Golden Gophers – Page 10 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Sleeper Pick for Timberwolves at No. 17: Ryan Kalkbrenner

Posted on June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by David Shama

Who do the Timberwolves select at No. 17 of the first round in next week’s NBA Draft in Brooklyn? It could be a center and the suggestion here is a sleeper pick in 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton.

There is speculation the Wolves could be interested in moving on from center Rudy Gobert, their soon to be 33-year-old center who is not only aging but carries a burdensome reported salary of $35 million for next season. The Wolves front office and ownership are sensitive to payroll and face an offseason where forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid can opt for free agency.

Edwards photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves

Finding a trade partner willing to take Gobert could bring future draft picks to the Wolves and/or add veteran talent to the roster. The dream acquisition, of course, is a deal perhaps involving Gobert and bringing Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant to Minneapolis. Such a move would give the Wolves two elite and difficult to defend scorers in Durant and guard Anthony Edwards.

After 12 NBA seasons, Gobert remains a game-changing defensive player and rebounder. This past season he was All-NBA second team defense. He’s a four-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Gobert has finished top 10 in total rebounds in nine of the last 10 seasons, leading the league twice in that period. This past season he averaged 12 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Wolves have no one on the existing roster who comes close to matching Gobert’s profile. But Kalkbrenner, who mock drafts project going later than No. 17, potentially does.

The two players have more in common than their height and weight (approximately 260 pounds each). This past season Kalkbrenner was named both the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year. Four times in his career he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Kalkbrenner also avoids foul trouble. In his five-year career with the Bluejays there were only 13 times when he had four fouls in a game.

His senior season this is how he ranked nationally in top 50 categories: second in field goals made, third in total blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, fourth in blocks per game, 22nd in total points and 28th in total rebounds.

The 23-year-old was a second and third team All-American in 2025 after averaging 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.

Kalkbrenner reportedly also has soft hands, a key asset for a big man in grabbing the basketball. Combined with his height, that makes him an inviting target for lob passes.

And his offensive game in the NBA could include three-point shooting. In his two final seasons he made 37 of 115 attempts, or 32.2 percent.

Rudy can’t match that. He’s never made an NBA three-point shot.

Worth Noting

The Wolves have the first pick in the second round. They could bite on a point guard, perhaps combo guard Ben Saraf from Israel.

The first round of the draft is next Wednesday and begins at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time with ABC and ESPN televising. The second round starts at 7 p.m. Thursday with ESPN broadcasting.

General impression so far is Niko Medved is a popular hire as the new men’s Golden Gophers basketball coach. That won’t translate immediately into big crowds at Williams Arena, though. The Gophers might do well to see about a 2,000 sale increase in season tickets for the 2025-2026 home schedule. That could push the total into the 7,000 range.

Happy belated birthday to legendary Golden Gophers football player Bobby Bell who turned 85 yesterday.

The state Legislature didn’t finalize the new University of Minnesota Board of Regents members before it recessed this spring. The authority now falls on Governor Tim Walz who is expected to appoint four new regents to fill vacancies after the application process closes in early July.

Here’s hoping former Hormel executive and ex-U interim president Jeff Ettinger is interested now or in the near future.

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Looks Like Vikes Commit to Running Game Most in KOC Era

Posted on June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column.

The Vikings’ recent contract extension with backup tight end Josh Oliver adds to speculation the offense will be more committed to the running game than at any time in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s three previous seasons. Oliver is a superb blocker and superior with that skill to starter T.J. Hockenson.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

According to Pro Football Focus, Oliver led NFL tight ends with a 74.2 run blocking grade in 2024 (minimum 50 percent block snaps played) and earned the fourth-highest grade during the 2023 season with a 73.9.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips has indicated there will be times the Vikings will have both Oliver and Hockenson on the field to add size and muscle. While the two could be in the game for blocking, Hockenson is one of the NFL’s most gifted big yardage receivers and could break off the line of scrimmage and run an explosive pass pattern.

The Vikings are expected to emphasize the run game to ease the transition and workload on new quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The 22-year-old, who missed his rookie season after injuring a knee, figures to hand the ball off on at least 50 percent of the snaps to his running backs.

That RB roster includes Aaron Jones, last year’s starter. The Vikings signed him to a multi-year contract in early March before he could hit free agency. He started all 17 games for the Vikings, with career highs of 255 carries, and 1,138 yards. He also had 51 catches for 408 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In another March move that has potential to aid the running game, the Vikings worked a trade with San Francisco involving draft choices and Jordan Mason, the 49ers RB who led the team in rushing last season with a career-high 789 yards. Mason, who will be in his fourth NFL season in 2025, ranked sixth in the NFL in yards after contact per rush (3.62) according to TruMedia, and seventh in yards per rush (5.2). Among players with a minimum of 150 rushing attempts last season, he led the NFL in missed tackles forced at 37.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.

Look for times next fall where both Jones and Mason are on the field together, Phillips indicated recently. Maybe with two tight ends, too.

College basketball coaches are usually former players, but the Golden Gophers program is a bit different. Head coach Niko Medved is a former student manager under ex-head coach Clem Haskins at Minnesota in the 1990s. Medved assistant coach Aaron Katsuma and his director of scouting and analytics Drew Evenson are both former managers with the Gophers.

Ryan Saunders, the former Gopher player and Timberwolves head coach, is no longer an assistant coach with the NBA Nuggets. New head coach David Adelman, son of former Wolves head coach Rick Adelman, has reorganized the staff.

At 39 Saunders is probably open to taking a college coaching position for the first time in his career.

Saunders’ wife Hayley gave birth to daughter Grace Leigh on February 23. That would have been the 70th birthday of Ryan’s dad Flip Saunders, the deceased former head coach of the Wolves and a savvy point guard who was a Gopher basketball favorite.

Tim Connelly, the Wolves president of basketball operations, should have fans on the edge of their collective seats as to what’s next with the roster. Since being hired in the summer of 2022, he has pulled off dramatic trades that first brought Rudy Gobert here and later traded away Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Twins, 5-9 in June, have pitching problems that probably have already sunk their chances of winning the Central Division and threaten earning a wild card entry in the playoffs. The starting pitching rotation is troubled, and third baseman Royce Lewis is sidelined with yet another hamstring injury.

Staff ace Pablo Lopez is on the 60-day Injured List. His replacement, Zebby Matthews, is on the 15-day. Bailey Ober, a mainstay in the rotation with Lopez, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack, is struggling with his mechanics.

The Twins were swept by the Astros over the weekend. Minnesota entered yesterday’s game with a staff ERA of 6.39 in June. That compares with 3.11 in May and 3.54 March-April.

Minnesota is 3-8 in its last 11 games, and 8-13 in the previous 21. At 36-35, the Twins are barely holding on to second place and are nine games behind the Central Division leading Tigers.

FanGraphs gives the Twins a 7.2 percent chance of beating out the Tigers but 42.1 percent likelihood of making the playoffs. That could be optimistic for a pitching staff down two starters and a bullpen that while elite has been taxed with a lot of innings already this season.

The way it looks now the Twins will have at least two representatives on the American League All-Star team for the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Center fielder Byron Buxton, 31, should be a starter because of his hitting, fielding and base running this spring. Reliever Johan Duran, 27, has saved 10 games working out of perhaps baseball’s best bullpen, and has a 4-2 record with a 1.64 ERA.

This would be Buxton’s second All-Star Game, having homered in two at bats as a reserve in 2022. Duran would be making his debut.

Buxton signed a seven-year contract for $100 million in December of 2021, according to MLB.com. That deal includes staggered bonus amounts if he places in the top 10 for the league MVP Award. He won’t win the award this year (would bring $8 million) but he receives $3 million for a finish between sixth and 10^th.

Duran is a steal for the Twins at a reported $4.15 million.

Ryan, among the winningest pitchers in the majors this season, could also represent the Twins as a first-time member of the AL All-Star staff. Ryan, 29, with a 7-2 record and ERA of 2.93, is the club’s best pitcher with Lopez sidelined.

Sam Udovich, the Cretin-Derham Hall senior who recently won the boys’ golf 3A state tournament, will be on scholarship at TCU where the program celebrates its 100^th year in 2026.

Humor department: My friend Bob Klas remembered the late Murray Warmath’s take on golf. The Golden Gophers football coach said he’d do anything to improve, “except practice.”

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Even in Spring College Football Magazine Brings Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by David Shama

At the Walgreen’s checkout line on Friday, I was surprised to see a college football magazine for sale. I almost gagged at the price of $14.99 but simultaneously fell into a state of ecstasy.

Everyone should have something that takes them back to their favorite childhood endeavor. At the top of my list is and was searching the magazine shelves at a pharmacy or bookstore for the first college football publication of the year.

I couldn’t resist buying Athlon’s magazine, even at a ridiculous cost of $16.27 including tax. Don’t tell Athlon but $22 is probably my ceiling.

Years ago, it was usually Street & Smith’s that was out first. It was a comprehensive national preview, and you didn’t need a small loan to buy it.

Steet & Smith’s magazine hit newsstands in August. Decades ago, the college football season didn’t start until mid-September or later in the month. Now the preview publications will be out in June, partially because the season starts in late August.

As a youth, I was waiting for the Gophers’ return to Big Ten glory and national championships. That’s what my elders talked about, the great legacy of Minnesota football. I rushed to the store with anticipation that a Gopher player might be a magazine cover boy. Couldn’t wait in the 1950s and 1960s to see if Minnesota was forecast among the nation’s elite.

Nowadays, I still get excited about buying and reading the magazines, but with tempered expectations, of course. Yes, I am ready for whatever fortunes are forecast for the Maroon and Gold, but I am also curious to see what the Big Ten and national landscape is supposed to be.

Know that Athlon lists Minnesota No. 42 in its 2025 rankings of 136 college football teams. Matthew McConnaughey’s Texas Longhorns are No. 1, and the Golden Flashes of Kent State are No. 136.

Athlon predicts Minnesota will finish 11^th in the 18 team Big Ten Conference. That’s not a lofty forecast but the magazine thinks the Gophers can have a winning season and forecasts a postseason appearance against the Big 12’s Baylor Bears at the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Bears beware! The Gophers have won eight consecutive bowl games, including six straight under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

I do have something else Gopher fans can strut about. Sophomore safety and wunderkind Koi Perich is an Athlon third-team defense All-American and first team All-Big Ten. As the magazines come out and national award candidates are announced, the preseason recognition will mount for the Esko, Minnesota native who figures to impact games this fall as a defender, special teams player and even offensive threat.

Fleck will be in his ninth season leading the Gophers program. His best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The notion from some skeptics endures that Fleck will use the Gopher job as a stepping stone. Athlon reinforced that with a quote from an opposing Big Ten assistant coach.

“…It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title contending program,” he said anonymously. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”

I am going to sign off now and get back to devouring Athlon’s pages. Doesn’t everyone want to know what awaits not only the power conference teams but also the likes of Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Liberty (not the insurance company).

If you see an older guy with a stack of magazines at Barnes & Noble any time soon be sure to lend a hand. Or maybe a couple of bucks. This stuff is expensive!

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