NCAA – Page 138 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Tyus Jones Supporters in Indy Tonight

Posted on April 6, 2015April 6, 2015 by David Shama

Tyus Jones will have plenty of Minnesota support tonight when he and his Duke teammates play Wisconsin for the NCCA championship in Indianapolis.

The Blue Devils freshman point guard can look into the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium and see his mom, dad, brothers and other family and friends he has known while growing up in the Minneapolis area. Family is important to Jones and he earned many admirers while becoming a high school All-American at Apple Valley High School. Tonight he will be hoping the Blue Devils can defeat the Badgers just like they did in early December in Madison when folks from his Minnesota constituency were also in the stands cheering for him.

Jones enjoyed a Midwestern homecoming in Madison on December 3, leading then No. 4 ranked Duke to an 80-70 win over No. 2 Wisconsin. Jones scored 22 points, driving to the basket with success and making outside shots (2 of 3 three point attempts). The 6-foot-1 Jones also had a team-tying high of six rebounds and the most Duke assists with 4 during 37 minutes on the floor.

In the past the Badgers have shown vulnerability to guards like Jones who can penetrate the lane and score, or pass to teammates for easy shots. But teams make adjustments and tonight will show what answers the Badgers have for Jones.

There’s no doubt both the Blue Devils and Badgers are better than when they played in December. Duke starts Jones and two other freshmen, center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justise Winslow. Those players are not only exceptionally talented but have progressed since early December as they gained more experience. That’s a plus for Duke but Badgers fans remember that when the two teams played in Madison star forward Sam Dekker was recovering from an injured ankle.

Dekker is a junior and often shares scoring honors with Associated Press Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, the 7-foot center. Kaminsky is a senior, as is starting guard Josh Gasser. Those three are joined in the starting lineup by two sophomores, guard Bronson Koenig and forward Nigel Hayes. All five played last year when the Badgers lost to Kentucky in a semifinals Final Four game.

All that past playing time might give the Badgers an edge tonight, just like it did in the closing minutes of last Saturday evening’s game when Wisconsin defeated a more inexperienced Kentucky team (71-64) by playing with better precision and poise. But the Blue Devils also looked like a potential national champion on Saturday night, easily defeating Michigan State 81-61.

Win or lose, Jones has proven he can play with college basketball’s best point guards. Al Nuness, the former Gopher guard and cousin to Tyus, has been impressed. “Early in the season no one knew how a freshman point guard would play,” he told Sports Headliners. “But he hasn’t played like a freshman point guard. He’s so cool, calm and collected. He sees the court as good as anybody I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t get anxious. He doesn’t try to take over the game.

“No one expects him to score a lot but he can. Everybody says he passes. He (also) penetrates. He shoots the three as good as anyone. His whole thing is getting everyone else in the game. …”

Nuness predicted it will be a “great game” tonight. As a long time Gophers booster, he has loyalties to the Big Ten but when he sorts out his emotions it’s clear he wants Duke to win. “Family always comes first,” he said.

Tonight Jones will see family and friends from Minnesota make him a priority by being in Indianapolis.

Worth Noting

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, whose name has been linked in the last couple weeks with openings at St. John’s and Alabama, must pay the University of Minnesota $1.5 million if he decides to leave prior to April 30, 2016, according to his contract. Anthony Grant, the Alabama coach who was fired last month, was once head coach at VCU where Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague hired Grant when he was AD there. Grant’s name was mentioned with the Minnesota job before Pitino was hired by Teague two years ago.

Internet reports now are that former NBA coach Avery Johnson will take the Alabama job.

Two players the Gophers reportedly are recruiting, Chris Boucher and Mychal Mulder, were included on the All-American National Junior College Athletic Association first team announced recently. Ten players were named first team All-Americans. Boucher is a 6-10 sophomore center at Northwest Florida State College and Mulder is a 6-4 sophomore forward from Vincennes University.

Eric Musselman, the son of former Gophers and Timberwolves head coach Bill Musselman, was an assistant coach at LSU last season before recently being hired as head coach at Nevada. Eric is friends with Wolves coach Flip Saunders and it wouldn’t have been surprising if Musselman had been added to the NBA team’s coaching staff last year.

Bolder Options, the youth mentoring nonprofit headed by former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, celebrates its 21st anniversary with a gala on Thursday evening May 28 at TCF Bank Stadium. NBC Sunday Night Football reporter and long time Minneapolis area resident Michelle Tafoya will be the keynote speaker.

The Twins open the regular season today with an afternoon game in Detroit against the Tigers, and Minnesota’s 25-man roster has changed a lot from one year ago. Twelve players weren’t with the Twins when they opened the 2014 season. Here is a listing by position of the 12: pitchers – Blaine Boyer, J.R. Graham, Tommy Milone, Tim Stauffer and Aaron Thompson; catcher Chris Herrmann; infielders – Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas; outfielders – Torii Hunter, Shane Robinson and Jordan Schafer. Graham is the only player without previous major league experience.

The Wild plays its final regular season home game tonight against the Jets and with a win in regulation can clinch a playoff spot for the third straight year. The club has sold out its previous 40 home games this season and is working on a stretch of 71 consecutive sellouts at Xcel Energy Center dating back to 2013-14.

Goalie Devan Dubnyk started his 37th consecutive game for the Wild in last Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Red Wings. That’s the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov made 43 straight starts for the Sharks (in 2007-2008), according to Elias Sports Bureau. Dubnyk has given up only 62 total goals for a 26-7-2 record in 36 straight starts since joining the Wild January 15. He has allowed two goals or less in 27 of those 36 games.

The 2015 Gophers women’s hockey national championship team has 17 of 21 players returning for next season. A year from now 12 of those 17 are expected back for the 2016-2017 season, so the likelihood for continued success is considerable.

UMD is the only women’s program that has won three consecutive NCAA hockey titles. Can the Gophers win two or three in a row?

“That would certainly be the goal,” coach Brad Frost told Sports Headliners. “In 2012 and 2013 we went back to back (titles) and then lost last year in the championship game, and then won it this year. So to be in the national championship game three of the last four years and win three of those I think is remarkable. People probably think it’s pretty easy but I can promise you it’s not.”

The Gophers begin their off-ice spring conditioning work this week. Part of their endurance building in the weeks ahead will include running the steps at Mariucci Arena. Frost said players laugh about the challenge but also cry because the task is so demanding. “They love it and hate it at the same time,” he said.

Frost, who earns $170,000 from the athletic department in salary and other compensation, left town to recruit after the Gophers won the national title on March 22. He knows prospective players and their parents look at the Gophers with more interest coming off a national title. “I think we’re building something pretty special here at the University,” he said.

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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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2010 Final Four Inspired Tyus Jones

Posted on March 25, 2015March 25, 2015 by David Shama

Tyus Jones and his Duke teammates will try to win the South Region of the NCAA Tournament this weekend and advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis. It will be fitting if the Blue Devils freshman point guard from Apple Valley High School returns to Indy where several years ago as an eighth grader he was inspired by the Final Four.

Al Nuness, the former Gophers basketball captain, took Tyus and his grade school age brother Tre to Indianapolis in 2010 when Duke won the national championship in a field that included Butler, Michigan State and West Virginia. As a Jostens executive, Nuness had to be in Indianapolis for the Final Four, so he drove his young cousins, the Jones boys, to see college basketball played on its biggest stage.

The weekend had a lasting impact. “I think that (experience) solidified what he (Tyus) wanted to do,” Nuness told Sports Headliners. “He sat there as a student of the game. They both did (Tyus and Tre). We went to practices and they wouldn’t leave.”

At the time it was Tre—this winter a freshman starting point guard for Apple Valley—who was a big Duke fan. Tyus? He was all in for Michigan State. Ironically, the Spartans could be part of the Final Four field when the teams start playing on April 4 in Indianapolis.

Nuness won’t travel to Houston for this Friday night’s South Region Sweet 16 game between Duke and Utah, but if the Blue Devils win that game and the regional title on Sunday, he will head for Indy to see Tyus play. Nuness, though, knows March Madness is unpredictable and is concerned about Duke’s lack of depth behind star freshman center Jahlil Okafor. “He goes down, they got nothing,” Nuness said.

The NCAA Tournament’s one-and-done format seems like the best of places for Tyus who in both high school and college has shown exceptional poise and ability to make clutch plays when needed. “That’s a gift and there are few that have that kind of gift,” Nuness said. “His gift is the game slows down for him. He sees the game at a different pace than the normal person sees the game. He’s not exceptionally quick. He’s not exceptionally fast, but he’s on point with decisions and passes.”

Nuness’ memories of the trip to Indianapolis in 2010 included his surprise about the many college coaches that knew of Tyus. He and the boys were at a shopping mall when a Michigan State assistant coach told Tyus the Spartans wouldn’t worry about winning if they had a guard like him.

“I said, ‘These guys all know you’?” Nuness recalled.

Back then Tyus was attracting attention as an outstanding AAU player and eventually became a McDonald’s prep All-American at Apple Valley High School. And in Indy that year he and Tre got noticed for their shooting skills. At a convention where Nuness had business there was a shooting contest that attracted participants including college-age kids. Tyus won the contest and Tre finished second.

For first place Tyus won uniforms for his Apple Valley team. “It was an unbelievable trip for those guys (Tyus and Tre),” Nuness said.

It was pretty memorable for Nuness, too, who ended up securing the national championship ring order from Duke for Jostens. Nuness and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knew each other as high school players in the Chicago area. When Krzyzewski learned Jostens wanted him to buy rings from the Minnesota-based company, he had a message for Nuness: come see him at Duke.

Nuness did exactly that and it didn’t take long for the legendary Blue Devils coach to good-naturedly go after him. The two men had played together on an all-star team in the 1960s. “You never passed the ball at all,” Krzyzewski said.

Nuness laughed in recalling the accusation and, of course, denied it. But there’s no denying he would love to join Tyus, Coach K and the rest of the Blue Devils in Indianapolis next week.

Worth Noting

Kevin Garnett played his first game this season for the Timberwolves on February 25 in a Target Center win over the Wizards. Since then Garnett has been in and out of the lineup to rest his 38-year-old body and bothersome knee. His last game was March 7. The Wolves record since February 27 is 3-11 and it’s evident Garnett’s presence on the roster hasn’t changed the losing ways of the Wolves who are 16-54 for the season which ends on April 15.

The Vikings have the No. 11 first round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft to be held in Chicago April 30-May 2. Fans can hope the Vikings are fortunate enough to find a player who develops like a couple of the more famous all-time No. 11 selections. That list includes NFL Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The Gophers football team, off from spring practices since March 12, resumed workouts yesterday. The Gophers practice tomorrow starting at 4:15 p.m. and Saturday at 9:50 a.m. Both sessions are at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex and open to the public.

Last weekend’s WCHA Final Five attendance at the Xcel Energy Center was up 34.8 percent from the previous year when the two-day tournament was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Total attendance was 15,048 compared with 11,162 in 2014. Minnesota State won the WCHA Final Five and is in the NCAA Tournament’s 16-team field with fellow league member Michigan Tech.

Brad Frost, who Sunday coached the Gophers women’s hockey team to a third national championship in four years, has made a career of coaching women. The Bethel graduate and native of Ontario started his career as an assistant girls hockey coach at Eagan High School from 1996-1999. Then he was a men’s assistant coach at his alma mater from 1999-2000 before becoming a Gophers women’s assistant in 2001 and taking over as interim head coach in 2007.

When athletic director Joel Maturi was looking to permanently fill the head hockey coaching position he worked diligently at searching for candidates of both genders. At the search’s end in 2008 he decided the best candidate was a person already on staff, Frost. “His success speaks for itself,” Maturi told Sports Headliners this week.

Maturi said Frost relates effectively to his players and can “push the envelope” when needed. He has the respect of the young women who are on the team. Frost is likeable too and relates well with others including media and boosters. “His humility comes through,” Maturi said. “He’s not a big ego guy.”

Women’s teams in town have achieved championship success including Frost’s Gophers and the two-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. The Gophers swimming and diving team recently won a fourth straight Big Ten championship. Former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak offered this Facebook post earlier in the week:

Be it hockey or basketball/
Or even swimmin/
When Minnesotans want a title/
We turn to the women

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