Gophers Basketball – Page 70 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Don’t Expect Stefon Diggs Trade Now

Posted on October 14, 2019October 14, 2019 by David Shama

The NFL trade deadline is October 29 but there seems zero chance the Vikings will move Stefon Diggs between now and then. Diggs has been mentioned nationally in trade rumors as recently as yesterday when he had 167 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions in the Vikings’ 38-20 win over the Eagles.

Diggs created controversy by skipping practices and meetings earlier this month, and was reportedly fined more than $200,000. The fifth-year wide receiver wanted to be a bigger part of an offense that was struggling with its passing game. Maybe his disgruntlement prompted opening things up the last two Sundays, including yesterday when Diggs not only caught seven passes (he dropped two) but ran the ball twice for 18 yards.

Before Sunday’s win Billswire.usatoday.com posted a story saying Good Morning Football Weekend host Michael Robinson speculated a Diggs trade was the most likely involving an NFL star before the October 29 deadline. The 4-1 Bills are chasing the 6-0 Patriots in the AFC East Division.

“They need another number one receiver,” Robinson said. “Zay Jones (wide receiver traded to the Raiders) has just got out of there. So I’m telling you, go get Stefon Diggs. He could be the piece, the secret piece to beat the New England Patriots.”

But six games into the season the Vikings seem too committed to their roster to shake things up by trading Diggs. With Super Bowl ambitions and coming off a failed season in 2018, they want to give quarterback Kirk Cousins the best and most familiar personnel possible to make the offense successful. Cousins was unfamiliar with Vikings receivers in his first season a year ago but now can take advantage of the knowledge he has about Diggs and others. That’s a comfort for the inconsistent Cousins.

Diggs is talented and experienced, and forms a big-play threat with Adam Thielen, the team’s other dangerous wide receiver. The Vikings, though, aren’t deep at WR and that’s another reason why a trade during the season makes no sense given Minnesota’s commitment to win now.

Worth Noting

Donald Trump made no mention of Minnesota sports teams or celebrities including Cousins (the two spoke a week ago Sunday) when in Minneapolis Thursday night for a campaign re-election rally, but when the President was in Lake Charles, Louisiana the next evening he was touting the undefeated LSU Tigers and quarterback Joe Burrow.

The unseasonably inclement weather for Saturday night’s Minnesota-Nebraska game might have prompted a few Golden Gophers football historians to recall the late October upset of 10th ranked USC at old Memorial Stadium in 1955. Played in an October 25 snowstorm, the Californians acted like they had never seen snow (and many had not) and couldn’t wait to fly home. A mediocre Gophers team that won just three games all season, took care of the chilly and wet Trojans.

Gophers senior linebacker Kamal Martin was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week today for his 15 tackles performance in Minnesota’s win over Nebraska. He had six solo tackles for the 6-0 Gophers who are now ranked No. 20 nationally in both the A.P. and Coaches polls.

Former Gophers basketball captain Paul Presthus, now retired from the financial industry, is a starter at Braemar Golf Course in Edina. He only played 27 holes this season because of a torn Achilles suffered last October. Presthus and wife Linda celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary September 20.

Lindy’s college basketball magazine lists the top 150 players in the nation with Duke’s Tre Jones, the former state Mr. Basketball from Apple Valley, at No. 4. Another Minnesotan, McKinley Wright from Champlin Park and now at Colorado, ranks No. 10.

The state’s 2019 Mr. Basketball, Matthew Hurt from Rochester John Marshall, is preparing for his freshman year at Duke and Lindy’s ranks him No. 59 on its 150 list. “More than capable of leading the Blue Devils in scoring this year,” Lindy’s says.

No Gophers made the list, although Minnesota natives and sophomores Daniel Oturu and Gabe Kalscheur could be deserving of such recognition by next March.

The state’s pipeline of current top prep players includes Minnehaha super talents Jalen Suggs (class of 2020) and Chet Holmgren (2021). Both had recent visits to Gonzaga, with speculation the Spokane, Washington school could be the college choice for Suggs.

Meanwhile the Star Tribune is reporting Minnesota coach Richard Pitino might receive a verbal commitment today from four-star Brewster Academy guard Jamal Mashburn Jr.

Lindy’s preseason top 25 of women’s teams includes Minnesota at No. 18. The Big Ten Conference schools ahead of the Gophers are No. 5 Maryland and No. 15 Michigan State.

Street & Smith’s college basketball magazine refers to Hopkins superstar Paige Bueckers as the “nation’s top-rated player” and has her headlining its first team of high school All-Americans.

Former Timberwolves player Mark Madsen is in his first season of coaching at Utah Valley.

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By Land or Air Cook in Vikings Plans

Posted on October 10, 2019October 11, 2019 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column with the focus on the Vikings and Golden Gophers football.

Dalvin Cook is second in NFL rushing yards with 574 yards. Twice he has totaled 21 carries in a game this season and two years ago he had 27 rushing attempts in the third game of his rookie year. Questioned yesterday if he could handle 30 carries as the team’s prominent runner and emerging main man on offense, Cook said he is ready to do “whatever the coaches” want.

Asked about 20-plus carries a game for Cook, head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday: “I want us to do whatever we have to do to win. I don’t really care how many carries he gets or how many times we throw the ball. It’s all about trying to do the best that we can do to win.

“When he has the ball in his hand, he’s very dangerous as you can see on that tape. There’s so many ‘wow’ plays when he has the ball in his hands that he can do so much damage. When we get the passing game going like we did yesterday (last Sunday) and him running, I think it’s a good mixture.”

Cook not only had 132 yards rushing on Sunday against the New York Giants but a career high 86 yards in pass receptions. He has rushed for over 100 yards in three of the team’s five games and was questioned about the possibility of going over the 100 mark in receptions for the first time as a pro. “It would be great,” Cook said.

The Eagles, who the Vikings play Sunday in Minneapolis, are the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense against the run, allowing just 63 yards per game. Philadelphia ranks No. 27 against the pass, giving up 271.2 yards. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and Cook figure to be main contributors to an offense that will balance the run and pass.

“For whatever reason he tends to make that first guy miss on the tackle,” Cousins said in evaluating Cook. “That’s the mark of a great running back. (I am) so encouraged to see the way he not only runs the ball, but you have to remember he catches the ball. It’s just as important that he’s effective there as well (pass receptions), and he has been. …He can still have the same effect after a catch as after a handoff.”

Cousins praised Cook as a player with stamina, someone who can handle a lot of carries and still perform. “He’s right back (running), again and again,” Cousins said.

Matt Birk told Sports Headliners his new Unity High School in Burnsville has 14 students enrolled and will grow in the years ahead. The former Viking center predicts his former team will defeat the Eagles by seven points Sunday.

Vikings defensive back Mike Hughes, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, has played in the last three games. He told Sports Headliners he is playing without a brace in both games and practices.

Former Viking Andrew Sendejo is listed as a second team safety with the Eagles defense, while ex-Gopher Craig James is a third team cornerback.

Looks like the 5-0 Gophers will be playing in temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium against Big Ten West Division rival Nebraska, 4-2. The team has been practicing in cooler temps in its practice facility and using other ploys to prepare for the weather conditions, per head coach P.J. Fleck.

Gophers offensive left tackle Sam Schlueter, a redshirt junior from Victoria, Minnesota, has improved from being a marginal performer to outstanding. Fleck said Schlueter’s commitment and maturity in the process has been impressive.

“He’s been the (Gophers’) Offensive Line Player of the Week four straight weeks,” Fleck said. “This is a guy that needed some time off for a while a few years back, was going through some really tough times. It’s fun to watch guys like that go through that. That’s why you coach.”

Players on Fleck’s roster who aren’t seeing game action participate in Sunday scrimmages. Among those who are impressing the coach is 6-2, 310-pound freshman defensive lineman DeAngelo Carter from Leesburg, Georgia.

“If you look at the defensive line (among reserves), there’s a plethora of guys.” Fleck said. “DeAngelo, he is going to be a special football player. His motor never stops. His first step off the ball is scary quick and fast.”

Among the traditions of Gophers football are the Goal Line Club sponsored Friday lunch programs at Jax Café. This Friday the booster club has arranged for Minnesota defensive line coach Jim Panagos and former Gopher offensive lineman Tommy Olson to speak. More at Goallineclub.org.

Gophers basketball fans need encouragement this week after hearing redshirt junior Eric Curry has sustained another knee injury, casting doubt about his future availability with the program. But fans won’t find much to be happy about reading college basketball preview magazines.

Street & Smith’s publication forecasts a 10th place finish and of course that was written before news concerning Curry, a 6-9 experienced forward expected to be one of the team’s better players. Lindy’s college basketball issue projects an 11th place Gopher finish in the 14-team Big Ten.

Wisconsin, with Minnesota natives Brad Davison and Nate Reuvers among the team’s key players, will finish fifth in the Big Ten, per Street & Smith’s. Lindy’s projects the Badgers seventh, with both publications predicting Michigan State and Maryland will be No. 1 and 2 in the league.

Kylie Miller, the Gophers volleyball transfer from UCLA, hasn’t played in a match since September 27 because of “medical issues,” Hugh McCutheon told Sports Headliners this morning. The coach said “it’s day-to-day” on her return to game competition.

John Gilbert, the former Minneapolis hockey writer now living in Duluth and still following the Gophers, refers to Minnesota’s Bob Motzko as a “great coach.” He thinks Motzko’s second season Gopher team will be improved after not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament last winter.

Years ago the Gophers won with a roster of all-Minnesotans. Gilbert believes a return to that policy would elevate the program’s success. “Make it the beacon where all the (Minnesota) kids want to go,” he told Sports Headliners.

It was 63 years ago this week that New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen threw the only no-hit perfect game in World Series history. On October 8, 1956 Larsen shut down the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0, in a game that lasted 2:06.

While MLB playoff games elsewhere have struggled to draw capacity crowds, the Twins’ attendance of 41,121 Monday night was a sell-out and the 11th largest ever at Target Field.

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Don’t Expect Vikings to Change ID

Posted on October 3, 2019October 3, 2019 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column, focusing on the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Wild:

The 2-2 Vikings produced just 40 rushing yards last Sunday in their 16-6 loss to the Chicago Bears. But it will be a surprise if Minnesota doesn’t emphasize running the football against the 2-2 New York Giants this coming Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer wants a physical, rushing offense and that was his message long before the season started. While the offensive line and quarterback Kirk Cousins have been inconsistent, no one doubts the skills of running back Dalvin Cook who ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards at 410.

“I think the way Dalvin is running the ball, I think it’s just kind of building things off of that…and just finding different ways to get people involved,” backup quarterback Sean Mannion told Sports Headliners when talking about what’s next for the offense.

Even when the offense is slowed like it was against the Bears (perhaps the NFL’s best defense) the Vikings are advised to still focus on their playmakers starting with Cook who makes both short and long gains with only minimal running space available. Wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs can also make the proverbial “something out of nothing” plays.

Looking toward next Sunday and beyond, Cook said “it’s important to get the running game going early” to open passing routes so wide receivers can make plays. He also expressed confidence in Cousins who has struggled in both of the team‘s losses, games that came against NFC North Division rivals the Bears and Packers—the two best teams Minnesota has played so far.

The Giants will offer a mediocre defense to test the Vikings playmakers. The unit ranks No. 25 in the 32-team NFL, giving up 389.2 yards per game. Former Viking Matt Birk predicted on KFAN Radio yesterday his old team will win by more than three touchdowns.

The Vikings’ defense has impressed after four games. Minnesota has allowed only one rushing touchdown and has made 24 tackles for loss (tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh for most in the league). The Vikings are giving up 321.8 yards per game, sixth best in the league.

The Giants have names familiar to Minnesota sports fans on the coaching staff. Head coach Pat Shurmur, now in his second season with the Giants, was the Viking offensive coordinator in 2017 when he was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association.

Giants offensive coordinator Mike Shula was head coach at Alabama when the Golden Gophers defeated the Crimson Tide in the 2004 Music City Bowl.

John Gilbert, among the preeminent hockey writers in the country, is upbeat about the Wild’s likelihood of returning to the playoffs. “I think they got a great chance to really have a good season,” he told Sports Headliners.

For 30 years Gilbert covered pro and college hockey for Minneapolis daily newspapers, and he now lives in Duluth working as a freelance writer. He believes it’s no mystery why the Wild, who open the regular season tonight in Nashville against the Predators, didn’t make the playoffs last spring. He said injuries causing the absences of defenseman Matt Dumba and center Mikko Koivu put an end to six consecutive playoff runs by the Wild.

Gilbert regards Dumba as perhaps the top defenseman in the NHL. He considers Koivu to be among the league’s best centers when judged by all around play including coverage of the other team’s leading defenseman. “And he is a great leader,” Gilbert added.

Gilbert is confident that with Dumba and Koivu, Minnesota would have been in the 2019 postseason. “They (the Wild) lose those two guys, and they barely miss the playoffs,” he said.

Two key players can make that much difference, according to Gilbert. “So you look at every team that made the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, and you take away their best two-way centerman and you take away their best offensive defenseman, they don’t make it.”

The Wild didn’t do much to change the roster in the offseason but the club did sign free agent wing Mats Zuccarello who had 40 points playing for Dallas and the New York Rangers last season. Gilbert likes Zuccarello’s skills, believes goalie Devan Dubnyk “can stop anybody, at any time,” and refers to Bruce Boudreau as a “great coach.” With Boudreau’s coaching and a roster that includes the return of Dumba and Koivu, Gilbert has this forecast: “They’re going to be really strong this season.”

Of course, the prediction comes without a guarantee. “No league has the parity that the NHL has,” Gilbert said. “You can finish 16th, and scratch your way in, and win the Stanley Cup if your goalie gets hot and your guys are playing well.”

Gilbert just finished authoring a book, Miracle in Lake Placid, that celebrates the 40th anniversary next year of the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s stunning march to the Gold Medal in 1980. Gilbert covered the team back then and had access to players and coach Herb Brooks that others didn’t.

Gilbert saved his notes from covering the American team almost 40 years ago. “I could recreate the West Germany game (for example) like it happened this afternoon,” he said.

Quoting new Wild general manager Bill Guerin’s message to the team: “I am not here to win friends. I am here to win games.”

Anthony LaPanta, the TV play-by-play voice of the Wild, is also an assistant football coach for the 4-1 Totino-Grace football team.

Gophers coach Richard Pitino, with seven new players, acknowledged he probably would have a different team if Amir Coffey hadn’t passed up his senior season of eligibility to turn pro. “But you can’t hold these guys back from doing what’s great for them and what they have dreamed of their whole lives,” he said at Big Ten Media Day yesterday in Rosemont, Illinois where expectations were high for teams like Michigan State and Ohio State, but low for Minnesota and Nebraska where Fred Hoiberg will coach his first Cornhuskers team.

Hoiberg, the former Minnesota Timberwolves player and front office executive, won’t lack for fan support in Lincoln. Despite minimal success predicted for his first team, all home games are sold out.

Forty years ago Mike Prochaska, Joe Hoffman, Kevin Keohen, and Dale Lapic were members of the Montgomery, Minnesota team that won the 1979 Babe Ruth state championship. The four are now part of the Union Hill Greyhounds team that last weekend won the amateur baseball Class 6A state championship for players over 50 years old with an 11-10 win over the Alexandria Redbirds. Hoffman scored the winning run for his team whose roster includes Dave “Greek” Wagner, a member of the Minnesota State Amateur Men’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

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