Preps – Page 41 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Needs Minnesota Hoops Connection

Posted on March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 by David Shama

The University of Minnesota is expected to buy out the contract of men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino soon. Pitino had eight seasons to prove he was worthy of his position, but the results are among the worst in program history including only one winning year in Big Ten Conference games.

Pitino was hired at 30 years old, with one season of previous head coaching experience at Florida International University. He reportedly was a sixth, seventh or eighth choice of then athletic director Norwood Teague. The U administration later carelessly threw money at Pitino, convinced that was necessary to retain him. He should have been dismissed three years ago.

In this millennium the state of Minnesota’s “biological twin” to the east, Wisconsin, has seen its Badgers program going to Final Fours and winning Big Ten championships including last year. In contrast to Minnesota, the Badgers have been led by coaches with ties to Wisconsin starting with Dick Bennett, then Bo Ryan and now Wisconsin born Greg Gard.

For decades the Badgers have built their roster with Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota players. This year’s Badgers have seven Minnesotans on the roster, while the Gophers finish their season with two. Pitino fired more blanks than bulls-eyes in recruiting this state, missing frequently on top talent and all but ignoring promising walk-ons.

Athletic director Mark Coyle will identify and then hire the next coach with the expected approval of U president Joan Gabel and the Board of Regents. His candidate pool should include several coaches with Minnesota ties. This is an opportune time to choose a coach familiar with and appreciative of the U, and the state’s people, culture, quality of life and Fortune 500 business community.

A coach with state ties can bring unique passion and commitment to the Gopher job. He will want Minnesotans to be proud of their Gophers. With a commitment and attitude like that, it’s much less likely the coach will see this as a stepping stone job and want to move on.

This is a huge hiring decision for Coyle. Gopher basketball has to end the cycle of failed coaching eras and establish a long run of success like Wisconsin has done. A winning program translates to more than a better experience for the players and fans. Men’s basketball is the second largest income-producing sport among 22 programs in the self-supporting athletic department, and increased revenues are needed more than ever. With the state almost bursting with quality high school basketball talent, the U program has more potential than in the past and is positioned for success with the right leadership.

It is standard operating procedure for athletic directors to maintain lists of potential replacement coaches, seldom knowing for sure when change will come. Coyle may have been thinking for a long time about who might take over for Pitino (I am told he was almost dismissed last March).

Interestingly, San Diego State coach and Minnesota native Brian Dutcher signed a contract extension last September that included a favorable provision about the Gopher job. Dutcher’s buyout with the Aztecs is nearly $7 million unless he accepts the Minnesota job. Then the buyout is $1 million.

Dutcher was open last year in talking about his interest in coming home after growing up in Bloomington as the son of former U head basketball coach Jim Dutcher. He made it known the state and the U, his alma mater, are special to him. His dad and sisters live in the metro area.

Brian, a former national coach of the year, checks the boxes for what Coyle should be looking for in a coach including experience and proven success. Finishing up his fourth year as Aztecs head coach, he has won Mountain West Conference titles and brought national attention to his program including last season when SDSU won 26 consecutive games and was ranked No. 4 in the country.

Dutcher has more than 30 years of college coaching experience including a long run as an assistant known for his recruiting. His ability to sell helped Michigan assemble the Fab Five of the 1990s and as head coach at San Diego State he has established recruiting roots in California. His sincerity, common sense and reputation would resonate well with Minnesota high school recruits and coaches.

At 61 Dutcher will coach at least several more years. Even if he has great success at Minnesota, he isn’t leaving for another job. Instead, he might hand his job off to a top assistant on the staff. That assistant could be Ryan Saunders.

Saunders, 34, can be another legacy coach for the Gophers. He played for Minnesota as did his father, Flip Saunders, who also was an assistant coach for Jim Dutcher. Minnesota-born Ryan was recently fired as Minnesota Timberwolves head coach but if he chooses there is a lot of coaching opportunity ahead. His NBA experience would be valuable in both recruiting and coaching for the Gophers. He could also be interested in learning the college game from a mentor like Brian Dutcher.

It’s too bad but I don’t see a return path to Minneapolis for Eric Musselman. If he leaves Arkansas before April 30, he or his next school owe $5 million for a buyout. Coyle isn’t paying $5 million, or leaving his basketball program in limbo until May.

Musselman is a terrific coach with a zealous desire to win. He made Nevada a national name in basketball and is turning around the Arkansas program. The U, with a history of failed actions in football, basketball and hockey dismissals and hires, should have pursued Musselman three years ago when he was at Nevada.

Eric was a pre-teenager living in Bloomington when he watched his dad, Bill Musselman, make the Gophers a Big Ten power and box office hit in Minneapolis during the 1970s. What a homecoming it could have been with the Gophers winning games and Eric reviving the raucous pre-game warm-up show that Bill had his players entertain with.

Former Gopher J.B. Bickerstaff is deserving of a phone call from Coyle. Yes, he is finishing up the first year of a four-year deal as head coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavs but making the assumption he wouldn’t be interested in the Gopher job is wrong. Coyle won’t know without asking.

Bickerstaff, 41, was once head coach of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and he spent four seasons in Minneapolis as an assistant with the Timberwolves. His extensive NBA resume would bring sophisticated X’s and O’s to the U program, and grab the attention of high school recruits.

Maybe Bickerstaff wants a change and wants to get away from the NBA travel grind and return to his alma mater. His presence as Minnesota head coach might prompt offering an assistant’s position to Jared Nuness, a valued staff member of the highly ranked Baylor program. Nuness, son of former Gophers basketball captain Al Nuness, grew up in Eden Prairie and could become another legacy hire for the U.

Niko Medved, 47, would probably crawl through glass to come back home. He could be a poster boy for candidates with Minnesota ties. Minneapolis-born, Medved’s story might be worthy of a made-for-TV movie if he were hired by the Gophers and went on to win championships. He was a student manager for the Gophers in the early 1990s and from 1997-1999 associate head coach at Macalester. He then worked his way along the coaching trail with assistant jobs including one season with the U. As head coach at Furman, Drake and now Colorado State, he has achieved program turnarounds.

This season Colorado State is 17-5 overall and 14-4 in the Mountain West Conference. Contributing to the Rams’ success is assistant coach Dave Thorson, the Minnesota prep coaching legend from DeLaSalle. With the Gophers, Thorson would create instant credibility and rapport with state high school coaches.

The Rams finished in third place in the Mountain West, behind Dutcher’s 14-3 Aztecs and coach Craig Smith’s 15-4 Utah State team. Smith is a native of Stephen, Minnesota and it is believed Coyle had interest in him 12 months ago. Smith’s employment with the Aggies dates back to the 2018-19 season and it is more than impressive.

He has produced two Mountain West Tournament title teams, a share of one regular season championship and been to the NCAA Tournament twice. His overall record at State is 72-22 and 42-13 in conference games. The Aggies will be headed to the Big Dance no matter what happens to them in the conference tournament that begins Wednesday.

Like Medved, Smith started his career with obscure jobs and early on first gained attention on the NAIA level. His first two head coaching jobs were at Mayville State in North Dakota and at the University of South Dakota—more evidence of Upper Midwest roots.

Coyle’s friends will tell you he is a strategic thinker and bright guy. Let’s see who glitters gold for him.

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Only Football for Coach Mike Grant Now

Posted on February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by David Shama

Mike Grant, 63, is more than a month into a new experience at Eden Prairie High School. As of January 1, he is retired as the activities director but continues with his legendary career as head football coach. No complaints, though.

“My days are certainly full.” Grant told Sports Headliners. “Football takes as much time as I want to put towards it.”

With no administrative or teaching responsibilities, football is his only focus at the school he has been coaching at since 1992 and where his Eagles have won 11 state championships. As activities director, Grant was sensitive to other sports and their coaches, and he didn’t want to offend others by being outspoken about the value of football. “Now I can promote it all I want,” he said about the game he loves and learned from his famous dad, Bud Grant.

The EP varsity and junior varsity teams were undefeated last year. The sophomores and freshmen each lost a game. But Grant believes it’s not winning that is the most important reason kids come out to play football at his school and others across the state.

“You can have a great experience in football and win one game because you are with your buddies,” Grant said. “There’s camaraderie in football that is very different than any other sport.”

With all the success Grant has had at Eden Prairie, readers might scoff at his remarks. But before coming to EP he was head coach at Forest Lake where the wins were few and opponents could almost predetermine the final score.

“I have been there,” Grant said. “I look back on that and those were some of my fondest memories with those kids that were playing. I still see those guys. They are men now and they have nothing to say but great things about playing football way back then.”

A lot of youth are specializing in one sport these days. An industry has developed of paid trainers from outside the school systems who work with young athletes with ambitions of earning college scholarships and even professional careers.

Sometimes disillusion sets in long before high school graduation. By focusing on one sport, kids may eventually realize they are missing out on their full potential as high school athletes, or that the advice from others isn’t working for them. Grant has seen some of his better players take a circuitous route to his roster. “Because they come back out (for football) as juniors and seniors after being told that they should focus only on basketball, or only on hockey, or only on whatever. …”

During the last several years the safety perception of football has taken a nosedive with the public because of negative publicity concerning concussions in the NFL and college football. Even though the incidence of concussions in high school football is reportedly less than some other activities, parents have been apprehensive in allowing their sons to participate in the sport.

“I don’t know that we had one concussion last year,” Grant said. “But there was so much hype and media hype about concussions, that a lot of parents pulled their kids from it (football). So football numbers everywhere are down and we’re certainly no different. I always look at it (as) if we’ve got a problem, everybody else has got a bigger problem in terms of numbers.”

Enrollment at Eden Prairie High School has for decades been among the largest in the state. In the EP football system, Grant estimated participation numbers are off by about 30 percent. The trend is more skilled athletes are likely still participating but the marginal players, who Grant said can really benefit from football, may not be.

The varsity Eagles were a senior dominated team last season. “I thought we were the best team in the state last year,” Grant said. Only a few starters return for 2021 but a lot of others on the 2020 roster came off the bench and gained experience. “We’ll be as good as we’ve ever been,” the coach said about the coming season.

Worth Noting

This week will significantly influence whether Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers basketball team earns an invitation next month to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota lost at Maryland Sunday, but tries for its first road victory of the season tonight (Wednesday) at Indiana, and then plays No. 5 ranked Illinois in Williams Arena Saturday.

A major positive is the Gophers, 6-8 in the Big Ten and 13-8 overall, have tied a school season record by defeating five top 25 ranked teams. A road win tonight and a home upset of Illinois would bolster Minnesota’s wobbly win-loss record. That’s not likely to happen but if the Gophers could pull to 8-8 in league games by Saturday night, NCAA prospects boldly brighten with two of their three remaining games at home. Northwestern (Feb. 27) and Rutgers (March 6) come to Williams Arena, with Minnesota playing at Penn State March 3.

University officials provided no update at last week’s Board of Regents meetings about borrowing money to cover the system’s anticipated budget shortfall of perhaps $166 million. Details are apparently yet to be finalized including a significant portion of the loan targeted to Gophers athletics whose deficit this fiscal year is speculated to be $40 million or more.

The Timberwolves’ next road game is Sunday in New York where the Knicks feature familiar faces. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whose demanding style helped the Wolves to a rare playoff appearance before being fired, has the lowly New York franchise earning a better record than the Wolves, 14-15 versus 7-21. This is Thibodeau’s first season with the Knicks and two of his player favorites are former Wolves Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. New York media speculates whether Thibs will clash and last with controversial Knicks owner James Dolan.

Don’t fret yet but offseason additions by the Chicago White Sox, including former Twins pitchers Liam Hendriks and Lance Lynn, have crystal ballers making the Sox favorites, or co-favorites with the Minnesota Twins, to win the AL Central Division. Hendriks has ERAs under 2.00 the last two seasons as a late inning stopper. Lynn could win 15 games or more for the Sox. Vegasinsider.com lists the Sox as 10-1 World Series favorites, with only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres more likely to win out in 2021.

Ben Reppenhagen, the Edina native who played high school football at St. Thomas Academy, is a redshirt freshman tight end at TCU and grandson of the late Mike Wright, the 1959 Gophers football captain.

Three Minnesota natives took half of the six spots on the WCHA 1990s All-Decade team announced by the Twin Cities-based league Tuesday. The team includes former Gophers Brian Bonin (forward, White Bear Lake) and Mike Crowley (defenseman, Bloomington) and ex-North Dakota goaltender Karl Goehring (Apple Valley). All-decade teams this winter are part of the league’s 70-years celebration.

Guess who is only four years away from eligibility for Social Security? Michael Jordan is 58 today.

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Why Gophers & Chet Holmgren Can Fit

Posted on February 15, 2021 by David Shama

There was speculation on social media and elsewhere last week that Minnehaha Academy 7-footer Chet Holmgren, the nation’s most coveted prep player in the class of 2021, will announce his college choice within days. However, a source close to Holmgren texted this message yesterday, “No announcement.”

Holmgren’s list of seven schools he is considering hasn’t publicly changed for months but Gonzaga is thought to be the favorite as the college destination for the versatile superstar. The Zags are the nation’s No. 1 team and a pedigree program with star power including point guard Jalen Suggs, a former teammate of Holmgren’s at the Academy. Suggs, though, won’t be in Spokane next season after becoming one of the early selections in the NBA Draft.

The schools on Holmgren’s list of seven announced last year are Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State.

The Gophers? Their chances are probably similar to a Minnesota snowman not melting in April. Decades of mediocrity, troubled coaching tenures, inability to attract the state’s best prep players and fan apathy are “warts” on the maroon and gold sales pitch.

But that’s not to say it makes no sense for Holmgren not to play for the hometown team. Signing on with the Gophers could push several of the right buttons for the program and the player.

Watching Holmgren on the court makes an observer think twice about what he is seeing. Holmgren is so graceful and fluid he moves like a player six inches shorter. He dribbles with the skill of a guard, able to smoothly slash toward the basket and dunk the ball. He makes three-point shots but can also score inside using efficient footwork and moves. An unselfish talent, he is quick to find teammates with his passes, including outlet passes to start the fast break. His height, long arms and athleticism make him a frequent and intimidating shot blocker.

NBA mock drafts for 2022 project Holmgren as the first player to be chosen in a class of talented prospects. Partially for the similarity in mobility and versatility, Holmgren is compared with Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis. He was the NBA’s first overall draft choice out of Kentucky in 2012.

Attributes the teenage Holmgren doesn’t have yet are bulk and exceptional strength. At maybe 200 pounds, his frame is thin. Time and a college weight room will make a difference. Next season he could benefit from playing with Minnesota center Liam Robbins.

Robbins, a 7-foot, 235-pound transfer from Drake, is established now as one of the Big Ten’s better bigs. Holmgren, probably playing at power forward, needs a physical sidekick like Robbins who already has three seasons of college experience. Robbins can lessen some of the stress and pounding on Holmgren from opponents by using his size and strength, while helping with rebounding, shot blocking and scoring. A versatile scorer, Robbins can move outside the lane on occasion and allow Holmgren to post up.

Holmgren wants a college program that will enhance his readiness for the NBA. With the Gophers, the offense figures to run through him. Even if junior point guard Marcus Carr doesn’t pursue the pros, Holmgren’s presence, skills and versatility dictate him dominating the ball to run the offense. Holmgren will have constant opportunities in all kinds of situations to advance his game.

No collegiate league is more physical than the Big Ten and Holmgren needs that experience as he preps for the pros. That’s certainly a selling point for the Gophers when compared with Gonzaga. The Zags play in the ho-hum West Coast Conference that can’t come close to matching the Big Ten in physicality and quality teams.

There’s been talk of Holmgren playing after high school in the NBA’s developmental league. The G League, with older and more physical players, might be more of a jump than is prudent for him. While considering the pay-for-play G League, word is Holmgren is leaning toward college for next season.

A decision to become a Gopher changes both the reality and perception of basketball at the University of Minnesota. Coach Richard Pitino’s job status becomes more secure, the team is labeled at least a dark horse favorite to win the Big Ten next winter, and (pandemic allowing) Williams Arena is jumping with frenzied fans and sellout crowds.

Holmgren could play on the same floor as his dad, former Gopher David Holmgren who was a reserve in the 1980s. Dad and other family and friends could easily drive to Chet’s games, not having to constantly arrange out of state travel like they would if he chooses Gonzaga or other programs on his list.

If Holmgren takes up residency near Dinkytown, he will in one season establish himself as one of the program’s more revered players ever. Playing the loyalty card and choosing the hometown team will be remembered in a better way by Minnesotans than if he joins the parade of local prep stars that have opted for other places. Relationships count for a lot and if Holmgren unfortunately saw his pro earnings cut short by injury or illness, he might one day be more than grateful he played for the Gophers.

National Signing Day is April 14 and Holmgren can make his college choice official then if he wants. Just about that time in April three years ago Minneapolis received over a foot of snow—and snowmen were “alive and well!”

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