Gophers Hockey – Page 38 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers Goal: Big Ten’s Best Backcourt

Posted on October 22, 2014October 22, 2014 by David Shama

Notes from a Tuesday afternoon of interviewing University of Minnesota basketball players at Williams Arena. The Gophers are preparing for their fall schedule that begins next month with a November 6 home exhibition against UMD and continues November 14 with a nationally televised game in Puerto Rico against NCAA title contender Louisville.

The nucleus of championship college basketball teams is often the guards. Minnesota features shooting guard Andre Hollins and point guard DeAndre Mathieu, team captains and seniors. They led the Gophers in scoring and assists during 2013-2014 when Minnesota had a 25-13 record and won the NIT championship.

Mathieu, who will stay in the gym until he makes 300 or more jump shots to improve his shooting, said he and Hollins “want to be the best backcourt in the conference.” When the coaches and media selected All-Big Teams after last season the two didn’t receive a lot of recognition. Both were named honorable mention by the media. Hollins was an honorable mention selection by the coaches.

Omissions haven’t gone unnoticed. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me because I was kind of upset about it,” Mathieu said. “I felt like we played good enough. I talk to him (Andre) about it all the time. We got some work to do.

“We’re going out this year and trying to be the best two guards in the league. I know we’re going to have to do our parts to make this team the best team possible. Hopefully being two of the best guards in the conference can do that.”

Last week it was announced that a media panel selected a five players preseason All-Big Ten team and neither Hollins nor Mathieu were included.

Mathieu said there’s no comparison between how the Gophers look now with a year ago at this time. “This team is a lot more intense—a lot more competitive. We’re trying to get it on the defensive end. I thought last year we weren’t as intense on the defensive end.”

Mathieu likes what he sees of the full court and half court defenses. It’s in the half court where he believes the Gophers will have to consistently be at their best to limit top teams including Wisconsin.

The Badgers are a unanimous preseason choice to win the Big Ten Conference regular season title. With four of five starters returning from last year’s NCAA Final Four team, the Badgers who were 30-8 last season, are a favorite to win the national championship. The Big Ten media panel voted Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky Preseason Player of the Year.

College basketball media has wide ranging expectations for the Gophers. Lindy’s magazine, for example, forecasts a fourth place Big Ten finish behind Wisconsin, Ohio State and Nebraska. Sporting News magazine predicts the Gophers will be ninth in the conference.

Nebraska’s basketball program has newfound respect from forecasters. Gophers senior center Elliott Eliason is from Chadron, Nebraska, a small town in the western part of the state. He said there’s a “bastion of Gophers fans” in his hometown so he’s not worried about receiving a hard time because of Nebraska basketball. “Plus, we beat them (the Cornhuskers) last year in football so I give them heat for that. They care a lot more about that than anything else.”

Eliason is listed at 6-11 but said he’s a “legit” 7 feet with shoes on and wants to be listed as a 7-footer.

Junior power forward Joey King said he is stronger than last season after summer workouts and increasing his weight from 218 pounds to 234. King said basketball for him is “all about energy and effort.” He plays without fear. “I haven’t had any serious injuries to worry about—other than a broken nose and a finger. Those weren’t too bad for me. Definitely no fears out on the court. I mean people are going through worse things.”

King, an Eagan, Minnesota native, said a summer highlight was attending WE Fest in Detroit Lakes. “Me and my friends like to take a camper up there and spend a couple days watching some of our favorite country artists, so it was a good time.”

Senior forward Mo Walker said his weight, 250, remains the same as last season. That was down from about 320 pounds as a sophomore. Last season he looked and moved like a different player.

Walker had career highs of 18 points and nine rebounds in the Gophers’ win over the Badgers last January at Williams Arena. This year the two teams don’t meet until February 21 in Madison and March 5 in Minneapolis.

“Always looking forward to playing the Badgers—border rival team,” Walker said. “Home crowd always wants us to win. The whole state is pulling for us every time we play them.”

Hollins injured his ankle 16 seconds into that January win over the Badgers and not only missed the game but others because of it. He said yesterday he is recovered from the injury. “It got progressively stronger but it was never the same during the season.”

Hollins said in his new role as co-captain he’s “much more vocal than last year” and is looking forward to the season. “We’re a lot deeper than last year. We have a lot of talent.”

Charles Buggs, a sophomore forward, played minimal minutes last season but his performance at home in the Iowa game was a peak effort. He made five of six field goals, including all three of his three pointers, and scored 13 points in 19 minutes to help the Gophers win. Why can’t he play like that more frequently?

“I feel like with me that’s more of a mental thing,” he answered. “I just gotta keep my head together all the time and make sure I am just pushing myself to work hard throughout the whole year.”

Buggs had surgery on his left knee a couple weeks after Minnesota defeated SMU in New York for the NIT title. He was inactive during the summer, limited to shooting and dribbling. “But I was really out the whole summer,” said Buggs who expects to be 100 percent in a few weeks.

Buggs was recruited by former Gophers coach Tubby Smith, now at Texas Tech. Buggs’ parents remain friendly with Smith and they attended the Midnight Madness practice last week when Smith, dressed in a John Shaft costume, fell off a motorcycle. Smith wasn’t injured in the fall.

The Gophers will have a scrimmage starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday that is free and open to the public. Doors at Williams Arena open at 3:30 p.m.

Gophers Football & Hockey Notes

Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said yesterday that walk-on true freshman Jacques Perra from Roseville is the No. 3 quarterback behind Mitch Leidner and Chris Streveler. “There’s a real confidence about him and he’s a pretty darned good player, too,” Limegrover said. “He’s been able to separate himself as far as that No. 3 goes.”

Limegrover acknowledged the offensive line is improving but let it be known his standards are high. “One thing you need to understand when you’re an offensive line coach, you never have a good day. There’s never a day when all five of those guys do everything right every play. I’m a perfectionist (and) those guys know it. We win a game and I go into the film room, and if you’re an outsider, you’d think we lost by 30.”

Gophers tight end Maxx Williams said he notices excitement on campus with the team off to a 6-1 start. “We want to keep winning for the school. I think the students love it.”

The Gophers’ two home hockey games with Wisconsin in January are sold out and so, too, are single games on November 1 with St. Cloud State and November 14 against UMD. Tickets are available for the remaining Minnesota home games.

The Gophers’ first regular season home series of the fall begins Friday night against Bemidji State. Junior defenseman Mike Reilly will be honored on Saturday evening for being named All-American last season.

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Taylor Not Pressured to Trade Love

Posted on July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 by David Shama

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners he isn’t feeling pressured to trade Kevin Love and isn’t discounting the possibility of starting the season with the star power forward on his roster. He also said late last week that a trade might have been made by now if the Wolves and one other club were involved, indicating a multi-team exchange is preferred by him and team president Flip Saunders.

Love and Jeff Schwartz, his agent, have done nothing to discourage media reports about the six-year veteran wanting to leave the Wolves with one year remaining on his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, possibly joining a winning team like the Cavs who have added LeBron James to their roster this summer. The Wolves haven’t made the playoffs since 2004.

Love’s desire to leave Minneapolis sets up an uncomfortable situation for him if Taylor and Saunders still have him on the roster when training camp starts in September. Love will be facing hostile fans in Minnesota, and it would be much easier for him to become acclimated to a new team in training camp rather than during the season.

“We would probably prefer to get it (a trade) done before camp,” Taylor said. “Not so much the pressure on us, but I think maybe on Kevin. It would be better for him to know where he stood before that.”

Taylor said neither Love nor his agent have pressured the Timberwolves about a trade. Taylor hasn’t pressured them either and said it’s possible Love could remain on the Wolves roster until a deal is made next year prior to the winter trade deadline. “There’s a possibility (of next year) in the sense that we don’t feel that we are under any type of time frame ourselves. We haven’t put that on ourselves that we have to get it done by a certain time. My preference is that Kevin would stay here.”

Like a veteran poker player, Taylor appears to be sitting at the trade table wanting adversaries to believe he holds a lot of winning cards—even the possibility that Love will remain with the team for years to come. Taylor called it “realistic” that Love could stay with his team, yet acknowledged the impression given by his player and agent certainly makes that appear unlikely.

“Do I think it’s possible? I certainly do think it’s possible,” Taylor said. “But at this time we’re looking at all the scenarios.”

Taylor believes Love could enjoy playing for Saunders who this spring added coaching to his front office responsibilities. Saunders relates well to players and Taylor wants to believe if the Wolves play well early next season Love might be convinced to re-sign with Minnesota in the summer of 2015. If not, a trade could still be managed next winter.

Taylor hasn’t spoken with Love since the trade saga surfaced after the 2014 season but if he thought the opportunity was right for a meeting the billionaire businessman would be available. “I would be glad to do it but I think at this point what we’re doing is looking at all the alternatives,” Taylor said. “A number of teams have come to us with different options and Flip is kind of looking at them all, and that’s where we’re at. It hasn’t been the right time to talk to Kevin because we’re looking at a lot of different things. But if I felt that was the last or most important issue, of course I would sit down with Kevin and talk to him…”

Love is a former NBA all-star and Olympic gold medal winner. He has established himself as one of the world’s best rebounders and is an extraordinary scorer, particularly away from the basket with his three-point shooting. The Wolves know his talent gives them leverage and they will want to maximize the return in a trade, whether it’s with one club or more.

“We think we can best be served by getting more than one team involved.” Taylor said. “We have time to work on these things, and we’ll probably take some time to get it done.”

If the Wolves can receive the best players from a team in their conference, they won’t hesitate to trade with that club or clubs even though it will mean playing more against Love. What about trade preferences for receiving draft choices versus veteran players?

“I know those are the considerations we’re considering right now,” Taylor said. “I don’t think it’s going to be quite as simple as just one or the other. I think we just got to look at everything.”

Worth Noting

Kevin Garnett had made $315.4 million in career earnings last spring, according to an April 29 Businessinsider.com story by Cork Gaines. That put Garnett at No. 1 for the most ever earned by an NBA player and he plans to play a 20th season with the Nets in 2014-2015, reportedly for $12 million. Maybe Garnett, who played 12 seasons for Taylor and the Wolves, might one day have interest in buying a minority share of the Timberwolves.

“I would always explore that,” Taylor said. “At one time Kevin and I had a wonderful relationship. We haven’t been in touch for awhile and I don’t know what the relationship would be. I have…a certain respect and relationship with Kevin that I hold highly.”

Losing money on the Timberwolves operation, including last season, is the annual norm for Taylor but he said depending on payroll the franchise could make a profit next season.

Taylor’s other team, the Lynx, has the second best WNBA record, 20-6, and is trying to win another league championship. Fourth-year forward Maya Moore, the WNBA MVP last year, may end up having her best season. She scored a franchise record 48 points earlier this month and has been leading the league in scoring at 24.3 points per game.

“Her potential (upside) is hard to tell,” Taylor said. “She has so many wonderful characteristics. Not only the physical, but the mental characteristics and leadership characteristics to just be superb in so many areas. Yet she plays team ball with the other players.

“I don’t know what her limits would be. One might just say the sky’s the limit with her…”

The Vikings didn’t practice yesterday but resume workouts today leading up to Saturday night’s annual passing scrimmage at training camp in Mankato. The team also doesn’t practice on August 3, 7 and 9 in Mankato.

Hollis Cavner, executive director of the 3M Championship, told sports radio 105 FM on Monday that he will take Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to Saturday night’s Paul McCartney concert at Target Field. Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player will be among those playing in the Greats of Golf Challenge on Saturday as part of the 3M promotion at TCP Twin Cities in Blaine.

The Gophers home nonconference hockey game against Notre Dame, originally scheduled for November 8, has been moved to November 9. The team’s Big Ten schedule has also been finalized with more information at Gophersports.com. The 2014-15 season will be the 93rd for the program.

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Lucia NCAA Title Bonus $75,000.00

Posted on April 11, 2014April 11, 2014 by David Shama

Don Lucia will try to coach the Gophers to the NCAA hockey championship tomorrow night in Philadelphia against Union College. If Lucia is successful, he will receive a bonus of $75,000.00, according to his contract with the University of Minnesota that ends on April 30, 2017.

If the Gophers don’t defeat Union, Lucia is guaranteed a $50,000.00 bonus because his contract rewards him that amount for taking Minnesota to the Frozen Four. After the Frozen Four he will either receive a bonus of $75,000.00, or $50,000.00. Not both.

Lucia has already earned a $30,000.00 bonus for coaching his team to the regular season Big Ten championship. A schedule of contract incentives like those referenced is in addition to his $320,000.00 salary for the 2013-2014 season. Lucia also receives annual supplemental income that in 2012-2013 totaled $45,000.00.

Rewards for Lucia also include the satisfaction of taking the Gophers back to the Frozen Four for only the second time in the last nine years. He coached the Gophers to national championships in 2002 and 2003 but results since have been mixed including three consecutive seasons when Minnesota didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The Gophers lost their opening game in the Frozen Four to Boston College two years ago but last night had a different and storybook outcome with Minnesota defeating North Dakota, 2-1. Defenseman Justin Holl, who hadn’t scored a goal since March of last year, came up with a short-handed goal with less than a second remaining to give the Gophers a stunning win.

“Amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gophers hockey play-by-play announcer Wally Shaver told listeners on 1500 ESPN.

Holl was interviewed about his miracle shot after the game on ESPN2. “I think the puck went off one of their players, (then) off my stick and I think I blacked out from there,” he said.

The winning goal was set up when Gopher forward Kyle Rau’s shot hit North Dakota defenseman Jordan Schmaltz. The puck was deflected into Holl’s skates and he kicked it to his stick for the game winning goal.

The Gophers have been ranked No. 1 in Division I men’s college hockey for most of 2013-2014. They have experienced the type of season the team’s most rabid followers expect. During the program’s storied history the Gophers have played in 21 Frozen Fours and won five national championships.

If the Gophers are to win another NCAA title, goalie Adam Wilcox and the team’s defense will play major roles. Wilcox, only a sophomore, was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. Minnesota’s defense has given up only 79 goals in 40 games.

Minnesota is 28-6-6 and has won three consecutive games. Tomorrow night’s championship game against Union College, 31-6-4, will be televised starting at 6:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN.

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