Golden Gophers – Page 332 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers QB Leidner Talks Heisman

Posted on March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 by David Shama

The Heisman Trophy.

That’s an award Gophers redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner would like to win. Leidner, who is the team’s No. 1 quarterback in spring practice after rival Philip Nelson transferred this winter, talked about the Heisman while answering these personal questions for Sports Headliners:

Favorite meal my mom makes: Probably lasagna that she makes (for) me and my brothers all the time.

Award I would most like to win: The Heisman award, no doubt.

What I like best about coach Jerry Kill: I like his toughness and demeanor, and how much he gives to this program and all the players.

What I miss about Philip Nelson: I miss the competitive edge he brings to the quarterbacking spot on the field.

What people should know about redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Streveler: They should know that he likes to take his shirt off. Yeah, that’s the biggest thing. He likes to take his shirt off around anyone.

The Gophers’ biggest rival: I think the Gophers’ biggest rival is Iowa because we hate Iowa.

What makes me nervous on the football field: Nothing really makes me nervous. What gets me pumped up is being down (on the scoreboard) and having to come back and play under pressure.

Anyone interested in being my girlfriend should know: That I have a girlfriend and I am taken.

If I wasn’t a quarterback, I would be playing: Probably tight end. That’s what I came to camp here for (as a high school player), or a linebacker.

Worth Noting

Leidner’s passing will benefit if sophomore wide receiver Donvahn Jones continues to improve. Converted to receiver from quarterback last year, Jones said he is capable of running a 4.4 40-yard dash. After catching 10 passes for 157 yards last season, he said his goals for 2014 include a first college touchdown pass.

Jones played last season with both Leidner and Philip Nelson who transferred to Rutgers in January. He likes the idea of working with one quarterback, not adjusting to two. “It can make me a lot better because I know how Mitch operates and what he likes to do and where I am supposed to be,” Jones said.

The 6-3 Jones, who weighed about 185 pounds as a freshman, hopes to play this fall at 205 pounds or more. More size and strength without compromising speed can help him against Big Ten cornerbacks. Jones, who turned 19 on March 12, said he competes against an outstanding cornerback when Eric Murray covers him in practice.

“It’s helpful for me because I feel like he’s probably one of the best corners in the Big Ten, so having a chance to go against him every day is only making me better,” Jones said.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill likes the potential of redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jonah Pirsig, 6-foot-9 and 325 pounds. “He’s going to be a great player,” Kill said. “We just gotta keep him healthy.”

Pirsig participated in seven games last season after redshirting in 2012. He played small town high school football in Blue Earth, Minnesota. The speed and size of the players in college has been an adjustment. “If I had to go against someone big during high school football they definitely weren’t as fast, and if I were going against someone fast they definitely weren’t as big as the guys here,” Pirsig said.

The weather for Gophers spring practice has kept the team indoors at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. A low ceiling makes it impossible to kick like outdoors. Last week the Gophers punted the ball to give their coverage players some practice but the ball struck the ceiling and chunks of insulation were knocked loose.

That prompted Kill, who wants a new practice facility, to laugh. “Keep kickin’ until that roof comes out and then we get a new building,” he said. “There’s a lot of ways to get something new. We’re puntin’ (and) kickin’ as much as we possibly can so eventually we’ll get that done. So that’s good strategy, isn’t it?”

Look for the finalists to be announced today for the new Mike Richter Award honoring the best goalie in NCAA men’s hockey. There were 19 candidates announced last month.

The top 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award recognizing college hockey’s best player will be announced tomorrow.

It was an extraordinary group of finalists but Tyus Jones from Apple Valley High School was named the state’s 2014 Mr. Basketball Award winner yesterday. Ken Lien, who has administered the Mr. Basketball program for years, made the announcement on 1500 ESPN. The other finalists were Wheeler Baker, Osseo; Brian Goodwin, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa; J.P. Macura, Lakeville North; and Reid Travis, DeLaSalle. Only seniors are eligible for the award.

Alex Illikainen, the junior forward from Grand Rapids who might one day play for Nebraska, will be a favorite to win Mr. Basketball next year.

Lien told Sports Headliners he saw former Gophers coach Tubby Smith at last week’s Minnesota boys’ prep tourney. Smith’s Texas Tech team was 14-18 in his first season in Lubbock and wasn’t invited to a post-season tournament.

Lien said Smith was also at the Wisconsin prep tournament last week. Smith is recruiting Rice Lake High School star Henry Ellenson, the brother of former Gopher Wally Ellenson.

There are no teams from the state of Indiana in this year’s NCAA basketball tourney. Basketball is nearly a religion in the state and Butler, Indiana, Indiana State, Notre Dame and Purdue have played prominent games in tournament history.

There hasn’t been much pre-tournament talk about Duke but the Blue Devils may make a deep run in the tournament.

Ricky Nolasco is likely to be the Twins starting pitcher when the club opens the regular season on March 31 against the White Sox in Chicago. The Twins no doubt would like a performance the equal of what Nolasco did last season as the Marlins opening day pitcher when he went six innings, allowing three hits and two runs against the Nationals.

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Big Ten Teams in Final Four Picks

Posted on March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 by David Shama

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher agrees with CBS TV analysts who are predicting Michigan State will represent the Big Ten Conference in the Final Four next month in Arlington, Texas.

Dutcher, who led the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title, still passionately studies college basketball. He told Sports Headliners his choices for the Final Four are Louisville, Florida, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Last night CBS announced the NCAA Men’s Tournament field of 68 teams, and analysts Seth Davis, Doug Gottlieb and Clark Kellogg offered predictions including Final Four picks. Davis and Kellogg both like Florida, Michigan State, Wichita State and Wisconsin. Gottlieb’s choices are Arizona, Florida, Louisville and Michigan State.

Louisville is the defending national champion and Dutcher predicts a repeat by the Cardinals. “They’re probably playing better than anyone in the country,” Dutcher said. “They’re so tough-minded.”

Dutcher suggested that fans figuring out predicted tournament winners pay attention to not just the records of teams but also how they are playing right now. Teams who are among the most likely to continue late season momentum in the tournament, according to Dutcher, include Baylor, Louisville, Michigan State and UCLA. The Spartans, a preseason choice to be national champs, faltered this winter because of injuries but yesterday defeated Michigan to win the Big Ten Tournament. “We all knew they were a good team,” Dutcher said. “They’re a threat to win it all.”

Syracuse is another team to respect when trying to make sense of March Madness. The Orange were rolling with a No. 1 ranking and undefeated season before stumbling in recent weeks and finishing with a 27-5 record. But Dutcher pointed out the Orange not only have one of the tournament’s premiere players in forward C.J. Fair, they also have a troublesome zone defense. He said teams who don’t play the Orange on a regular basis can have “fits” trying to score against the zone.

When predicting upsets it’s hard to argue with paying attention to games involving No. 5 and No. 12 seeds. In tourney history 12 seeds have pulled off some surprises. A few years ago Dutcher gave a friend three upset predictions using the 12 beats 5 formula and all were accurate.

This week Dutcher believes No. 10 seeds Stanford and Arizona State will defeat No. 7 seeds New Mexico and Texas. Iowa and Tennessee have a play-in game on Wednesday night and the winner will be a No. 11 seed who Dutcher said “can beat” No. 6 seed Massachusetts.

Dutcher has sentimental favorites in the tournament including Wisconsin. He’s known Badgers coach Bo Ryan for a long time and wants to see him finally have a Final Four team. Ryan’s Badgers have never finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten standings but haven’t made deep tournament runs. “I’d like to see it on his resume (the Final Four),” Dutcher said.

A Michigan alum and former assistant coach in Ann Arbor, Dutcher is also pulling for Michigan in the tournament. He admires Michigan coach John Beilein. “He is a quality guy,” Dutcher said.

Worth Noting

Coach Richard Pitino’s Gophers are in the 32-team NIT field and have an opening game tomorrow night at Williams Arena against High Point. “I think the Gophers will play good (in the NIT),” Dutcher said. “They have a new coach (this season) and are trying to make an impression.

“I don’t think the fans will buy into it (the NIT) too much. Coaches have referred to it as the ‘Not Interested Tournament.’ ”

Not only is the NIT not a strong gate attraction but Minnesota’s home attendance has been declining for decades. For the 2013-14 season the Gophers averaged 12,329 for 18 home games, ranking 10^th in the 12-team Big Ten. Williams Arena capacity is 14,625. Only Northwestern at 6,719 and Penn State, 6,500, averaged fewer fans per home game.

The Gophers are a No. 1 seed in the NIT along with Florida State, St. John’s and SMU.

Senior guard Austin Hollins will play in his 137^th game as a Gopher when Minnesota meets High Point. Last week he broke Rodney Williams’ school record for most games at 134.

The Gophers went to the NIT Finals in 2012 but never hosted a game. They won four consecutive games before losing to Stanford in the championship game in New York.

College basketball fan Steve Nestor e-mailed that former Gophers athletic director McKinley Boston, now AD at New Mexico State, has seen his Lobos make the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years including in 2014. The Aggies have seven international players on their roster including Canadian brothers Sim and Tanveer Bhullar. They are large lads at 7-foot-5 and 7-foot-3, and weighing 360 and 335 pounds respectively.

Wally Pribyl, who played football for the Gophers in the late 1960s, is struggling in his fight with cancer. He is hospitalized in South Dakota and reached out last week to former teammates via e-mail. “I can’t express in words how much I appreciate the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” he wrote.

Former Vikings running backs Dave Osborn and Oscar Reed have birthdays this month on March 18 and 24. Twin Cities sports marketing authority Bill Robertson‘s birthday is March 21.

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Tourney Offers Pitino Bonus Incentive

Posted on March 14, 2014March 15, 2014 by David Shama

Basketball coach Richard Pitino’s contract with the University of Minnesota includes bonus compensation based on performance by the Gophers. His team won its opening Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament game last night against Penn State and if the Gophers become tourney champions on Sunday he will earn $25,000 in bonus money.

The win left the Gophers with a 20-12 overall season record. Minnesota had an 8-10 Big Ten regular season record and it’s believed the Gophers can attract an NCAA Tournament invite if they defeat nationally ranked Wisconsin tonight in their conference tournament quarterfinal game. A victory over the Badgers would advance the Gophers to a Saturday semi-final game in the tournament.

Pitino’s contract incentives include $50,000 if the Gophers are invited to the NCAA Tournament. He earns additional payments of $50,000 each if Minnesota plays in the tournament’s Sweet 16 and Final Four. An NCAA national championship rewards him with a $100,000 bonus.

Pitino would have received a $50,000 bonus if the Gophers had a winning record during the Big Ten’s regular season. A regular season conference championship would also reward him with a $50,000 bonus.

Pitino won’t win conference or national coach of the year honors in 2014 but there are bonuses in his contract for those awards. He could earn $25,000 for Big Ten Coach of the Year and $50,000 for National Coach of the Year.

Pitino became the Gophers coach last spring after signing a contract that commenced on April 8 and ends on April 30, 2019. He receives what the contract describes as “base salary and supplemental compensation.”

His salary is $500,000, but beginning on May 1, 2014 and every year thereafter his annual performance review can result in an increase of “no less than 5% per year,” per the contract. The supplemental compensation is $700,000 annually and “….is in recognition of coach’s efforts on behalf of the University for media, fundraising, community involvement, endorsements, and apparel, shoes and equipment arrangements.”

Among conference coaches, Pitino’s $1.2 million annual compensation ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten. At 31 he is the league’s youngest head coach and has only two seasons of college head coaching experience.

Worth Noting

A crowd of 179 CORES lunch attendees listened yesterday to former Vikings head coach Bud Grant at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Grant talked about friends who died during military service in World War II, labeling them “heroes” and distinguishing those individuals from athletes who can be “stars” but not heroes. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The ballot announced by the National Football Foundation for possible 2014 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame includes several names with Minnesota ties: Former Saint John’s two-time first-team All-American wide receiver Blake Elliott; Randall Cunningham, an All-American punter at UNLV and former Vikings quarterback; Ross Fortier, the winningest coach in Minnesota Moorhead history; Clint Jones who was a two-time first-team All-American at Michigan State and an ex-Vikings running back; former Vikings running back Darrin Nelson, an All-American at Stanford who was the first player in NCAA history to run for over 1,000 yards and catch more than 50 passes in a single season; James Malosky who at the time of his retirement in 1997 from Minnesota Duluth was the winningest coach in Division II history; and Billy Jack Murphy, a former Gophers assistant coach who became the winningest head coach in Memphis history.

The Minnesota M Club will have a 100 year anniversary celebration on August 16 with boat rides and a barbecue at the Mississippi River Boat House in Minneapolis. The Gophers’ club is one of the oldest—if not the oldest—letterwinners club in the nation having started in 1914.

Gophers football booster Mark Sheffert authors a monthly column for Twin Cities Business. In the March issue he writes about the longevity of Minnesota coach Jerry Kill‘s staff and relates that to his column theme regarding the benefit of business professionals having experience working together: “The Value of Tenured Teams.”

Ex-Gophers and NFL coach Tony Dungy and NFL TV host James Brown will speak at a morning event on March 22 at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. “Arise with the Guys” will offer motivational messages, and tickets are priced at $10 and $20. More information at Arisewiththeguys.com.

Former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau has only played in four spring training games for the Rockies and has two hits in 10 at bats.

Danny Santana, who some day could become the Twins regular shortstop, is hitting .368 in spring training. The 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is rated the Twins No. 9 prospect and best defensive infielder in the organization’s minor league system by Baseball America.

Ryan Boldt, an outfielder from Red Wing who plays for Nebraska, is Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance last week. He had six runs and six hits—both team highs—in a three-game sweep over St. John’s of New York.

CartRev, a new Saint Paul-based firm, offers golf courses the opportunity to turn refreshment carts into mobile billboards and point-of-sale displays. Using vinyl wraps similar to those on buses, the carts are a unique way for advertisers to reach target markets and offer a new source of revenue for golf courses. Patrick Klinger, former vice-president of marketing for the Twins, has made CarRev a division of Patrick Klinger & Co. More at CartRev.com.

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