NCAA – Page 152 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Looks at Sand Volleyball Program

Posted on June 21, 2013June 22, 2013 by David Shama

The Gophers are showing interest in possibly adding sand volleyball to the roster of intercollegiate sports. “We’ve just had general discussions with the administration,” Gophers indoor volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon told Sports Headliners yesterday.

Although it is an Olympic sport, only 34 American colleges have “verified their commitment” to sand volleyball, according to Collegesand.org. The website said 40 programs are necessary to make sand volleyball a “championship sport.” The NCAA has given the activity emerging sport status.

Nebraska started a sand volleyball program this year and is the only Big Ten school competing in the sport. The Huskers’ schedule was limited to the month of March and included only road matches with opponents such as Florida State, Pepperdine and UCLA.

Nebraska, like Minnesota, has a winning tradition and strong fan support in women’s indoor volleyball. The Huskers and Gophers tied for second place in volleyball in the Big Ten last year with 15-5 records. Nebraska averaged 4,287 fans per home match, second best in the nation. The Gophers, who nearly qualified for the NCAA Final Four Tournament, averaged a national third best 3,316 fans at home.

Various factors about college sand volleyball are likely of interest to Gophers athletic department leaders as they contemplate bringing the sport to campus. To field a team the Gophers could use some of the same players from the indoor team that competes in the fall. College sand volleyball requires more minimal personnel with two players from each side competing against one another (indoor volleyball uses six players per side on the court).

Having a sand volleyball team might mean a recruiting advantage for the Gophers because they could offer competitive playing time to players beyond the indoor volleyball schedule. That factor would be particularly helpful while recruiting in a state like California where so many teenagers play sand volleyball.

At Nebraska indoor coach John Cook is also coaching the sand volleyball team. The Gophers’ sand volleyball coach would almost certainly be McCutcheon, a former men’s and women’s Olympic coach and a world renowned volleyball authority.

The athletic department is in the process of developing a master plan for athletic facilities and the review could include a potential outdoor sand volleyball court. That wouldn’t be a costly expense and fits into the economy of the sport involving scholarships, coaching and a limited schedule.

Sand volleyball here might eventually have revenue producing potential if late spring matches were offered. The indoor Gophers volleyball team with its average of 3,316 drew more fans than women’s basketball, 3,277.

While nothing is for sure yet about the future of sand volleyball at Minnesota, McCutheon sounded optimistic about how it could fit in here. “I think it could be very successful given that it’s such a strong sport in the state,” McCutcheon said.

The athletic department presently has 25 intercollegiate sports. Like other schools the Gophers are mandated by federal law to provide equal opportunities for men and women. The addition of sand volleyball would add to the list of women’s offerings at Minnesota that now includes basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, hockey, rowing, softball, soccer, swimming-diving, tennis, track and field, and indoor volleyball.

Worth Noting

East Ridge High School center J.C. Hassenauer, who has verbally committed to Alabama, can become the second Minnesota native ever to play football for the Crimson Tide, according to an Internet story Tuesday by Andrew Gribble on Al.com. Guard William Buckler from St. Paul played for Alabama in the 1920s.

Mark Dienhart, the former Gophers athletic director and more recently executive vice president and chief operating officer for St. Thomas, will now lead Best Buy founder Richard Schulze’s family foundation starting in July.

Former Gophers ticket manager Tom Swain and his wife Arlene had their 66^th wedding anniversary on Wednesday.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier after being asked about starting third-year quarterback Christian Ponder’s accuracy: “I think he’s much better. He’s worked his tail off trying to improve his accuracy. Our coaches have put him through a bunch of different drills and through his hard work I think he’s improved in that area. Now we’ve got some things we’ve got to get done in training camp, but he’s put in the work to improve and we are seeing it.”

Ex-Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton is 6-foot and played at about 190 pounds. In the June 17 issue of Sports Illustrated Tarkenton recalled trying to block 6-5, 272-pound Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones who was built like concrete and passed away earlier this month. “He just broke up laughing,” Tarkenton told the magazine.

The Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be played Saturday, June 30 at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. This coming Sunday 93 players and 16 coaches report to training camp at St. John’s University in Collegeville.

The Timberwolves and the city of Minneapolis hope to soon finalize a $100 million deal to renovate Target Center. Both parties will be involved with financing on the project to further modernize the arena that opened in 1990. The original cost of the building was $104 million.

Look for the Timberwolves to build a new practice facility at a site to be determined. The project would include naming rights. The team now practices at Target Center.

In its mock draft NBAdraftnet.net predicts the Wolves will choose shooting guards Kentavious Coldwell-Pope and Ricardo Ledo with their No. 9 and 26 first round picks in next week’s NBA draft. Former Gophers forwards Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams will be selected on the second round, with Mbawke going to the Grizzlies at No. 41 and Williams to the Suns at No. 57.

The Wolves host a workout session for potential NBA draft choices at Target Center today and among the players will be former Gophers center Colton Iverson who finished his college career at Colorado State. NBAdraft.net predicts Iverson will be drafted by the Magic at No. 51 in the second round.

TV commentator Bert Blyleven, who was born in the Netherlands, joking on Wednesday night’s Twins-White Sox game: “Not Dutch. Not much.”

Joe Mauer had his ninth three-hit game this season against the White Sox in the Twins’ 8-4 win yesterday at Target Field. Mauer is batting .424 in eight games against the White Sox this year.

The No. 4 best workplace among Minnesota large companies is the Minnesota Twins, according to a special section in last Sunday’s Star Tribune.

Gophers women’s basketball coach Pam Borton announced that Rachel Banham, one of the two top sophomore scorers in the NCAA last season with a 20.7 average, had successful patellar tendonitis surgery.

Cynopsis.com reported on Wednesday that last Monday’s Bruins-Blackhawks game was the most watched NHL game ever on the NBC Sports Network and had the most viewers of any Stanley Cup Finals game on cable TV in 11 years.

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Smith to Hire another Ex-U Assistant

Posted on June 12, 2013June 12, 2013 by David Shama

Although it hasn’t been announced, Tubby Smith told Sports Headliners yesterday Vince Taylor will join his staff at Texas Tech.

Taylor worked for Smith as an assistant coach at Minnesota until earlier this year. Already on the staff are Joe Esposito, who was Smith’s director of operations with the Gophers, and Alvin “Pooh” Williamson, the first player Smith recruited when he was head coach at Tulsa. Smith is still searching for a director of basketball operations at Tech.

Smith’s son Saul, another assistant with the Gophers, won’t be joining the staff in Lubbock. Smith said his son has always been interested in NBA coaching and could join a pro organization. “Saul has a great mind and feel for the game,” his father said.

Smith was the Gophers’ coach for six seasons before new athletic director Norwood Teague dismissed him last March. Smith, who will be 62 on June 30, was surprised by his termination and thought the Gophers job would be his last.

Throughout his tenure at Minnesota there were rumors other schools wanted to hire Smith who built a national reputation at Kentucky by winning the 1998 NCAA championship and routinely had his teams advance to the NCAA tournament second round or better. Smith confirmed yesterday there were a “bunch of times” he was pursued by other programs while at Minnesota.

If Smith had known one day the Gophers planned to part ways with him he would have reacted differently to the contacts from other schools. “I would have been long gone,” he said.

Smith said he left the Minnesota program and community better than he found it including through his work with the Minnesota Chapter of the Tubby Smith Foundation that supports charities benefitting underprivileged children. Highlights of Smith’s basketball success at Minnesota included three NCAA tournament appearances and a nationally publicized upset win over No. 1 ranked Indiana at Williams Arena last February.

At Texas Tech Smith takes over a team that was 11-20 last season and 3-15 in Big-12 Conference games. The two previous seasons the Red Raiders were 8-23 and 1-17, and 13-19 and 5-11.

One worry Smith doesn’t have is his former home in Minneapolis. He and wife Donna sold the residence a couple of weeks ago.

Worth Noting

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino has a day camp for youngsters 7-18 this week at Williams Arena. Cost is $325 per camper.

Wally Ellenson, who will be a sophomore playing for Pitino next fall, earned All-American recognition last week in the high jump (2.20 meters) at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Bob Sadek, who was the starting quarterback on the Gophers’ 1963 football team, passed away last month. Sadek’s career as a teacher and coach followed his sports success at Richfield High School and with the Gophers. His younger brother Mike Sadek played with the baseball Giants after signing his first professional contract with the Twins.

Gophersports.com is featuring a video highlight of the 1973 Minnesota football team that finished third in the Big Ten with a 6-2 record. The team included freshman running back Larry Powell who after the season developed French Polio ending his football career and changing his life. Powell was a special prospect and Gophers coach Cal Stoll often said Powell was going to be his “Tony Dorsett”—the University of Pittsburgh running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1976.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said at OTAs yesterday he was impressed with a telephone call from veteran defensive lineman Jared Allen. “He calls me, maybe a month ago now, and he says, ‘coach, count on me this season to be even a better leader than I have been in the past.’ That was music to Coach Frazier’s ears.

“It was unsolicited and he calls me out of the blue and tells me that. That’s what you need. You need your great players to be great leaders if you want to have a chance to change your culture and also win games. For him to call me and say he wants to do even better than I’ve done before, that’s inspiring. …”

Angel Morales, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, the three Twins prospects promoted earlier this week from Class A Fort Myers to Class AA New Britain, couldn’t make their Eastern League debuts last night because the Rock Cats’ game with Altoona was rained out.

Only three MLB relief pitchers have more saves than former Twin Joe Nathan who has 20 for the Rangers. His ERA is 1.71.

Public relations executive and WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” co-host Dave Mona will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Twins-Royals game at Target Field on June 27.

The College World Series starts Saturday in Omaha. Indiana is the first Big Ten team to play in the series since Michigan in 1984. The Gophers’ last appearance was 1977. Minnesota won NCAA titles in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

Indiana advanced to the College World Series with a two-game regional playoff sweep of southern power Florida State. NCAA rules changes are making northern teams more competitive than in the past, according to Gophers assistant coach Rob Fornasiere. Teams across the country have the same starting date for practices, first games and number of games.

During the second day of last week’s first-year player draft the Twins’ selections included two players from Indiana, 6-9, 250-pound pitcher Aaron Slegers and 6-2, 200-pound third baseman Dustin DeMuth. Fornasiere said Slegers has “amazing control and athleticism for a guy that size.” He described DeMuth as “very athletic” with a strong left-handed bat.

Fornasiere said Coon Rapids High School pitcher Logan Shore is the “most polished” Minnesota high school pitcher he has seen in years. Fornasiere also said Shore showed no serious interest in the Gophers and will pitch for Florida. Fornasiere heard Logan was looking for major compensation in a pro contract but wasn’t selected until the 29^th round by the Twins.

Jim Dutcher enjoyed a reunion last month with 13 of his former players in Ypsilanti, Michigan where he coached Eastern Michigan for six seasons. Among those unable to attend was one of Dutcher’s ex-NBA players, George Gervin, selected one of the league’s 50 greatest players in 1996.

Dutcher, the former Gophers coach from 1975-1986, thinks Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe will be a mid-second round draft selection in the NBA draft later this month.

Minnesota native Mike Muscala who played collegiately at Bucknell and Indiana’s Cody Zeller are among the NBA draft hopefuls who will workout this afternoon at Target Center.

Mike Miller, the Mitchell, South Dakota native who played for the Timberwolves during the 2008-09 season, has come off the bench to make nine of 10 three point shots in three games of the NBA Finals for the Heat who trail the Spurs 2-1 in the series.

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NFL Draft: Tough Night for Big Ten

Posted on April 26, 2013April 26, 2013 by David Shama

Covering the NFL Draft from the perspectives of the Big Ten Conference and the Vikings:

The Big Ten almost made history last night after being shutout during the first round of the draft until the Cowboys chose Wisconsin center Travis Frederick with the 31^st and next to last pick. Since 1953 the conference has had at least one player chosen in the first round, according to an online story on Monday by the Omaha–World–Herald. The World–Herald reported that in 29 of the 31 drafts going into last night the Big Ten had at least three players chosen in the first round.

In 2012 Big Ten teams had four players selected in the first round. The SEC had nine players drafted among the 32 picks, including six of the first 15. And last night the SEC had 12 players chosen among the 32 players selected including five of the first 11 picks.

It’s no wonder the SEC, winners of seven consecutive national championships, is known as the king of college football while the Big Ten’s reputation is that of commoners. But it’s not just the SEC that is showing superiority in talent as judged by the NFL. Last year the Big 12 had five players taken in the first round. This year the ACC had six players chosen and the Pac-12 five.

The last time a Gopher was selected in the first round was 2006 — running back Laurence Maroney. During the last 20 years the only other Gopher picked in the first round was cornerback Willie Middlebrooks in 2001.

Big Ten teams struggled in nonconference BCS games last season with the best win — honest — Northwestern’s victory over Vanderbilt. Big Ten schools also lost three games to MAC teams. The conference record in bowl games after last season was 2-5, another in a long list of mediocre (at best) postseason performances. In the final AP national poll the league had only two teams in the top 20, Ohio State (ineligible for a bowl game) at No. 3 and Northwestern, No. 17.

Except for Ohio State — and maybe Michigan — national expectations will be minimal for the Big Ten again next fall. Coach Urban Meyer is building an SEC caliber program at Ohio State but overall the league looks weak. It’s obvious that for now most Big Ten teams aren’t coming up with high impact talent worthy of national rankings and NFL first round draft choices.

But if football fans in Minnesota couldn’t thump their chests last night about the Big Ten, they certainly could strut over the Vikings who came into the draft with two first round picks and finished with three, thanks to a late night trade with the Patriots. Those three draft choices equaled the total of the Vikings’ NFC North rivals, the Lions, Bears and Packers who had one each.

The Vikings might have wanted to trade up for a top 10 selection, perhaps coveting elusive wide receiver Tavon Austin from West Virginia who was chosen at No. 8 by the Rams and might be Percy Harvin II. But instead the Vikings used the Patriots trade to take Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrella Patterson at No. 29 – a player who is raw in route running skills but is an explosive runner as a receiver and kick returner. “You’re talking about a 6-1, 215 pound receiver that runs 4.3, that is electric with the ball in his hands, and what he does after the catch and what he does as a returner,” Vikings’ general manager Rick Spielman said last night.

The Vikings used their selections at No. 23 and No. 25 to choose defensive players, tackle Shariff Floyd from Florida and cornerback Xavier Rhodes of Florida State. Floyd is considered a value pick, a strong inside presence who probably lasted deeper in the first round because so many offensive linemen were chosen before him. “I went through 1,000 scenarios and at (the) 23^rd and 25^th pick I can tell you honestly, he was not in one of those scenarios,” Spielman said about Floyd’s availability to Minnesota.

Mike Mayock’s mock draft Wednesday on NFL.com had Floyd being drafted No. 3 in the first round. “He is the best defensive player in the draft on my board,” Mayock wrote.

Rhodes, like Patterson, may initially be more of a project but his speed and size, 6-1, 210, are prized attributes in an NFL cornerback. The Vikings’ needs going into the draft included replacing depth and quality lost with veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield’s departure for the Seahawks. “Our defensive philosophy is to try to have size and speed because of the cornerbacks we have to face and the type of receivers in this division,” Spielman said.

The prevalent pre-draft speculation about the Vikings selecting Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o didn’t live up to the hype. The Vikings passed on Te’o three times in the first round, preferring other players. Te’o’s controversial past could be part of the reason but so, too, might his so-so speed, and on KFAN Radio last night former Viking Pete Bercich said he didn’t like the linebacker’s “flatline” personality.

Worth Noting

The Vikings will have their three first round draft choices in town today and will hold a news conference this afternoon to introduce them to the media.

The 2013 version of the NFL’s top 100 players debuts Saturday night at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time on the NFL Network. The initial show will reveal players 91-100 with the series continuing until June 27 when the top 10 are identified. The 100 list was determined by a vote of league players.

Approximately 100 University of St. Thomas football players and coaches will spend Saturday volunteering for a home building project as part of Habitat for Humanity, Twin Cities. The group will work at 652 Sims Avenue in St. Paul.

Coach Glenn Caruso will present a check to the organization for $10,000, part of his award for being named the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year for NCAA Division III — the third year in a row he received the award.

After last night’s 2-1 loss to the Rangers at Target Field, the Twins have lost seven of their last nine games against Texas. Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer threw out his fourth attempted base stealer of the season last night. The Twins have allowed only three stolen bases, the fewest in the majors this season.

The Twins, 9-9, have scored one run or less three times this season. Their only run last night came on Josh Willingham’s third home run of the season. He has hit 24 career home runs at Target Field, tying him with Jim Thome for the club record.

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