Golden Gophers – Page 172 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Dutcher Predicts 4th Place for Gophers

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019 by David Shama

Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners on Monday that coach Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers will finish fourth in the Big Ten standings this winter. Dutcher, Minnesota’s Big Ten championship basketball coach in 1982, also predicted the Gophers will defeat Wisconsin tomorrow night in Madison on the way to earning an invitation in March to the NCAA Tournament.

Dutcher, who coached some of the best teams in Gopher history, believes Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana are the top three programs in a loaded Big Ten that this week has seven teams ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today top 25 national polls. Minnesota, 11-2, isn’t one of those ranked teams yet but Dutcher likes the potential of Pitino’s group.

The Gophers’ physical size is one of the team’s attributes and their rotation of lengthy bodies got a boost this week with the return of injured power forward Eric Curry. He adds size, depth, experience and skill to a group that includes Daniel Oturu, Matz Stockman, Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey.

Dutcher refers to Murphy and Coffey as potential all-conference players who can lead Minnesota back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two years. As of Monday, Murphy was leading the nation in rebounding at 12.6 per game. The senior forward is eighth in Big Ten career rebounds with 1,065. He is also Minnesota’s leading scorer.

Coffey photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

As a three-position player at point guard, shooting guard and small forward, Coffey can defend, pass, dribble and score inside and outside. Dutcher considers the Minnesota junior as “probably the most versatile player in the conference.”

While Murphy is consistent in his play, Coffey needs to be steadier. Dutcher and others want to see more of the performance Coffey had in a December Big Ten win over Nebraska, 85-78. Coffey scored 32 points, with six rebounds and six assists against the Cornhuskers. Dutcher said the 6-foot-8 former Hopkins star “almost single handedly won” the game for Minnesota.

A front line of Coffey, Murphy and Otru is a strength for a Gophers team that some experts don’t rate as highly as Dutcher. Guard play beyond Coffey is a bit suspect, although Dutcher and others like the accurate long range shooting of freshman Gabe Kalscheur. The two guards that Dutcher said need to come through are senior Dupree McBrayer and sophomore Isaiah Washington.

McBrayer usually starts games, with Washington playing significant minutes off the bench. When McBrayer is on the floor, the team often defers to Coffey as its point guard or playmaker. McBrayer and Washington have struggled to score this season, making 41 and 27.6 percent of their field goals. On three-point shots their percentages are .29.3 and 13.8.

“I think if there’s a question mark on this team it is the ability to make the three and ability to defend the three,” Dutcher said. “That’s where they gotta get better.”

(Minnesota’s team three point percentage is 30.6, while opponents are making 35.3 percent.)

Washington has impressed with his playmaking including assists. He leads the team with 53 and has been at his best in recent games.

Minnesota is 1-1 in Big Ten games, while the Badgers are 2-0 and 10-3 overall. The Badgers are ranked No. 22 the AP poll and No. 23 by USA Today.

Dutcher doesn’t hesitate when predicting a Minnesota win. “They should beat Wisconsin,” he said. “Wisconsin maybe overrated.”

The Badgers are led by senior center Ethan Happ, who is one of most productive players in the country. He is averaging 19.2 points per game, 10.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

The Badgers, though, may not have as much talent as Minnesota. “We’re a lot deeper than Wisconsin and we should give them some real problems guarding us on the inside if we can get Happ in a little foul trouble,” Dutcher said.

Worth Noting

WCCO Radio and TV sports personality Mike Max speaks to the CORES lunch group January 10 at the Bloomington Event Center (formerly the Knights of Columbus building), 1114 American Blvd. For reservations and other information, contact Jim Dotseth by next Monday, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The Gopher volleyball team hasn’t seen the last of Oregon, the team that ended Minnesota’s season in the NCAA Tournament in early December in Minneapolis. Coach Hugh McCutcheon told Sports Headliners his Gophers will face the Ducks in 2019 as part of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.

McCutcheon will have 15 of 18 players returning from his Big Ten champions who were 27-4 overall last year. That’s the most returnees he has had in his seven seasons as Gophers coach.

Twins personnel boss Derek Falvey talking on Sunday’s WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” program didn’t hesitate in referring to his starting outfield positions being set for 2019 with Eddie Rosario in left, Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right.

Joe Haeg, the Brainerd native who is a starting offensive tackle for the Colts, was available to the Vikings in the 2016 draft but the club past on him in the fifth round after choosing offensive lineman Willie Beavers from Western Michigan in the fourth round. Haeg was an All-American at North Dakota State and is expected to start for the Colts in their playoff game against the Titans Saturday. Beavers is no longer with the Vikings.

Haeg played in the 2011 Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game with C.J. Ham and Brandon Zylstra, both of whom are now with the Vikings. Haeg was a major contributor to the 2010 Brainerd team that upset Eden Prairie in the state high school playoffs.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, son of the former Twins pitcher by the same name, threw his 50th touchdown pass of the season on Sunday. He joins Tom Brady (50 in 2007) and Peyton Manning (55 in 2013) as the only NFL quarterbacks ever to throw 50 or more TD passes in a single season.

That was Cretin-Derham Hall alum Jashon Cornell making plays on the defensive line for Ohio State in yesterday’s Rose Bowl win over Washington.

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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.

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Looks Like Golden Gophers ‘Rowing’ Now

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

The Golden Gophers football team closed fast the last several weeks winning three of their final four games including an upset and dominating performance against Georgia Tech last night in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

The victory gave Minnesota a final record above .500 at 7-6. The game offered more evidence the players are all-in on head coach P.J. Fleck and his culture. His “Row the Boat” mantra and demanding high energy environment has generated critics among the public, media and even presumably inside the halls of the U athletics compound, but it appears the second-year head coach has won over his team and perhaps placed the program on a path of sustained success.

In surprise wins, Minnesota has defeated Purdue, 41-10, Wisconsin, 37-15 and Georgia Tech, 34-10. Those are three above average Power Five teams, and people who know football are noticing including a former prominent Minnesota high school coach who has been following the Gophers for decades.

“I think the players have bought in,” he said last night, while speaking anonymously. “There’s been a lot of criticism of Fleck, and the players hear that, but now they believe. The culture has changed.”

Another football authority, who also didn’t want his name used, agreed that Minnesota’s impressive late season rally from a poor record going into the Purdue game on November 10 is significant. “It gives hope that the program is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Gophers’ overall record before the Purdue game was 4-5 and they were 1-5 against Big Ten opponents. Minnesota finished the regular season with records of 6-6 and 3-6.

Minnesota’s performance last night can only be graded as excellent work by both coaches and players. The Gophers were prepared and they executed their plans including defensively against a Tech team that was leading the nation in rushing at almost 335 yards per game.

GT’s triple-option attack can make defenders look like traffic cones. A story by college football media authority Athlon before the game said, “Georgia Tech’s offense is nearly impossible to stop, much less slow down.”

The Gophers started the game by making Tech go three-and-out on its first two possessions. Coach Paul Johnson’s team was held to 224 yards rushing by playing assignment football and doing it with passion. The effort was part of a resurgence by a Minnesota defense that held Purdue, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech to an average of 11.7 points per game.

That success came after a period when the Gophers gave up 30 points or more to six opponents, and yielded over 40 points four times. The disaster of allowing lowly Illinois to score 55 points forced a change in defensive coordinators and philosophy—mainly making defensive assignments simpler under the direction of new leader Joe Rossi. “When kids can play fast, they can have that kind of success, thinking less and reacting faster,” one of the sources said. “Simplifying things made all the difference and allowed the players to play with a lot of confidence.”

The Gopher offense did its part in the Quick Lane Bowl win, too. Minnesota scored 13 points in the first half and 21 in the second with multiple players at their best including freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim who ran for 224 yards. Ibrahim’s exceptional vision enables him to find running lanes and his determination to not be tackled to the ground is in the best tradition of recent Gopher running backs.

Junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson had two touchdown catches last night and is likely weighing a decision to turn pro. He might project as a mid-round NFL draft pick in a few months but could decide another season would benefit his draft status more in 2020. He was named first team All-Big Ten by the media after the regular season when his 74 catches ranked second in the conference.

Freshman quarterback Tanner Morgan managed the offense impressively, not only throwing two touchdown passes but by not turning the ball over. It might have been Morgan’s best game after becoming the starter last month.

What caught the attention of observers as much as anything last night was how physical the Minnesota offense was. The unit looked bigger and stronger than GT’s defensive players, with the Gophers coming up with 403 yards in total offense to their opponent’s 301. “The offensive line was fantastic,” one of the sources said.

Minnesota behemoths including Blaise Andries, Curtis Dunlap Jr. and Daniel Faalele often pushed adversaries around using superior physical size and technique. At 6-foot-9 and 400-pounds Faalele is difficult to miss. The authority quoted in the previous paragraph said Faalele has big time potential and can become stronger. “I think he’s a Sunday (NFL) player,” he said.

The Gophers earned considerable success last night despite not having many players who have been starters, and even high impact performers. Defensively Minnesota was without Antoine Winfield, Jr., Blake Cashman, Kamal Martin, O.J. Smith and Jamaal Teague. On offense the Gophers didn’t have Donnell Greene, Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith.

The win is an indication of developing depth on the roster. That means there will be a lot of competition for starting positions going into spring practice and fall camp just before next season’s 12-game schedule. This competition will come despite most of the roster’s starters returning next season and being joined by an impressive freshman class.

The way the program closed out 2018 also means something else, according to one of the authorities. “The biggest thing is it gives you great confidence going into the offseason,” he said.

The Gophers have now played in 12 bowl games in program history. The greatest of victories include a Rose Bowl win and last second victory over Oregon. There is also a win over Alabama when that football factory was at ‘low tide.” Ranking near the top of any bowl list was Minnesota’s win two years ago against pass-happy and favored Washington State when Gopher coach Tracy Claeys designed a marvelous defense to help his suspension riddled team win the Holiday Bowl.

Is it likely that some day historians may look back and view the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl win by Minnesota as part of a new chapter of success for a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 1967?

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