Golden Gophers – Page 167 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Spurs Exec Should Be on Wolves Radar

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

A Sunday notes column tipping off with the in flux Timberwolves organization where owner Glen Taylor is searching for a new president of basketball operations.

Two names who keep coming up as candidates have ties to the organization but there’s someone else who was recommended to Sports Headliners that should be on Taylor’s mind. Calvin Booth, the Denver Nuggets assistant general manager, worked in the Wolves’ organization before going to Denver where the franchise has progressed from missing the playoffs a year ago to now being the No. 2 seed in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs. Chauncey Billups, the former Timberwolves guard and now an NBA TV commentator, is rumored to be interested in leading Taylor’s front office.

A pro basketball insider, speaking anonymously, believes Billups, because of his outstanding playing career (former NBA Finals MVP) and TV exposure, has an image that would attract quality free agents to Minneapolis and improve the team’s roster. “In the NBA there are a lot of places they (free agents) can land,” he said.

The Holy Grail to success for Taylor, though, might go through San Antonio. Last September the Spurs hired former NBA player and TV commentator Brent Barry as vice president of basketball operations. The Spurs are the gold standard of pro sports organizations with their 22 consecutive runs of qualifying for the NBA playoffs dating back to 1998, including five league championships.

The hiring of Barry by the Spurs was an endorsement that should get Taylor’s attention. “If you hire anybody from San Antonio, you’ve got a winner,” the Sports Headliners source said yesterday. “They (the Wolves) would hit a home run with Barry, a grand slam with Barry.”

Whoever becomes the Wolves’ basketball boss will have to discuss with Taylor the future of interim coach Ryan Saunders. Looking in from the outside, the source said his impression is Saunders has a “stellar image” with players and they want to play for the 32-year-old coach.

Big Ten Network football analyst Stanley Jackson liked what he saw yesterday from the Golden Gophers’ personnel during the telecast of Minnesota’s Spring Game. “Great opportunity to win the West (Division),” he told viewers in looking toward next fall.

Spring games can be boring but yesterday there was emphasis on fun for players and spectators including when 6-9, 400-pound offensive tackle Daniel Faalele lined up in the backfield as a ball carrier and ran six yards for a touchdown in the intrasquad matchup.

The Big Ten office reports Minnesota, Indiana and Michigan State have the most starters returning on offense with nine each. The Gophers’ returnees include senior all-conference wide receiver Tyler Johnson who decided not to pursue the NFL Draft as an underclassman. The Gophers return seven starters on defense.

Minnesota’s Thursday, August 29 nonconference home opener with South Dakota State will be the first Big Ten football game next summer. Three other league teams have nonconference games the next night.

The Gophers were one of nine Big Ten teams (14 total) to conclude spring football practices yesterday. Iowa on April 26 and Maryland on April 27 will be the last programs to end spring practices.

In four home games this season, Minnesota Twins pitchers have walked just 11 batters. Minnesota is 3-1 at home after yesterday’s win over the Tigers.

The first pitch temperature at Target Field yesterday was 37 degrees. That was the third time this season the starting temp was 45 degrees or lower for a Twins’ home game.

Best wishes to media colleague Ed Rauen who is being inducted tomorrow (Monday) into the Rochester Quarterbacks Club Hall of Fame. Rauen has headed the club for decades and lined up speakers, while also being a well-known sports voice on KROC Radio in Rochester.

The Capital Club will hear from speakers Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx and Glen Mason from the Big Ten Network on April 24 and June 4 at Town & Country Club in St. Paul. The club has organized a tour of the Minnesota United’s new Allianz Field for May 8. More information about the Capital Club is available from Patrick Klinger, patrickklinger@klingercompany.com.

Allianz Field, the soccer-specific outdoor stadium of the MLS Loons, hosted its first game yesterday in the team’s nationally televised tie with New York City FC. Allianz is the fourth stadium in Minneapolis-St. Paul to open since 2009, joining TCF Bank Stadium, Target Field and CHS Field in a lineup of facilities costing more than $2 billion.

Several years ago Vikings owners were interested in owning a Minnesota MLS franchise and staging games in U.S. Bank Stadium. That would have provided a second major team using the covered stadium. The April 8 issue of Sports Illustrated reported that the $1.1 billion home of the Vikings was used for 39 events last year including concerts, NCAA baseball and basketball, and the X Games.

Congratulations to St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall alum Bill Robertson on his new multi-year contract to continue his leadership as men’s commissioner for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Robertson assumed his position as WCHA commissioner in 2014, and his strategic actions have bettered the league in numerous ways including the on-campus playoff model, and development of digital platforms and sponsorships.

Robertson held various leadership positions in sports communications and marketing prior to joining the WCHA. His work experiences included positions with the Timberwolves and Wild prior to accepting his position with the WCHA which headquarters in Bloomington.

Collegehockeyinc.com reported last week a record number of players from NCAA programs played in the NHL this past season, with the University of Minnesota having the most alumni. There were 325 ex-NCAA players in the NHL in 2018-19, or one-third of all players. The Gophers had 22 alums in the league including Blake Wheeler who finished third in the NHL with 71 assists and matched his career high of 91 points playing for the Winnipeg Jets.

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Did U Miss on Coach Eric Musselman?

Posted on April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 by David Shama

Sunday was an interesting day for Golden Gophers basketball fans who scrutinize the program. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle squelched speculation he might move on from head coach Richard Pitino, and instead awarded him a contract extension. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek hired Eric Musselman as the Razorbacks basketball coach and ended any conjecture Musselman could be headed to Minneapolis as Pitino’s replacement.

This writer was told by a former college coach that Musselman expressed interest in the Minnesota job last year. There has also been a recent rumor Musselman reached out to Coyle indicating he was more interested in coming to Minnesota than leaving his job as Nevada head coach to take over at Arkansas.

Musselman was born in Ohio but moved to Minnesota when he was in grade school. That happened when his father Bill Musselman became head coach of the Gophers prior to the 1971-72 season. Bill was just 30 years old when he took over a Minnesota program locked in mediocrity and fan apathy. Musselman, though, created a renaissance of interest and passion for Gophers basketball seldom seen before or since at Williams Arena.

The packed building rocked with music and cheering 30 minutes before game time. Fans clapped and roared their approval to the pregame Harlem Globetrotters style warm-up routine Musselman created for his players. When the games started, screaming fans were ready to blow the roof off the arena, cheering for some of the best talent the Gophers have ever had.

Overnight Musselman turned Minnesota into a national power and won the 1972 Big Ten championship. Eventually Musselman ran afoul of the NCAA and left Minnesota to coach in the pros, but his impact in Dinkytown and across the state was undeniable after creating so much more interest in not only the Gophers but the sport of basketball on any level.

As a youngster Eric witnessed his father’s success, obsession to win, and driving himself to exhaustion. His dad’s imprint led him down a basketball trail as a player and then a coach including in Minneapolis. Bill was the first head coach of the 1989 NBA expansion Minnesota Timberwolves, and Eric became an assistant for his dad after beeing the youngest head coach at age 23 in Continental Basketball Association history.

Eric was later head coach of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. As a basketball junkie and vagabond he’s travelled to a lot of places as both an assistant and head coach in the pros and college, but you can see why Minnesota could feel like home, and why that speculation of being interested in the Gophers job might well be true.

Minnesota has become a talent-rich area for high school basketball players and potential college recruits. A Gophers coach who could keep a high percentage of the best players home each year would be well positioned to compete for Big Ten championships a lot of the time. During the last four years Musselman has demonstrated he can recruit and win at a much more difficult place to win (Nevada) than Minnesota.

Five years ago Musselman was trying to jump-start his career while serving as an assistant coach in college basketball at LSU. In March of 2015 he then took over at Nevada where the program had been struggling. In four seasons with the Wolf Pack Musselman’s teams compiled records of 24-14, 28-7, 29-8 and 29-5, per Wikipedia. His teams won three consecutive Mountain West Conference titles, set a home attendance record, and advanced to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments including a Sweet 16 appearance a year ago. Going into last season the Wolf Pack drew mention as a top 10 team nationally.

Now 54 years old, Musselman may have made his last coaching stop in taking the Arkansas job. He lands in Fayetteville, instead of Minneapolis, in a less attractive place and in a less desirable job. If he had been hired by Minnesota he would have brought an impressive coaching resume including a know-how to win, and possibly a pregame warm-up show to put life back into an arena that often is lifeless and filled with thousands of empty seats. He could have rekindled memories for older fans and made new fans out of people of all ages.

Those empty seats (the Gophers sold out one home game in 2018-19) may well have played a role in Coyle sticking with Pitino, his six-year Minnesota head coach. The Gophers are dealing with budget issues and mandated cuts in the Athletic Department. Asking Pitino to leave would have cost the department millions of dollars.

Coyle, hired as athletic director in 2016, has shown patience with and been supportive of the basketball program. Pitino’s regular season Big Ten record is 40 wins, 70 losses. Only once (2017) have his teams won more than half of their conference games. Two years ago Minnesota, coming off a 2-16 conference season in 2016, went 11-7 in league games and Pitino was named 2017 Big Ten Coach of Year.

This past season the Gophers were 9-11 in Big Ten games. They rallied late winning five of their last eight games including victories in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Wins over Purdue (twice) and Louisville were particularly impressive but critics believe the program is stuck in mediocrity.

Pitino went into last season on a short list of college coaches on the “hot seat,” per national media. The Gophers, though, exceeded the expectations of some media and fans, including by earning their way into the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the Pitino era.

The roster for next season is in flux. The team’s best player, junior forward Amir Coffey, is testing the NBA’s interest in him and he might forego his last season of college eligibility. Guard Isaiah Washington, the former state of New York Mr. Basketball, left the program earlier this spring. Two starters, forward Jordan Murphy and guard Dupree McBrayer, and two key reserves, guard Brock Stoll and center Matz Stockman, won’t return because all four are seniors. With multiple scholarships for next season available but only two commits so far, the coaching staff is in pursuit of players to provide immediate help.

Ironically, Musselman might have been hired by the Gophers in 2013 instead of Pitino. Then athletic director Norwood Teague had been turned down by multiple coaches when he decided to offer the job to the 30-year-old Pitino whose only head coaching experience was one year at a place on the fringes of Division 1 college basketball—Florida International. More than one source will tell you that next on Teague’s candidate list might have been Musselman who at that time was an assistant at Arizona State.

If so, the Musselman to Minnesota possibility struck out in 2013, and again on Sunday. Two strikes and you’re out. Ball game over.

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Nanne Supports Boudreau Return

Posted on April 7, 2019April 7, 2019 by David Shama

Lou Nanne, the former Gopher All-American defenseman who spent part or all of four decades in the NHL as a player, GM and president with the Minnesota North Stars, believes third-year coach Bruce Boudreau will return next season with the Minnesota Wild despite missing the playoffs.

The Wild’s season ended last night and the club won’t be in the playoffs for the first time in six years. While the result is no surprise because of the team’s inconsistency, not making the postseason can be characterized as a major disappointment for a restless fan base that entered the fall of 2018 tired of seeing Minnesota make early exits from the playoffs.

Injuries and lack of goal scoring get the blame for the Wild’s lackluster season. Back in February team owner Craig Leipold told Sports Headliners he regarded Boudreau as a top five coach in the NHL, and that even if his team didn’t make the playoffs his coach will be retained for next season.

While Nanne is no longer an NHL executive, he is still a devoted follower of the league, and he agrees with Leipold’s assessment of Boudreau being one of pro hockey’s top coaches. “He will be back,” Nanne said about Boudreau remaining the Wild’s coach. “He is an excellent coach. He’s done a great job since he’s been here.”

Boudreau had previous NHL coaching jobs with the Washington Caps and Anaheim Ducks. He reached 400 wins faster than any NHL coach in history, and his teams won eight division titles, but his clubs also struggled in the postseason. Winning has been more difficult in Minnesota than in his previous coaching assignments, but Nanne knows there are limitations as to how much a coach can do.

“Well, he gets the guys to play hard and he gets the most out of the people he’s got,” Nanne said. “He’s been able to be very successful. This is the first time that he’s missed the playoffs in a very, very long time with a lot of different teams. He’s done it with all different kinds of guys. You gotta give him a lot of credit, for no matter what type of lineup they give him, he gets them to produce.”

Worth Noting

A pro scout speaking anonymously told Sports Headliners that Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, who projects as a shooting guard in the NBA, is the only player in the Minneapolis Final Four likely to be a first round draft choice.

The scout refers to Monday night’s national championship matchup between Texas Tech and Virginia as a “pick’em game.” Both are ball control teams that excel on defense, with 60 points possibly enough to win the game.

Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders and GM Scott Layden were at U.S. Bank Stadium last night watching the Final Four games.

Former Golden Gophers coach Bill Fitch, who left Minnesota after the 1970 season for the NBA, will be inducted later this year into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. An announcement was made yesterday that Fitch will be among the inductees after a career as one of the winningest NBA coaches in league history with 944 victories.

Look for former Timberwolves player and executive Fred Hoiberg, now the new head coach at Nebraska, to make the state of Minnesota a prime recruiting target. Hoiberg’s name is respected by the state’s basketball fans and coaches. When he was head coach at Iowa State his recruits included former Hopkins all-stater Royce White who transferred from the Gophers.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said on KFAN Radio Friday morning he doesn’t plan to take a day off until June because everyone at franchise headquarters in Eagan is so focused on improving after last season’s disappointing results.

Circle-it dates for Vikings players and fans: Offseason OTA’s May 21-23 and 28-30, and June 3-6. Mandatory minicamp, June 11-13.

MLB just can’t get it right on the Designated Hitter rule, with the American League using the DH since 1973 and the National League still unwilling to adopt it. The absence of uniformity for MLB on the highest level of baseball in the world is embarrassing.

Twins broadcaster Dick Bremer has a good suggestion advocating American League teams not use the DH in home games against National League clubs, and vice versa. That’s the opposite of how things are now, and such a switch would allow fans to see a style and strategy they otherwise don’t.

Incidentally, Ron Blomberg of the Yankees became the first AL player to appear at the plate as a DH. It happened 46 years ago yesterday, according to History.com.

Boys’ volleyball wasn’t approved as a Minnesota State High School League sport for the next school year and will remain in club status. Approval may come in the near future.

Stillwater-based Creative Charters already has 100 reservations for a fan trip to the Minnesota-Fresno State football game in Fresno on September 7.

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