NCAA – Page 99 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Brian Dutcher Underpaid in San Diego

Posted on March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 by David Shama

If offered, Bloomington native Brian Dutcher almost certainly would have accepted the University of Minnesota men’s basketball coaching job in the past. Minnesota has hired three head coaches during the 21 years that Dutcher has been in San Diego, including 18 as an assistant for the San Diego State Aztecs and the last three as head coach for the west coast power.

If the Gophers’ job were to open this month, it’s unknown whether Dutcher will be interested despite earning a reportedly modest salary of $855,424. That amount is not even the most in the Mountain West Conference and about one-third of what Minnesota coach Richard Pitino is paid. Pitino has a seven-year 47-79 Big Ten regular season record.

Dutcher, son of former Gopher Big Ten championship coach Jim Dutcher, has his Aztecs at 28-1 this winter. The Aztecs, ranked among the nation’s elite teams, were the only undefeated major college team in late February before losing their first game.

Other schools are certain to come calling on Brian Dutcher after the season, but even if Minnesota has an opening it could well be that Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle doesn’t make him a target. Dutcher is not only an outstanding coach and recruiter but a high character individual. He also has a minimal contract buyout of a reported $950,000. However, Dutcher turns 61 years old in October, and Coyle could favor a young hire like he did when abruptly firing head football coach Tracy Claeys and replacing him with 36-year-old P.J. Fleck in 2017.

The Aztecs are expected to soon offer Dutcher a considerable salary bump, although there are budgetary restraints on a school like San Diego State that doesn’t receive rich revenues from its football program, nor its conference. He and his family have learned to love San Diego after living there for more than two decades. Whether Dutcher wants to coach five or ten more years, he might well want to stay in San Diego, even though it will never be a job that can pay like the lucrative athletic departments in the Big Ten and elsewhere.

Of course it is speculation now where Dutcher will be two months ahead, and whether the U will even have an offer for him. But a Dutcher homecoming to Minnesota and a program where his dad once coached, surrounded by his father and two sisters who live in the Twin Cities, would be a special story line. The one certainty now is the window is closing fast on the possibility of another Dutcher ever coaching the Gophers.

Worth Noting

This Florida visitor was recently impressed with the customer service at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers where the Twins play their spring training games. Friendly and helpful workers abound from the security gates to the press box.

Twins first base coach Tommy Watkins, 39, is a lifer with the organization, having spent 22 seasons with Minnesota as a player, coach and minor league manager.

TV viewing choices Sunday afternoon include: Twins and Rays on Fox Sports North, or NFL Network coverage of defensive backs (presumably including the Gophers’ Antoine Winfield Jr.) from the NFL Scouting Combine. Draft expert Mel Kiper predicted last month the Vikings will use their first round selection at No. 25 to select Winfield.

Returning as Twins official scorers at Target Field for a sixth consecutive season will be Stew Thornley, Kyle Traynor and Gregg Wong.

The name of Babe Ruth hangs over baseball like no other legend. In 2019 his game-worn jersey from 1928-1930 sold for $5.64 million, breaking the previous record for sports memorabilia of his 1920 jersey that sold for $4.4 million in 2012, according to an email last month from sales@collectiblexchange.com.

The Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman, who turns 100 March 15, will become one of about 80,000 centenarians in the United States.

Michigan State’s overreach this winter to hire Mel Tucker as its football coach could be leverage for more proven coaches like Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck when compensation discussions surface late next fall. Tucker, with one season of head coaching experience during which his record at Colorado was 5-7, will reportedly be paid $5.5 million and much more than predecessor Mark Dantonio, who ranks with the greatest coaches in MSU history. Fleck, who in three years has turned the Gophers into a nationally ranked program, makes $4.6 million.

The Gophers begin spring football practices this week with a session open to the public starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 8 at the Athletes Village.

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, who built North Dakota State into a FCS power, will be a featured speaker at the Minnesota Football Clinic March 26-28. The annual clinic, known as among the best in the nation, is a partnership between the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Golden Gophers. The MFCA is offering coaches a registration discount through today (March 1) via the organization’s website.

The Hobey Baker Award, started here in 1981 with organizers Chuck Bard and John Justice from the old Decathlon Club in Bloomington, is celebrating its 40th year to honor America’s best college hockey player. Fan voting is available at hobeybaker.com/vote.

The Capital Club will hear from former Minnesota North Star and now Minnesota Wild executive Mike Modano this Tuesday at 317 Washington in St. Paul—the same building that houses the corporate offices of the local NHL franchise. More information about the club is available from Patrick Klinger, patrickklinger@klingercompany.com.

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Ex-U Captain Lived All-American Life

Posted on February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 by David Shama

Mike Wright had a lawyer’s analytical mind, a teacher’s warm heart and the gut instincts of a great businessman. He was a friend and mentor to me dating back to the 1970s.

The 1959 University of Minnesota football captain died last week at age 81 after living a remarkable life that benefitted so many organizations and individuals including this writer. We shared a passion for football and the University of Minnesota. Those two things brought us together, but the relationship never would have lasted if not for Mike’s kindness and wisdom.

I regret not telling him how grateful I was for his friendship. A few years back he approached me about writing a book on his life, but the project never developed. Certainly my loss, but in recent times we did occasionally see each other at a breakfast club we belonged to. A tall man at about 6-foot-4, Mike greeted me with his friendly smile and soft spoken words. I can’t recall those words ever being mean spirited about anything or anyone. I was pleased to hear more than once how he enjoyed reading my column.

I first met Mike in the 1970s when he was a young lawyer with Minnesota-based Supervalu Inc. I was the editor of the University’s M Club publication, and he was serving as the volunteer president of the organization. The M Club was one of many nonprofit entities that Mike gave his time to over the years, including chairing the Twin Cities United Way.

I came to Mike for support multiple times in the early 1980s on behalf of a nonprofit organization I worked for that sponsored the Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game as a fundraiser. Mike twice accepted the volunteer role as general chair for the game and made Supervalu a generous annual supporter. Not only that but he enlisted the financial support of other Twin Cities business leaders.

As chief executive officer, Mike led grocery wholesaler Supervalu to great success before retiring almost 20 years ago. A strong but humble leader, he was much admired inside and outside the organization. Those leadership skills were tested and developed playing tackle for the Gophers during trying times. Minnesota had losing records in all three of his seasons on the varsity.

As a sophomore, Mike played on the 1957 team that was a preseason top 10 choice in the national rankings, and a favorite to win the Big Ten championship. A conference title would send the Gophers to their first ever Rose Bowl. The Gophers won their first three games as a top-five ranked team but then stumbled, winning only once more and finishing with a 4-5 season record. The team was beset by injuries and lacked team speed.

The next two seasons, 1958 and 1959, Minnesota won a combined three games. Fans were more than cranky, with some crackpots throwing garbage on the Edina lawn of head coach Murray Warmath. On fraternity row, the coach was hung in effigy. A 1959 story surfaced in a Minneapolis newspaper reporting that downtown businessmen wanted to buy up the remaining years of Warmath’s contract.

In a book about Warmath’s career, The Autumn Warrior by Mike Wilkinson, Wright recalled receiving a note from the coach’s wife after a 33-0 loss to bitter rival Iowa in the fall of 1959. “She wrote to me saying coach Warmath was so down after the Iowa loss that he was mumbling about maybe resigning,” Wright said in the book.

But Warmath carried on and that was a leadership lesson for Wright who played with a young team full of promise in 1959 that just made too many mistakes. “I felt the team would be a good one the next year,” Wright said in the The Autumn Warrior.

Indeed. The Gophers went from a 2-7 record in Mike’s last season to a Big Ten title and national championship the next year. He was recognized as Academic All-Big Ten in 1959 but more importantly his leadership as captain contributed to the culture that would see the Gophers go 22-6-1 the next three seasons.

Warmath had a career record of 87-78-7 as Minnesota’s head coach. Hired in 1954, he was a controversial choice for a program that had won five national championships from 1934 through 1941. The people’s choice to take over in the 1950s was Minneapolis native and former Gopher lineman Bud Wilkinson who had turned Oklahoma into a powerhouse as head coach.

However, there was an anti-Wilkinson attitude within the University during that era. Mike told me that in the 1950s administrators and academics at the U didn’t want football to be too prominent. Warmath, considered a good coach already proven at Mississippi State, was a preferred choice to Wilkinson who had the potential to become a god with the state’s citizens. The Gophers might have turned into the kings of college football with Wilkinson’s high football IQ and recruiting charms that extended into talent-rich Texas.

After Warmath was forced out following the 1971 season, the Gophers struggled until Lou Holtz was hired in 1984. Holtz stayed only two seasons and left for Notre Dame where he became a legendary coach. I remember calling Mike when rumors swirled about Holtz leaving Minnesota. Ever the optimist, Mike asserted that Notre Dame didn’t allow redshirting of its players and that obstacle might factor into Holtz’s decision of whether to stay at Minnesota.

Mike yearned to see the Gophers succeed in football and even served on a search committee to fill a vacancy at Minnesota back in the days when LaVell Edwards of BYU was turning that school into a power. Mike said despite the U program being down, Edwards was interested in becoming head coach at Minnesota but that never materialized.

Something else that didn’t come about was a mutual interest I once had in going to work for Supervalu. The company had a communications opening and Mike thought enough of me to have a department head arrange a long interview process. Lengthy is an understatement because one day I spent about eight hours going through a series of tests and interviews. Talk about corporate America!

I certainly don’t blame Mike for not receiving the job offer because that wasn’t his call. The one thing I should have needled him about is deserting his south Minneapolis home to attend St. Thomas Military Academy instead of attending my beloved Washburn High School. The mighty Millers of the 1950s would have been even greater with Mike on the roster.

Mike’s many honors and awards (I could fill a long paragraph) included receiving the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award and membership in the school’s hall of fame for athletics. I know that if I asked Mike about his life, including those awards, he would offer a humble answer and deflect praise to others.

Mike, thank you for being part of my life.

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Draft Decision Ahead for Daniel Oturu

Posted on January 7, 2020January 7, 2020 by David Shama

An authoritative NBA draft website has moved Daniel Oturu, Minnesota’s sophomore center, up to No. 10 in its first round 2020 mock draft. That leads to speculation this will be his last season playing for the Gophers.

Nbadraft.net listed Oturu in the 20s awhile ago but the play of the former Cretin-Derham Hall star continues to raise his draft stock. Much improved over this freshman season, Oturu seems to even be trending upward in recent games (in the last three he is averaging 23 points and 18 rebounds).

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher sent great centers into the NBA while at Minnesota and he was asked Monday about Oturu’s No. 10 ranking. “I am not surprised,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “They (NBA scouts) look for guys like him because they want their big guys not only to be able to board and block shots, but to step out to the three-point line, and he can do that.”

The 6-foot-10, 210-pound Oturu is averaging 19.1 points per game and 12.4 rebounds in 14 games this season. He’s made .633 percent of his field goals. He is seven of 22 on three point attempts, playing on a team that relies on others to do most of the long range shooting. For a young player of his size, Oturu has a smooth shooting form and shows the potential for major improvement with the three-point shot that he will need at the next level.

In today’s NBA, centers have become both inside and outside scorers. They also need the athleticism to run the floor, transitioning from offense to defense and sometimes guarding smaller players. Oturu is averaging three blocked shots per game, another indication of his versatility and contribution to the Gophers.

Dutcher refers to Oturu as the best center in the Big Ten, and he does check a lot of boxes on an NBA scout’s list. “He’s good. I am impressed with him,” said Dutcher, who coached Minnesota to the 1982 Big Ten title.

Dutcher admires the skills of Oturu and Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr who is averaging 15.9 points per game. “Remove those two, and then there’s not an awful lot of talent there. So they struggle,” Dutcher said.

Minnesota’s Big Ten record is 2-2 and overall the Gophers are 8-6 after playing one of the more difficult nonconference schedules in the nation. The next game is Thursday night at nationally ranked Michigan State. The Spartans are the only undefeated team in the conference at 4-0 (12-3 overall).

The Big Ten is unusually competitive and balanced. “Everybody beats everybody,” Dutcher said.

The Minnesota’s chances of earning its way into the NCAA Tournament? “I Think they’re pretty good because they’re going to take a minimum seven teams (from the Big Ten),” Dutcher answered. “So you don’t have to have a great year. If you can finish .500 in the conference, you’re probably going to the NCAA.”

The Big Ten has 12 teams (no other conference has more than six) in the top 50 of the NCAA NET Rankings with Minnesota at No. 40

Worth Noting

The Nbadraft.net first round mock draft yesterday projected former Hopkins star Zeke Nnaji, a freshman at Arizona, being selected at No. 17 in the first round. The 6-11, 240-pound power forward-center impresses in multiple ways including the energy with which he plays. “He’s really good,” Dutcher said.

Tre Jones, the Duke sophomore point guard from Apple Valley, made the website’s first round mock draft last season but he now is projected in the second round. Dutcher thinks that is a mistake, and he compared Tre favorably with older brother Tyus who is in the NBA and also played at Duke. “I think he’s a better pro prospect than Tyus was because he’s a better shooter,” Dutcher said.

Brian Dutcher, Jim’s son and a University of Minnesota alum, is head coach at San Diego State where the Aztecs are 15-0 and ranked No. 7 nationally in the latest Associated Press poll. They are one of two undefeated major college teams along with 13-0 Auburn. Brian, 60, is in early conversations for national coach of the year.

Former Gopher Amir Coffey, who has been playing mostly in the G League, made his NBA regular season debut with the Clippers last week. He has played briefly in two games.

Looks like the Vikings made good on their “chip on the shoulder” mantra the organization identified with during the offseason. After an 8-7-1 season in 2018 and not making the playoffs, general manager Rick Spielman used the phrase in the offseason.

Back in June, reserve quarterback Sean Mannion acknowledged the team’s “chip on the shoulder” mindset to Sports Headliners. “I think that would be an accurate way to describe it, for sure,” Mannion said. “The big thing is just channeling that and focusing on your craft. Using that as motivation but not letting it become destructive. Letting it be something that motivates you to work on your skills, work on your abilities, and just continuing to grow as a player.”

The Vikings earned a 10-6 regular season record and made their way into the playoffs where they won their opening game last Sunday against the Saints in New Orleans, although they were about a touchdown underdog. Saturday the Vikings play the NFC No. 1 seed 49ers in Santa Clara and they will need to continue their aggressive attitude.

After Sunday’s 26-20 overtime win in the noisy and partisan Superdome, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about his team’s identity. “I think we’re tough,” he told listeners on KFAN Radio. “We’re good competitors. Everybody doubted us coming in here. Not one person gave us a chance to win this football game, and we’ll hear the same thing next week.”

Former Gophers football coach Lou Holtz had his 83rd birthday Monday. The legendary Holtz, whose coaching stops included Notre Dame where he won a national title, believes Alabama was the best college football team in 2019, per multiple online reports. That should be of interest to Minnesota fans because Auburn defeated Alabama and then lost to the Gophers in the Outback Bowl.

It’s believed Gophers fans outnumbered Auburn fans at the Tampa bowl game, with estimates of 20,000 or more cheering for Minnesota in its upset win over the Tigers. Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” Sunday the University sold approximately 8,000 tickets, but many more fans rooting for coach P.J. Fleck’s team found other sources for tickets.

WWE personality Brock Lesnar will be an honorary Gophers coach for the wrestling team’s Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at Maturi Pavilion Friday when the program celebrates the 20th anniversary of his NCAA Championship. Youngsters up through eighth-grade will have the opportunity to be in a group photo with the legendary Lesnar.

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