Gophers Basketball – Page 82 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Big Vikings Decisions May Await Wilfs

Posted on December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 by David Shama

What does the Vikings ownership do now with their football leadership?

Staus quo?

Does the Wilf family even think about changing head coaches and/or general managers?

Zygi Wilf’s stated goal is a Super Bowl and before the 2018 season started the Vikings were among the NFL favorites to play in the big game next February. Yesterday the Vikings finished one of the most frustrating seasons in franchise history when they didn’t qualify for the playoffs and earn the opportunity to play in Super Bowl 53.

In five seasons as head coach Mike Zimmer has a 47-32-1 record. His clubs have won two NFC North Division championships. The Vikings reached the NFC title game about a year ago. That’s a better resume than a lot of franchises achieve over a five-year period.

Zygi Wilf has long been an admirer of former NFL coach Bill Parcells who also happens to be close with Zimmer. The Parcells influence reportedly was a factor in Zygi wanting Zimmer to be the coach. It might be difficult for the Wilfs to be emotionally invested in Zimmer and now consider parting ways.

Zimmer has mostly fulfilled expectations as a defensive coaching authority. There have been times when his units were among the NFL’s best. There have also been big moments like the NFC title game against the Eagles in January of 2018 when the defense didn’t show up in a 38-7 loss.

And late in yesterday’s game Minnesota needed to defeat the Bears to make the playoffs but the defense was subpar. Never was this more evident than in the fourth quarter when the Vikings trailed by three points, 13-10, but couldn’t stop the Bears from driving for a long touchdown and making a two-point conversion.

The Vikings haven’t found sustained offensive success during the Zimmer-Spielman partnership. The last few years have been a revolving door of offensive coordinators and quarterbacks. This season (8-7-1 final record) ended with an offense that lacked identity and productivity, and played a major role in the club defeating just one team with a winning record at the time the Vikings played them.

Spielman, who has been involved with player personnel decisions for the Vikings for 13 seasons, has struggled to put together an offensive line that is consistently successful. This season’s version played mostly mediocre football and sometimes awful like yesterday when the Bears just pushed Minnesota’s offensive linemen around on too many plays.

It was Spielman and Zimmer who decided spending a guaranteed $84 million last offseason on quarterback Kirk Cousins was a next step to a Super Bowl. Perhaps it will work out but so far Cousins, who often appears too deliberate in processing while in the pocket, has only added to his reputation of not being able to defeat winning teams (4-25 record).

Spielman has made many correct personnel moves over the years including draft choices like wide receiver Stefon Diggs, running back Dalvin Cook, tight end Kyle Rudolph, defensive ends Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter, and safety Harrison Smith. He has helped shape the franchise with free agent signings like defensive tackles Linval Joseph and Sheldon Richardson. He has also enhanced his roster with hard to find talent among undrafted college free agents (cue the music for wide receiver Adam Thielen).

Spielman is a high character guy who presumably has a solid track record of communications with the Wilfs. It’s hard not to like Spielman who counting his time with other NFL clubs has nearly 30 years of experience in player personnel work.

Since the Wilfs began operating the franchise in 2005, the value has increased dramatically. Zimmer and Spielman have played a major role in that monetary gain with Forbes now valuing the franchise at $2.4 billion. The Vikings, for whatever their season records, have been mostly entertaining and so popular in the state that no other sports entity is even worth mentioning in the same breath.

Yet during the Wilf era the team has won just two playoff games. Twice the Vikings have advanced to the NFC title game but didn’t advance to the Super Bowl. During the last five years the Vikings have missed the playoffs three times, with 2018 particularly frustrating and at times chaotic.

If the Wilfs were to change their football leadership, who would they turn to? There are many individuals who would love the opportunity to lead the franchise but the Wilfs know what they have in Zimmer and Spielman. Is that good enough for them?

Worth Noting

Fox TV analyst Troy Aikman talking yesterday about the Bears-Vikings game: “It will be a long offseason for Kirk Cousins and company.”

If Gophers junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson wants to apply for the 2019 NFL Draft, he and other underclassmen must do so by January 14. The draft is April 25-27 in Nashville.

Look for the Vikings to continue their interest in hosting a future draft.

The late Murray Warmath, the Gophers’ 1960 national championship football coach, would have been 106 years old last Wednesday. Former players remembered the coach’s influence on their lives in email exchanges.

The Twins have one of the five most improved farm systems in baseball, according to a Mlb.com story last Thursday by Jim Callis. He wrote that shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff “rank among the most elite prospects in the game.”

St. Thomas Academy running back Brendan McFadden, the Pioneer Press East Metro Player of the Year, has a preferred walk-on offer from Rice where 2017 Minnesota Mr. Football award winner Antonio Montero (Eden Prairie) is on the roster. Ivy League schools are also recruiting McFadden.

Linebacker Luke Herzog, also from St. Thomas Academy, will be a preferred walk-on at North Dakota.

The University of St. Thomas football team, 8-2 last season, was ranked No. 15 nationally by D3Football.com in its final poll. That’s the 10th consecutive year the Tommies have finished among the top 20 teams in the website’s final poll. Only two other Division III programs have accomplished that, Mount Union and Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Hill-Murray alum Jake Guentzel, the Penguins forward in town Monday night to play the Wild, has reason to celebrate the New Year. The 24-year-old recently signed a $30 million, five-year contract extension. Guentzel is in his third season with the Penguins and is on track for a career season in goals, assists and points.

Former Wild forward and Virginia, Minnesota native Matt Cullen, 42, has recently returned from the injured reserve list and is a valued leader on the Penguins.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor talking yesterday on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” show regarding a potential trade to help his inconsistent team: “I don’t see anything that is going to help in the near future.”

The Mount St. Mary’s men’s basketball team the Gophers defeated yesterday, 71-53, is 3-10 on the season, and has played one other Big Ten team, losing to Maryland, 92-77.

Comments Welcome

U Volleyball Following Golden Script

Posted on November 29, 2018November 29, 2018 by David Shama

It looks almost predestined for the Golden Gophers volleyball team to win the 2018 national championship.

Minnesota’s path in the NCAA Tournament begins tomorrow night at home in Maturi Pavilion. If the Gophers keep on winning they can land at Target Center next month in the Final Four, never having left Minneapolis.

The Gophers are the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Ten regular season championship. At times during the season Minnesota was ranked No. 1 nationally in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, and now are at No. 2.

Earlier this month Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon was honored with induction into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. McCutcheon coached the U.S. men’s volleyball team to the 2008 Olympic gold medal. He directed the American women to the 2012 Olympic silver medal. At Minnesota he won the 2015 Big Ten title and twice has led teams to the Final Four.

Clearly this is a storybook season so far for McCutcheon and the Gophers, and the final chapter to their story could have a very happy ending. But what friends know about McCutcheon is that no matter how this narrative ends, the coach will keep it all in perspective and try to use the results as a learning experience for himself and his players.

McCutcheon photo courtesy of Minnesota athletic communications.

McCutcheon is a coach’s coach. Others in the coaching profession, regardless of sport, seek his counsel. Understanding process, temperament and relationships are common threads in all sports. McCutcheon goes about his business in a personable and engaged manner but you sense he is always under control, and calculating a next thought or move.

Asked this week what the Gophers will do next year without one of their stars, McCutcheon said, “We’ll miss her, but we’re going to keep playing volleyball.”

Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi hired McCutcheon and describes him as a very special coach. Maturi told Sports Headliners that McCutcheon not only knows what needs to be accomplished but makes the necessary adjustments. With him the Xs and Os of the sport don’t block out relating to his players and getting the best out of them. “He does it better than anybody I’ve been around,” Maturi said.

In an email Maturi reflected on McCutcheon’s use of process: “He has the ability to get his athletes to focus on the process rather than the score as well as any coach I know. No emotion over a mistake or good point. It is about the next point.

“As you heard (at a McCutcheon talk), it is about relationships. Understanding each athlete and their needs, yet holding them accountable and responsible. He is special.”

The Gophers, 25-3, play Bryant, 22-12, on Friday night. If the Gophers win they will advance to the second round Saturday and compete against Friday night’s Colorado-South Carolina winner also at Maturi Pavilon. By winning out over the weekend Minnesota can keep on playing in the tournament and at the Pav December 7-8. The Final Four at Target Center is December 14 and 15.

Worth Noting

The Gophers are fourth nationally in average home volleyball attendance at 5,354 fans per match. Nebraska leads the country with an average of 8,188.

Maturi Pavilion and adjacent Williams Arena will both have air conditioning installed next year. A volleyball performance center at the Pav where players can train is also being planned.

Big games and limited time during the next seven days puts pressure on the Gopher men’s basketball coaches and players. Minnesota, 5-1, plays Oklahoma State, 4-2, in a game that doesn’t start until 9 p.m. Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Sunday night the Gophers open their Big Ten season against 6-0 Ohio State in Columbus. Then next Wednesday, Minnesota has a second conference game—playing Nebraska, 6-1, at Williams Arena.

If the Gophers can earn at least two wins, in March they might look back and say that stretch contributed to an NCAA Tournament invitation. To have success during the next several days Minnesota will have to improve its shooting from Monday night’s loss at Boston College. The Gophers made 19 of 65 field goals, including 5 of 30 three-point attempts.

Friday night’s game is part of the U.S. Bank Stadium Basketball Classic—a two-night trial run on the basketball configuration and logistics in the facility for next spring’s NCAA Final Four. St. Thomas and UW-River Falls meet prior to the Gophers and Cowboys in the first basketball games ever played in the facility that opened in 2016. Saturday night North Dakota State plays Drake, followed by South Dakota State and Northern Iowa.

The classic is being administered and promoted by the stadium management company, SMG, and not the University of Minnesota. Only lower level seating will be set up, with SMG targeting attendance of 12,000 to 15,000 Friday and 10,000 to 12,000 Saturday. Ads in the Star Tribune have been promoting $15 tickets.

Memphis might be a leader in the “sweepstakes” for a commitment next spring from Rochester John Marshall superstar and senior Matthew Hurt. The new Memphis staff, featuring head coach Penny Hardaway, and assistants Mike Miller and Sam Mitchell, all have impressive NBA backgrounds. They can talk to Hurt from experience about how positioned the three are to get him best prepped for a pro career.

Kirk Cousins has thrown for more yards this season than Tom Brady, his quarterback rival in Sunday’s showdown game between the Vikings and Patriots in New England. Cousins’ total is 3,289 while Brady, whose leading receiver is running back James White, is at 3,031.

Jason Williamson, the Owatonna running back and free safety who has verbally committed to the Gophers, is one of 11 finalists for the Mr. Football Award given annually to an outstanding high school senior in the state. The other candidates are Bryce Benhart, Lakeville North; Matt Cavanaugh, Edina; Alex Folz, Spring Grove; Nick McCabe, Caledonia; Cade Plath, Chanhassen; David Roddy, Breck; Luke Ryan, BOLD; Treyton Welch, Buffalo; Brandon Westberg, Cambridge-Isanti; and Cole Woodford, Redwood Valley.

The award winner will be announced December 16 at the Doubletree by Hilton Minneapolis Park Place Hotel. The Mr. Football Award is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings.

Antonio Montero, last year’s Mr. Football winner from Eden Prairie, has been a starting linebacker as a true freshman at Rice this fall. He had six solo tackles in one game.

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck has his 38th birthday today.

Stepan Falkovsky, the 6-7, 224-pound defenseman the Wild acquired last week from the Kings, is only 21 and not yet on Minnesota’s roster while he gains more lower level experience. If he were on the team now he would be the Wild’s tallest player.

Meanwhile, the Wild’s Matt Dumba is the leading goal scorer among defensemen in the NHL with 10.

Comments Welcome

Mike Zimmer Still Confident about Kicker

Posted on November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column focusing on the Vikings.

Mike Zimmer is working with his fourth kicker in five seasons as Vikings head coach. There have been enough ups and downs to write a book about those experiences, with the latest tribulation coming Sunday night when Dan Bailey missed on two of three field goals.

“I still have a lot of confidence in this kid. I believe in him,” Zimmer told KFXN-FM after the game. “I watch him every single day. It was big for him to go out there and get that last one.”

Bailey’s 37-yard third quarter field goal against the Packers put the Vikings ahead 17-14 in a vital game they went on to win 24-17. The subject of field goals in a Packers game is a touchy one after Minnesota rookie Daniel Carlson missed three in the opening game for both teams in September.

That game ended in a 29-29 tie that doesn’t do much for the Vikings’ postseason ambitions. At 6-4-1 Minnesota is pursuing an NFC North Division title, or a wild card entry, to make the playoffs. Tight games in the fourth quarter could mean Bailey’s leg will be the difference in winning during the five remaining games on the regular season schedule and qualifying for the playoffs.

Bailey has made 75 percent of his field goals since joining the Vikings and all but one of his extra points. In seven previous seasons with the Cowboys he converted on 88.2 percent of his field goals.

Meanwhile, Carlson, who was cut and replaced by Bailey after the Green Bay opener, is seven of eight on field goals and a perfect eight for eight on extra points after playing in five games for the Raiders.

Former Viking Pete Bercich talking to Sports Headliners before Sunday night’s game about defensive end Everson Griffen, who rejoined the team in late October: “I think he’s working his way back. I think with defensive ends a lot of it is timing. Being out as long as he was, it’s going to take him a little bit, and conditionally, (being in the best shape). I think he’s dong all right.”

Griffen missed five games earlier this season. In six games he has 11 tackles and 3.5 sacks, with totals of 7 and 2.5 since rejoining the team for the New Orleans game October 28.

Griffen was a Pro Bowler last season for the third straight year but because of his missed time this fall the Vikings did not include him among players spotlighted to the media on Sunday encouraging Pro Bowl voting. The eight players who are being promoted for promoting and playing in the 2019 Pro Bowl are quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, defensive end Danielle Hunter, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, tight end Kyle Rudolph, safety Harrison Smith, wide receiver Adam Thielen, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

In Pro Bowl voting totals released last week by the NFL, Smith was the top vote getter among free safeties. Hunter was second among defensive ends.

Although the Vikings offensive line had one of its better games against the Packers Sunday night, the unit remains among the lower rated groups by NFL authorities. A Vikings source, who didn’t want his name in print, said the club is well aware of the line’s limitations.

His view is the Vikings will have to change some personnel among starters to improve. The club wanted to prioritize offensive linemen in the most recent NFL draft but their options were limited when other teams were better positioned to make selections.

The source said his team got an athletic tackle in rookie Brian O’Neill who was taken on the second round. He said O’Neill needs to become stronger and while he won’t become a perennial All-Pro he can be a solid lineman. Earlier this season Pro Football Focus rated him the third best rookie offensive lineman in the NFL.

After Sunday’s game the Vikings ranked 30th in NFL rushing with 85.3 yards per game. That is an indictment of the offensive line and the source stressed even in today’s pass-happy NFL having an effective running game is important to creating a balanced offense.

Blake Cashman and other Minnesota natives who play for the Gophers were recognized on the field during the Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium for their team’s upset win Saturday against Wisconsin. The players displayed Paul Bunyan’s Axe in front of an appreciative crowd. Cashman simulated rowing a boat, an acknowledgment of coach P.J. Fleck’s well-known mantra.

David Raih, the Packers wide receivers coach and an Edina native, is a classic work your way up from the bottom success story. In 2008 he quit a lucrative sales job to accept an unpaid internship in the football department at UCLA, per a 2016 ESPN story. The 38-year-old Raih attended St. Thomas Academy before being a reserve quarterback at Iowa from 1999-2003.

Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs turns 25 on Thursday, and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson will have his 28th birthday on the same day.

Despite speculation Mike Grant, 61, said yesterday he isn’t planning to retire as Eden Prairie’s 11-time state champion football coach. With humor, Grant mentioned he gets along well with the EP athletic director. (For those who don’t know he is both the head football coach and AD at the school).

The Eagles lost last Friday in the 6A title game to Lakeville North. It was the second time in 2018 the Panthers have defeated EP and Grant praised Lakeville as the better team.

Eagles senior quarterback Cole Kramer, who plays for the Gophers next year, is the only 6A QB ever to start in three consecutive state title games.

Tonight there will be a dedication ceremony to rename the Hutchinson High School gymnasium for Lindsay Whalen. The legendary Hutch native, now in her first season as Gophers women’s basketball coach, will direct Minnesota against Syracuse on Thursday night at Williams Arena. Both teams are in the Associated Press top 25 with Syracuse No. 12 and Minnesota No. 20.

Whalen speaks to the Capital Club on December 20 at the Town & Country Club in St. Paul. Minnesota Wild general manager Paul Fenton talks to the group on December 12 in downtown St. Paul at the 317 on Rice Park Event Center. The networking group features prominent speakers, many of them from athletics. More information about the Capital Club is available at Capitalclubmn.com, or from Patrick Klinger, patrickklinger@klingercompany.com.

Janel McCarville, Whalen’s Final Four teammate during playing days with the Gophers, has been playing professionally this year in Sweden.

The Wild play Arizona tonight at home, and fans will continue to evaluate coach Bruce Boudreau’s decision to split up top pair defensemen Matt Dumba and Ryan Suter.

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