Golden Gophers – Page 276 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Claeys Needs Wins & Style Points

Posted on November 6, 2015 by David Shama

Some call it moral victories. Let’s refer to it here as style points. Either way, hello, Tracy Claeys.

The Gophers interim head football boss is coaching for scoreboard wins in the team’s last four games of the season, but there’s more to it than that as he auditions for the permanent job. Minnesota is all but certain to lose some of those games but what matters along with the number of W’s will be how the team looks.

Will the Gophers play with emotion the rest of the season? Do they sustain effort if the score is one-sided? Will sloppy play characterize the performances of players? Is this going to be a team making excessive mistakes including turnovers and penalties? How about the effectiveness of the play calling? What about the in-game adjustments by the coaches?

It’s anyone’s guess whether Claeys can be a successful head coach. His debut game last Saturday against Michigan didn’t dazzle. While the Gophers played with effort and execution, and the game plan looked solid, clock management and play selection at game’s end were troubling and directly contributed to the 29-26 loss.

Claeys’ predecessor, Jerry Kill, was a zealous, leave no stone unturned leader who inspired players. Gophers defensive back Antonio Johnson said Claeys can get after his players with emotional outbursts but his personality isn’t as intense as Kill’s. Asked if Claeys will be fiery on occasion, Johnson said: “Yeah, he’ll lose it if something just goes completely wrong. But overall, though, he’s pretty laid back and calm.”

Different coaching personalities can produce desired results, but Claeys will have to prove himself in the emotions department and everything else if he gets the interim tag removed—from recruiting to game plans, from fundraising to disciplining players, from media relations to halftime adjustments. The highly regarded staff of assistant coaches Kill assembled and kept in place is still around to work for Claeys who was promoted from defensive coordinator when Kill resigned last week. That’s a huge plus for Claeys and the program.

The four games ahead won’t deliver the final judgment on Claeys but will provide a lot of insights. Minnesota plays at No. 1 ranked and undefeated Ohio State tomorrow. A week from Saturday the Gophers face another nationally ranked and unbeaten team in Iowa on the road. Then it’s home to finish the season against mediocre Illinois, and play a Wisconsin team that has only lost two games and seems to be gaining momentum. That’s no day at the beach for Claeys and the Gophers who have a 4-4 overall record and are 1-3 in Big Ten games.

This has been a disappointing season to date—characterized by a lot of injuries and also an inconsistent offense that sometimes looks unimaginative and often lacks playmakers. If the Gophers surprise most everyone by winning three of their final four games the results will put a huge smiley face on Gopher Nation. If the Gophers win two of the last four, and thereby qualify for a bowl game, the program’s more starry-eyed supporters might say, “Pretty good season considering all the setbacks this fall.”

What about if the team wins only one—or zero games—the rest of the way? That’s pretty much an “ugh”—although make one of those wins against Ohio State, Iowa or Bucky Badger, and Gophers loyalists won’t be quite so down in the dumps.

Long ago Gophers football had a high standard of excellence. There were expectations about Big Ten titles, even national championships.

Moral victories? Bull.

Style points? Really?

But reality is today’s Gophers program is still trying to prove winning half of its conference games year after year is doable. What Claeys and the staff might show us in the next few weeks and months (recruiting season) is this program could go beyond what Kill delivered including 5-3 and 4-4 conference records the last two seasons. It requires Forrest Gump-like optimism to see the Gophers winning three more times this fall and finishing at .500 in Big Ten games. But let’s be willing to drink enough feel good Kool-Aid to think the Gophers are going to find a way to win two more regular season games and then get Minnesota’s first bowl victory since 2004.

Yeah, win a couple more games and in the losses don’t embarrass Gopher Nation—the tag Tim Brewster put on the fan base. During the Brewster era he had games where he lost 55-0 to Iowa and 48-12 to Wisconsin. Seven games into the 2010 season he was fired. Two weeks later his successor, interim head coach Jeff Horton, lost 52-10 to Ohio State.

Get the idea about style points?

Worth Noting

Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott is a Heisman Trophy candidate and he does more than make explosive runs. He is a willing blocker. “No question, and I don’t think he gets credit for the way he blocks,” Claeys said. “I think he’s the best blocking tailback that there is. …”

The Vikings have won six consecutive home games and play the Rams on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. Minnesota has also won two consecutive road games for the first time since 2012.

Vikings place kicker Blair Walsh knows Todd Gurley, the Rams rookie running back who is averaging 6.1 yards per carry and has gained 575 yards. Both Walsh and Gurley are from the University of Georgia, although the two didn’t play together in Athens. Gurley left the Bulldogs after his junior season while drawing comparisons to legendary Georgia and NFL running back Herschel Walker. Walsh is among Gurley’s admirers and quipped with this: “He was only there three years. We would have loved for him to stay four. …”

Since week four of the NFL season, Vikings rookie wide receiver Stefon Diggs has 10 catches of 20-plus yards.

St. Thomas (8-0, 6-0 MIAC) can cinch an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs and share of the conference championship with a win tomorrow afternoon at home again Carleton (1-7, 0-6 MIAC). Coach Glenn Caruso’s Tommies are having one of their more impressive seasons in memory, winning each game by at least 21 points. A victory means a fourth MIAC title in six years.

Caruso told Sports Headliners this is the healthiest team late in the season that he’s had at St. Thomas. “It’s not even close to any other year,” said Caruso who has led the Tommies since the 2008 season.

Caruso gives much of the credit for his players’ health to strength coach Tommy Becker who even teaches the Tommies yoga for flexibility. Becker, a former linebacker at Wayzata High School, started his college career with the Gophers before playing for Caruso.

The 10 finalists for the 2015 Mr. Football Award are Isaac Collins, Maple Grove; Carter Coughlin, Eden Prairie; Logan Hatfield, Bemidji; Amani Hooker, Park Center; Tyler Johnson, Minneapolis North; Kamal Martin, Burnsville; David McCuskey, Orono; Bishop McDonald, North St. Paul; Dillon Radunz, Becker; J.D. Spielman, Eden Prairie. The award is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings. The 2015 winner will be announced at the Mr. Football Banquet on Sunday, November 22 at the Doubletree by Hilton Minneapolis Park Place Hotel.

Lightning right wing J.T. Brown, the Burnsville native and son of former Vikings running back Ted Brown, has two goals and one assist in 13 games this season. He and his Tampa Bay teammates play the Wild at Xcel Energy Center tomorrow night.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher, a close friend of the late Flip Saunders, will speak at the next CORES luncheon on Thursday, November 12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Reservations should be made by next Monday. More information about CORES is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino after being asked to name three coaches he admires: “My father (Rick Pitino), he’s somebody that has been so good, for so long. Billy Donovan is another mentor of mine who built Florida into a powerhouse. I kind of look at the model he did there as something we’re trying to do here. I was always amazed by Joe Torre’s ability to handle so many distractions in New York as a manager of the Yankees, and handle it with such great class. That’s something that I think every coach aspires to. …”

The Gophers play Southwest Minnesota State at Williams Arena tonight. That will be Minnesota’s second and final exhibition game of the year.

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Vikings QB Wins Praise for Work Ethic

Posted on November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 by David Shama

Adam Thielen knows about hard work. Major college football programs didn’t want him coming out of Detroit Lakes High School. All 32 NFL teams passed over him in the college draft. But Thielen signed as a free agent with the Vikings in 2013 and worked his way from the practice squad to a place where he’s a valuable sub at wide receiver.

While Thielen earns praise for his determination, he admires Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. “That’s one thing about Teddy, that he’s not afraid to work,” Thielen told Sports Headliners.

Teddy Bridgewater (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

How impressive is Bridgewater’s work ethic? “I’ve never been around anybody else that works harder in the film room and on the field after practice,” Thielen said.

When asked what Bridgewater is like both on and off the field, Thielen said, “He’s the same guy everywhere. He’s pretty quiet, low key. He just gets the job done. He’s gonna outwork everybody he’s around and go about his business.”

Bridgewater did his job last Sunday against the Bears, helping the Vikings rally for 13 points in the fourth quarter. His big plays included a 40-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs and 37-yard pass to Charles Johnson that set up the winning field goal in the 23-20 victory.

“It’s something you want out of your quarterback, somebody that is going to lead you in the fourth quarter,” Thielen said. “That’s the NFL nowadays. You’re going to have to win games in the fourth quarter and it’s good to see a guy like that come in and just be poised and bring us down the field.”

Worth Noting

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s first year record was 7-9. So far this season he is 5-2, pushing his career head coaching record to one game over .500 at 12-11, but he’s not paying attention. “I don’t really think about that stuff yet,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go. I would say we’re moving in the right direction. …”

Former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton is helping lead a startup called Major League Football. The new spring football league will target franchises in towns that don’t have NFL teams.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) Group is expected to announce host cities for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 CFP National Championship Games today at a 1 p.m. press conference in Rosemont, Illinois. Minnesota is bidding to host the 2020 game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the University of Minnesota announces this week that Tracy Claeys will have the interim tag removed from his title as Gophers football coach.

University president Eric Kaler didn’t know about Jerry Kill’s intent to resign and make an announcement until the night before. The Gophers coach announced his resignation at a news conference a week ago today.

Kaler wore maroon and gold striped pants in support of the Gophers at last Saturday night’s home game against Michigan. He was on the field at TCF Bank Stadium prior to game time.

The Gophers are likely to hold most of their verbal commits from high school recruits for awhile, although local defensive tackle JoJo Garcia has decommitted. It’s believed Garcia, a three-star player, regarded Kill as a father figure. Florida four-star wide receiver Dredrick Snelson could be a tenuous hold.

The Gophers missed a sellout for the first time this season with attendance of 50,709 last Saturday. The next home game, November 21 against Illinois, is likely to draw even a smaller crowd at the 52,525 seat capacity TCF Bank Stadium.

It looks like Mike Ellis, the Gophers executive associate athletics director on voluntary leave, won’t return to his position in the athletic department.

Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns, who is off to a fast start in three regular season games averaging a double-double in points and rebounds, is an unusually accurate free throw shooter for a 7-footer. In high school he made 82.2 percent of his free throws and in one season at Kentucky averaged 81.3 percent. Towns, who could be NBA rookie of the month for November, is making 88.0 percent of his free throws with the Wolves.

Tyus Jones, the Wolves rookie point guard from Apple Valley, hasn’t been in uniform for the team’s first three games, and might experience much of his NBA introduction this season in practices only. Jones, like other Wolves players, is living downtown.

Willard Ikola, the legendary former Edina High School hockey coach, will sign copies of his new autobiography on Saturday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at General Sports in Minneapolis. The book, co-authored with Jim Hoey, is titled Ike: Minnesota Hockey Legend.

Patrick Mader, a Northfield author, has a new book called Minnesota Gold that details the accomplishments of 57 Minnesotans who competed in international sports including the Olympics. More at Patrickmader.com.

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Pitino: Gophers Program ‘Can Win Big’

Posted on November 2, 2015November 2, 2015 by David Shama

Richard Pitino—the Big Ten’s youngest head coach at 33 years old—started his third year as Gophers basketball coach last night in an exhibition game win against Minnesota Crookston at Williams Arena. In his first season the Gophers probably exceeded expectations, winning 25 games including the NIT championship in New York. Last year preseason predictions had the Gophers finishing among the top five or six teams in the Big Ten Conference but instead Minnesota landed near the bottom with a 6-12 league record.

Ask the experts what awaits the 2015-2016 Gophers and the stock answer is this: “Not so good.” The consensus is Minnesota lacks the talent to do much better than ninth or 10th in the standings. The Gophers have three starters returning from last year’s team but those players have plenty to prove, and the same can be said for the newcomers on the roster.

Pitino, with a two-year Big Ten record of 14-22 and no NCAA Tournament appearances yet, knows he needs to enhance his results. He came to Minnesota with just one season of previous head coaching experience—at Florida International where his 18-14 team had the school’s first winning year since 1999-2000. Seen as a guy with East Coast roots and the son of coaching legend Rick Pitino, there’s been speculation since coming to Minneapolis that Richard will treat the Gophers as a stepping stone.

But in an exclusive interview with Sports Headliners, Pitino talked about his commitment to Minnesota—along with many other subjects. Pitino was personable and thorough during a visit in his office where he discussed the coming season, what he learned from close losses last season, the long-term potential of his program and whether the Gophers are going to host a game with his father’s Louisville Cardinals.

The following interview also included subjects beyond basketball to provide readers insights about Pitino the person, not just the coach. His responses have partially been edited for brevity and clarity.

You can bet this about the 2015-2016 Gophers: I would hope that we compete regardless of the circumstances at the highest possible level—and play as hard as we possibly can. Get the most out of our abilities individually and…as a team. (I) would hope that we’re playing our best basketball at the end of the year, not at the beginning.

Who are the players vital to Minnesota’s success this season? Probably the six returners (Charles Buggs, Gaston Diedhiou, Joey King, Bakary Konaté, Nate Mason and Carlos Morris). I would say those guys are extremely important because they played last year, so they know what to expect. It’s crucial that they take the next steps and get the younger guys better, and get them…ready for what’s coming.

What did you learn as a coach last season losing nine games by six points or less? I think the one thing I’ve taken out of it is do a better job of preparing your guys. Getting your guys to prepare for the fact that it’s not (always) going to go your way. …It’s how do you respond to that adversity, and that’s something we’re really, really working on a lot.

What will it take to eventually win a Big Ten championship? And even multiple Big Ten championships? Stability would be one (thing). You look at the programs that have been good every single year, there’s stability, (and) there’s continuity from the (school) president all the way down to the head coach, assistant coaches and strength coach. That is so crucial. (Also) great recruiting, and not just one class but three, four, five classes to where you get great stability…because unfortunately you deal with injuries.

What’s the likelihood of Minnesota winning a Big Ten championship in the next five years? As a coach you don’t really think that way, but that’s something that we’re building towards, and that’s a dream of ours…to do it. I think we’re moving in that direction. We know there’s a lot of great teams, there’s a lot of great programs. In order for us to do it, we’re going to have to be a really strong program and that’s something we’re moving towards.

People who think I won’t be at Minnesota long-term should know: They probably don’t know how much I love it here. My wife loves it here, our kids (too). I think the biggest thing is there is no reason why we can’t win and win big here. It just takes time. I am really enjoying the journey getting towards that.

If you were a Gopher player what would you think of coach Pitino? He’s a guy who is really, really eager to build this (program) into a powerhouse. Really wants to do it together. Very fair, very honest about the right things, and extremely hard worker.

What’s your worst personal habit? Probably drink too much coffee.

What is a perfect meal? My wife—once in a blue moon—will cook a chicken, broccoli and ziti (dinner). I can’t eat that a lot because I gotta fit into my suits, but that would be my favorite meal.

What really makes you laugh? I turn on “Seinfeld” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on the DVR, and I laugh before I go to bed. I do that almost every night.

When can fans expect a game against Louisville and your father Rick in Minneapolis? I don’t know if it will ever happen—to be honest with you. We did it once and it was great (2014 neutral site game in Puerto Rico). …I am not so sure if we’ll do it (schedule Louisville) because I like kind of having him on our team. I like having my family always on my team, just like we’re on his team.

What is the hardest thing about your job? Getting young college athletes to block out all the distractions and just focus. Cell phones are just consuming people’s lives. (I want the players) to not worry about what people are saying about them on Twitter (and) Instagram, and just focus solely on the team. We live in a distraction- filled world. That’s probably the biggest obstacle we’re trying to overcome. (Also) get them to be patient. That’s very difficult for everyone.

What’s the easiest thing about your job? The easy thing is coming to work every single day and being excited about what we’re doing. I don’t know how many times I say…to my wife how much I love living here. How much I love working at the University of Minnesota. How much I love our team, our staff.

How would you summarize your basketball philosophy? Our goal is to attack offensively, attack defensively. Kind of have that mentality of playing up-tempo, playing fast. Speeding up our opponent is something that we’re really striving to do. Making them uncomfortable, as well as being able to operate in some kind of organized chaos. In order to do (all) that you have to have great athletes. You’ve (also) got to have great length, and that’s something we’re moving towards.

How will the new basketball practice facility help the program? It shows people locally and nationally that we mean business. Anytime you invest that amount of money, it shows commitment. It shows that you want to compete with all these other teams. Certainly from a day-to-day standpoint for the players, you now have everything under one roof. …It’s going to elevate our program.

If you have any down time what do you like to do? Family and golf would be the two things that I love to do. (Family consists of wife Jill, four-year-old Ava and one-year-old Jack.)

What’s your lucky charm? Probably my kids. I think when I see them I know I am lucky. Kids don’t care if you win or lose.

What is your favorite movie of all-time? It’s gotta be the “Godfather.”

What’s your favorite music? What I do a lot in the morning is I type Tom Petty, Pandora (Internet Radio). I kind of like that genre of the Tom Pettys of the world—Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band. I am kind of open to everything. I love listening to music. Gets your mind off of other things (and) puts you in a good mood.

Four people from history—or alive today—you would most want to invite to dinner: You have to go Jesus (first). Derek Jeter is an athlete that I’ve always kind of admired from afar and I wouldn’t mind spending some time with him. Martin Luther King would be one, just the courage…during that time. It’s always been something that I really, really admired. Lastly, it would have to be Larry David (producer and comic) because I think the guy is absolutely hilarious. He would definitely be the comedic part of the dinner.

What are three favorite college basketball arenas where you have coached? The Breslin Center (Michigan State) was the most impressive college environment I’ve been in. Rupp Arena, where Kentucky plays, (has) got some tradition, obviously. I think Williams Arena has got such a charm about it, such a mystique. It reminds me of the Wrigley Field of college basketball.

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