Preps – Page 55 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Wolves Find Point Guard, But Not Defense

Posted on February 13, 2020February 13, 2020 by David Shama

Enjoy a Thursday notes column starting with the revamped Timberwolves who have played three games since president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas shook up the roster last week with new player acquisitions.

D’Angelo Russell is the long sought answer at point guard. The former NBA All-Star has played in two games for Minnesota including last night’s loss to the Hornets. He scored 26 points with 11 assists, at times showing deft ball handling and passing.

While in the game, Russell was a +12 and he had only three turnovers. No teammate was even close to that efficiency, showing the importance of the player Rosas sent to the Warriors in exchange for the much less valuable Andrew Wiggins, who despite his considerable talent never caught on at any position for Minnesota including point guard.

An announced sellout crowd at Target Center was energized last night, particularly in the first half when the Wolves moved out to a 66-50 halftime lead. Late in the second quarter fans chanted: “Defense! Defense! Defense!” Nice try, but defense is not a strength for the 16-37 Wolves who are 1-15 in their last 16 games.

The Wolves gave up 65 points in the second half to the Hornets and their offense slowed down in a 115-108 loss. Similar story on Monday night in Toronto against the defending NBA champion Raptors. After leading 75-74 at halftime, the Wolves went on to lose 137-126. The Wolves entered last night’s game yielding 116 points per game, ranking No. 27 in the 30-team NBA, per Fox.com.

A veteran hockey insider puts the chances at “100 percent” the Wild will make another trade before the NHL’s February 24 deadline. He also told Sports Headliners the team is too inconsistent and predicted a “40 percent” likelihood the Wild makes the playoffs after missing out on the postseason in 2019.

The Wild traded veteran forward Jason Zucker to the Penguins this week and acquired forward Alex Galchenyuk, defenseman Calen Addison and a 2020 conditional draft choice. The source said the Penguins have been interested in Zucker, 28, for about a year and hope he will bolster their scoring.

It remains to be seen if the trade will increase the effort and consistency of Wild players with Minnesota GM Bill Guerin on record that more deals could be coming.

The hockey Gophers have a young roster and could be special in another year or two if they retain their outstanding freshman class and players like sophomore forward Sammy Walker. “No question they’re better than at the start of the season,” the insider said.

Still, he thinks the Gophers are too inexperienced to win the Big Ten and might miss the NCAA Tournament.

WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” co-host Dave Mona speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, March 12 at the Bloomington Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle speaks to the group May 14. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. Reservations for the March program must be made by Monday, March 9. (CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans).

Minnehaha Academy’s Jalen Suggs could become the first prep athlete ever to win both the Minnesota Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball awards. Suggs won the former in December and looks like a favorite among the finalists for Mr. Basketball.

Isaiah Washington, the former Gopher point guard who transferred after last season, has started 13 of 18 games for Iona. He is the team’s third leading scorer at 10.4 points per game and leads in total assists.

R.J. White’s NFL mock draft for Cbssports.com on Tuesday had the Vikings selecting Gophers wide receiver Tyler Johnson in the third round with the team’s No. 25 selection. White refers to the Minneapolis native as an “intriguing slot option” for the Vikings when they use “three receiver packages.”

Quoting Mike Zimmer who is preparing for his seventh season as Vikings coach, and is the third longest tenured head man in franchise history after Bud Grant (18 seasons) and Dennis Green (13):

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve played decent, but at the end of the day we’re looking forward, and we’re not trying to look back on the last seven years. We’ve still got a lot of things that we haven’t accomplished yet that we need to accomplish.”

Marc Trestman, the St. Louis Park native and former Gophers quarterback who coached Grey Cup champions in Canada, is the head coach and GM of the Tampa Bay Vipers in the new XFL spring league. His Vipers lost their opener last Sunday to the New York Guardians, 23-3.

The average XFL player earns $55,000 with marquee players possibly making up to $500,000, per a Reuters story three days ago quoting Fox Business.

Minneapolis area native Tim Herron, who recently turned 50, is making his Champions Tour debut this week at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Florida. Herron is seen on TV ads in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market for 2nd Swing.

Former Gophers tight end and pro wrestling start Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell is the latest guest on “Behind the Game,” the Twin Cities cable TV program co-hosted by Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson. “Behind the Game” episodes can also be viewed on YouTube.

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Vikes Look ‘Cooked’ with No Dalvin

Posted on December 29, 2019December 29, 2019 by David Shama

The Vikings, 10-5, play their final regular season game today in Minneapolis against the Bears, and then start preparations for next weekend’s opening playoff game. The Vikings, a No. 6 seed in the NFC, are unlikely to win in the postseason without running back Dalvin Cook, whose shoulder injury sidelined him in the December 23 loss to the Packers and will keep him off the field today.

Cook, the 24-year-old third season playmaker extraordinaire, has produced a breakout performance in 2019, and the guess is he will be available next weekend. He is clearly the offense’s most indispensable player with his ability to gain difficult yards with minimal blocking, and also outrun tacklers. With 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns (no other Viking is even in double digits), he is among the NFL’s leading runners.

Injuries sidelined Cook for 17 games the past two seasons but the team’s coaches knew what a special playmaker they had in the former second round draft choice (he excels as a wide receiver, too). That’s why after seeing the limitations of quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2018, the offense was refocused to emphasize the running game. Using zone blocking with a run game featuring Cook, the Vikings have improved their offense and at times Cousins has flourished.

But against the Packers, without Cook, the offense was a dud, producing only seven first downs. The Packers kept their defensive ends “home” and discouraged the rollouts and bootlegs that have worked well for the passing game this fall. The offensive line, including the left side with tackle Riley Reiff and guard Pat Elflein, had a long night in the 23-10 loss.

Schemes are one thing but they are a lot more successful with playmakers, and Cook is one of the NFL’s best. Football is the ultimate team game but Cook is so fast, strong, and elusive he can make plays on his own.

“The clock in your head is saying this play might be over, but it probably isn’t,” offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski said in a December 2 Sports Illustrated story. “Go to the next level, get that last shove in there and give this kid a crease, because you just never know with him.”

At times Cousins looked anxious without Cook and a successful running game in the Packer loss. The quarterback has a history of not being able to carry a team late in the season. The offensive line, while improved over its most recent predecessors, is no award winner. Star wide receiver Adam Thielen, who missed multiple games with a hamstring problem, is trying to find his way back into production. The Vikings have offensive issues as they near the playoffs. They can’t afford to be without their Cook.

Worth Noting

T-shirt seen at a local health club last week predicted the Packers are going to the next Super Bowl and showed the Lombardi Trophy. The front of the shirt also said the Vikings are bowl bound, with a toilet illustration.

The 2010 Packers were a No. 6 seed, won all their playoff road games and emerged as 2011 Super Bowl champions.

The Minnesota Wild may learn as soon as Tuesday whether the NHL is choosing Target Field as the playing site for the January 1, 2021 NHL Winter Classic. Wild owner Craig Leipold told Sports Headliners awhile ago his franchise is competing for the prestigious outdoor game that has never been held in Minnesota.

The 2020 Winter Classic is at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and an announcement about the 2021 playing site will come next month. The Wild is competing with another city (name not publicized) for the game. The opponent for the Target Field game might be either Chicago, Colorado, St. Louis or Winnipeg.

Speculation is that elusive wide receiver and kick returner JD Spielman, the former Eden Prairie star and 2015 Minnesota prep Mr. Football, might transfer from Nebraska to the Gophers. Maybe so, but Sports Headliners is told Spielman won’t have his degree until next summer and couldn’t be a graduate transfer until then.

Cincinnati.com reports former Gophers deputy athletics director John Cunningham will earn $475,000 in base salary as the University of Cincinnati’s new athletics director. That is reportedly $77K less than previous Bearcats boss and now USC AD Mike Bohn. Gophers AD Mark Coyle’s compensation is $850,000. Cunningham oversaw the Minnesota football and men’s basketball programs, and he had worked with Coyle at Syracuse before both came to Minneapolis in 2016.

Chris Snow, the former Minnesota Wild beat writer for the Star Tribune who segued his career path into an NHL front office career, is in the early stages of battling ALS. Snow, who initially worked for the Wild after leaving the Minneapolis newspaper, is assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames.

The losing ways of the Timberwolves (lost 12 of their last 13 games) likely won’t threaten the job security of first-year head coach Ryan Saunders. But if Saunders were to be let go during the season by Gersson Rosas, the first year president of basketball operations, he could consider Staples, Minnesota native Dave Joerger, a veteran NBA head coach who was fired by the Sacramento Kings after last season.

Another option if a change was made during the season might be naming an assistant on the Timberwolves staff as interim head coach,, perhaps Pablo Prigioni. In the spring Rosas could review a list of candidates including lead Houston Rockets assistant Elston Turner. The two worked together several years ago in the Rockets organization.

Twins president Dave St. Peter speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, January 9 at the Bloomington Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. Reservations must be made by January 6. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Retiring Minnetonka High School football coach Dave Nelson is one of four national candidates for the American Football Coaches Association’s Power of Influence Award that will be given out at next month’s convention.

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U Takes Recruits from the ‘Big Boys’

Posted on December 17, 2019December 17, 2019 by David Shama

University of Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck announces on Wednesday names of players accepting scholarships for his 2020 recruiting class. Perhaps most meaningful to fans of the program is Minnesota persuaded expected signees to pass on offers from high profile teams like LSU and Texas, and verbally commit to become Gophers.

Linebacker Jaqwondis Burns, a Texas native from IMG Academy in Florida, switched his commitment from Mississippi to Minnesota this month. Beating out an SEC school like Ole Miss is impressive, but there’s more good news. Gopher recruiting authority Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners that last week the Texas Longhorns sent head coach Tom Herman and four assistants in pursuit of Jaqwondis.

“Anytime you are able to beat Texas for a Texas kid… it’s good. I mean it’s really good,” said Burns, publisher of GopherIllustrated.com.

Another recent commit is Florida wide receiver Douglas Emilien. Joe Brady, the passing game coordinator for No. 1 ranked LSU, said in the fall the Tigers wanted Emilien, according to Burns. Emilien, though, is expected to join the Gophers, a program that surprised college football this fall by going 10-2, and tying Wisconsin for first in the Big Ten West with 7-2 records.

“You don’t get him without 10 wins,” Burns said. “You don’t get him without (Gophers) Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson finishing No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big Ten in receiving (yards).”

Johnson, a senior, will be a big loss to the receiving corps next season but Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell will return as quality juniors. Filling a third spot might be Emilien, or another 2020 verbal commit, Daniel Jackson from Kansas who had offers from Wisconsin and Iowa State.

Linebacker Itayvion Brown from Missouri could have chosen a number of “helmet schools,” as Ryan Burns refers to the better programs in college football. He said Brown turned down LSU, Iowa, Missouri, TCU, and Texas A&M to commit to the Gophers.

Jaqwondis Burns is among a half dozen or so expected signees who Burns believes will enroll at Minnesota in January and have the benefit of winter football preparation and spring practice. Others may include New York City wide receiver Justin Bellido, Ohio defensive end Gage Keys, German native and defensive end Melle Kreuder, Anoka linebacker Cody Lindenberg, and Kansas running back Ky Thomas.

Thomas is last in the alphabetical listing above but he was the first name Burns mentioned when asked who among the 20-plus verbal Gopher recruits was most coveted. He refers to Thomas as “the real deal,” and he mentions the impressive stats of the Topeka, Kansas prospect, who is about 5-11, 200 pounds.

As a senior Thomas rushed for 3,027 yards, with 35 rushing touchdowns. Career totals included over 7,000 rushing yards and more than 90 touchdowns. The Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year is the only running back Fleck is taking in the 2020 recruiting class.

“What makes Ky really special is he is incredibly tough to bring down,” Burns said. “He doesn’t allow you to get good hits on him. He is really good at staying on his feet and going through contact. He is really good at making sure that he can make you miss in the open field, (and) he can make you miss at the line of scrimmage. He can get north and south, very, very quickly.”

Burns has a lot of praise for the playmaking ability of the other Gopher recruit from Kansas, Daniel Jackson who Burns said had 74 receptions for 1,500 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior. The Kansas City area prospect isn’t a big target at about 5-11 but he has quality hands and other skills. “He can make you really think about what route he is going to run next, and he is incredibly elusive in the open field, just like Kai is,” Burns said.

Thomas, like Jackson, could receive considerable playing time next season. The Gophers lose seniors Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks in their three-man running back rotation that does return Mohamed Ibrahim, who will be a junior next fall.

Minnesota’s lead recruiter on Thomas and Jackson was assistant coach Joe Harasymiak, who is assigned to the Kansas region. Harasymiak joined the Gophers in December of 2018 after leaving Maine where he had been head coach.

Other recruits in addition to Emilien, Jackson and Thomas who Burns mentioned might earn playing time next season include linebackers Brown, Jaqwondis Burns and Lindenberg, defensive linemen Keys and Danny Striggow (Orono). Lindenberg will be transitioning from safety and receiver at Anoka. He also might be the steal of the recruiting class, per Ryan Burns.

The most coveted prep linebacker in the state is Minnehaha Academy’s Kaden Johnson, who likely will sign with Nebraska. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he (Lindenberg) ends up better than Kaden Johnson…every time I have seen Cody he’s been incredibly impressive to me,” Burns said.

Burns expects the Gophers to sign in the range of 23 to 25 players for their 2020 class. As of earlier this week, he ranked Minnesota’s class No. 26 nationally, sixth in the Big Ten and third in the West Division behind Iowa and Wisconsin, two teams that have historically been the division’s leader.

“You have to be recruiting like Iowa and Wisconsin are, and I think Minnesota is finally at that tier,” Burns said.

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