Preps – Page 23 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Final Four Coach Had Gopher Interest

Posted on March 28, 2023 by David Shama

Brian Dutcher, a University of Minnesota alum, has his San Diego State Aztecs in the Final Four this week in Houston. About 23 months ago there was reason to believe Dutcher might become the new men’s basketball coach at Minnesota.

Dutcher’s contract back then had a reported buyout of nearly $7 million if he were to leave San Diego for another head coaching job—with one exception. The San Diego Union Tribune reported in September of 2020 that Dutcher had a contract in place allowing him to leave for Minnesota with a $1 million buyout.

That signaled Dutcher, a Bloomington native, had a strong interest in coming home even though the Gopher job wasn’t open at the time and wouldn’t be until early March of 2021. A homecoming would have meant living in the Twin Cities and being near his father Jim, the former Golden Gophers head basketball coach, and his three sisters.

When the announcement came that Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle and head coach Richard Pitino had parted ways, Dutcher was coaching his team in the NCAA Tournament. After the Aztecs were eliminated in a first round loss to Syracuse, Coyle and Brian spoke by phone about the Minnesota opening, per Jim Dutcher.

Jim told Sports Headliners yesterday his son and Coyle talked about getting together but never did. Soon after the initial conversation, Coyle called again to say he had hired former Gopher guard and assistant coach Ben Johnson, who was then an assistant at Xavier. Jim said he understood the reasoning at the time for Coyle’s decision to hire a coach with “Minnesota connections” for recruiting and building the program around more high level local talent.

Would Brian have accepted the Gopher job if offered? “I don’t know,” his father said.

What’s for certain is Brian publicly demonstrated his interest in the U by including the modest buyout in his contract. “It’s my school, where I went, and was able to be part of that basketball program with my dad,” Brian told the Union-Tribune. “But it’s still a buyout. It’s not like it’s free.”

Brian, who after graduating from Bloomington Jefferson High School was a student manager for his dad’s teams at Minnesota, has the Mountain West Conference Aztecs in the Final Four for the first time in school history. They play upstart Florida Atlantic Saturday, with the Connecticut and Miami game to follow. Connecticut is the betting favorite, with the Aztecs second.

Jim, who turns 90 on April 17 and still lives in Bloomington, will fly to Houston Thursday along with eight other family members including two grandchildren. There was a decision made awhile ago that if the Aztecs advanced to the Final Four the family would follow.

Despite advancing age, Jim has frequently made trips to San Diego to visit family and watch the Aztecs. He acknowledges “creaky knees” but otherwise is healthy.

“I don’t use a walker or a wheelchair,” Jim said. “I just kind of shuffle a long. But my health is good. I don’t take one pill. My blood pressure is good. It’s just that arthritic knees make it hard to get a long.”

Either through network telecasts or via streaming, Jim and family in Minnesota have watched every Aztecs game in 2022-2023. They have seen the 31-6 Aztecs win the Mountain West regular season title and tournament championship and rattle off four straight wins in the single elimination NCAA Tournament. It was a team that improved over the weeks and months.

“They play defense,” Jim said. “That’s what keeps them in the games. They’re one of the top three defensive teams in the country. …They’re not a great offensive team but the four teams they played in the NCAA Tournament, all of them had their season low scores when they played the Aztecs.”

In a trip to San Diego several months ago Jim met the players at practice. What he’s learned about them is they are a “tight group” with no academic or off court problems. “It’s just a really good group of kids,” Jim said.

Brian uses 10 players in games and on some teams that could cause dissension about playing time but not for the Aztecs. “…They sometimes get better when they go to the bench, and so that’s helped them keep their defense at an elite level because the guys are always rested,” Jim said.

The Aztecs reflect the admirable character of their coach. Humble and without ego, Brian has the same high values as his father who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title. The Dutchers have a calm, rational and common-sense approach to basketball and life.

Basketball advice from father to son? Jim acknowledged the two occasionally talk about situational things like handling full court pressure, but Brian has the whole coaching package from recruiting to X’s and O’s. “He’s a better coach than I ever was,” Jim said.

Brian trusts his team even to the extent of falling off a ladder into the arms of his players. It’s become a tradition after winning big games at San Diego State for the coach to climb a ladder and cut down the nets. “…He does that trust fall where he falls backward (and) they catch him,” Jim said. “So he’s done that for a number of years.”

Brian, 63, has been head coach of the Aztecs for six seasons following decades of assistant coaching including at San Diego State starting in 1999. Brian’s 2020 team was 30-2 during the regular season but there was no NCAA Tournament because of the pandemic.

Jim believes that was Brian’s most talented club, with better personnel than this year’s team that is two wins away from winning the school’s and the Mountain West’s first national title. The Aztecs don’t have an NBA prospect on the team, Jim said.

This is a new time in college basketball with players being compensated for name, image and likeness. Each of the Aztecs receive $2,000 per month for community service work like visiting elementary schools or participating in a walk for charity, Jim said. He referred to the amount as “peanuts” compared with what some schools are reportedly paying out for high-end talent.

Brian’s teams have won multiple Mountain West regular season and tournament titles and been to four NCAA Tournaments. His teams have won 77 percent of their games, certainly among the best percentage in college basketball during his six-year span.

Jim said at one time Brian’s goal was to coach until he was 65. But he’s built a power at San Diego State and in the near future the Aztecs may join the Pac-12 Conference. With UCLA and USC leaving the Pac-12 and headed for the Big Ten in 2024, new recruiting opportunities for the Aztecs beckon in southern California.

Brian could certainly coach beyond 65, dad said. Amen to that.

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St. Thomas Point Guard: Unknown to Coveted

Posted on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 by David Shama

St. Thomas basketball coach John Tauer knows better than anyone his gifted freshman point guard Andrew Rohde will be welcomed with high-fives by a Power Five program.

Rumors have been in place for a while other schools could be tampering with the Summit League Freshman of the Year and encouraging him to transfer programs. Tampering is illegal in college sports but so are other things that are going on in an era referred to as “the wild, wild west.”

“If people tamper, they’re not going to call the head coach,” Tauer told Sports Headliners during an interview a few days ago. “…You just operate the right way as a program and hope others are doing the same, but it’s an interesting time in college basketball.”

Yesterday came news Rohde has entered the transfer portal and is headed for a new school for the 2023-2024 season. In a text to Sports Headliners last night Tauer said: “…We wish him all the best in what promises to be a long and successful basketball career.”

During an interview Friday Tauer didn’t express knowledge of a transfer by Rohde but he made it clear he knows as well as anyone the reality of mass player movement. With the transfer portal a huge change agent for college players, Tauer and other coaches acknowledge there are no guarantees the roster in the fall will look like it does in the spring. Until yesterday’s news, St. Thomas could have returned 12 of 14 players including four starters.

Rohde (right). Photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas.

Wisconsin Badgers fans have been calling for Rohde, a Milwaukee native, to come home for a while now. And Gophers fans would love to have Rohde fill the team’s glaring need for a point guard, but it seems unlikely he would be attracted to a program that is down right now with players leaving and coming off consecutive last place finishes in the Big Ten.

“We’d love to have Andrew (stay),” Tauer said Friday. “He’s an unbelievable kid. He had a tremendous freshman year, and (he is) an even better young man than a player. He’s got an infectious energy. He’s really unselfish, hardworking (and) he’s competitive. He just brings so many wonderful things to the table.”

The 6-6, 185-pound Rohde, who was one of the top three first-year scorers in the country, is a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award, given annually to the nation’s top freshman. He was voted first-team All-Summit, in addition to his freshman honor. He played a team high 33 minutes per game and was the Tommies’ leader in scoring (17.1 per game), assists and steals.

“I think he’s hungry to be great, and that’s not just as a player,” Tauer said. “It’s also as a teammate. …I think over the course of the year he really improved, and that to me is one of the things that is most special about him.”

A player who received no Power Five offers coming out of high school, Rohde can attract a long line of suitors now if he chooses. “I think Andrew could play in the NBA someday if he continues to progress,” Tauer said. “You look at the trajectory of his junior year of high school to his senior year of high school to his freshman year of college and what he just did. …I think Andrew can do whatever he puts his mind to in basketball.”

Rohde’s roots run deep with St. Thomas. He came to the campus as a middle schooler when his brother Sam was part of the basketball program. In high school he received a lot of attention from Tauer and the coaching staff who made him feel wanted and valued.

What Tauer saw in Rohde at Brookfield Central was a player who fit the criteria he values in a prospect: unselfish, skilled, smart and tough. “I thought he embodied those (characteristics),” Tauer said.

Tauer and his staff found an unpolished gem in Rohde, and a player who delivers on the words he loves basketball. Most players say that but only some like Rohde can face pressure situations in a packed arena and wear a smile on their faces. “That’s when you know,” Tauer said.

Tauer, who just completed his 12^th season coaching the Tommies, has a doctorate in sport-related psychology. He has long been aware of the pressure and stress college freshmen face in transitioning not only to basketball but all of campus life including academics. “We don’t put (establish) quantitative goals for anybody as far what they can do their freshman year. Now I will tell you in the summer we felt like he (Rohde) was going to be elite. We knew he was going to play a ton of minutes and have the ball in his hands a lot, and the kind of role that he did.

“To his credit I think he took that and ran with it and continued to improve over the year. That’s the thing I keep coming back to is how coachable he was. …He was hungry and open to whatever feedback I had for him.”

Tauer now has three scholarships available and plans to fill out his roster either through the portal or with high school talent within a month or so. He was hoping, of course, to not have a scholarship become available because of Rohde’s departure.

“I think the sky’s the limit for Andrew,” Tauer said. “I’ve always felt that.”

The Tauer-coached Tommies just finished season two of their challenging transition from Division III to Division I, playing in the mid-major Summit League. It’s been a more than successful time, just like the preceding years when Tauer was a Division III National Coach of the Year and the Tommies were a program that could play with anyone at their level.

Before last season the Tommies were predicted to finish eighth in the 10-team league but placed fourth. The team was 19-14 overall, 9-9 in conference play and nearly doubled its win total for all games from the previous year.

Tauer said via text last night he is “thrilled” with the progress of his program. “…The culture in our program is unique and has helped us sustain success over the past several decades.”

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Cutting ‘Hit Man’ May Fit Vikes’ Plans

Posted on March 12, 2023March 15, 2023 by David Shama

The Vikings are parting with veteran players and the movement could be aimed at more than getting under the NFL salary cap for 2023. The bigger goal in having a restructured roster might be to have a lot of salary cap room going into 2024. Next year the Vikings could be chasing some high-profile free agents and are expected later this year to strike a mega contract extension with superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings, who remain several million dollars under the cap, have already released pricey veterans Eric Kendricks (linebacker) and Adam Thielen (wide receiver). Rumors persist that another valued veteran will be gone soon, safety Harrison Smith, “Harry the Hit Man.” His departure would put the Vikings under the cap, saving about $7.3 million, per Overthecap.com. Another option could be Smith taking a pay cut, something it’s believed Thielen wasn’t willing to do.

Some Vikings starters, regardless of whether they’re free agents, are potential targets for release in coming days as general manager Kwesi Odofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell reshape the roster and payroll. They have also released third-year cornerback Cameron Dantzler, often a starter.

The second-year GM is a deep thinker and his moves are difficult to forecast. He seems unlikely to get pigeonholed into predictably and likes having flexibility.

The Vikings have reportedly saved about $16 million in cap room and could gain another $5 million if they part with linebacker Jordan Hicks, a former NFL executive told Sports Headliners. That would move the Vikings close to the NFL salary cap number of $224.8 million.

But the Vikings could certainly create more space for the future. Tight end Irv Smith, an unrestricted free agent, looks expendable after last fall’s acquisition of T.J. Hockenson. “I tend to think he (Smith) could probably get a better deal elsewhere because of the money they’re putting into Hockenson,” said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Dalvin Cook photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Running back Alexander Mattison, a career sub but impressive performer, is another free agent the Vikings must make a deal with or lose. He would be a cheaper option than star Dalvin Cook whose future in Minneapolis has drawn speculation about whether he’s willing to accept a big pay cut. “They’re not going to be able to keep them both,” the authority said.

The Vikings also must deal with the free agency of center Garrett Bradbury. The former NFL GM who spoke to Sports Headliners believes the Vikings might be more interested in Browns free agent Ethan Pocic. “That’s a tricky one (keeping Bradbury). I think they’d probably like to get a little bit more physical type center.”

A free agent the Vikings seem certain to bring back is expensive defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. His current salary is $10,500,000 per Spotrac.com and at 29 he is a valued stopper on the defensive line. Another veteran free agent on defense who seems likely to return is Patrick Peterson who plays cornerback, a position the Vikings are thin at and likely are targeting in the draft or other form of acquisition.

Curiously, linebacker Za’Darius Smith, who earns over $9 million and had an impressive first half of the season in 2022, has asked the Vikings to release him without explanation. Although the Vikings could reportedly save about $12 million against the cap, it’s not believed they want to lose the talented edge rusher.

“That’s a really tough call,” the source said. “It’s going to be determined (by) what the medical people feel his prognosis is. Is this going to be a chronic situation with that knee and his other issues that he’s had with his back? I don’t know. I am just surprised that he has come out publicly saying he wants to be released. That may indicate they’re trying to get him to take a pay cut , too.”

NFL teams have until Wednesday to be under the salary cap, so the immediate hours ahead are sure to bring Vikings news. Teams are allowed to start talking with free agents tomorrow and players can be signed starting Wednesday.

One high profile free agent, quarterback Lamar Jackson, seems unlikely to draw interest from the Vikings. “I would be shocked if that happens,” the Sports Headliners source said. “They wouldn’t want to give up the two first round picks (required). I don’t think they would want to give him $230 million fully guaranteed. And I think one of the problems for Lamar in this whole situation is having missed 11 games the last two years, including the playoff game last year.”

Worth Noting

Such sad news yesterday about the death of Bud Grant. I will write in detail about the legendary Grant later in the week.

The Vikings have five draft slots in the seven round 2023 NFL draft, as of now. They pick at No. 23 in the first round, No. 24 in the third round, No. 17 in the fourth round, No. 25 in the fifth round, and No. 34 in the sixth round.

Among division rivals, the Packers have picks in every round including four in the seventh. The Bears, with the No. 9 first round selection, have choices in every round including three in the second, and two each in the fourth, fifth and seventh. The Lions have no picks in the fourth or seventh rounds but two each in the first, second and sixth rounds among their draft slots.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association will induct Thielen and former Golden Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, now head of the Bolder Options nonprofit, into their Hall of Fame April 1 at the DoubleTree Hotel Minneapolis Parkplace. Other inductees are Terry Bahlmann, Marshall; Randy Kuchenmeister, Blue Earth; Chuck Ross, Underwood; Doug Ekmark, Park.

Saturday was a hockey lover’s dream with an estimated 40,000-plus total fans attending the two boys’ state tournament championship games in St. Paul, and men’s and women’s Gopher playoff games in Minneapolis.

Ticket tip for next year’s boys’ tournament. Buy tickets for the Class A opening day when a $20 general admission ticket gets you in the lower bowl.

The Big Ten will announce men’s hockey award winners tomorrow. The Gophers have finalists in five major categories including Player of the Year with Matthew Knies; Defensive Player of the Year, Brock Faber; and Goalie of the Year Justen Close. Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud are two of three finalists for Freshman of the year. Bob Motzko is one of three who could win Coach of the Year.

First baseman Christian Lee Encarnacion, among the players the Twins sent to the Reds last August for pitcher Tyler Mahle, is hitting .625 in spring training on 15 hits in 24 at bats!

Word from baseball spring training in the Fort Myers area is be prepared to pay $300 and up for a basic hotel room. And it’s not too soon to book lodging for a 2024 February-March stay in Southwest Florida.

The football Gophers will hold two open and free spring football practices, March 28 and April 4. Both practices are scheduled to start at 5:15 p.m., with locations to be announced. The free annual spring game begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 22 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Happy Birthday to former Golden Gophers basketball captain Paul Presthus who turns 78 Thursday.

More good news: Mike Wilkinson, author of the Murray Wamath biography The Autumn Warrior, is resting at home after a long bout with pneumonia.

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