Gophers Basketball – Page 158 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Split Opinion: Vikes’ Playoff Chances

Posted on November 4, 2012November 4, 2012 by David Shama

With the NFL now at midseason does it appear the Vikings are a playoff team?

Depends on who you listen to.

Former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton, who now has an NFL show on Sirius Satellite Radio, thought before the season the NFC North would have three teams contending for the playoffs—the Bears, Lions and Packers. Now he’s replaced the Lions with the Vikings who play at Seattle this afternoon.

“I believe the NFC North will have two playoff teams—three in the hunt and I think two will actually make it,” Dalton told Sports Headliners. “It’s possible that three could make it.”

Dalton predicted the Bears (6-1) and Vikings (5-3) will be the NFC North playoff teams, besting a Packers team (5-3) facing a run of injuries but with a talented roster. “Green Bay has all kinds of possibilities but I like Minnesota right now because I think week in and week out they’re going to be more consistent and that’s a credit to Leslie. And it’s not a discredit to Mike McCarthy (Packers coach).”

Dalton admits he’s a “fan” of Vikings coach Leslie Frazier and likes the coaching staff. “You can see this team learning as a young group, growing,” Dalton said.

But Frazier’s record was 3-13 last season and the Vikings haven’t made the playoffs since 2009. In the “coaches are hired to be fired world of the NFL,” there’s not much job security. That’s why it wasn’t surprising Sports Illustrated included the Vikings on a short list of “teams to watch” regarding coaching changes in the coming months.

The magazine’s November 5 issue featured an NFL midseason report with a lot more than speculation about job security. S.I. forecast who will make the playoffs and did include two teams from the NFC North—but the Vikings didn’t make the cut with the magazine predicting the Bears and Packers will join the Falcons, 49ers, Giants and Seahawks in the NFC playoffs. (The Giants are predicted to defeat the Texans in the Super Bowl.)

In the same issue two Vikings made Peter King’s All-Pro midseason team, 35-year- old cornerback Antoine Winfield and wide receiver Percy Harvin, described as “football’s most dangerous receiver/returning weapon.” King chose Harvin as his Offensive Player of the Year.

U Bowl Fate & More Notes

With three games remaining on the regular schedule, the 5-4 Gophers need one more win to be bowl eligible and the only likely “w” is the Illinois game next Saturday. The 2-7 Illini will have the Gophers at home but Illinois is 0-5 in the Big Ten and the team’s only wins are over Western Michigan and Charleston Southern.

The Gophers’ other two remaining games are against 7-2 Nebraska in Lincoln and 5-5 Michigan State in Minneapolis. After yesterday’s 35-13 loss to Michigan at TCF Bank Stadium, the Gophers were still targeting a bowl game for the first time since 2009.

“We gotta look forward to the next game,” said cornerback Troy Stoudermire. “We gotta help the young guys keep their heads up. Gotta keep motivating Philip (Nelson) because if he goes in the tank, we don’t have a chance to get to a bowl game.”

The Gophers played a strong first quarter against Michigan but were dominated the rest of the game. Nelson, Minnesota’s freshman quarterback, believes the Gophers weren’t “embarrassed.” “At the same time there’s nothing to be happy about,” he said.

“We gotta erase it right now,” said wide receiver MarQueis Gray after the Michigan game. “Just start getting ready for Illinois tomorrow.”

ESPN plans to have Chris Berman interview Mitt Romney and Barack Obama during halftime of Monday night’s Saints-Eagles game, according to various reports.

The Gophers basketball team plays its second and final exhibition game tomorrow night at home against Southwest Baptist. Right now it looks like Minnesota’s starters are forwards Joe Coleman and Rodney Williams, center Elliott Eliason, and guards Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins.

Wild coach Mike Yeo and Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith are among those growing moustaches in November to raise awareness about prostate cancer. Smith is a prostate cancer survivor. Learn about the Wild’s efforts, www.wild.com/movember.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team scored 41 points more against Winona State last Thursday night than when the two teams met in 2011. In last week’s exhibition between the Division III Tommies and Division II Winona State, St. Thomas won 93-83 in Winona while making 15 three pointers and 28 of 32 free throws. A year ago this month Winona State won 84-52.

Responding to a question via email, Tommies coach John Tauer said his nationally ranked team has high expectations. Tauer wrote: “With 10 of our top 11 back from last season, along with a talented group of newcomers, we have a chance to be very good. …”

Congratulations to Eagan-based author Ross Bernstein on his two new books, World Series Winners: What It Takes to Claim Baseball’s Ultimate Prize; and Wearing the C: Leadership Secrets of Hockey’s Greatest Captains. The baseball book has a foreword by Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, with insights from many other former Twins players. The hockey book includes interviews with a long list of well-known Minnesota names from Matt Cullen to Bobby Smith.

Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will speak at the Oakes Family Benefit next Saturday at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan. Assistant Gophers baseball coach Todd Oakes is doing well in his recovery from leukemia. An auction will include courtside Timberwolves tickets. The event begins at 6 p.m.

The Twins probably can’t afford him, but Tigers free agent pitcher Anibal Sanchez is the kind of innings-eater Minnesota needs. He has pitched near 200 innings each of the last three seasons.

The eighth annual Twins Diamond Awards event will be January 24 at Target Field and will benefit brain, nerve and muscle disorders research at the University of Minnesota. Among the award winners are Most Valuable Twin Josh Willingham, Pitcher of the Year Scott Diamond and Ben Revere, Most Improved Player.

Last week’s NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll had the Gophers wrestling team ranked No. 1 in the country. The Gophers’ season opens on Friday at home against Hofstra. Big Ten teams have won the last seven consecutive national championships.

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U Likely in Tyus Jones Top 5

Posted on October 29, 2012October 29, 2012 by David Shama

Debbie Jones told Sports Headliners she hopes her son Tyus Jones can narrow his college choices to five finalists in the coming weeks. “I would probably say in the next month or so,” Debbie said.

Tyus, with a reputation as the best high school point guard in the country for the class of 2014, is considering the Gophers and many other schools. His mother wasn’t specific about how many schools but said the decision to arrive at a list of five will be made by Tyus and family members.

Will the Gophers be among the final five? “I can’t say for sure. I would think they would be in the five,” Debbie said.

Debbie also said there’s no target date as to when a final college choice will be made by Tyus who is becoming a prep legend in Minnesota and will lead an Apple Valley High School team with ambitions to become state champions. She acknowledged her son’s popularity and support among Minnesotans is a factor in the Gophers favor.

“That’s the hardest part for all of us because that is there and it is a pretty big deal,” Debbie said. “It comes down to taking everything into consideration.”

Before narrowing the choices of colleges to five, Tyus wants to visit Kansas and Kentucky. Travel dates haven’t been established.

Worth Noting

Philip Nelson had one of the best passing games ever by a true freshman Gophers quarterback on Saturday against Purdue. Nelson, starting his second game, passed for 246 yards (all in the first half) and in one stretch completed 12 consecutive passes. Rickey Foggie passed for 281 yards in a game as a true freshman in 1984. The school record for consecutive passes is 14 set by Adam Weber in 2008 when he was a redshirt sophomore.

Cornerback Michael Carter also had an extraordinary performance in the Gophers 44-21 win over Purdue. At times he was all over the secondary breaking up passes, and he returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. He tied Michael Lehan’s school record for six pass breakups in a game set in 2001.

Carter was among the last players to commit to the Gophers in 2009 and then coach Tim Brewster was excited about Carter’s potential. But Carter didn’t emerge as an impact player until Saturday, more than halfway through his senior season and after playing in only five games last season, starting none.

Nelson was announced this morning as Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week, while Carter is the Co-Defensive Player of the Week in the conference.

The Vikings offense has produced four touchdowns in the last two games, but the results haven’t diminished the confidence of Adrian Peterson who said the team has to sustain long drives. “We’ve got great potential offensively,” Peterson said. “Confidence is there.”

Peterson has rushed for 276 yards in the last two games. That’s his best two-game total of the season.

A Sports Headliners reader after watching quarterback Christian Ponder face a persistent pass rush in last Thursday night’s Vikings-Bucs game, emailed this: “I guess he has to learn to throw from his back.”

Vikings running back Toby Gerhart hasn’t fumbled since the closing minutes against the 49ers on September 23 when he had two fumbles. He told Sports Headliners that was “dumb running” because instead of making ball security the highest priority he was trying to have a big gain.

“I’ve become a smarter runner in that situation,” he said. “Four minutes (to the) end of the game. There’s no reason to try to make a big play. Get what you can and get down (on the turf). We’re (the Vikings) just trying to run out the clock. Now I’ve tried to look at situations more for what they are and be smart about it. …”

The Vikings play the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday, going against coach Pete Carroll. When Gerhart was at Stanford he played against Carroll, the USC coach.

“He’s a good coach,” Gerhart said. “He gets his guys fired up to play and they play for him. …Just his personality from what I’ve seen across the field, it seems like he’s a good motivator.”

Carroll was a Vikings assistant coach in the 1980s under head coaches Bud Grant and Jerry Burns.

Tartan High School defensive back Keelon Brookins emailed news that his rehabilitation from a torn ACL is going well and he remains verbally committed to Wisconsin where he plans to enroll in January. He attended the Gophers-Badgers game in Madison on October 20.

If the Timberwolves are going to make the playoffs, they might have to beat out Northwest Division rival Utah, a team led by former Wolves center Al Jefferson. Also on the roster is ex-Wolves guard Randy Foye. Former Wolves forward Tyrone Corbin is Utah’s head coach. The Wolves open their regular season at home on Friday night against the Kings.

Wolves forward-guard Chase Budinger might have a career scoring year. He scored 21 and 20 points in the team’s last two preseason games. In Budinger’s first three seasons in the NBA, all with the Rockets, he didn’t average more than 22.4 minutes and 9.8 points per game, but his skills, including three point shooting, are a solid fit in Wolves coach Rick Adelman’s offense.

Former Wolves forward Michael Beasley averaged 12.7 in preseason games for the Suns, although he had 29 points on Friday night against Denver. In the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated an anonymous scout said this about Beasley: “I am not a fan of Michael Beasley. It’s his personality. He just doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t play hard.”

Ex-Wolves guard Wes Johnson averaged 8.6 points in preseason for the Suns.

Five Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press preseason college basketball poll, but the Gophers aren’t included. The Big Ten is the first conference since the Big East in 2008-2009 to have three teams in the AP preseason top five: Indiana at No. 1, Ohio State No. 4 and Michigan No. 5.

The American League champion Tigers open the Twins regular season schedule next year as part of a series of games against attractive teams at Target Field in April. The Mets, Angels, Rangers and Marlins will also be in Minneapolis that month. Single game tickets are expected to go on sale in February.

Patrick Klinger is no longer vice president of marketing with the Twins after 14 consecutive years with the organization. Klinger, whose responsibilities included oversight of advertising, broadcasting and special events, may start a public relations firm.

St. Thomas is the preseason choice to finish first in MIAC men’s hockey, according to a league poll. Following the Tommies are Gustavus, St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Concordia, Hamline, Augsburg, Bethel and Saint Mary’s.

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Gophers Roster: 3 NBA First Rounders

Posted on October 24, 2012October 24, 2012 by David Shama

Tubby Smith told Sports Headliners he has three potential NBA first round draft choices on his roster in senior forwards Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, and sophomore point guard Andre Hollins.

Hollins is from Memphis while Mbakwe and Williams are Minnesota natives, and to Smith they are examples of the quality high school players produced in the state. While Smith can’t talk about individuals who are current Minnesota high school prospects because of NCAA rules, it’s no secret he’s impressed with the top players.

If the Gophers could consistently enroll the best Minnesota high schoolers, would Smith compete for Big Ten titles? “Absolutely. I think that we could,” he answered.

Smith left the University of Kentucky to take the Gophers job in 2007 and he’s known about the quality of high school talent in Minnesota for many years. “I was very impressed from day one—even before I got here. The quality of coaching is just outstanding. The high school coaches are outstanding, because that’s where you develop them (the players). The (state) AAU program is second to none around the country.”

New athletic director Norwood Teague gave Smith a contract extension last summer. In five seasons under Smith the Gophers have yet to contend for a Big Ten title and Minnesota’s best record in league play is 9-9. The last two seasons have been major disappointments with injuries and player transfers impacting results.

Does Smith feel more pressure heading into the 2012-13 season that begins a week from Thursday with a home exhibition game against Minnesota State, Mankato? “There’s always pressure,” he said. “I don’t ever feel more pressure or less pressure, to be honest with you. We had a tough two years. We’re 12 and 24 in two years in the Big Ten. Nobody expected that. …”

Worth Noting

MarQueis Gray wasn’t expected to practice yesterday but he plans to play wide receiver in Minnesota’s game at home against Purdue on Saturday. Freshman Philip Nelson will make his second start at quarterback. Left tackle Ed Olson, probably Minnesota’s best offensive lineman, is still injured and won’t play Saturday, coach Jerry Kill said.

Nelson took a solid hit from Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland last Saturday. “My knee, it did kind of buckle in a little different way,” Nelson said yesterday. “The trainers they took care of me. I am feeling great and I am going to go to practice just like normal.”

Michael Floyd saw James Onwualu, the Cretin-Derham Hall receiver who has verbally committed to Notre Dame, at the Irish’s game against Miami in Chicago earlier this month. Floyd, a Notre Dame and Cretin-Derham Hall alum, gave Onwualu “words of encouragement” and told him to “stay on top of things” as he makes the transition from high school to college.

The Gophers wanted Onwualu but it looks like he will reject Minnesota just like past high profile Cretin-Derham Hall players including Floyd and offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson who chose Miami for college. “Everyone has different choices why they chose their school,” Floyd said. “Nothing against Minnesota. It’s a great school, but sometimes you just don’t want to stay home.”

The Bucs team (2-5) that plays at Mall of America Field tomorrow night against the Vikings (5-2) is led by NFL rookie head coach Greg Schiano. He’s been criticized this season for overly aggressive coaching.

The surprising Vikings record is attributed to various factors including unselfishness by the players. “You can’t be egotistical around this team,” defensive end Brian Robison said. “It has to be all about the team, not about yourself because bottom line is you gotta play good as an individual, but collectively is when you start winning those ball games. That’s what we’ve been preaching forever is just playing good team ball.”

The back part of the defense has improved this season, partly because of rookie safety Harrison Smith who ran an interception back for a touchdown on Sunday against the Cardinals.

“He’s a tremendous athlete back there for us,” Robison said. “The things you see he does, helps our defense tremendously. If he can keep playing the way he is playing, the sky’s the limit for us.”

Steve LaCroix, the Vikings vice president of sales and marketing, said a survey regarding personal seat licensing for the team’s new downtown stadium will begin soon and be completed by year’s end. Such licensing means fans pay fees beyond the cost of tickets for specific seat locations.

LaCroix said the Vikings will play at Mall of America Field next year but eventually will host some games at TCF Bank Stadium during the construction phase of the new stadium. TCF Bank Stadium, with a capacity of 50,806, isn’t large enough to accommodate all the Vikings season ticket holders, about 52,000. LaCroix said seats will be added in the “plaza” end of the Gophers stadium.

The Vikings will play a home game in London next year, September 29, at Wembley Stadium against the Steelers. The Vikings have season ticket holders from England, although LaCroix didn’t know the exact number. “We’re going to them,” he said.

LaCroix is in the unusual position of marketing Vikings football in four stadiums—Mall ofAmerica Field, TCF Bank Stadium, the new downtown stadium and Wembley Stadium.

The October 22 issue of Sports Illustrated refers to Chris Kluwe as the “NFL’s nerdiest player” and offers this headline on a feature story: “The Vikings’ punter is a troll rogue named Loate.”

Vikings Jamarca Sanford and Jasper Brinkley are scheduled to greet fans at the Taste of the NFL Mid-season Rally next Tuesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Bar Abilene in Uptown. The event is free and open to the public with attendees encouraged to make donations to support Minnesota’s Second Harvest Heartland Foodbank.

David Jones will speak to the C.O.R.E.S. group at a noon luncheon on Thursday, November 8 in Bloomington. Jones is known for his presentations on historical figures and will talk to C.O.R.E.S. about factors influencing ongoing discussion and debate of President John Kennedy’s assassination. Anyone interested in further information can contact Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Other C.O.R.E.S. programs will be with Dave Mona, January 10; Ted Mondale, March 14; and Norwood Teague, May 9.

The Big Ten Network (BTN.com) will stream live news conferences beginning at 8 a.m. tomorrow of the 24 men’s and women’s basketball coaches from the Big Ten basketball media day in Chicago.

Former Hopkins High School All-American Royce White is averaging 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in two preseason games for the Rockets. He’s averaging 14 minutes per game.

Ex-Timberwolves players on the Jazz coaching staff are head coach Tyrone Corbin and assistant Sidney Lowe.

Rachel Banham, the Gophers guard who was Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, was cleared yesterday to participate in full practices. In July doctors had discovered a blood clot in her lung.

Since being traded during the 2011 season by the Twins to the Tigers, Delmon Young has four home runs and nine RBIs in 32 at bats in two American League Championship Series. The Tigers open the World Series at San Francisco against the Giants tonight.

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