Gophers Basketball – Page 90 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Holds in with 5-Star Recruit Hurt

Posted on August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 by David Shama

Matthew Hurt, the five-star basketball recruit from Rochester John Marshall, might be only a few months away from finalizing his college choice. The state’s most elite and sought after prep prospects in the recent past—like brothers Tyus and Tre Jones—have chosen the blueblood programs of college basketball rather than the Gophers, but Hurt’s story might have a different ending, although don’t bet your Christmas budget on it.

USAtoday.com reported last Friday Hurt plans to soon narrow his list of eight possible schools—Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota, North Carolina and UCLA. Then he intends to line up campus visits and could sign with a school as early as November 14, 2018.

Kansas might be among the schools falling off Hurt’s list if he is concerned about FBI reports connected with the Jayhawk program. The FBI has been investigating corruption in college basketball, and Kansas reportedly has released two subpoenas showing the bureau requested information about the program.

Former Gopher Richard Coffey saw his son Amir go through the recruiting process a few years ago before choosing Minnesota. Sports Headliners asked him about programs that might be under scrutiny as Kansas apparently is. “I think you would have to avoid those schools,” Richard said. “You never know how things are going to go and a school could get penalized (including no postseason play).”

Sources have told Sports Headliners for awhile KU is a Hurt favorite but with a potential cloud over the Jayhawks, Duke could be the eventual winner in the recruiting race. The school, the program’s history of success, and the reputation of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski could be too much for Hurt to turn down.

Indiana perhaps could fall off the list because it might be too much for Hurt and family members to have Matthew competing in the Big Ten for the Hoosiers against the home state Gophers. UCLA, far away in Los Angles and a program long removed from its glory days, also looks suspect.

In a (Rochester) Postbulletin.com article Saturday, Hurt talked about the things important to him in choosing a school. “…The biggest factors for me are my relationships with the players and coaches, the campus and how the program is doing,” he said.

Hurt’s brother Michael will be a junior on the Gopher team this fall. The two brothers have a close relationship and a source said the Hurts would strongly value the experience of playing together, even if it is only for one season before Matthew moved on to the lure of the NBA .

Matthew told USAtoday.com that Michael is “loving it up there (Minneapolis).” Matthew has heard “good things about their campus,” and mentioned he is “pretty close” to incoming 2018 Gopher freshmen Gabe Kalscheur (DeLaSalle), Jarvis Omersa (Orono), and Daniel Oturu (Cretin-Derham Hall).

Although Michael won’t be in the starting lineup for Minnesota next season, he is likely to earn regular playing time off the bench. The Gophers, led by Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy, have two potential All-Big Ten front court players. They lead a Gopher team that could be back in the NCAA Tournament next spring for the second time in two years. Minnesota’s new Athletes Village, including its basketball facilities, has been described as a “game changer” for the recruiting and servicing players.

Committing to a university in advance of Hurt’s senior season at John Marshall will relieve the distraction and time commitment of the recruiting process. Presumably every program in the country would like to have the 6-9 forward who is so skilled he could play in the front court or backcourt in college. He has followed up a sensational junior season at John Marshall with impressive recent performances for USA and AAU basketball teams.

Hurt is a consensus top 10 player by recruiting evaluators for the class of 2019. He is, for example, ranked No. 6 among all players in the 2019 class by 247Sports.com and No. 3 among power forwards.

Hurt told the Post-Bulletin he takes pride in showing on a national stage the quality of high school basketball in Minnesota. He said Minnesota is “the most underrated state in the country.”

Apparently Hurt likes proving how good Minnesota talent is and he would certainly have that opportunity with the Gophers where he could play with his brother and Kalscheur, Omersa and Oturu —all natives of the state.

Worth Noting

Richard Coffey said there is no doubt Amir will be recovered from last season’s shoulder injury that caused him to miss most of the Big Ten season. “He’s healed up really well,” said Richard who predicted his son will probably be full go before school starts (first week in September).

Coffey photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

Richard said Amir is a “legit 6-8” and has increased his weight since last season to about 215 pounds. “We talk a lot about strength and flexibility,” the older Coffey said.

Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck spoke to a record turnout at Twin Cities Dunkers yesterday as part of a busy day that included an interview with the Golf Channel and a team commitment at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. The Golf Channel segment was filmed yesterday with Morning Drive co-host Charlie Rymer and scheduled to air today. The Golf Channel is in town to cover the 3M Championship and wanted to highlight the start of Gophers football this week.

A new Row the Boat graphic was unveiled at the hospital yesterday, symbolizing a never give up attitude. Gopher players and staff held a barbeque with patients and families while enjoying lawn games and other activities.

Former Star Tribune Gopher men’s basketball writer Amelia Rayno has a passion for travel and adventure. She describes herself as a “full time nomad and freelancer” on her new blog Ameiliarayno.com.

Bloomington native Steve Rushin has a byline story in the July 31 issue of Sports Illustrated about Lindsay Whalen that refers to her as “Minnesota’s ever-agreeable favorite daughter.” Whalen, 36, said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” show Sunday she hasn’t decided whether she will play for the Lynx next season, or solely concentrate on her new job as Gopher women’s coach.

Whalen’s husband, former Gopher golfer Ben Greve, has qualified for the August 13-19 U.S. Amateur in northern California.

St. Paul native Jack Morris, enshrined in Cooperstown last weekend, will be honored before a St. Paul Saints game September 1 at CHS Field. Morris pitched for the Saints in 1996 after his big league career.

Nita Killebrew, wife of Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, is preserving the legacy of her late husband for helping others. The inaugural Harmon’s Heart of Baseball fundraiser event and award presentation will be August 25 in conjunction with the Twins-Oakland game in Minneapolis.

Funds raised will help provide opportunities for people with disabilities through two nonprofits: Productive Alternatives and Shriners Hospitals for Children® – Twin Cities. The award recognizes a Minnesotan with disabilities who exemplifies the values and heart of Killebrew. More at Twinsbaseball.com/harmon, or call 612-210-5525.

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Another View on Wolves’ Butler-Towns

Posted on July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 by David Shama

Media reports that Timberwolves leader and best player Jimmy Butler is “fed up” with the alleged nonchalant attitude of teammate Karl-Anthony Towns are prevalent, but are those rumors true?

I asked Timberwolves point guard Tyus Jones if he is aware of a rift between Butler and Towns? “No,” he answered.

So Butler and Towns get along?

“They do,” Jones told Sports Headliners on Monday. “As you can see, we won a lot of games this year so I think everyone got along just fine.”

Jones said there were “no chemistry issues” on last season’s team that won 16 games more than the 2016-17 club. Butler, a guard-forward, joined the Wolves last offseason through a trade with the Bulls. As one of the NBA’s best two-way players, he made a major impact on and off the court. The Wolves earned their way into the playoffs for the first time since 2004. In the locker room the intense veteran made his presence known.

Before last season NBA general managers named Towns the player they would want most to start a franchise with. During the 2017-2018 season, his third in the NBA, the Wolves’ 22-year-old center averaged 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds. However, there have been reports that Butler, the team’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, is not only critical of Towns’ lack of intensity, but that he also has the same feelings about another young Wolves player with high potential, forward-guard Andrew Wiggins.

All of this leaves Wolves fans uneasy because Butler becomes a free agent after the 2018-19 season. If Butler doesn’t want to be here, that’s certainly not true of Jones who also will be a free agent next year.

Jones expects his agent to begin talks about a new contract this summer and the Minnesota native admitted it would be difficult to leave Minneapolis. “It would be hard,” he said. “I’ve said since the beginning, when I was drafted here, this is a dream come true. I grew up a big Timberwolves fan.”

Jones has been a reserve in his first three seasons with the Timberwolves, who acquired him from the Cavs on draft night in 2015. Last season he played in all 82 regular season games but his minutes were limited and he averaged 5.1 points per game. He has career averages of 4.4 points and 2.8 assists, but has earned praise from coach Tom Thibodeau.

The 6-foot-2 Jones, who entered the NBA at about 185 pounds, looks more muscular this summer. “Put on some weight,” he said. “Just trying to focus on making good weight (muscle).”

The 22-year-old former Apple Valley star and prep All-American weighs about 190 pounds now. He is working on a summer development program with intentions to not only become stronger but quicker, and “improve all aspects of my game.”

His gym time included an appearance Monday evening in the Twin Cities Pro Am league at DeLaSalle High School. He played for Team Tyus, the team he sponsors in the summer time league that has players of varying ages and abilities.

Wolves fans might have concerns about next season’s team but Jones is upbeat. “(I) feel good about it,” he said. “We took a big leap this year. We’re going to continue to try to do that. Each year you want to improve individually and as a whole (team). So making the playoffs and ending that drought was our goal. Now this year it’s try and take it a step further.”

Crandall, Travis, Talked U Transfer

It’s not that well-known but the Golden Gophers might have started next season with high profile grad transfers and Minneapolis natives Geno Crandall and Reid Travis in their starting lineup. Crandall’s decision to choose Gonzaga over Minnesota is a national story this summer and the former North Dakota guard told Sports Headliners about the background to his process in choosing a school that included communications with Travis who is leaving Stanford to play his final season of college basketball at Kentucky.

Crandall describes Travis as his “best friend,” and the two have played basketball together since they were five years old. They played on state championship teams in high school at DeLaSalle. Earlier this year the two texted about playing for the Gophers in their hometown. “We talked…about it and gave it some thought,” Crandall said.

Crandall averaged 16.2 points per game last season for the Fighting Hawks, leading the team in scoring. The 6-foot-3 Crandall was second-team All-Big Sky for the second consecutive season. Travis averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds for Stanford. The 6-foot-8 forward was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

The Gophers have a roster talented enough to prompt speculation they could earn their way into the NCAA Tournament next season. But with Crandall and Travis they could have been a Big Ten title favorite. “Oh, yeah, no doubt,” Crandall said.

Crandall believes Travis was influenced in choosing Kentucky because of the program’s national exposure and reputation for sending players on to the NBA. Those were factors that resonated with Crandall, too, in choosing Gonzaga.

The Zags are expected to be a top 10 team nationally. Crandall’s goal is to help the Bulldogs earn their way through the 2019 NCAA Tournament to the Final Four in Minneapolis. He knows how special it could feel playing for a national title in his home city.

Gonzaga has an opening for playing time in its starting backcourt. The path to playing time appeared more direct to him than at Minnesota where the Gophers have experienced players at both point and shooting guard. Those players include grad transfer Brock Stull from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The decision to choose Gonzaga wasn’t easy. He thought a lot about both Minnesota and Xavier where former Gopher assistant coach and DeLaSalle player Ben Johnson now works.

“Honestly, it was probably the toughest decision I ever had to make in my life,” Crandall said. “The first time around, coming out of high school, it wasn’t such a hard decision because I didn’t have too many offers, or too many programs that I really loved.

“But it was an extremely tough decision to say no to the hometown team that I grew up watching. (Minnesota) coach (Richard) Pitino, I think he’s really building something special. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem in the cards for me for what I was looking for my last year…”

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Results Mixed on U Season Tickets

Posted on July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 by David Shama

It looks like Golden Gopher ticket buyers are excited about new women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen, but not as much with football’s P.J. Fleck.

Back in January of 2017 athletic director Mark Coyle hired Fleck to upgrade football recruiting and compete for Big Ten championships. After 18 months the 37-year-old Fleck has improved the recruiting, according to experts who rank major college programs. The winning? Minnesota’s record was 2-7 in Fleck’s first Big Ten season and no one is predicting a big year in 2018. However, Fleck boosters, and there are many, believe the Gophers will be competing for West Division and Big Ten titles in a few years.

The University of Minnesota Athletic Department reports that as of June 21 public season football ticket sales totals have declined from 2017. The number of accounts on June 21 of this year was 6,031 and the total number of tickets was 20,673. That compared with June 21, 2017 totals of 6,457 and 21,418.

How did the Gophers do in total football public season tickets last year? They sold 22,131 public season tickets.

Public season ticket prices for football begin at $249, compared to the least expensive price of $310 a year ago. The DQ Club season ticket price has been reduced by $300.

Mark Coyle (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

Although Whalen, 37, had no previous coaching experience and is still playing for the WNBA Minnesota Lynx, her hiring is one of the most popular moves the Gophers have made in a long time. Whalen, a Hutchinson, Minnesota native, was a legendary player for the U. An Athletic Department spokesman told Sports Headliners when Coyle is out speaking and mentions Whalen’s name, the audience bursts into applause.

As of June 21, the Gophers had 803 public season ticket accounts for women’s basketball with 2,038 tickets sold. Those totals are major increases since June 21, 2017 when the figures were 480 accounts and 1,295 tickets.

Last season the total number of public season tickets sold was 1,338. Although there has been an $8 increase per season ticket, the Gophers are on track to easily exceed last season’s total.

Gopher women’s basketball has mostly been mediocre since the Whalen era ended in 2004. Her hire, though, has created expectations of not only winning championships, but perhaps even making the program financially profitable for the first time in U history.

Consider Whalen’s resume. She was the first three-time All-American in program history, a three-time All-Big Ten selection and three times made Academic All-Big. She led the Gophers to their only Final Four in program history in 2004. Her jersey, No. 13, hangs in the rafters of Williams Arena. She is also a four-time WNBA champion with the Lynx and is playing in her 14th WNBA season.

Despite a disheartening season in 2017-2018, public season ticket sales for Minnesota men’s basketball remain stable. As of June 21, there were 2,118 accounts and 6,256 public season tickets sold, compared with totals of 2,256 and 6,255 a year prior.

The Gophers sold 7,174 public season men’s basketball tickets for the 2017-2018 season.

Minnesota entered last season coming off an 11-7 Big Ten record and a first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Preseason predictions last fall had the Gophers as a nationally ranked team and contender for the conference title, but things collapsed in January with Reggie Lynch’s suspension and Amir Coffey’s injury. Minnesota finished with a 4-14 league record, barely avoiding last place in the league standings.

However, there is optimism about the 2018-19 season because coach Richard Pitino appears to have enough personnel to compete for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Forwards Jordan Murphy and Coffey will be on most everyone’s list of candidates for preseason All-Big Ten teams. Other experienced players who can contribute return, and the incoming freshmen class of all Minnesotans appeals to U fans. Another factor motivating repeat season ticket buyers is they don’t like the idea of giving up seating priority at historic Williams Arena.

In addition to Whalen, Coyle made another high profile hire earlier this year when he named Bob Motzko head men’s hockey coach. Motzko, 57, made a name for himself leading the St. Cloud program for 13 seasons including a Frozen Four appearance in 2013.

Motzko’s hiring, though, hasn’t so far been enough to prevent a slide in public season ticket sales. As of June 21, total accounts were 1,636, with 4,644 tickets sold. That compares with figures of 1,900 and 5,352 as of June 21, 2017. The Gophers sold 5,502 public season tickets for the 2017-2018 season.

A $100 decrease in pricing in one seating zone at 3M Arena at Mariucci has been offered to incentivize public season ticket buyers.

With an overall record of 19-17 last season, the Gophers didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Fan apathy was alarming with large numbers of seats empty in the arena. The record and disinterest were painful for a program long billed as “Pride on Ice.”

Although the renewal periods for existing basketball, football and hockey public season ticket holders closed in May, the totals reported here will increase with new buyers. Sales of new season tickets will continue into the beginning of the seasons in each of the four programs.

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