Gophers Basketball – Page 2 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Ownership Speculation Puts Spotlight on Falvey, Baldelli

Posted on August 12, 2025August 12, 2025 by David Shama

If the Pohlad family finds a buyer for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the next six months (no guarantees), that new individual or group will decide the fate of employees including club president Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli.

Fans rightfully expect new ownership to be passionate and knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions about their MLB acquisition. Keeping the status quo, of course, will require the least work, including retention of Falvey the leader of baseball personnel decisions since October of 2016 and Baldelli, the field boss dating back to the 2019 season when he was chosen American League Manager of the Year.

That combo’s highlights include the Twins division titles in 2019, 2020 and 2023. Falvey’s 2017 team was also a Wild Card entrant in the playoffs. During his entire regime the Twins have won a single playoff series in the postseason.

Over the years much of the fan base has soured on Falvey and Baldelli. A team last season that looked like a cinch to make the playoffs went through a late season collapse including losing 25 of 37 games. The Twins finished 82-80 and Falvey and ownership received criticism for not making mid-season moves to strengthen the roster.

This summer personnel moves by Falvey gutted 40 percent of the team’s roster, moving 11 players in what was an unprecedented 96-hour stretch in club history. The team moved on from key contributors, particularly in the bullpen, in return for a clubhouse full of prospects.

New ownership will have to decide if Falvey and Baldelli, and those who work for them, measure up to whatever standard they set for performance. Ownership must discern in the highly competitive marketplace of Major League Baseball, how good are the two at what they do?

Falvey and Baldelli backers can argue they have done okay or better with the limited payroll the Pohlads have dictated. And certainly, this summer’s result of saving a reported $30 million from the payroll wasn’t a move that ownership didn’t have its hands involved with.

The Twins have a serious product and image challenge with the public including present and past season ticket holders. Apathy and disgruntlement have been building for years and is not likely to change until there is new ownership.

The reconstructed Twins could sweep away some gloom among the more loyal fans if they vastly exceed low expectations from now through the rest of the season. On the positive side, this bargain basement roster of unknowns, journeymen and holdovers has won five of its last eight games.

If the Twins were somehow able to play over .500 baseball the rest of the way that would be an achievement worth noting on the resumes of Falvey and Baldelli. That could quiet some of the speculation that the Twins are three years or more from being a division and post season contender.

If the club collapses in August and September, the move on from Falvey and Baldelli voices will grow louder. And if new ownership wants to make the proverbial “clean sweep” of its front office and manager/coaches, that’s the quickest way to create a new image and ease the anger among Twins fans.

Retention of those presently in authority will require courage and explaining by new ownership.

Niko Medved Talks Keeping Best Hoops Talent Home

For most of this millennium the men’s Gopher basketball program has been unable to bring the best players in the state to Dinkytown. From Tyus Jones to Chet Holmgren, the elites have gone elsewhere.

That has contributed to dismal results at Minnesota. In the past 20 seasons the Gophers have one winning season in Big Ten games. Twice during that stretch, they have won an NCAA Tournament game.

In the class of 2026 the top two prep players in the state, according to 247Sports, are Faribault center Ryan Kreager and Wayzata shooting guard Christian Wiggins. They’re committed to Loyola Chicago and Iowa State respectively. Wayzata small forward Nolen Anderson is ranked No. 3 and verbally committed to the Gophers.

New head coach Niko Medved was asked by Sports Headliners what it will take to reverse the longstanding trend at Minnesota of not convincing the most elite players to choose the program. Medved said there’s “a lot to sell here” and at his previous job (Colorado State) there was a track record of winning and helping players reach full potential.

“Playing in a system that they love playing in, that is conducive to them growing and developing as a player,” Medved said. “I think we have a great culture that guys want to be a part of and it’s just continuing to sell that. …We have really made an effort to do that and try to get the best guys, but they gotta be the best fit for us.

“…I look at what P.J. (Fleck) has done right across the way (for football). It didn’t necessarily happen for him right away but, man, he just kept chopping wood, chopping wood, and selling and selling, and now look at it. All these guys from around the area want to come and play for the Gophers. And we are going to get there too.”

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Brian Flores Likes What He Sees in Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy

Posted on July 29, 2025July 29, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

All eyes seemingly are on first-year Vikings starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy at training camp. Among those most qualified to give an opinion about the 22-year-old is defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Flores said yesterday part of the strategy in preparing the inexperienced quarterback is “giving him a lot of different looks” from the defense. “I think J.J. has done a great job. I really do. I think he’s got real good command of the offense. I think he’s throwing the ball really well. I think he’s doing a lot of nice things and I’ve liked watching him improve. That’s good for everybody.”

Seems like when, not if, Flores will leave from his successful run here and accept an NFL head coaching position elsewhere. As in past seasons, it appears likely Flores will hear his name speculated on for openings in the fall and early winter.

Flores had a head coaching job previously, leading the Dolphins from 2019-2021. That tenure didn’t end well with a 24-25 record and negative feelings about his dismissal.

Flores has flourished in two previous seasons as leader of the Vikings defense. In his first two seasons leading the defense (2023-24), Minnesota had 53 total takeaways, the third most in the NFL trailing only Buffalo (59) and Pittsburgh (57). The Vikings have also held foes to an average of 96.1 rushing yards per game under Flores. That’s the third-fewest rushing yards per game over the past two seasons, behind only Detroit (93.6) and Baltimore (94.7).

Flores, who was a finalist for the Associated Press Assistant Coach of the Year for 2024, has not only polished his resume here, but also assimilated the offensive wisdom and coaching prowess of head coach Kevin O’Connell. In three seasons O’Connell has dazzled as a quarterback developer and offensive strategist.

Flores praises the way the offense goes about its business, from leadership to how the unit practices. He is comfortable going into the boss’s office and “picking his brain” on things like pass protection or route concepts. He describes O’Connell’s relationships with others as a “super power.”

“My time with him has been incredible these last two years and this year as well,” Flores said. “I think I am pretty good in some areas. Areas I am not as good in, he’s really good in. So just kind of naturally I get better in those areas. …”

Flores describes a “bit of a chess match” between the Vikings offense and defense as both units work on details to improve themselves and each other. Flores knows O’Connell is loaded with football smarts. “X’s and O’s wise, he’s as good as they get,” Flores said.

No word on who will be replacing recently retired Joe Schmit as sports director at KSTP TV. If the successor comes internally, seems likely the choice could be Chris Long who was the No. 2 behind Schmit.

George Schauer, the point man on the Golden Gophers famous Harlem Globetrotters-like warmup show in the early 1970s, died earlier this month in Dallas. Coach Bill Musselman put Schauer on scholarship strictly because of his ballhandling skills and trickery as he led his teammates through a pre-game show set to music that packed Williams Arena and had fans roaring with delight.

Former Gophers assistant coach Kevin Wilson told Sports Headliners Schauer scored two points in his four-year career and that Schauer and the Williams Arena faithful went bonkers when he made his field goal.

Schauer entertained with his basketball wizardry after college with his most recent gig as an ambassador for the Frisco, Texas based Texas Legends of the G League. That’s the official minor league of the NBA.

New coach Niko Medved’s 2025 Gophers have their last day of summer practice Thursday. Medved meets with the media that day to provide an evaluation.

Cody Nagel from Cbssports.com ranked the 18 Big Ten football coaches last week and Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck is at No. 8. Coaches above Fleck starting at No. 1 are Ryan Day, Ohio State; Dan Lanning, Oregon; James Franklin, Penn State; Lincoln Riley, USC; Kirk Ferentz, Iowa; Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Bret Bielema, Illinois.

Pioneer League football coaches voted St. Thomas to finish third in the standings this fall behind San Diego and Drake. In four previous seasons in the league, head coach Glenn Caruso’s Tommies have finished top three each year including a championship in 2022.

Twins infielder Luke Keaschall (right forearm) remains on rehab assignment with the Saints after having only 19 at bats with Minnesota this season. Pitcher Bailey Ober (left hip impingement) is also rehabbing with the Saints and has a 1.00 ERA in nine innings and two starts.

Don’t look now but while Twins pitching ace Pablo Lopez is sidelined the man traded to obtain Lopez, infielder Luis Arraez, is hitting .322 in his last 30 games and lifted his season average to .292.

Twins legends and hall of famers Jim Kaat and Rod Carew speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers on August 15.

Congratulations to Jeff Maday on being inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame. The track’s media relations manager has been with the racing facility for more than 30 years and started as a groom.

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Ready for a Top 25 List for The Last Six Months of 2025?

Posted on July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 by David Shama

The calendar shows we’re halfway through the year and I am listing 25 things I am hoping for in the next six months.

Alert: recognizing the varied tastes of readers regarding humor, please note the word “wink” will be used to indicate anticipated levity. Feel welcome to use this as a prompt to laugh (howl?), like in the TV studio when a sign says: “APPLAUSE!”

Well, it’s already July 10 so best get to these 25 gems whether they be well-intended, sarcastic or funny.

1. The Timberwolves are bringing back 36-year-old Joe Ingles for another season at a reported $3.6 million to provide karma in the locker room and cheerleading from the bench. How cool would it be for the seldom used Ingles to have a double-digit scoring game playing in front of his autistic young son Jacob?

2. New Wolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez could have a “wandering eye” when it comes to keeping the team in Minneapolis. Hoping the replacement for Target Center will stay in the city rather than be built in the ‘burbs. The city is the economic hub of the region, and a new arena is vital to its future as a place where Minnesotans want to be.

3. Let’s hope when the 2025-2026 schedules come out, there are fewer same night home conflicts involving the Wolves, Wild and Golden Gophers men’s basketball than ever before. Also, we can do without those Gopher basketball games on the same Sundays the Vikings play.

4. A longshot, but how inspiring it would be to see all the NHL Russian hockey players join with North American-based past and present Ukrainian amateurs and pros in leading a public peace vigil to encourage an end to the brutal war that has saddened the world for years.

5. Wink: Wondering if Wild GM and woodworking enthusiast Bill Guerin might send me a table for outside grilling. Por favor, have the table on wheels, with a butcher block top, hooks and a beer bottle opener.

6. Wink 2: Hoping our area can attract an American Cornhole League franchise so we can move a step closer to having every kind of sports franchise under the sun.

7. Any chance Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, among the highest paid at his position in MLB, can hit like a $33 million player?

8. Fingers crossed that center fielder Byron Buxton plays a career high 140-plus games this season.

9. It will be a classy union if anticipated new Twins franchise buyers include Joe Mauer in the ownership and he becomes a prominent face of the franchise for decades to come.

10. Hoping for more games where the Twins use former manager Paul Molitor as the analyst on broadcasts. His insights are among the best in Twins broadcast history.

11. Get ready to applaud if the Vikings announce plans for statues outside U.S. Bank Stadium including one for legendary coach Harry Peter Grant. At the same time also commit to honoring the famed “Purple People Eaters” with a statue. That defensive line scared the deuce out of opposing offenses for about a decade and consisted mostly of Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen.

12. The Gophers need to get into the statue-erecting business too outside of Huntington Bank Stadium. There are a lot of ultra worthy names to choose from starting with Bobby Bell, Bernie Bierman, Greg Eslinger, Paul Giel, Bronko Nagurski and Bruce Smith.

13. Shocking: 2016 Vikings No. 1 draft pick Laquon Treadwell, considered a consensus bust in Minnesota, has stayed in the NFL playing for five other teams including in two games with the Colts last season. But, no, he isn’t returning here in 2025.

14. Fingers crossed Jordan Addison doesn’t have a three-peat of summer driving incidents.

15. More fingers crossed: Quarterback Max Brosmer makes the Vikings’ 53-man roster or at least the practice squad.

16. Miracle: Vikings fans choose not to boo the snot out of first-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy when he screws up. And he will.

17. Miracle 2: the football Gophers win either at Oregon or Ohio State.

18. Happy Birthday, Reusse: Coach P.J. Fleck and the Gophers defeat Nebraska on Patrick Reusse’s 80^th birthday, October 17. (For the unaware: Google Reusse on Fleck.)

19. Networking: let’s get new Golden Gophers basketball coach Niko Medved together with Jim Dutcher, the 92-year-old wise man who was head coach of the 1982 Big Ten title team.

20. Bulletin board locker-room material: In the last 20 men’s basketball seasons the Gophers have one winning season in conference games, while neighboring rivals Wisconsin and Iowa have 17 and nine respectively.

21. Wink 3: Potential speaking invitations for yours truly? Nope. Don’t like speaking and no good at it. (Available, though, for a five-figure fee!)

22. Appropriate: The Lynx win the WNBA championship against the Liberty on a controversial call by the refs.

23. Appropriate 2: The Lynx acquire Minnesota native Paige Bueckers prior to next season.

24. Canterbury Park and Running Aces get dealt in on sports wagering when state legislation is finally approved.

25. And we all need to remember this quote from Samuel Johnson in the next six months and beyond: “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

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