestern. Hollins, averaging 15.4 points per game, might play this week—if not tonight then on Saturday at home against Indiana.

Austin Hollins’ dad, Lionel Hollins, coached the NBA’s Grizzlies last season before being replaced by Staples, Minnesota native Dave Joerger. Hollins said his dad, 60, is taking “it easy” but hopes to coach again.

Brainerd High School coach Ron Stolski is proud of Logan McElfresh who will walk-on with the Gophers as a punter. Stolski e-mailed that McElfresh, 6-2, 205, punted, kicked off, played tight end, quarterback and running back for last year’s 12-1 Warriors team.

“Averaged around 38 yards per punt with outstanding hang time,” Stolski wrote. “Highly rated punter by several kicking ‘experts.’ Attended a number of kicking camps in off-season and performed very well. Gophers plan to try him as punter only. Will need to develop consistency. Could be a real find!”

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame will have seven inductees at a banquet on March 29 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Being honored are: Jon Bakken, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown; Dave Fritze, Eagan; Mike Grant, Forest Lake and Eden Prairie; Tom Idstrom, Anoka and Irondale; Dave Nelson, Blaine and Minnetonka; Larry Thompson, Lakeville and Lakeville South; Marc Trestman, St. Louis Park and Chicago Bears. Tickets are $35 each and available at MFCA.com (click on advertisement on this page).

Cretin-Derham Hall alum and former Viking center Matt Birk will be the headline speaker at the MFCA Clinic March 28 at the DoubleTree Hotel. The full clinic will take place March 27-29. The Gophers and Vikings will partner with the MFCA on the clinic.

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Dutcher Predicts U NCAA Tourney Invite

Posted on January 29, 2014January 29, 2014 by David Shama

Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners he expects the Gophers — a team predicted to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings — to make the NCAA Tournament in March.

The Gophers, 4-4, have been a surprise team in the Big Ten even though they let a bull’s-eye opportunity for a win get away on Sunday when the Cornhuskers, now 2-5, defeated Minnesota 82-78 in Lincoln. Dutcher didn’t see that coming but he still believes the Gophers will win enough games to make the tournament, even without injured leading scorer Andre Hollins who is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.

The Big Ten will likely have the highest (or near highest) RPI of any conference and Dutcher said that means the tournament selection committee will be looking for six Big Ten teams. “There’s enough winnable games left that they can still get to 10 games (wins),” the Gophers former head coach said. “Even if they get to nine they’re going to make the tournament because they’re going to want to take a minimum of six Big Ten teams. …The Gophers would have to fall flat on their faces not to finish in the top six (in the conference).”

The Gophers play Northwestern, 3-5, at home on Saturday. Then go to Purdue, 3-4, February 5 before playing Indiana, 3-4, in Minneapolis on February 8.

“They should be favored in all three of them (those games),” Dutcher said. “Then they got a home game coming with Penn State (1-6). They got a home game with Illinois coming (2-6). You gotta think that they can win those games. So they wouldn’t have to really come out (and) upset a bunch of people to get into the tournament.”

Dutcher said the Gophers, now with an overall record of 15-6, can win the next three games without Hollins. He knows, however, the value of a player he describes as the team’s best offensively. “They probably would love to have him available on the fifth of February at Purdue,“ Dutcher said.

Dutcher believes the Gophers have “much better personnel” than Northwestern. He also said Purdue “struggles to score points” but Indiana will be a more difficult game and one that could go either way.

“I think 10 (wins) still is a reasonable number but they’re going to have to guard somebody,” Dutcher said. “They can’t give a guy like Petteway 35 points.”

Terran Petteway led Nebraska in scoring with a career high on Sunday night. The Cornhuskers made 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the game. And in Minnesota’s previous road loss, Iowa converted 49.2 percent of its field goal attempts during a high scoring 94-73 game.

Dutcher, who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title, pointed out that in the Nebraska game point guard DeAndre Mathieu had nine turnovers. “He didn’t make good decisions,” Dutcher said.

Last year’s Gophers were 8-10 in the Big Ten during the regular season and finished seventh in the conference. That club was 20-12 overall after the Big Ten Tournament and received an NCAA Tournament invitation.

Worth Noting

Isaiah Gentry, the 6-4 wide receiver from Cincinnati Moeller High School, verbally committed to the Gophers last night. He is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent on February 5.

Iowa State hired former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino as offensive coordinator earlier this month. Mangino, who once was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and made Kansas a top 10 team, will be Jeff Jones’ coordinator if the Washburn High School Rivals.com four-star player decides to attend school in Ames and not Minneapolis.

Nikola Pekovic scored 22 points when the Wolves defeated the Pelicans earlier this month. That was one of 17 times this season he has totaled more than 20 points but with bursitis in his right ankle sidelining him indefinitely he won’t be on the court tonight when the Wolves and Pelicans play at Target Center.

The DeLaSalle High School basketball team has high profile players in Reid Travis and Jarvis Johnson but Sacar Anim has been leading the team in scoring average. Ryan James, reporting for Gopherillustrated.com, wrote on Monday the Islanders’ wing is averaging a team best 15.9 points per game and being recruited by Creighton, Iowa, Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin.

Taste of the NFL, a Twin Cities-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing hunger in America, has raised more than $14 million dollars for local and national food banks, providing more than 112 million meals. This year’s event will take place Saturday, on the eve of the Super Bowl, at Pier 12 of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Taste of the NFL was created in 1992 by Cuisine Concepts co-owners Wayne Kostroski and Mark Haugen, the restaurateurs from Goodfellow’s, Tejas, Bar Abilene and the Franklin Street Bakery.

In recognition of the Taste of the NFL, Kostroski rang the closing bell yesterday for the New York Stock Exchange.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the estimated local economic impact from next July’s MLB All-Star Game is about $85 million.

A hockey source told Sports Headliners he expects Minneapolis-St. Paul to host an outdoor NHL game in the “next couple of years.” The Red Wings used Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor for their game with the Maple Leafs while Comerica Park in Detroit was the site of other hockey events as part of the NHL Winter Classic promotion. A similar setup could be done here using both TCF Bank Stadium and Target Field.

The WCHA hopes to have a new commissioner by the end of March to replace retiring Bruce McLeod.

Not sure if the thought warms you but the “World’s Toughest Rodeo” will be indoors at Xcel Energy Center Friday and Saturday nights.

KSTP TV sports director Joe Schmit has written a book, Sudden Impact: Stories of Influence through Purpose, Persistence & Passion. The book includes stories about Larry Fitzgerald, Joe Mauer and Paul Molitor. More at Joeschmit.com.

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Decker: from Cold Spring to Super Bowl

Posted on January 27, 2014January 27, 2014 by David Shama

Over 100 million TV viewers will watch wide receiver Eric Decker on Sunday in the Super Bowl when his team, the Broncos, plays the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Competing on football’s biggest stage is something that seemed unlikely when Decker was catching passes for ROCORI High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, a town of about 4,294 located near St. Cloud.

Decker had 1,288 receiving yards last season for the Broncos, ranking 12^th in the NFL. He had 1,017 as a high school senior at ROCORI High where he did attract enough attention to make the Associated Press all-state team.

But Decker wasn’t exactly pestered by college recruiters during his senior year in Cold Spring. “I knew when we recruited him he was good but no one else was recruiting him,” former Gophers coach Glen Mason told Sports Headliners.

Well, not exactly no one. Division III Saint John’s was excited about having Decker play in Collegeville. After Decker accepted the Gophers’ scholarship offer, Johnnies coach John Gagliardi called Mason and said, “Darn you.”

Mason recalled Gagliardi thought he had a “great one” that no one knew about. “He (Decker) was just a big, good looking athlete who ran and caught the ball,” Mason said.

Despite injuries Decker became one of the best wide receivers in Gophers history, showing speed and extraordinary ability to make difficult catches while playing with courage. In the 2010 NFL draft the Broncos selected Decker in the third round.

Decker is now a focal point in the Broncos’ offense as a starter catching 13 touchdown passes during the 2012 season and 11 last season. With iconic quarterback Peyton Manning, the Broncos led the NFL in passing and total offense yardage per game during the past regular season.

Mason, who attended Decker’s wedding last summer to country music performer Jessie James, texted congratulations to his former wide receiver after the Broncos qualified for the Super Bowl. Mason predicted a Broncos win in the game on Sunday and said Decker told him Manning is “just a complete professional.”

The same could be said about Decker who has long been known for his attitude and work ethic. That’s part of the formula of how you go from Cold Spring to the Super Bowl.

Worth Noting

Decker played part of his Gophers career for Tim Brewster who succeeded Mason as coach after the 2006 season. Brewster is an assistant coach on the Florida State team that won the national championship earlier this month. Now Decker has an opportunity to win a Super Bowl.

Decker reportedly accepted a contract extension in December worth $39.62 million over five years.

John Schneider, a 1994 St. Thomas alum, is the Seahawks general manager and regarded as one of the NFL’s top executives. He and Seahawks coach Pete Caroll, a Vikings assistant coach from 1985-1989, have been praised for their work in the NFL draft.

Cordarrelle Patterson, the Vikings rookie last season who was named an all-pro kick returner by Associated Press, would be taken No. 8 in the 2013 NFL draft, according to a draft “re-do” posted by S.I.com’s Don Banks last Thursday. Patterson was chosen at No. 29 in the first round by the Vikings.

In 2014 the Vikings have the No. 8 pick in the first round of the draft. Among names drawing speculation are UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, and two quarterbacks, Central Florida’s Blake Bortles and Fresno State’s Derek Carr. Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater is another quarterback who might be available.

The Gophers’ Ra’Shede Hageman was asked to play defensive end in Saturday’s Senior Bowl. Giovan Jenkins, the Washburn High School coach who talked with Hageman last weekend, said scouts are telling Hageman he needs to be “interchangeable,” meaning he could play end or tackle for a pro team.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday morning that his two walk-on junior college transfer fullbacks, Miles Thomas and Riley Oharah, have impressed with their toughness since coming to Minnesota this month. Both are from Butler Community College in Kansas.

Cross their fingers, the Gophers are hoping combo guard Andre Hollins will be able to play soon after injuring his left ankle against Wisconsin last week. The Gophers, after losing 82-78 at Nebraska last night, don’t play again until Saturday at Williams Arena against Northwestern.

Without Hollins, their best player, the Gophers had no one step forward in a big way last night except shooting guard Malik Smith who scored 18 points in the first half and finished with 29, mostly from three pointers. Point guard DeAndre Mathieu, who was exceptional in leading the upset over the Badgers, had nine turnovers last night and sat for much of the first half with two fouls. He was ineffective against Nebraska’s double teams. The Gophers, now 4-4 in the Big Ten, were mostly a one-man effort against the mediocre Cornhuskers, 2-5.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the organization expects to renew about 85 percent of its season tickets for a total of more than 17,000. The club sold more than 20,000 season tickets in earlier seasons at Target Field but disappointing play on the field has impacted interest, although St. Peter predicted the team is headed for a turnaround.

FOX Sports North will televise all 16 Twins spring training games from Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers starting with the March 1 game against the Red Sox.

Former second baseman and 1991 Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on August 23 at Target Field when the Twins play the Tigers. He didn’t endear himself to many Twins fans after leaving for the Yankees so expect a reserved but polite welcome on August 23.

Ex-WCCO TV news anchor and sports fan Don Shelby will be the speaker for the University of St. Thomas First Friday Speaker Series on March 7. More information about the luncheon is available by calling the St. Thomas Alumni Association, 651-962-6430.

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