Gophers Basketball – Page 144 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Give Teague Credit for Pitino Hire

Posted on January 24, 2014January 25, 2014 by David Shama

It took courage for first-year athletic director Norwood Teague to dismiss Tubby Smith as Gophers basketball coach last March. Then Teague stuck his neck out further by hiring 30-year-old Richard Pitino as Smith’s successor.

Smith faltered at Minnesota, unable to win even half of his Big Ten games, but because of his stature as a basketball icon the firing was criticized locally and nationally. Teague, though, believed he could find individuals more capable of leading the Gophers’ program.

When Teague seemed to whiff on a number of rumored candidates to succeed Smith, Gophers fans wondered who would end up with the job. And when Gophers alum and Dinkytown hero Flip Saunders couldn’t strike a deal with Teague there were plenty of passionate fans ticked off.

After 10 months on the job Pitino has the program flirting with 2014 success and teasing with what might develop in future seasons. The Gophers are a surprising 4-3 in the Big Ten and 15-5 overall. In the last nine days Minnesota has rocked Williams Arena and made national news with upset wins over early season basketball powers Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Gophers deputy athletic director David Benedict, who starts a new job on Monday as Auburn athletics chief operating officer, was part of the administrative team involved with interviewing candidates to replace Smith. The group also included Teague and senior associate athletic director Mike Ellis who oversees basketball.

“I am not going to take a lot of credit for Richard’s hiring,” said Benedict. “Norwood has done that before and Mike Ellis has been involved with those hires.”

Benedict referred to the hiring of Anthony Grant and Shaka Smart. Grant was hired by Teague at VCU and after making his reputation there accepted the head coaching job at Alabama. Smart succeeded him at VCU and his fiery defensive teams have emerged as part of college basketball’s culture. “There’s no reason to believe Richard is not another young superstar in college basketball,” Benedict said.

Pitino and staff have impressed with their teaching. They spend considerable time with the players working on individual skills. Then at team practices they blend those skills into the group concept.

The result has been players, who once looked like they couldn’t play competitively in the Big Ten, are contributing to the success of a team that observers believed last fall had only minimal talent in guards Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins. Players like centers Elliott Eliason and Mo Walker have become difference-makers and so, too, have two players Pitino added to the roster, point guard DeAndre Mathieu and shooting guard Malik Smith.

A Big Ten TV commentator said this week Eliason is the most improved player in the Big Ten. Walker has lost 65 pounds since last season and without his 18 points off the bench the Gophers wouldn’t have won against Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Mathieu had been a walk-on at another college and Smith was lightly recruited out of high school.

Whether Pitino can ultimately make the Gophers a conference and national power will be determined by recruiting. But Benedict said the “recruiting piece” is probably his least area of concern. Pitino polished his recruiting as an assistant coach working for two former national championship coaches, his father Rick Pitino at Louisville and Billy Donovan at Florida.

Benedict said Pitino’s recruiting network, relationships, experience and work ethic will result in success. Identifying Mathieu and Smith as potential contributors and bringing them to Minnesota are early indicators of Pitino’s promise as a recruiter. “We didn’t have any question whether Richard was going to be able to recruit,” Benedict said.

Benedict also said Pitino’s success in taking a Gophers team that before the season was predicted to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten and having Minnesota in fourth place today and perhaps on its way to a NCAA tournament invitation hasn’t surprised him. But he knows the reality of Big Ten coaching is Pitino must prove a lot more in the months and years ahead.

Still, the Pitino hire looks impressive today. “He’s been around big time basketball all his life,” Benedict said. “He’s seen what success looks like.”

Worth Noting

The Gophers are at Nebraska on Sunday (5 p.m. start) where the Cornhuskers are averaging more than 15,000 fans per game in the new Pinnacle Bank Arena and selling out their games. “It’s (the atmosphere) supposed to be electric is what everyone down there tells me,” said Gophers center Elliott Eliason. “Should be a lot of fun.”

Eliason is from Chadron, Nebraska and his parents, brother and friends from high school will attend the game.

Gophers center Mo Walker, who came off the bench to not only score 18 points but grab nine rebounds against Wisconsin, said he plans to stay humble and “hungry.” Walker had 14 points in the first half after the Gophers lost their best player, Andre Hollins, with an ankle injury. “Without Mo tonight, I don’t think we win that game,” said Malik Smith.

Dan O’Brien is succeeding Benedict and will be in Benedict’s former office starting on Monday. O’Brien, a St. Thomas graduate and former athletic director at Hamline and Concordia of St. Paul, has been involved with Gophers football operations since 2008. As part of athletic director Norwood Teague’s group of top administrators, O’Brien will oversee the football and men’s golf programs, and be involved with facilities and the M Club.

O’Brien, whose new title will be senior associate athletics director, has a strong relationship with football coach Jerry Kill. Teague’s promotion of O’Brien is another indication of the athletic director’s support for Kill.

Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and Kill will headline the Hamline Football Coaches Clinic tomorrow. The Tressell-Kill session will be moderated by Jim’s brother and former Hamline coach Dick Tressel. Clinic speakers will also include Minnesota high school coaches such as Givoan Jenkins from Washburn, Jeff Ferguson of Totino Grace and Andy Rostberg from Hutchinson. More information is available from Hamline football coach Chad Rogosheske, 651-523-2595.

Cretin-Derham Hall defensive end Jashon Cornell, who has been ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 recruit nationally in the prep class of 2015, has been elected a Raiders captain for next fall. A source told Sports Headliners Cornell has about 20 college offers including Michigan and Notre Dame but the Gophers remain a favorite.

Cornell, who weighed 225 pounds as a freshman, is now at about 275 and has rejoined the basketball team after not playing earlier in the season, according to the source.

Jeff Jones, the highly recruited Washburn running back, has cancelled visits to Florida and Michigan after both schools told him they made commitments to other backs. Jones has a home visit with the Gophers on Sunday, according to Jenkins, his Washburn coach.

Prior Lake senior linebacker Blake Weber has a scholarship offer from Northern Iowa, and Iowa is recruiting him as a preferred walk-on. The Gophers have also recruited him as a preferred walk-on.

Isaiah Gentry, a 6-4 wide receiver from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, is being recruited by the Gophers and is scheduled to be in Minneapolis this weekend. Considered a late developer with Big Ten potential, Gentry’s receivers coach is Pete Hopewell, brother of former Gopher Paul Hopewell.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he’s expecting total attendance of about 15,000 at Target Field for TwinsFest today through Sunday. He said the total will compare favorably with the top drawing winter fanfests staged by other major league teams.

The Metrodome attracted TwinsFest crowds of more than 30,000 but with that site no longer available St. Peter said the organization will be surveying fans for their opinions about the new venue. With adult tickets priced at $20, he described the event as a “great value” and reminds fans TwinsFest is a fundraiser for the Twins Community Fund.

Approximately 73 former, current and future Twins will participate in TwinsFest. They donate their time with the organization paying for travel, lodging and meal costs.

Among those players will be new pitcher Ricky Nolasco. St. Peter said this is Norlasco’s third time ever in Minneapolis. The first was last year when he and his Marlins teammates were snowed out of a game. The second time was late last year when a blizzard hit town and the third visit came earlier this week when cold temps hit Minneapolis. “We’re trying to convince him it will (eventually) warm up in Minnesota,” St. Peter said.

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40 Years but Super Bowl Memories Linger

Posted on January 22, 2014January 23, 2014 by David Shama

About four decades ago the Vikings split two games with the Dolphins within a period of five months. Unfortunately for the Vikings, their win came in the preseason of 1973. The loss was in the 1974 Super Bowl.

The Vikings defeated Miami 20-17 in a preseason game at Met Stadium during August of 1973. At Super Bowl VIII the Dolphins scored on their first two possessions and dominated the game in a 24-7 victory.

Forty years ago this month the Vikings were in Houston preparing for the Super Bowl and making news long before kickoff. The AFC Dolphins were allowed to use the Houston Oilers practice facilities but the NFC Vikings were assigned to a high school stadium.

Patrick Reusse recalled the high school facility in the 2008 book Minnesota Vikings, The Complete Illustrated History. “The Vikings were left with the locker room at James M. Delmar Stadium, a high school facility without lockers and only nails in the wall for hanging clothes,” Reusse wrote. He described the room as small, with barely enough space for the coaches, and outside there were no tackling dummies or blocking sleds. But the Dolphins were given superior facilities because both Miami and the Oilers were AFC teams.

The practice setup was so bad Vikings coach Bud Grant criticized NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Doug Kingsriter, a tight end on that Vikings Super Bowl team, said Grant was justified in his criticism even though the commissioner later fined him.

“There were birds not only in the shower but they were up in the corners in the locker room,” Kingsriter recalled. “It’s like you’ve gotta be kidding me. I don’t recollect there was even a door going from the workout facility to the outside. It just felt really rinky-dink. And, of course, it got Bud into trouble with Pete Rozelle. He fined him $5,000.”

Kingsriter told Sports Headliners he considered the fine on Grant “very unprofessional” given the status of the Super Bowl and the contrasting practice facilities. A year later the Vikings were back in the Super Bowl, this time in New Orleans and the NFL office did the Purple no favors again.

The Steelers stayed at the upscale Fontainebleau while the Vikings were assigned to a lesser hotel. “It was like a motel in a way,” Kingsriter said. “It was a two-story with a courtyard right under a runway at New Orleans International. We had planes going off all night long. We thought this is Pete Rozelle again. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and he’s gonna play it out with us.”

Kingsriter was married the week before the Super Bowl. He received permission from Grant to join the team late for Super Bowl preparations but couldn’t convince the coach to allow his buddy and teammate, linebacker Jeff Siemon, to attend the wedding in West Texas.

Kingsriter, the former Gophers All-American tight end from Richfield, recalls throwing a block in the game and injuring his nose. “So I was going on my honeymoon after the game with a broken nose,” he said laughing.

Worth Noting

Dave Osborn played on the first three Vikings Super Bowl teams including the club that faced the Dolphins. His opinion is the Dolphins were clearly superior to the Vikings and might have defeated Minnesota seven of 10 times. “Now the other Super Bowls we played, I think we were the better team,” he said. “We should have won some of those games.”

Include Osborn among many former Vikings who praise Grant. Earlier this month, when the Vikings were searching for a new head coach, Osborn suggested Grant should return to the team.

Osborn described the franchise as needing leadership and facing “turmoil” with challenges that include winning over the public and selling high price tickets in the new stadium opening in 2016. “I would do whatever possible to hire Bud Grant as an interim coach, whether it was for one year, or two max,” Osborn told Sports Headliners in early January.

“…Let Bud sit in the front office. Bud doesn’t have to go on the field. Just let Bud be in control. Let him hire some good assistants. I guarantee you this team would be better ready to move into that new stadium when the time came. I mean Bud is 86 but he could do it. That’s the confidence I got in Bud. Great leadership.”

Osborn said Grant used to review film to see if his players were lined up the way he wanted for the National Anthem.

Mike Tice owns a 2014 Kentucky Derby contender along with Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. Midnight Hawk won the Sham Stakes earlier this month at Santa Anita. Tice, the former Vikings coach, led him into the winner’s circle. The Sham is the first in a series of 3-year-old races at Santa Anita serving as Derby qualifiers. The colt is trained by Bob Baffert.

Sophomore Philip Nelson played inconsistently during two years of trying to win the Gophers quarterback job but his announcement last week to leave the program means Mitch Leidner is the only QB on the roster with game experience. The situation is similar to about a year ago when Max Shortell left the Gophers after the 2012 season and Nelson was the only QB with game experience.

Could Nelson’s next school be either North Dakota State, San Diego State, Texas Tech or Wyoming?

Gophers coach Jerry Kill will be among the speakers at the MFCA Clinic March 27-29 at the DoubleTree in St. Louis Park. Last year’s annual clinic drew 1,200 attendees and 50 exhibitors. More details including registration are available at the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Website.

Gophers junior center Elliott Eliason averaged 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as a sophomore. He’s improved those figures this season to 8.7 and 2.6, ranking second in both categories among Big Ten players. Big Ten Network analyst Shon Morris said on Sunday’s Minnesota-Iowa game telecast that Eliason is the most improved player in the conference.

If the Gophers can defeat Wisconsin at home tonight it will be their second consecutive win in Williams Arena against the Badgers. The Gophers won 58-53 in overtime last year and earlier in the 2013 season lost by one point in Madison. A win also means the Gophers will be 2-3 in five January games against Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin, all teams that either are or have been top 25 ranked this season.

Dan Kornbaum, who led a trio of wins last week by Augsburg when he averaged 23.3 and 10.3 rebounds, will be a player St. Thomas has to watch tonight when the Tommies (9-1) host the Auggies (7-3). Kornbaum also had 25 points and five rebounds in a 97-60 Augsburg win over Saint Mary’s on Monday night.

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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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