Gophers Basketball – Page 15 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Get a Potential ‘Difference Maker’ Back With T.J. Return

Posted on October 27, 2024October 27, 2024 by David Shama

The Vikings, now with two consecutive losses after starting the season at 5-0, will get a potential boost in playmaking when tight end T.J. Hockenson makes his 2024 debut in the team’s next game—Sunday, November 3 at home against the Colts.

Hockenson hasn’t played since Christmas Eve of last year when he severely injured his knee with ACL and MCL tears. It’s been a long stretch of rehab and recovery after reconstructive surgery.

Anticipation was Hockenson might return last Sunday against the Lions or Thursday night for the Rams game. Unless something unusual happens, November 3 should see the return of the 27-year-old who prior to the season Pro Football Focus ranked as the fourth best tight end in the NFL.

T.J. Hockenson image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

An authority who was a front office leader with a couple of NFL teams emphasized the importance of having the sixth-year veteran on the field with his pass catching and running ability. “I think he might have been a difference maker (against the Lions),” he said. “(Sub) Johnny Mundt had a bad game. He had two holding penalties, had a dropped pass. Missed a block on a screen.

“He’s been an okay replacement for Hockenson as that kind of receiving tight end. … I think he (Hockenson) can take pressure off (wide receivers Justin) Jefferson and (Jordan) Addison, can open things up in the running game. He could be a difference-maker. “

Seven games into the season injuries complicate and compromise how the Vikings perform. Linebacker Blake Cashman has missed the last two games because of a toe injury. The authority, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Cashman’s absence is significant while referring to the former Golden Gopher as having a “Pro Bowl caliber season” and being a player “that kind of controls the middle of the field.”

Cashman’s availability for the Colts is TBD, but not for star offensive left tackle Christian Darrisaw who suffered ACL and MCL tears in the Rams game and is out for the season. Replacement David Quessenberry struggled to keep pass rushers away from Viking QB Sam Darnold.

The season debut of Dalton Risner could help the offensive line outlook. Expected to be available for the Colts game after recovering from a back issue, Risner can play multiple positions on the offensive line. The same is true of starting left guard Blake Brandel whose career starts include time at left tackle.

Risner could slide into left guard while Brandel switches positions. Before Darrisaw’s injury it was thought Risner might provide competition for right guard Ed Ingram who has his critics. “He still has his struggles at times, but he is a pretty good run blocker,” the source said.

The Vikings coaches are likely sorting out multiple options for shuffling the o-line. Rookie Walter Rouse, a sixth-round selection, was impressive in the preseason and could move into the starting lineup. Possibly at right tackle with Brian O’Neill sliding over to fill Darrisaw’s spot?

The Vikings were talking about better execution after both the Lions and Ram games. Even with Darrisaw, and the team’s other potential Pro Bowl tackle, O’Neill, the offensive line has been part of the problem with its false starts and giving up sacks.

The Vikings, who didn’t give up 30 points in any of their first five games, have now lost games by scores of 31-29 and 30-20. Against the Rams, Minnesota had no sacks and few quarterback pressures.

Will GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah be shopping before the November 5 trade deadline? Looking for cornerback help, or offensive and defensive line additions. The Vikings don’t have much in future draft capital with only one first round and two fifth round picks for 2025.

A rumor with steam is the Vikings could trade for Dexter Lawrence II, the Giants’ defensive tackle who is among the best at his position in the NFL. The possibility enthralls Minnesota fans, but the source quoted here pours cold water on it. “Yeah, I think they’re dreaming.“

His reasoning? Yes, the 2-5 Giants are in free-fall and look to be rebuilding. But the club has Lawrence on a contract that reportedly has a value of about $22 million per year and getting rid of him would still leave the Giants responsible for “dead money”—meaning bonus money from the contract would go against the New York salary cap.

The source also sees Lawrence as “maybe their best player” and a rebuilding piece for the struggling franchise.

A more likely move to plug up holes in the defensive line could be a trade with the 1-6 Browns to bring back 6-3, 335-pound Dalvin Tomlinson. Now 30, Tomlinson was outstanding for the Vikings before signing with the Browns as a free agent in 2023 and might be available for a 2025 fifth round pick.

Worth Noting

Dallas Turner, before the season a favorite to win NFL Rookie of the Year, is playing minimal snaps. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Turner is progressing in his development and “I think he’s going to make a big-time impact for us.”

The Big Ten’s reputation takes a hit in the preseason AP men’s college basketball national rankings. Despite expanding to 18 member schools, the league’s highest ranked team is Purdue at No. 4. Three other teams in the top 25 are: Indiana at 17, UCLA 22, and Rutgers 25.

Former Gopher Cam Christie, not unexpectedly, hasn’t played in the Clippers’ first two games. The 2024 NBA second round draft pick will be a developmental player just like former Gopher and Hopkins star Amir Coffey was, but now sees regular minutes for the Clippers. After two games Coffey is averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Former Twins outfielder Brent Rooker ranked No. 5 in the majors last season with a barrel rate of 16.6 percent, per an Mlb.com story last week. Barrel is a slugging stat that measures exit velocity from a batted ball and launch angle.

Ahead of Rooker in percentage are four players in the World Series: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.

Stew Thornley, the Minnesota-based author of many sports books, visited the grave of former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda in Whittier, California earlier this month. At one time Thornley had visited the graves of every baseball hall of famer. There are now about 10 that he hasn’t.

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Flip’s Ties to Timberwolves End with Towns Trade to Knicks

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024 by David Shama

Notes, quotes and observations from the Timberwolves beat as the team opens practice this week.

The last connection to the Flip Saunders era is gone now with this week’s trade sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks. Saunders, the beloved former U point guard, Wolves coach and president of basketball ops, made Towns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft before tragically passing away in October of that year.

Saunders was 60 years old when he died from cancer. He left behind a plan to make the Wolves a playoff contender, with the versatile and deft shooting 7-foot Towns as the center piece.

There was debate before the draft whether Towns or 6-10 Jahlil Okafor was most worthy of going No. 1. Saunders made the right selection in taking Towns who became Rookie of the Year averaging 18.3 points per game, 10.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Okafor had a disappointing NBA career and last played in the league in 2020-2021.

Towns, who turns 29 in November, is one of the best shooting big men ever but his lack of consistency in big games has tarnished his reputation. Still, he was coveted by the Knicks and is reunited with coach Tom Thibodeau, a demanding leader who several years ago coached Towns with the Wolves.

The Knicks fill their center position with an All-Star while the Wolves receive an All-Star big man in power forward Julius Randle, versatile guard Donte DiVincenzo, and a future first round protected draft choice via the Pistons. “Minnesota gets two quality players,” Vinny Del Negro told Sports Headliners.

Del Negro, a former NBA player and executive, said the deal “made sense for both teams.” The Wolves were able to reduce salary, saving millions in payroll and luxury tax penalties, and stabilizing their financial outlook.

Karl-Anthony Towns photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves.

There is no certainty whether the trade makes the Wolves even more likely to make a deep playoff run or take a step back. Towns’ talent is enormous, including his defensive presence that contributed so much to knocking the defending NBA champion Nuggets out of last spring’s playoffs. Whether the 2024-2025 roster is more talented than last year’s version may not even be the determiner in whether the Wolves can go beyond the Western Conference Finals as they did this year. Results could depend on how everyone blends together and key players avoiding injury.

“…We think we can play with anybody,” said Tim Connelly, the Wolves president of basketball operations. He indicated the Wolves want to be positioned financially to win now and in the long term. He also said he’s impressed with the offseason work done by the players making themselves the best “versions of themselves.”

While the players had an emotional bond with Towns, they also understand the NBA is a business that includes trades. “We have all the trust in the world in Tim and what he’s been able to do for this team in a short period of time, and where we’ve been able to get to,” said veteran point guard Mike Conley. “…From my understanding, they handled it better than probably any organization has probably ever handled trading somebody. Super professional and the way they worked their business. …”

The Wolves’ development may now be more than ever in the hands of 23-year-old All-Star guard Anthony Edwards, generally considered a top 10 player in the league. Last season, his fourth in the NBA, he averaged a career best 25.9 points per game and played for the gold medal winning US Olympic team in the summer.

“We continue to challenge Anthony because we think he can be one of the best players ever,” Connelly said. “We don’t say that lightly. With that expectation comes tremendous responsibility. Not just the last 20 games (of last season), he’s grown tremendously as a leader.

“He’s starting to find his voice where he’s more comfortable calling guys out in a very positive way. He’s one of the more positive great players I’ve been around. There’s no skipping steps. … I think when Anthony is locked in defensively there is no better on the ball defender in the NBA. And we’re just unbelievably encouraged by his development and really proud of him.”

Asked about the “one of the best ever” comment, Edwards replied: “Yea, I think he right.”

Edwards acknowledged that in addition to his all-around physical skills, he must have a superb work ethic to reach the highest levels of achievement and show he’s coachable. His goals over the summer included being in the weight room as much as possible “and take some fat off.”

Edwards said he begins training camp in the best physical shape of his pro career. Part of that is attributed to the physical challenge of preparing for and playing in the Olympics where his teammates included LeBron James, arguably one of the two or three greatest players ever.

Edwards didn’t offer details, but he said James has “like this little thing he do before every game.” Whatever it is, Edwards said it’s a great routine “that I stole.”

Edwards made 35.7 percent of his three-point shots, down from a career high of 36.9 the prior season. He made catching the basketball and shooting three pointers an offseason priority.

Among Edwards’ new teammates is veteran guard-forward Joe Ingles. He’s admired Edwards’ talent for awhile while playing for other teams and was attracted to signing with the Wolves as a free agent. “Obviously they’ve got ‘Ant’ who is probably more than likely going to be the face of the league soon,” Ingles said. “Just a great roster, a great coaching staff.”

Ingles turns 37 tomorrow (October 2) and for a short while will be the oldest player on the roster. Conley turns 37 on October 11.

Ingles has played with three other NBA teams including with the Jazz where he and Conley excelled in working pick-and-rolls with now Wolves center Rudy Gobert. Ingles, who will come off the bench to give the team spot minutes and hopefully a frequent playmaking spark, knows his presence in Minneapolis isn’t about stroking his ego.

“It’s about the team. It’s about winning. I am too old and too over the hill to be worried about myself at this point.”

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Looks Like a Star to be Born with Golden Gophers Basketball

Posted on September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 by David Shama

Enjoy a Friday notes column on various sports that even includes quotes from former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

The Golden Gophers men’s basketball team started official practices this week and insiders are confident the program has a special player in freshman point guard Isaac Asuma from Cherry, Minnesota.

If coach Ben Johnson didn’t have veteran guards, it’s likely Asuma would be in the starting lineup beginning with the first game on November 6 against Oral Roberts at Williams Arena. A four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and 247Sports, he was considered a top 100 player in the national high school class of 2024.

At 6-3 and about 200 pounds, Asuma has a Big Ten ready body with length and strength. He is also an unselfish playmaker with all-around physical and basketball skills that have caught the attention of observers since he arrived on the Minnesota campus earlier this year.

Isaac Asuma photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

Asuma’s willingness to learn, along with his friendly and outgoing personality, is the stuff of leadership. He has a poise and charisma often not seen in teenagers just out of high school.

Put it all together and it’s apparent why the attractive Asuma is referenced as a “stud.”

The team’s established star is senior Dawson Garcia who averaged 17.6 points per game. He is the leading Big Ten Conference scorer returning from last season. The 6-11 forward from Prior Lake High School was second team All-Big Ten last winter.

A scenario Johnson, his staff and Gophers fans want to see is for Asuma to stick around for a couple of years at Minnesota and play with Cretin-Derham Hall senior Tommy Ahneman. The 6-foot-10 center’s improvement has attracted the attention of major college programs including Notre Dame where he is scheduled to visit this coming weekend. Last season’s North Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year is a big target for the Gophers.

Asuma and Garcia are two of seven native Minnesotans on the Gopher roster. Women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit has 12 natives of the state.

The death last month of former Gopher assistant basketball coach Jimmy Williams reminded Minnesota sports fan Bob Klas of a Williams one liner when he was Minnesota’s interim head coach in 1986. Williams quipped: “I’m one of just two people who coaches in an arena that’s named after him.” (The other facility being the Dean E. Smith Center at North Carolina).

Eric Curry, the well-known Minneapolis area college basketball referee, plans to work 65-70 games this coming season with assignments in the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Missouri Valley and West Coast Conferences.

In the last 12 months news has surfaced about replacing Target Center and also costly renovations to improve Xcel Energy Center. The Timberwolves, if they emerge from an ownership dispute being led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriquez, apparently have interest in building a new facility in the Farmers Market area in downtown Minneapolis.

Public financing for a new Wolves arena will be difficult to secure including from a Minneapolis city council that seems most interested in grassroots and common folk agendas. “…If Minneapolis doesn’t want it, I would predict there could be more than one or more other cities that would like to bid for it, or try to get involved with the new Timberwolves stadium,” former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty told Sports Headliners. “So they’re going to have competition, I would think, if they are interested.”

Pawlenty was supportive of Minnesota’s professional sports facilities concerns as governor. He is a sports fan and values the quality of life component sports contributes to the lives of Minnesotans.

Asked about the idea of building a new multipurpose arena in Bloomington near the Mall of America for both the Wild and Wolves, Pawlenty defended the importance of Xcel and Target Center to their cities.

“With the exception of the Xcel Center, there’s not a lot of positive things happening in downtown St. Paul. In fact, a lot of negative things happening. If the Wild were to leave and not exist, I think that would present an existential threat to further threat(en) downtown St. Paul.

“So I gotta believe the St. Paul city and St. Paul legislative representatives would fight very hard to keep the Xcel Center or its future version in St. Paul. And I think the same would be true for Minneapolis.”

If the amazing Lynx make the WNBA Finals, they will have an October 18 Target Center conflict with the Timberwolves preseason game scheduled with the Nuggets that evening. The Wolves game would shift to October 17, per a local insider.

The Vikings annual game in Green Bay often prompts memories of former Pioneer Press sportswriter Don Riley who for decades wrote a pot-stirring column called “The Eye Opener.” Riley, who died in 2015 at age 92, loved to provoke the Packers and their fans.

“I never mention them as Green Bay. I just said the capital B Bushers,” Riley told Sports Headliners in 2011. He was then long retired after leaving the newspaper in 1987, with a “fan club” that included Packers fans in western Wisconsin who he insulted at banquets by suggesting they be searched for stolen silverware before leaving the facility.

Riley chose the term “Bushers” because it was “derogatory” without picking on one individual. However, he did take an occasional shot at someone including legendary coach Vince Lombardi whose wife wanted him fired from the St. Paul newspaper. “Vince told her to lay off because he’s selling tickets for us,” Riley said.

Riley built much of his controversial column’s success on bashing the Packers and Green Bay. He wrote that Green Bay had the “world’s largest toilet paper factories” and once boasted that if the Vikings didn’t beat the Pack he would push a peanut with his nose from Appleton to Green Bay. The Vikings lost, Riley never pushed the peanut, and the Green Bay newspaper accused him of having no guts.

No Minnesota sports figure is under more fire than Twins manager Rocco Baldelli who has had a front row look at his team’s depressing late season collapse. From critical emails to chants at Target Field calling for his ouster, he is a likely scapegoat for a team that in August looked like a safe bet to make the playoffs and now is a long shot.

The opinion here is it’s 65-35 Baldelli returns for the 2025 season. His staff? Perhaps 80 percent probability there will be changes.

The Lindenwood football program went Division I in 2022, one year after St. Thomas did so. Lindenwood, located in St. Charles, Missouri, defeated the Tommies 64-0 at home on September 21. The Lions come to Minneapolis to play the Gophers on September 18, 2027.

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