Preps – Page 78 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Wolves Owner to Find Answers Soon

Posted on May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 by David Shama

Glen Taylor will get some answers this week in a series of meetings with his basketball staff headed by president and coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden. The Timberwolves owner told Sports Headliners last Friday these will be the first face-to-face meetings for evaluating the team’s 31-51 season that ended April 12 without reaching the playoffs for a 13th consecutive year.

“We just thought we should just leave it go for a few weeks,” Taylor said about waiting until now to meet. “We have times set up to kind of talk about in-depth (on) our team, and our draft (NBA Draft June 22).”

Taylor has written input already from Thibodeau about last season, including evaluation of players and off-season expectations for them. Despite a talented corps of young players led by 21-year-old center Karl-Anthony Towns who averaged 25.1 points per game, the Wolves won only two more games than the previous season. Thibodeau, in his first season coaching the Wolves, had the first losing record of his six-year NBA career.

Glen Taylor (photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves).

Taylor formed his own thoughts by following the team all season and from the written evaluations from the basketball staff, but he has no final determinations yet why his club was a major disappointment. “No, I don’t think I came to a conclusion yet. Otherwise, I would tell you,” said Taylor who wasn’t happy with the 31-51 record and was surprised by it.

Taylor remains confident in his franchise’s basketball leadership. Although Taylor wants to win and break the playoff drought, he isn’t encouraging rash thinking or panic. He doesn’t want to make the wrong off-season moves such as a very risky trade, or highly questionable transaction at next month’s NBA Draft where the Wolves have the No. 7 first round pick.

“You can always say we gotta get a better player, but who?” Taylor asked. “And do they fit in with the long range plan? So I am going to reserve that a little bit (change).

“I am not against if we need to make some changes…but gosh, I mean we got some good guys with some potential. I don’t want to just give up on them too early.”

Taylor compares his team with others in the NBA and likes what he sees for the future, including hopes for several years of success. “Even though we only won two more games, there were so many games that we were in and close to. There was even a time toward the end of the season that looked like we could get into the playoffs, the eighth position. So I don’t think it’s that far of a distance to get there.

“I don’t see why…we shouldn’t be able to be one of the teams that gets into the playoffs (next season). I think we have the potential. I think we have the players to do that. There were so many games this year that we could have won, that it isn’t that far away. Where the year before… I don’t think there was so much of an opportunity to win.

“You know the games I am talking about, the games where we were ahead by 20 points, or the games we played for three quarters that we were the better team, and then we just sort of folded in the fourth quarter when they (other teams) put the pressure on.”

The Wolves lost 22 of 46 games in which they built 10 point leads or more. That was more than any other team in the NBA. The club also lost 13 of its final 16 games.

“For whatever reasons we had lapses during games that are hard for me to understand,” Taylor said.

When asked about positives to the season, Taylor spoke about Towns and point guard Ricky Rubio. Towns, in his second NBA season, broke the franchise single season scoring record with 2,061 points, and deserved All-NBA recognition in the opinion of some observers. Rubio, the six-year point guard long criticized for his shooting, stepped up his scoring in the second half of the season and averaged career highs in points per game at 11.1 and field goal percentage making .402 of his shots. He had 25 double-doubles, with 23 of them coming in the final 45 games.

“…If he can build upon that, boy, that makes a huge difference to us and how we can play offensively,” Taylor said.

Worth Noting

New Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck is in a suburban Minneapolis house just a few doors away from Minnesota basketball coach Richard Pitino.

Maybe Vikings coach Mike Zimmer can get the best possible birthday present on June 5. He turns 61 that day, and isn’t coaching right now while recovering from his eighth eye surgery. A healthy prognosis from doctors in early June would be celebration news.

As the Vikings go through practices between now and the end of next month, it will be interesting to track the progress of several long shots to make the team. Among the most intriguing is Moritz Bohringer who the Vikings drafted in the sixth round in 2016. A gifted athlete who has only been playing American football since 2013, the wide receiver came to the Vikings directly from his native Germany. Bohringer was on the practice team last year and still faces a steep learning curve.

The 28th annual Bruce Smith Golf Classic will be June 19 at Faribault Golf Club. The fundraising event benefits Faribault schools and honors Bruce Smith, the Faribault native who won the 1941 Heisman Trophy playing for the Gophers. More information is available by calling Bruce Krinke at 507 384-7968.

Challenges and solutions to making youth football a better experience, including the enhancement of safety, will be discussed at a free event starting at 9 a.m. June 24 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Youth Football Summit will include a panel of high school coaches and keynote speakers Joe Ehrmann and Dr. Uza Samadani.

Ehrmann is a former NFL defensive lineman known for his lessons from athletics. Dr. Samadani is the leader of the nation’s largest youth concussion study. More information, including online registration, is available at myas.org/football.

Bryant Pfeiffer, who for 10 years was with the MLS league office, has joined Minnesota United FC as senior vice president, sales & strategy. Prior to working with the MLS, Pfeiffer was employed by the Lynx and Timberwolves.

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U Nears 1,000 New Season Tickets

Posted on May 1, 2017May 1, 2017 by David Shama

As of Friday, the Gophers had sold 861 new football season tickets since January 6 when P.J. Fleck was announced as head coach. The total was obtained from an athletic department spokesman and is for nonstudent season tickets (a student season tickets total will be available later in the year).

Fleck’s outgoing personality, and the reputation he earned at Western Michigan for being one of America’s most promising young coaches has prompted some renewed interest in football at the U. The athletic department sold 253 season tickets in less than 30 days after the 36-year-old Fleck took over as coach.

Fan interest declined last year under head coach Tracy Claeys and the Gophers sold about 5,100 fewer nonstudent season tickets in 2016 than in 2015. The Gophers didn’t sell out a single home game in 50,805 seat TCF Bank Stadium and many sold seats weren’t occupied. Last year the athletic department sold about 23,000 nonstudent season tickets and student season ticket sales were around 7,000.

The new season tickets sold this winter and spring is being accomplished without a marketing campaign. Promotional efforts are expected to start soon and will likely play off of Fleck’s “Row The Boat” mantra to create excitement. The phrase refers to a never give up attitude, and Fleck paid Western Michigan $50,000 for the rights to “Row The Boat.”

Fleck has big ambitions for attendance at TCF Bank Stadium, a venue that ranks near the bottom in seating capacity among Big Ten schools. Sports Headliners reported last month that in three years Fleck wants to expand seating capacity to 85,000. (See April 2, 2017 column).

Worth Noting

Race Thompson told Sports Headliners he hears the encouraging words from Minnesotans to become a Gopher and he appreciates the hometown interest but he won’t be influenced by others in choosing a college destination.

Thompson, the junior power forward from Armstrong High School, has offers from more than 10 schools including the Gophers. The Rivals four-star player said he probably will choose a school next fall and is looking for the place he will feel most comfortable, including a “family atmosphere.”

Thompson will make some college visits after July 1 and could sign a National Letter of Intent in November, the first signing opportunity for class of 2018 players to officially commit to their colleges. While schools like Minnesota and Marquette have been recruiting Thompson for some time, Indiana is now showing interest, too. Thompson said he isn’t sure, though, if he will visit Bloomington.

Darrell Thompson, the Gophers all-time leading rusher in football, has said throughout the recruiting process that he and wife Stephanie won’t direct their son to play for the U, even though their suburban Minneapolis home would make travelling to watch him in college much easier than any other place.

Darrell leads Minneapolis-based Bolder Options, the nonprofit helping kids and teens learn life skills. The organization’s annual gala in Minneapolis last Thursday night raised over $160,000, a record for the event which is the nonprofit’s largest fundraiser of the year.

Another fundraising highlight for the organization is the WCCO Radio Gutter Bowl bowling event that most recently generated about $40,000. Morning show host Dave Lee is among those who have led the event.

The Twins have the first pick in the June MLB Draft and could select Hunter Greene from southern California. Greene throws fast balls over 100 miles per hour, plays with MLB range at shortstop, excels at the plate, and is the subject of considerable hype including from Sports Illustrated. The magazine’s latest issue has him on the cover and gushed the following:

“Baseball’s LeBron, or the new Babe? He’s 17. He mashes. He throws 102. Hunter Greene is the star baseball needs. (First he has to finish high school).”

Dalvin Cook, the former Florida State running back who the Vikings were excited to find available in the second round of Friday’s NFL Draft, was projected in last week’s Sports Illustrated to be the No. 23 pick in the first round by the Giants.

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison, who turned 34 last week, expects to do something with his “big-time passion” for fishing after he retires from football. He told Sports Headliners pro fishing could be his next career, or TV commentary about the sport. He has fished in pro-am tournaments in recent off seasons, and competed in the Texas Team Trail Bass Championships.

Doesn’t seem that long ago but it will be 17 years on Friday that former Gophers and Timberwolves coach Bill Musselman died. In Musselman’s first season at Minnesota, 1971-72, he coached the Gophers to their first Big Ten basketball title since 1937. In 1989-1990 he coached the expansion Timberwolves in their initial NBA season.

Mark Sheffert, the former Gophers football player who founded and leads Minneapolis-based Manchester Companies that provides management consulting, discussed corporate ethics and behavior yesterday on WCCO Radio’s News and Views program.

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Griffen Looks Forward to Hits on A.P.

Posted on April 25, 2017April 25, 2017 by David Shama

A notes column starting with reporting from Winter Park, the Vikings training facility.

Defensive end Everson Griffen spoke light-heartedly about playing against former teammate Adrian Peterson when the Vikings and Saints meet September 11 at U.S. Bank Stadium in the opening regular season game for both teams. “I can’t wait to hit him, it’s going to be fun,” Griffen said this morning.

Griffen had reporters laughing when he made that remark, and also when recalling how during practices he and other defensive players were never allowed to hit Peterson, the future Hall of Fame running back.

Last week it was announced the Vikings-Saints matchup will be one of two NFL ESPN televised Monday night games on September 11. Then today reports confirmed that Peterson, who played for the Vikings from 2007-2016, was signing on with the Saints. Griffen wondered if the NFL office has known for awhile that Peterson was New Orleans-bound and that A.P. playing against his old team would create high drama in the Minneapolis Monday night game.

There’s no doubt it will be an electric atmosphere in the stadium that night with the game generating high TV ratings. Look for the Purple faithful to give Peterson a standing ovation. StubHub.com listed 6,764 tickets available for the game as of early afternoon today.

Apparently Peterson’s days as a part-time Minnesota resident are also over. Mike Max reported on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” show on Sunday that movers were at Peterson’s suburban Minneapolis home last Saturday.

Veteran Vikings defensive end Brian Robison, per earlier media reports this spring, is likely to retire after the 2018. But Robison told Sports Headliners today he might play longer if the Vikings offer him another contract. “I think the only chance for me would be if I got brought back here to Minnesota. I am not going to move my family across the country. It’s just something that I don’t really want to do.

“To me there’s more important things than just making money in this business. There’s always been the other things that are important to me. The respect of my peers. Being in the right place.

“Minnesota is definitely the place that I want to be. If that opportunity arises where I am able to come back here another year, or two, then yea, I might stick around…but otherwise…I am pretty much positive I am going to hang it up.”

Robison’s wife Jayme Miller has an ongoing career as an accomplished rodeo barrel racer. Robison said barrel racers may compete even into their 70’s.

Drew Wolitarsky, a senior last fall for the Gophers and now hoping to sign on with an NFL team, is reportedly excelling in workouts against pro defensive backs. A source said the Vikings may have interest in signing the California native as a free agent.

The same source also said Mitch Leidner, another senior for the Gophers last season, is impressive working out under the direction of ex-Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon. An NFL team may use a late round draft pick on the Minnesota quarterback and Lakeville native.

Condolences to Gophers linebacker Jonathan Celestin after the unexpected death last week of his father in Georgia. Donations are being accepted to assist with funeral and burial arrangements for Frederick Celestin. More information about donations is available by contacting Eric Raines at 229-435-4813.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s clinic March 30-April 1 drew record attendance of 1,700, according to an email from MFCA executive director Ron Stolski. Speakers at the clinic in St. Louis Park included Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Duke’s David Cutcliffe, North Dakota State’s Chris Klieman and Dartmouth’s Buddy Teevens.

The MFCA Recruit Combine takes place Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Rockford Community Center in Rockford. For a cost of $50 per participant, athletes from the high school classes of 2018, 2019 and 2020 can be tested in speed, strength and agility in front of Midwest college football coaches. More information is available at Preptree.com.

Jim Dutcher expects son Brian Dutcher, 57, to include the state of Minnesota in his recruiting territory now that the former Bloomington resident is head coach at San Diego State. Brian, who earned his undergraduate degree at Minnesota in 1982, succeeded Steve Fisher as head coach earlier this month after being an assistant at San Diego State for 18 seasons.

Twins authority Roy Smalley told Sports Headliners before the season his old team could win a dozen or so more games this season than last year’s win total of 59 but it won’t happen without improvement from veteran starters Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes. How are the two pitchers doing for the 9-10 Twins who have lost seven of their last 10 games?

After four starts Gibson is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA. In his last start on Sunday he lasted 2.2 innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs. Hughes is 3-1 with a 4.71 ERA and was the winning pitcher Monday night against the Rangers, giving up two runs in six innings.

Former Chaska High School baseball coach Dale Welter emailed that three former Chaska youth players are playing professionally as pitchers. Jake Esch and Brad Hand are with the San Diego Padres organization, while John Straka is on the Saint Paul Saints roster.

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