NCAA – Page 127 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U RPI Keeps Tourney Target Alive

Posted on February 9, 2017February 9, 2017 by David Shama

It’s been a productive several days for the Gophers basketball team including last night’s double overtime win over Iowa at Williams Arena.

Minnesota had lost five consecutive Big Ten games and had an overall record of 15-7 and league record of 3-6 going into last Saturday’s game at Illinois. It was near panic time for the Gophers to change their momentum in the next three games.

Done—almost. The Gophers defeated Illinois by nine points, won a thriller over Iowa, 101-89, and now pack their gym gear for Saturday’s game at Rutgers, 13-12 overall and 2-10 in the Big Ten.

Minnesota went into last night’s game ranked No. 25 nationally in the NCAA.com Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)—rankings that have much to do with determining who moves on to postseason tournaments. The Gophers have some quality wins, and the opportunity to earn more with seven Big Ten games remaining on the schedule, plus a chance to maintain or even improve a top 25 RPI ranking that for awhile now has had NCAA Tournament predictors keeping Minnesota in the mix. Hard to say what the final results will be but a possibility could be wins over Rutgers, Indiana, Penn State and Nebraska, and losses to Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin. Such a path would result in a 9-9 Big Ten record, 21-10 overall.

Results as referenced above will keep the team’s RPI in good shape and should deliver an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. If so, it will be a first for Minnesota coach Richard Pitino who is in his fourth season with the Gophers and was 2-16 in the Big Ten last year.

After the season ends the Gophers may look back on the Iowa win as a key to their success–close call that it was. Minnesota was ahead 56-43 with 11:52 remaining in the second half. About three minutes later three consecutive turnovers against Iowa’s half-court trapping defense had triggered a 57-56 Hawkeyes’ lead.

Fatigue, though, hit the Hawkeyes as they tried to finish off the Gophers. Iowa freshman Jordan Bohannon couldn’t keep up with Gophers junior guard Nate Mason in the second overtime. Mason got key baskets as Minnesota outscored the Hawkeyes 17-5.

It was an emotional night for the Gophers and their fans. Pitino doesn’t like to do it, but he was waving his arms late in the game to engage the crowd. The student section saved its infamous “We Hate Iowa!” yell for second half dramatics, and at times Williams Arena rocked like its famous days a decade or two ago.

After the game Mason was asked if this win—important even if the Gophers were playing Rutgers—was at least a little more satisfying coming against border rival Iowa. “Yeah, for sure,” he answered.

Worth Noting

Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey has two sons, Connor and Patrick, playing for Iowa City West High School. That team plays at Cretin Derham-Hall and against Gophers recruit Daniel Orturu Saturday, February 18.

There is talk of an appreciation roast for Dick Jonckowski in the spring to be sponsored by the Minute Men. Jonckowski, the Shakopee-based speaker and emcee, is in his final season as public address announcer for Gophers basketball but will continue with U baseball games. He will be recognized by the Gophers at halftime of the Michigan basketball game February 19.

Ray Christensen, who died a couple of days ago at age 92, was known to sports fans as the radio voice of Gophers football and basketball for decades but he had varied interests including classical music. He preferred to work without a partner on basketball broadcasts and announced those games alone. He was a humble gentleman in an industry known for egos.

Better than Ground Hog Day to prompt optimism about spring arriving soon is that the Twins first exhibition game is two weeks from tomorrow in Fort Myers against the Rays. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training February 14, with the full squad coming in February 18.

Tallest player on the 40-man roster is 6-7 Michael Tonkin and the heaviest is 6-5, 290-pound Kennys Vargas. The oldest Twin is 35-year-old Ervin Santana, born December 12, 1982, while the youngest is 21-year-old Fernando Romero who was born December 24, 1995.

The Twins have announced another Hall of Fame class without Halsey Hall being included. His storytelling and baseball knowledge delighted Twins radio and TV audiences in the early years of the franchise. An obstacle is many Twins Hall of Fame voters aren’t familiar with Hall who died almost 40 years ago but is deserving of enshrinement. Fans who want to see Hall honored can send an email to Twins@twinsbaseball.com

Timberwolves second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns, who has the potential to be the best player in franchise history, has double-doubles in 31 of his last 34 games. Andrew Wiggins, the Wolves third-year forward and another potential superstar, has scored 20-plus points in 11 consecutive games.

The Minnesota Wild, with the best record in the Western Conference, has become a popular mid-season pick to win the 2017 Stanley Cup but that is a lot different outlook than before the season. For example, a June 18 article on Bleacherreport.com had the Wild’s odds of winning the cup at 30/1.

Coach John Anderson’s Minnesota baseball team begins its season February 17-19 at UC Irvine, then opens the home schedule February 24-26 against Seattle in the first- ever Gopher games in U.S. Bank Stadium. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and at the stadium for 13 Gopher games to be played in the new facility through March 12.

Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School in southern Minnesota soon breaks ground on a major upgrade to its football and softball facilities, and will be adding a new track. The project will include synthetic field turf for the football and softball fields, plus lights, scoreboard and concession upgrades. JWP has an enrollment of 199 in grades 9-12 and might be the smallest school in the state to install field turf.

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Jerry Kill Back in State Recruiting

Posted on January 30, 2017January 30, 2017 by David Shama

Former Gophers coach Jerry Kill, now the offensive coordinator at Rutgers, has been recruiting in Minnesota for the Scarlet Knights but so far doesn’t have a commitment as National Signing Day approaches on Wednesday. College football recruiting authority Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners that Kill “called on” Crosby-Ironton tight end Noah Gindorff, and crossed paths with new Gophers coach P.J. Fleck last week at Hopkins High School.

Fleck and Kill are recruiting Hopkins defensive end Boye Mafe. Burns, who is a publisher of the popular Gopherillustrated.com website, said “he’s heard some interesting things about how that went down” when the two coaches were at Hopkins. Burns, who wasn’t at Hopkins when the coaches were there, didn’t provide more details.

It’s no secret Kill is upset about things that have been said and done at the University of Minnesota including the dismissal of Tracy Claeys as Gophers coach a few weeks ago, after leading Minnesota to a 9-4 record including an upset win over Washington State at the Holiday Bowl. Media reports have Kill saying he won’t be coming back to the Gopher campus where he helped resurrect the football program until his health forced him to resign in 2015. Claeys, Kill’s close friend and former defensive coordinator, was made Kill’s successor but lasted only one full season before being fired by new Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle. “He is a very emotional guy,” Burns said about Kill.

Burns believes Kill is “trying to get his foot in the door” on players the Gophers want, probing to see how successful he can be with Minnesota high school players. Few Power Five football programs aggressively recruit the state and Kill may see opportunity here because of that, and also his popularity with the public and relationships with high school coaches.

“He probably will be a little bit effective but…he’s got to land some of these kids that Minnesota (also) wants, for him to justify being out here,” Burns said. “As of today he hasn’t been able to do that.”

Both Kill and Fleck are just getting started in their new roles. Kill was hired by New Jersey-based Rutgers several days before Christmas. Fleck left Western Michigan where he was head coach to take over the Minnesota program in early January.

Known as an elite recruiter, Fleck has reshuffled the 2017 Gopher class that will be announced on Wednesday. While some players who had originally given verbal commitments to Claeys remain, most of the recruits now are student-athletes who Fleck and staff have convinced to become Gophers. Recruiting authorities like Burns have been impressed and they place Minnesota’s 2017 class much higher in national rankings than when Claeys and his staff were in charge.

Burns was asked about 2017 recruits and who he would “bet his life” will be the biggest impact player as a Gopher. “The easy answer is Blaise but I don’t want to take that one. There are a lot of kids that I like in this class. I would say Ken Handy-Holly.”

Blaise Andries, the offensive tackle from Marshall, Minnesota, is one of the prize recruits in Minnesota’s 2017 class but Burns has a high regard for Handy-Holly too, the four-star safety from Alabama. “My hope for him is that he can be a player like (former Gopher) Damarius Travis. A guy that is the leader of a defense, can get everyone lined up.”

Burns thinks Holly could play as a freshman, like Antoine Winfield, Jr. did last year. Winfield played early in the season on special teams, then became an impressive starter at safety for the Gophers.

Worth Noting

The Signing Day Social for Gophers football fans at TCF Bank Stadium Wednesday night is sold out. Over 800 attendees are expected at the Goal Line Club sponsored event where Fleck will talk about his first recruiting class at Minnesota. The social begins at 5 p.m. and KFAN’s Dan Barreiro will broadcast his show from the stadium.

A former Big Ten assistant coach who has followed Minnesota high school basketball for decades didn’t want his name in print but told Sports Headliners Jericho Sims is the best prep player from the state he’s ever seen including Kevin McHale and Tyus Jones. The 6-8 Sims is a senior at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis and the son of former Gopher Charles Sims. Sims has signed to play next fall for Texas and head coach Shaka Smart. The ex-Big Ten coach said Sims will be an immediate force in the Big 12, predicting he will play power forward in college while praising his varied offensive skills and his physique. “He’s built like a marble statue,” the source said.

I was in Williams Arena on October 15, 1971 when first-year Gophers coach Bill Musselman led his first official team practice. The Gophers were at least 15 minutes late taking the floor for practice, and I later learned that Musselman was giving the team a hyper-passionate pep talk about the season ahead including challenging Big Ten title favorite Ohio State. It was 45 years ago last week the famous Minnesota-Ohio State brawl took place at Williams Arena. Few people know Musselman was targeting the Buckeyes months before the game.

The St. Thomas and Bethel men’s basketball teams are tied for first place in the MIAC standings with 10-3 records. They play each other tonight at the Tommies’ Schoenecker Arena. Coach John Tauer’s Tommies are defending MIAC champions.

The Twins, expected to be down in their season tickets total this year, are able to offer more prime seating locations because of the decline. A source with the club told Sports Headliners the total season tickets in 2017 is projected at 11,000 to 12,000 after being about 13,000 last year.

Speedy Byron Buxton, the long-hyped Twins prospect and the big league club’s fastest player, stole only 10 bases last season in 92 games and 298 at bats. The center fielder hit .225, struck out 118 times and walked just 23 times. Buxton, though, has stolen 125 bases in 301 minor league games.

Twins super fan Kirk Detlefsen holds his annual Ticket Draft at Target Field on Wednesday. The event is an opportunity for people Detlefsen knows to share in the season tickets he buys each year. The gathering isn’t open to the public but in advance Detlefsen welcomes inquiries (612-701-7244). Twins authorities Derek Falvey, Dave St. Peter and Dan Gladden will speak to attendees, plus Town Hall Ball Parks of Minnesota author Todd Mueller will personalize complimentary copies of his book.

A sports awards industry source said Theo Epstein’s relationship with Jostens years ago was likely a major factor in the Minneapolis-based company being named the designer for the Cubs 2016 World Series rings. Epstein, the Cubs general manager, was the Red Sox’s baseball boss when Boston won the World Series in 2004 and Jostens produced that team’s rings. Look for Jostens to also make a Cubs World Series fan ring.

Dave Stead, executive director of the Minnesota State High School League, told Sports Headliners his organization projects distributing about $1 million to MSHL schools that participated in state tournaments during the 2016-2017 school year. The distribution amounts are determined by a formula to reimburse schools for expenses. Stead said 12 of the 36 state tournaments sponsored by the MSHL, including the Prep Bowl, are profitable.

Minnesota North Stars caps for $39.99 each are on sale at the Minnesota Wild’s hockey-themed restaurant in Terminal 2 of the MSP airport.

Ross Bernstein, the locally-based author of sports books who is also a motivational speaker for businesses, was in Scotland last month where he found time to visit but not play the famed St. Andrew’s Golf Course.

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Izzo, Dutcher Positive on U in Big Ten

Posted on December 30, 2016December 30, 2016 by David Shama

Michigan State coaching legend Tom Izzo and former Minnesota Big Ten championship coach Jim Dutcher are impressed with the Gophers.

Izzo, an eight-time national coach of the year, talked to Sports Headliners about the Gophers after his Spartans defeated Minnesota 75-74 in overtime on Tuesday night in Williams Arena. “They’re a good team,” Izzo said. “They’ve got (big) bodies and they’ve got good guard play. (They) don’t always shoot it great, (but teams have) gotta have some weakness—we got about five.

“We just happened to find a way to win. They were the better team most of tonight. I think Rich (Pitino) has done a hell of a job with them now. I think he’s got them headed in the right direction. They’ve won a lot of games. They didn’t play all (nonconference) cupcakes either. This was a tough physical game and I am sure they will learn from it, just like we will.”

The Gophers are 12-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten under fourth-year coach Richard Pitino who was 2-16 in league games last season. The Gophers added new players during the offseason and key returnees have also helped improve a team that lost its first 13 conference games during 2015-2016. “I just think they’ve got a good blend of talent,” said Dutcher, who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title.

Dutcher likes the quality of Minnesota’s eight-man rotation and sees not only a more talented team than last season but one with better size. There’s something else of importance he mentioned, too. “I think they’re a better defensive team than they were,” he said.

Dutcher predicts the Gophers will have a 9-9 conference record and could make the NCAA Tournament. In Minnesota’s favor in being able to earn a tournament invite for the first time since 2013 is that the Big Ten doesn’t look all that imposing. “Top to bottom it’s not a great league,” Dutcher said about the Big Ten, a conference without a top 10 ranked team.

The Gophers will finish seventh in the Big Ten after Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State, Dutcher predicted. Behind the Gophers will be Michigan, Maryland, Northwestern, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers and Penn State.

Minnesota missed a big opportunity by not winning Tuesday after the Gophers couldn’t hold a 39-26 halftime lead. The Spartans came into the game without their best player in freshman guard-forward Miles Bridges. Michigan State, which has won one national title and made seven Final Four appearances in 21 previous seasons under Izzo, arrived in Minneapolis with an uncharacteristic 8-5 record, although the schedule included nonconference games with national toughies Duke, Kentucky, Arizona.

Now the Gophers must play four of their next five league games on the road, starting with Sunday at nationally-ranked Purdue, 12-2 and 1-0. The Gophers certainly can’t start the conference schedule 0-6 and still have solid NCAA Tournament ambitions. Dutcher doesn’t think they will, with early opportunities for wins probably coming at Northwestern January 5 and at Penn State January 14. Minnesota’s next home game, January 8 with Ohio State, is already a circle it date too. “My view is there are a lot of wins to be had in this league,” Dutcher said.

The Gophers were out worked and gave up too many scores near the basket in the second half of the MSU game but Dutcher said it wasn’t like Pitino’s team “laid an egg” in the game. Dutcher isn’t discouraged by the loss. “It’s not so much about what Minnesota did wrong, as what Michigan State did right,” he said.

Last season the Gophers had issues on and off the court. Pitino said after the nonconference schedule ended that his team had made progress but acknowledged more progress awaits. “Our guys have worked really, really hard to climb out of the gutter off the court, on the court, all those things to get everybody’s respect back. …We trusted that we’d be better. We’re better but we still got a long way to go.”

Izzo Storytelling on Flip Saunders

Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves)

Izzo confirmed what other friends of the late Flip Saunders have said about Saunders coming close to accepting the Gophers job in the spring of 2013. The former Gophers guard in the 1970s was between coaching opportunities in the NBA back then and Saunders ultimately decided he didn’t want to work for athletics director Norwood Teague, according to a top source.

“Flip loved the Gophers,” Izzo told Sports Headliners. “His passion for Minnesota in general was off the charts, and the University was just even more off the charts.”

Izzo and Saunders forged a friendship over the years including when Saunders coached the NBA Pistons in Detroit. At Saunders’ funeral in 2015 Izzo read from the Bible during the service for his friend who died at age 60 from cancer.

“I miss him,” Izzo said about the former Timberwolves executive and coach. “I miss the late night calls. He always had some good plays for me.

“I can honestly say I loved the guy. I still feel for Debbie (Saunders’ wife) and I stay in touch with Ryan (his son and Timberwolves assistant). I am proud of what he is doing.

“But to have had Flip in the league (the Big Ten) would have been an honor. It really would have been.”

Izzo recalled working to recruit Apple Valley High School point guard Tyus Jones for a couple of years. Izzo laughed about how Saunders evolved from helping the Spartans, to becoming more interested in the prep All-American choosing Minnesota as Saunders started to seriously consider the Gophers job. “Are you helping me, or are you helping yourself?” he asked his buddy.

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