Golden Gophers – Page 324 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Rooting Hard for Bucky in Final Four

Posted on April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 by David Shama

Warning: Read this column with scrutiny. Pay close attention to what I am saying.

I understand the DNA about the Gophers-Badgers Border Rivalry. I am a card-carrying Golden Gophers guy and it’s sweet when Minnesota beats Wisconsin in any sport. The wins can make for a scrapbook weekend–and the losses destroy Saturday and Sunday.

I hate the Gophers football record against the Badgers, losing 11 consecutive games. I am jealous that Wisconsin has one of the Big Ten’s greatest basketball coaches ever, while the Gophers struggle. “Pride on Ice” is an appropriate slogan at Mariucci Arena but Bucky Badger has won one more NCAA men’s hockey national championship than Goldy Gopher. I don’t like that, but I do like Minnesota winning the Big Ten hockey title this past winter while the Badgers finished last in the conference standings.

I got pumped up when the Gophers women’s hockey team defeated the Badgers in the semifinals of the NCAA championship last month at Ridder Arena. And if Bucky is counting, in the last 18 games between the two programs the Gophers are 16-0-2.

I know Badgers fans can be really obnoxious about their successes in football and basketball. The targets of their juvenile behaviors are often Gophers fans. I have driven down the streets of Madison and been taunted because some idiots spotted the Minnesota license plates on my car.

But guess what? I have been cheering hard for the Badgers basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. Tomorrow night against Kentucky I will be yelling support for coach Bo Ryan and his players as if they were family.

Maybe some Gophers fans will be wearing “Better Dead than Red” sweatshirts and screaming their heads off for the Wildcats, but not me. First off, I am a Big Ten loyalist and that point should weigh in on any Gopher fan when he or she sits down to watch the Final Four. The Badgers and Michigan State are both Big Ten teams and their successes reflect on the conference’s image.

The Big Ten football brand was subpar for years but got a big lift when Ohio State won the national championship earlier this year. It was the first time a Big Ten team had won a national football title since 2002 and only the third championship in the last 25 years. The Buckeyes’ win over Oregon brought glory to the Big Ten and eased some pain associated with the conference’s awful postseason record for the last 15 years.

Having Bucky and Sparty in the Final Four says the Big Ten is a premier college basketball league. That’s a benefit for every program in the conference including the Gophers. Recruits know when they come play for a Big Ten school they’re going to compete against some of the best players in the country.

Success by the conference on the biggest stages in football and basketball is important for reasons beyond recruiting. Winning generates ticket sales, sponsorships, advertising, merchandising, suite purchases, TV and radio ratings, and more benefits including attracting top coaches.

But here’s the other reason why I am all on board about the Badgers tomorrow: they play basketball the way I want to see the game played—five players sacrificing for the team, executing assignments and minimizing mistakes.

Anyone who understands basketball can delight in Wisconsin’s unselfishness. The team’s ball movement probes the defense for an open shot. Players move without the ball and set screens for one another, creating high percentage opportunities to drive or shoot. Ryan’s players aren’t about who scores baskets but whether the Badgers put points on the scoreboard.

Yes, other teams move the ball and sets screens, but few clubs execute like the Badgers at both ends of the floor. Watch the precision with which they run their offense. Turn your eyes away from the ball sometimes and see how good the Badgers are at blocking out other players in rebounding situations on offense and defense.

Watch how the Badgers switch on defense and help defend potential open shots and drives to the basket. Yeah, the Badgers flop to draw charging fouls but they hardly have a patent on that. They just execute (there’s that word again) the “Hollywood” stuff better than most teams.

Ryan is a phenomenal teacher and coach. His mantra is this: Don’t beat ourselves. Mistakes, including turnovers and foul trouble, are kept to a minimum. A team might defeat the Badgers but it’s not usually going to be because Wisconsin gave the opponent easy baskets or sent them to the free-throw line time and time again.

Ryan’s record in 14 seasons at Wisconsin is 356 wins, 124 losses—a .742 winning percentage. His teams have won six Big Ten titles, played in three Elite Eight games and two Final Fours. Not bad for a place like Wisconsin that historically has known decades of mediocre college basketball.

This year’s team is built like Ryan’s past clubs with a roster of mostly Midwest talent and an emphasis on Wisconsin players. Three of the starters are from Wisconsin, with one each from Illinois and Ohio. Among the top nine players, four are from Wisconsin, three from Ohio and two from Illinois.

College Player of the Year candidate Frank Kaminsky is from Illinois and in his first two years at Wisconsin the 7-foot center had minimal production including his sophomore season averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. But Ryan saw a player with potential and developed Kaminsky into a mobile offensive beast who as a senior can drill three point shots and dribble past opponents perhaps better than any 7-footer in Big Ten basketball history.

Badgers starters from the state of Wisconsin are forward Sam Dekker and guards Josh Gasser and Bronson Koenig. Dekker and Koenig were highly recruited players who showed loyalty to their home state Badgers. While one prize prep after another skips town on the Gophers year after year, U fans can only watch in envy as Ryan bats a high percentage with the guys he wants from Dairyland.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are similar states in culture, history, population and demographics. Both have built higher education systems around their land-grant universities. If the state of Minnesota has a twin, it surely is our border neighbor to the east.

So If the Badgers can compete on the highest levels in football and basketball, then why can’t the Gophers?

You know why. It takes the right leadership to win at schools like Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Gophers have found their Barry Alvarez in football coach Jerry Kill but Minnesota is searching for a turnaround in basketball.

Just for tomorrow night (and hopefully Monday evening) I say: Go Bucky!

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Perra Pushing for U No. 2 QB Spot

Posted on April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 by David Shama

As the Gophers move through their practices toward the April 11 Spring Game who is their No. 2 quarterback?

“If it was tomorrow it would be Chris (Streveler) because of the experience factor, but I think Chris would be the first one to tell you he’s gotta continue to perform,” offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said last week. “It’s no secret that…Jacques Perra from Roseville really opened some eyes with some things he did—just being around the program and now in the spring. There’s a pretty good competition that’s developing there. I think Chris is still the No. 2 but I think Jacques is getting bigger and bigger in his rearview mirror.”

Mitch Leidner is a lock as the team’s No. 1 quarterback but injury or illness could force him to the sidelines during Minnesota’s 12-game schedule in 2015. Last fall Streveler, then a redshirt freshman, filled in for an injured Leidner. Streveler started the San Jose State game, rushing for 161 yards (third most ever for a Gophers quarterback) while completing one of seven passes.

Perra joined the program as a non-scholarship quarterback last year but didn’t play as a redshirt freshman. He did impress the coaches, and Limegrover described Perra as a more “natural thrower” than Streveler who is a gifted runner.

In spring practices so far Leidner has received more work with the team’s better offensive players. Not playing with a superior supporting group in practice makes it more difficult to fairly evaluate Streveler and Perra, Limegrover said. But Limegrover expects that to change as the Gophers move through their last six spring sessions.

Limegrover will then have a better report card on Streveler and Perra, but he already believes both can be starting Big Ten quarterbacks. Leidner will be a redshirt junior next season so he is one class ahead of Streveler and two in front of Perra. The future Gophers starting quarterback could be one of the two current backups.

Streveler is a scholarship player who was All-State his senior season at Marian Catholic in Woodstock, Illinois. His straight ahead speed is impressive and the best among the Gophers quarterbacks. Streveler, who in 2014 was Academic All-Big Ten, can make explosive gains on designed runs and scrambles from the pocket. While fans saw an unpolished passer last fall, he has made some good throws this spring and is a fierce competitor who will work to improve. Streveler is a leader, too, and last summer he and Leidner got players together for volunteer practices—something that impressed Limegrover.

Perra was All-State and the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year at Roseville High School where in his senior season he threw for over 3,100 yards and 35 touchdowns. “The great thing about Jacques is that I don’t know if he has a bad day.” Limegrover said. “There isn’t a whole lot that bothers him. Not a whole lot that phases him.”

If an observer just watched Perra, and didn’t see all the other things happening on a particular play, the person probably wouldn’t know what happened because the 19-year-old quarterback is so under control. “I think that part of his makeup is fantastic,” Limegrover said. “…This kid was put on this earth to play quarterback.”

Limegrover said incoming freshman Demry Croft could figure in the plan to determine the No. 2 quarterback. The Gophers tell all their new players not to assume they will redshirt and Limegrover is enthusiastic about the 6-5 quarterback from Boylan High School in Rockford, Illinois.

“We feel like the sky’s the limit for him,” Limegrover said. “We feel like he’s a kid that at some point might overtake these two (Streveler and Perra). That’s what you try and do every year. You’re trying to recruit to beat out the ones that you already have in the program—and that’s how you go from 3-9, to 6-6 (records). If you get to that point, where you’re doing that every year, that’s when special things happen.”

Why does Limegrover talk about Croft having so much potential?”

“We saw that he had a lot of athletic ability when we saw his film as a junior,” the coach said. “Then being able to see him live at camp and watch him throw the football, and how he approached camp and being coached, and how he went about his business, and his physical tools.

“There’s a maturity there. He’s not your typical dimply faced 17-year-old kid. There was kind of a presence about him, which you really like in your quarterback.”

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Dubnyk and Wild Look at Big Stage

Posted on March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 by David Shama

What an interesting spring this will be for the Wild and “Superman” goalie Devan Dubnyk.

The Wild has six regular season games remaining before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. A franchise with shaky playoff ambitions a few months ago, the Wild has made a remarkable recovery since acquiring Dubnyk in a trade. The man wearing a “Wild cape” has won 26 times in 34 games for Minnesota. The NHL’s hottest team and hottest goalie look like they will not only play in the postseason, but be a favorite for a deep run.

In the playoffs a superb goalie can be even more valuable than during the regular season. With a short series, it’s win or start relaxing on the golf course. The Wild and their fans hope they see the same goalie in the playoffs they’ve watched with awe in January, February and March.

That’s not a guarantee, though. Despite Dubnyk’s superhero performance so far he is (as far as we know) human. In his NHL career with three other clubs he didn’t win or compile the same impressive goals against average (1.70) and save percentages (.939) as with the Wild. A change in goaltending technique that better helps him track the puck receives at least partial credit for the upgrade that puts Dubnyk among the league’s best goalies now.

Dubnyk’s salary, reportedly at $800,000, certainly doesn’t place him among the NHL’s top paid goalies. At 28, with five previous seasons in the league, he is a journeyman who has found sudden success, almost like a character in a Broadway play. Dubnyk turns 29 on May 4 and if the Wild are still in the playoffs and toying with the possibility of winning Minnesota’s first Stanley Cup ever, it will be a great script for the 6-foot-6 Canadian.

Dubnyk, who has led the Wild to five straight wins and 10 in a row on the road, is an unrestricted free agent after this season and unless he flops in the coming weeks he will command a huge pay upgrade. Not as much compensation as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s $8.5 million per season (per Spotrac.com) but perhaps in the $4 million to $5 million range.

Those numbers are much more likely if Dubnyk doesn’t lose his kryptonite and the Wild at least make the Western Conference Finals, if not the Stanley Cup finals. An NHL title is a no-brainer for a long-term deal at major money.

Dubnyk is in his prime career years and 2015 could be his best and last chance to secure a max deal. Lundqvist is the league’s top paid goalie and six others make $6 million or more, according to Spotrac’s 2014 goalie salary rankings. If Dubynk is wowing the NHL as summer approaches, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher will have competition in re-signing the goalie he aced with his trade last January, giving up a third round draft choice to the Coyotes.

If Dubnyk has the Wild in a bidding war, the team’s fans can feel some confidence about owner Craig Leipold’s willingness to open his wallet. Leipold wants to win and he puts that in writing every time he signs the checks of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, two players he signed to long-term $98 million deals in July of 2012.

The challenge for the Wild, though, is how to fit all the salaries on their roster together and stay near the league’s expected payroll cap of about $73 million. Part of the puzzle and challenge is there are other free agents beyond Dubnyk. One helpful move could be to buyout the contract of backup goalie Niklas Backstrom who reportedly is due $4 million for next season.

The summer of 2012 was interesting. This spring will have its own drama.

Worth Noting

In Sports Illustrated’s baseball preview issue last week the magazine included a story on Byron Buxton, saying he can “hit to all fields like Kirby Puckett, possesses the arm of Russell Wilson” and “is nearly as fast as Bo Jackson.” The 21- year-old center fielder is ranked No. 1 by Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, according to the magazine, and the publication reports the much-hyped Twins prospect threw a 98 miles per hour fast ball in high school and has been timed in 3.9 seconds from home plate to first base.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association has honored the O’Brien family including Gophers senior associate athletic director Dan O’Brien and his 15-year-old son Casey O’Brien with its Cal Stoll Award. Casey has recovered from bone cancer after an ordeal that included a seven hour operation and 24 rounds of chemotherapy. His support group includes his family and Gophers coach Jerry Kill who has praised the young man for his courage. The award is named after Stoll, the former Gophers football coach, and is given to someone who has overcome adversity.

The MFCA honored Dwight Lundeen, the only coach in Becker High School football history, as its Man of the Year on Saturday night. Lundeen coached Becker to 13 consecutive wins last year including the 4A state title.

The MFCA’s Minnesota Football Clinic had a record 1,263 registrations and 67 vendors last week. The clinic dates next year are March 31, April 1 and 2.

Joe Haeg, the 6-6, 300-pound former Brainerd High School player who walked on at North Dakota State and is now an All-American, has the interest of pro scouts and might be selected as an offensive tackle in the early rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. He will be a senior for the Bison this fall.

Greg Kleven reported in the March 26 Eden Prairie Sun Current that Eden Prairie High School safety and linebacker Blake Cashman will be a preferred walk-on with the Gophers this summer. Kleven wrote that Cashman turned down Division I offers from Iowa State and North Dakota State, hoping to earn a scholarship at Minnesota.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino signed four recruits late last year for his 2015 incoming class this summer. He has three more scholarships available, although not all of them maybe used this spring. “We believe we will have a top-25 recruiting class when it’s all said and done,” Pitino wrote on his Gophersports.com blog last week.

Big Ten women’s basketball drew a record total of more than 869,000 fans for the home games of its 14 conference teams this past season. The Gophers, with an average of 3,846, finished 10th in average home attendance.

The women’s WCHA is represented by 40 current or former players at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships that started last Saturday and continues through April 4 in Malmö, Sweden. Seventeen of the women played during the 2014-15 season, while 23 are WCHA alumnae. The list includes three Gophers from the 2015 national championship team: Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi and Lee Stecklein.

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