Golden Gophers – Page 292 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Sky’s the Limit’ for Vikings Defense

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by David Shama

Notes on the Gophers, Twins and Vikings.

The Vikings ranked No. 14 in total NFL defense last season. Minnesota was No. 25 among 32 teams in rushing defense and No. 7 in pass defense. This week the team is finishing mini-camp for the spring and veteran defensive end Brian Robison likes what he sees.

“I think the sky’s the limit for us (defensively),” Robison said yesterday. “I think we’ve got an opportunity to do some really special things around here.

“I think our DBs are playing tremendous right now. I think they’re even better than what they were last year. Defensive line wise, I think we’re rushing very well. Linebackers, having Chad (Greenway) back and having a few of those guys back in there doing the things they’re doing. Fifty-four (rookie Eric Kendricks) is doing some great things out here.

“Yeah, we’ve got very high expectations for our defense and now it’s just about going out there and doing it. We can always have high expectations but if you don’t put it on tape then it doesn’t matter.”

Contrary to a published report earlier this spring, J.D. Spielman hasn’t verbally committed to the Gophers. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told Sports Headliners yesterday the Gophers remain on the list of possible college destinations for his son who will be a senior football player at Eden Prairie High School next season.

Spielman said he and his son visited Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh two weeks ago. Additional college visits are planned later this month but Spielman declined to identify the schools. J.D., who just finished his lacrosse season for Eden Prairie, has football offers from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska. Spielman said his son is being recruited as an “athlete,” meaning he could play collegiately on offense, defense or special teams.

Zac Epping, the former Gophers guard, is working with Minneapolis-based agent James Selmer and drawing interest from several NFL teams including the Titans. Epping, who has lost weight since his Gophers days and feels quicker, now weighs 310 pounds and hopes to have a deal soon with an NFL club.

Teams are looking at Epping as either a guard or center. The 6-2 Kenosha, Wisconsin native impressed during his Gophers career with his work ethic and passion for competition. As a young college player, former Gopher offensive lineman Matt Carufel made an impact on Epping. “He kind of taught me, don’t take any crap from anybody,” Epping said.

The Vikings and U.S. Bank officially announced a 20-year naming rights deal on Monday for the new downtown domed stadium. U.S. Bank Stadium has long been rumored to be the name for the facility that opens next year. Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported Monday the deal is for $220 million.

If an $11 million per year figure is accurate, the deal is by far the largest of its kind for a Minnesota sports venue. Target Field naming rights have been estimated in the $5 to $6 million range annually with Xcel Energy Center perhaps worth half that, and Target Center and TCF Bank Stadium under $2 million each.

Dave Mona is looking for auction items for the sixth annual Camden’s Concert on July 13 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Among items already secured are prime seats at Lambeau Field for the Packers and Vikings game. The concert features the Wright Brothers and is named after Dave and Linda Mona’s grandson Camden Mona. The event raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Anyone with ideas for auction items can call Dave Mona at 952-944-5344.

Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and Athlon Sports have named Gophers punter Peter Mortell first team preseason All-Big Ten, according to a June 1 Gophersports.com story. Both Steele and Athlon included Minnesota defensive backs Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray on their All-Big Ten second teams. Defensive end Theiren Cockran made Steele’s second team and offensive tackle Josh Campion was on Athlon’s second unit.

Former Gophers associate athletics director Tom Wistrcill has resigned as Akron athletics director to become an executive with Learfield Sports, the national company that works with colleges and conferences developing sports related revenues including for broadcasting.

Whether 21-year-old rookie center fielder Byron Buxton goes back to the minor leagues will have a lot to do with if he can hit breaking ball pitches. Buxton debuted on Sunday, struck out twice and was hitless in four at bats. He saw plenty of breaking balls. He is hitting .200 in three games with the Twins.

Breaking balls are a challenge to most young hitters, and whatever the reasons the Twins organization is working on a string of promising prospects who have floundered early in their MLB careers. The list includes Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas. All but Hicks impressed with early hitting only to stumble later.

Part of hitting success is confidence and the Twins didn’t allow Arcia, Buxton, Hicks, Santana and Vargas to play and excel for a full season in Triple-A, baseball’s highest level in the minors. The suspicion here is Buxton will be dispatched back to the farm system in a couple of weeks if he doesn’t impress at the plate. No doubt that would be a good move for this highly scrutinized athlete who is rated among the top prospects in baseball.

Buxton is a social media hit with over 24,000 Twitter followers. Decades ago Buxton’s rookie trading card would have been a hot item but now sports memorabilia, including card collecting, has much less interest. The value of old baseball cards for the bigger names is still impressive, though. Harmon Killebrew’s rookie card could command $250, with Rod Carew’s at $150. Mickey Mantle’s rookie card still is the gold standard with a price that might exceed $25,000.

St. Thomas men’s basketball coach John Tauer has authored a book on youth sports and parents. “It’s a combination of psychology, motivation research, anecdotes from the playgrounds to the pros on how and why kids excel or get burned out on sports,” Tauer wrote in an e-mail to Sports Headliners. The book is titled Why LESS is MORE for WOSPS (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents) and more information is available at Amazon.com. Dr.Tauer, a St. Paul native, has his doctorate in social psychology.

The Warriors likely wouldn’t have earned an NBA title if high scoring guard Klay Thompson had been traded last summer to the Timberwolves. There was interest inside the Warriors organization in sending Thompson—the son of former Gophers All-American center Mychal Thompson—to the Wolves in a deal involving disgruntled power forward Kevin Love who was later traded to the Cavs. But Warriors consultant Jerry West insisted Thompson not be traded and was ready to resign if the deal was made, according to a SI.com story last Thursday by Chris Ballard.

West is a brilliant talent evaluator, perhaps the best in NBA history. He played a major administrative role in the Lakers winning eight world titles in Los Angeles and more recently helped turn around both the Grizzlies and Warriors. The legendary West was drafted as an All-American guard out of West Virginia in 1960, the same year the Lakers left Minneapolis, so he never played here. Ballard wrote that West’s drive for perfection is still present and he can shoot his age, 77, on the golf course.

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Wolves Owner Interested in Tyus Jones

Posted on June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 by David Shama

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is interested in acquiring Tyus Jones at the June 25 NBA Draft. During a telephone interview with Sports Headliners Taylor also said his franchise talked to Fred Hoiberg this year and last about his interest in possibly leaving Iowa State and coaching in the NBA.

Jones, the 19-year-old point guard who led Apple Valley High School to a state championship last year and helped Duke win the NCAA title this spring, would be a public relations coup for the Wolves and add depth to the roster. He’s a target of autograph seekers and adoring kids when he’s back home in Minnesota.

The Wolves have the No. 1 pick in the draft and also two second round selections. Jones is a consensus choice to be taken somewhere in the mid to late portion of the first round—meaning the Wolves would have to acquire an additional first round draft pick to get him. Another possibility is during or after the draft making a trade with a club that has drafted Jones.

“I think he’s got great potential and he is a local kid,” Taylor said. “I think it would be interesting. We’re not overstocked at that position (point guard), especially if Zach moves to the two-position.”

Zach LaVine was a rookie last season and he can play point guard and shooting guard. If Jones came to the Wolves he could be the team’s primary backup to starting point guard Ricky Rubio.

Taylor, whose team likely will use its No. 1 first round selection on a center, expects that president-coach Flip Saunders and general manager Milt Newton will consider adding Jones to the roster. “I don’t know how we could get that done for sure,” Taylor said. “I think there are other teams that are interested. My guess is that Flip and Milt will make inquiries and see if somebody is interested in giving up that draft choice so that that could happen. It would be a nice thing for Minnesota to have that, to do that.”

Saunders, before becoming the Wolves president of basketball operations in 2013, watched Jones play in high school. Saunders was living in the Minneapolis area and while he wasn’t employed by an NBA organization he showed interest in Jones while seeing him play, and the two developed a relationship.

At 6-1, 190-pounds Jones doesn’t have imposing size. Concerns are raised that he could be exploited in defensive matchups against bigger players, or not be physically up to the NBA grind of a long season. His outside shooting range and accuracy is another area that prompts questions. But Jones, even as a rookie, could be a gifted playmaker with his unselfish style and extraordinary court vision. In high school and last season as a freshman at Duke he was a calm leader who often made the biggest plays when needed the most.

Not unexpectedly, draft evaluators are split on their views of Jones. A May 8 story by Bleacherreport.com was headlined: “Tyus Jones Will Be the Breakout Star of the 2015 NBA Draft.” Judd Olanoff praised Jones’ skill in executing the pick-and-roll, a staple of NBA offenses.

Olanoff noted the young point guard’s intangibles, too. “If NBA teams value commitment, dedication and toughness, I’m not sure what more they could ask for. Those teams should consider making a bet on Jones.”

Others aren’t as enthused about Jones. Jeff Goodman, the ESPN analyst, spoke about Jones during the May 14 NBA Draft Combine and he expressed doubt Jones could start for a playoff team but might be a “backup point guard for 10 to 12 years.”

Regarding Hoiberg, he left Iowa State last week to become head coach of the NBA Bulls. The hire didn’t surprise Taylor whose franchise had contacted Hoiberg this spring, although no formal job offer was made, the Wolves owner said. Hoiberg, who had played for both the Wolves and Bulls, indicated his interest to Taylor awhile ago about going to Chicago where the talent is in place for a title contender. “He just said that was kind of like a dream come true for him,” Taylor said about Hoiberg’s anticipation of coaching the Bulls.

What about the Wolves coaching job in 2014 that Saunders ultimately accepted and continues to hold? Again, Taylor said there was no formal offer to Hoiberg but there was conversation about the NBA. “What he told us at that particular time was that he was going to stay at Iowa State,” Taylor said. “They offered him a bigger contract, but that at sometime that he might be interested in coaching in the NBA.”

Worth Noting

Taylor expects to attend information gathering meetings with top draft prospects Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns. Taylor will listen to a trade offer for the No. 1 selection, but said “I don’t see it happening.”

Taylor represented the Wolves at the Draft Lottery last month where for the first time in club history his franchise won the No. 1 selection. It was an emotional moment when the announcement came that the Wolves will draft first. There appeared to be a tear or two in Taylor’s eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know. I might have (tears),” Taylor said. “I’ve been known to be a little emotional.”

The Website Draftexpress.com predicts Jones will be selected by the Mavericks with the No. 21 pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. Jones is one of 13 prospects who were college freshmen last winter that Draftexpress projects will be among the 30 first round draft choices. College fans wish the NBA would adopt a rule that says players must either declare for the draft out of high school or not be eligible until they have been in college for two or three years.

Hondo Hughes, the well-known local magician who performs next Sunday afternoon at the Richfield American Legion, sent Hoiberg congratulations on his hire as Bulls coach. “The Amazing Hondo” first performed in front of Hoiberg when he played for the Timberwolves. After Hoiberg was hired as head coach at Iowa State he invited the Minnesota magic man to entertain the Cyclones. “He makes you feel like a friend,” Hondo wrote in an e-mail to Sports Headliners. “He’s more substance than style.”

Look for an announcement this summer—or by early fall—about the naming rights for the new Vikings stadium. As written here and elsewhere, it seems likely U.S. Bank will have its name on the stadium.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph has a new sleeve tattoo on his left arm that includes a shamrock because of Notre Dame, his Fighting Irish alma mater.

Former Gophers football player Mark Sheffert, who is Chairman and CEO of Manchester Companies, Inc. and a Bolder Options director, has been named as the non-profit organization’s Board Chair. Sheffert is a nationally recognized leader, author and advisor on corporate governance. As Board Chair, Sheffert will guide Bolder Options’ leadership and board as they work together on youth mentoring development goals.

Former Gophers All-American defensive end Bob Stein and ex-Saint John’s All-American wide receiver Blake Elliott are among players on the 2016 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Their names were included in an announcement by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. Among ex-head coaches on the ballot are Ross Fortier, Minnesota Moorhead; Jim Malosky, UMD; and Billy Jack Murphy, Memphis. Murphy was an assistant coach for the Gophers from 1954-1957 before becoming Memphis head coach.

Players Keith Ballard, Ryan Carter, Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba, Jordan Leopold and Jason Zucker will participate in The Wells Fargo Minnesota Wild Road Tour starting June 23. The promotional trip will visit 17 communities and culminate in the June 26 Summer Bash and NHL Draft Viewing party from 6 to 9 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

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Team More ‘Upbeat’ with Peterson Back

Posted on June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 by David Shama

Covering various topics in today’s column including Adrian Peterson’s first week back with the Vikings, news about the Gophers and prep basketball, and a lot more.

Peterson returned to the team this week and Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph believes the impact of the All-Pro running back is evident. Rudolph said Peterson’s work ethic can make others more dedicated. “It always seems to make guys around him work harder. Just in the three days that he’s been here our practices have been pretty crisp, a little bit more upbeat, and that’s what great players do. Great players come in and they elevate the game of not only themselves but the guys around him.”

Peterson, 30, didn’t play at all in the team’s four preseason games last year. Head coach Mike Zimmer decided not to risk injury to the veteran running back. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner was asked if he sees more of the same in 2015.

“That’s coach Zimmer’s call,” Turner said. “To me, if you’re getting everything you need to get done in practices, then you’d probably shy away from doing that. If you feel like you haven’t gotten done what you need to get in practice, I am sure coach Zimmer would consider giving him a few carries. But based on what we did a year ago, I would think that’s probably more of what we do (not using him in preseason).”

Blake Weber, an outstanding football player at Prior Lake High School in 2013 and at Rochester Community and Technical College last fall, is enrolled at Minnesota and will participate next week in the Gophers’ strength and conditioning program as a preferred walk-on playing linebacker. Weber played multiple positions for RCTC including safety and outside linebacker. He wanted to join the Gophers as a preferred walk-on out of high school but had to improve his academic work. He will be a sophomore in eligibility next season.

Jim Dutcher said former Gophers basketball player Tommy Davis needs 19 credits to graduate from Minnesota and is enrolled in summer school. Davis, who played for Dutcher from 1981-1985, is utilizing a program by the Gophers Athletic Department that pays tuition for former athletes who want to complete their school work and earn degrees.

Davis, a shooting guard, still holds the Gophers’ record for consecutive field goals made in one game with 15. He played and coached in France for many years but now is living here. The former All-Big Ten player speaks six languages including French, Dutcher said.

Both Davis and Darryl Mitchell, another former Gophers All-Big Ten guard, have recently relocated to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Dutcher now has 10 former players from his 1982 Big Ten championship living in this community. “We could have a reunion of the ’82 championship team and make all local (phone) calls,” Dutcher said.

Minnesota prep basketball made history this week with the announcement Apple Valley High School players Gary Trent Jr. and Tre Jones are on the USA Basketball Men’s Under-16 roster. It’s the first time two Minnesotans have been selected for the team at the same time, and with Trent and Jones being from the same high school the achievement is more distinct.

Trent, the son of former Timberwolves player Gary Trent, is a shooting guard or wing who will be a junior at Apple Valley next season. He’s a key recruiting target of the Gophers but the competition will be intense with Trent’s long list of offers including national power Kansas, according to Rivals.com.

Jones, the younger brother of former Duke star Tyus Jones, is a point guard who will be a sophomore at Apple Valley next season where the Eagles return the key players from their 2015 Class 4A title team. Jones, at 6-2, is already taller than 6-1 Tyus and like his older brother is on a clear path to be nationally coveted by colleges. His skills include exceptional on-ball defense.

The Under-16 roster includes players from various parts of the country but Trent and Jones are the only twosome from the same high school. The team is practicing this week in Colorado Springs before playing next week in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship tournament in Argentina. USA’s first game is next Wednesday against Puerto Rico.

Prior to this year Tyus Jones was the only Minnesotan to play for the Under-16 team. He played in 2011.

Former Gophers Nick Bjugstad, Ricky Foggie, Seth Helgeson and Darrell Thompson will be among those participating in the Bruce Smith Golf Classic at Faribault Golf Club on June 15. The fundraising event benefits three Faribault schools and honors Bruce Smith who won the 1941 Heisman Trophy playing for the Gophers. More information about participating in the golf event and attending the dinner is available by e-mailing Bruce Krinke, contact@fctv10.org.

The opening of the new St. Paul Saints ballpark this spring prompts discussion about an ongoing topic involving the Twins. Local baseball fans have long wondered if the Saints could some day be a Twins minor league affiliate. It’s an attractive possibility to die-hard fans from the metro area who like the idea of being able to “scout” Twins prospects without driving long distances.

The Saints have been an ongoing popular attraction in the Twin Cities and perhaps more so now with their state-of-the-art minor league ballpark seating about 7,000 fans. The Saints’ independent league status, though, is an obstacle to something happening with the Twins. The Saints are members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and those teams have no affiliation with major league franchises. MLB teams operate affiliated clubs at various levels of competition in towns throughout the minor leagues.

Establishing an affiliated team in St. Paul at CHS Field isn’t on the Twins to-do list right now. “It’s not something we’re working on,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “It’s not something that there is a master plan for. Could it happen some day? Yes, I think it probably could. But it’s many, many years down the road.”

While St. Peter sees the possibility of a Twins team in St. Paul as “intriguing” (including from a marketing perspective), the only way it could happen, he said, would be for an affiliated minor league team (like a Triple-A or Class A club) to move to St. Paul and for the Saints’ independent league franchise to relocate. There are challenges with that scenario including determination of what class of baseball the club would be in and how expensive travel costs would be.

“The other thing is, I can’t imagine the Twins would ever pursue that without ownership of the team,” St. Peter said. “At the end of the day the Twins would need to own the team in St. Paul. I can’t imagine that we would provide affiliation to another group of owners.”

With this being boom times for the Saints owners in their new ballpark, it’s also difficult to foresee them having interest in selling or operating the ballclub elsewhere.

The Lynx, who open the WNBA regular season tonight at home against Tulsa, are the most likely team to win the league championship. That is according to a survey of the WNBA’s general managers who also voted Maya Moore of the Lynx most likely to be the 2015 league MVP. The Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve received the most votes as best coach and Target Center was the winner of “best home-court advantage.”

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