Preps – Page 90 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Basketball Recruit Coffey, Mr. Versatile

Posted on October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 by David Shama

Amir Coffey is so versatile his coach may ask him to guard other players this coming season—regardless of their height, weight and playing positions. Hopkins High School coach Ken Novak Jr. is also hopeful the 6-6, 170-pound guard will average a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists.

Coffey was a big get for Gophers coach Richard Pitino last month when the Rivals.com four-star high school senior verbally committed to his home-state school. Coffey is the elite senior prospect in Minnesota, and giving his word to play for the Gophers is a step in the right direction for Pitino’s struggling program—6-12 in the Big Ten last season and in rebuilding mode.

Novak has coached high school basketball for more than 30 years. At Hopkins he has coached championship teams and great players including Siyani Chambers, Joe Coleman, Kris Humphries and Royce White. Novak considers Humphries, who was a rebounding whiz along with other skills, to be his best player ever, but said Coffey is unique. “I am not saying he’s (Coffey) the best player. He’s definitely the most versatile player,” Novak told Sports Headliners recently.

Novak wants defensive improvement out of Coffey this season. His ability to defend at a high level will go a long way toward determining the Royals’ success. “For us, Amir is going to have to be guarding the best player most of the time, and he has the smarts to be able to do that,” Novak said.

Coffey tore his left ACL last season and missed most of the Hopkins schedule. Novak said the injury and resulting surgery lessened his player’s explosiveness. “His strength in his legs aren’t quite what they were but…he will get that back,” Novak said.

The Royals begin practice for next season on November 9 and Novak has high expectations for Coffey. “He’s one of those guys that could average a triple-double,” said Novak who will be starting his 26th season at Hopkins.

Novak admits not being sure if he ever heard of a high school player averaging a triple-double but that’s his objective for Coffey. “I think scoring won’t be a problem,” the coach said. “I think assists and rebounding will be tough to average. …That would be a goal (triple-double).”

Although Coffey is tall, he is a good ball handler and his passing prompts raves from the coach. “He’s a phenomenal passer,” Novak said. “Passing ability is what he does best. Vision wise, as good a point guard as you will find.”

Coffey’s dad, Richard Coffey, was a 6-4 undersized, overachieving forward and center for the Gophers from 1986-1990. Richard was all about the team and probably nobody ever graded him less than A+ for attitude.

Novak said Amir is also about teammates first. “He’s a really unselfish kid,” Novak said. “He’s not a kid that’s looking to try and go out and get 30 points. He likes to set people up and he does it all the time.”

Novak believes Coffey could become a superb shooter and scorer because he has “great hands.” In college he likely will need to shoot long range in Pitino’s offense emphasizing three-pointers. With his scoring, passing, rebounding and defending potential, Coffey could eventually be a special college player but he will have to polish his total game and become physically stronger.

“He’s not coming in and dominating Big Ten basketball with his size,” Novak said. “Can he in a few years? Yeah, I think he can in a few years. …”

For the more immediate future, Novak, Coffey and the rest of the Royals can focus on the season ahead and trying to win a 4A state championship. Hopkins has three starters back including Mr. Versatile. That’s a good start but Novak knows there are challenges ahead including defending 4A state champion Apple Valley led by junior wing Gary Trent Jr. and sophomore point guard Tre Jones.

“Apple Valley, I think, is by far the best team,” Novak said. “They’ve got two guys offered to Duke. I don’t know if this state has seen a team that probably is as talented as they are, and they’re young too. And for anybody to beat them, they’re going to have to play well. You’re going to have to be an awfully, awfully good team.”

Worth Noting

Shannon Brooks, the freshman Gophers running back who rushed for 176 yards last week against Purdue, didn’t command a lot of interest from big time college programs coming out of Pickens High School in Jasper, Georgia. Georgia Tech was interested but he didn’t like the Yellow Jackets’ triple option offense, preferring Minnesota’s multiple set scheme. He said the University of North Carolina at Charlotte would have been his choice if it wasn’t for the Gophers scholarship.

Obviously a lot of recruiters missed on Brooks. Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover recalled one of his best friends is a high school coach in Atlanta (about a one hour drive from Jasper) and he knew Brooks was a special running back. Limegrover said the coach told him, “I thought that was the best kid I had seen in the state the past two years.”

Senior Jon Christenson, one of the Gophers best offensive linemen, returned from injury for part-time duty against Purdue. Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said Christenson will continue to split time with senior Joe Bjorklund at left guard.

“We have two kids that have knee injuries…Joe Bjorklund and Jon, and there’s no way they can play 50, 60 plays a game,” Kill said. “So we played them pretty much evenly in the (Purdue) game, which helps both of them. We substitute them more than we ever have.”

A Gophers spokesman said Saturday’s Minnesota-Nebraska game is “close” to a sellout at TCF Bank Stadium. If there is a capacity crowd, it will mean the Gophers have sold out all four home games so far—the first time a sellout streak has reached that total since 2009.

Twins telecasts on Fox Sports North in 2015 increased 24 percent from last year and had the 10th highest viewership among MLB teams on regional sports networks with a 4.12 average household rating. Twins telecasts were No. 1 on cable and No. 3 in primetime for all Minneapolis-St. Paul TV programming during the past season.

“Twins Season Review 2015,” a 30-minute program, debuts Thursday night on Fox Sports North starting at 8 p.m.

Jim Bruton, the former Gophers football player who has written books with Minnesota sports legends, has a new book called I’m Alive, an inspiring story about Duke Pieper. Almost six years ago Pieper, then a freshman hockey player on the Hill-Murray varsity, “suffered a brain bleed before his first game,” according to an e-mail from Bruton. “On two occasions, the family asked Bill Lechner, HM coach, to be a pallbearer for Duke’s funeral. His doctor told the family ‘it was time to let him go.’ Duke lived after having only a five percent chance to survive surgery.”

The Wild has interesting road games coming up including Sunday evening in Anaheim against a Ducks team that is a popular choice to win the Stanley Cup. The Wild lost all three regular season games to the Ducks in 2014-2015. All three losses were by one goal.

The Wild will see Marian Gaborik playing for the Kings on Friday night in Los Angeles. Gaborik, the former Wild star, is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals with 219. Tomorrow evening the Wild play the Coyotes in Arizona where Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk faces the team he played for part of last season (9-5-2 record, 2.72 GAA).

Skilled marketer and WCHA men’s commissioner Bill Robertson is promoting all-tournament ticket packages for the 2016 Final Five in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 18 and 19. Priced at $69 each, a ticket package provides admission to the two semi-final games on March 18 and the Broadmoor Trophy championship matchup the next day. Tickets are available via multiple sources including Ticketmaster. “As we saw last season with three nationally-ranked teams competing, the Final Five remains the sport’s finest conference tournament,” Robertson said in a news release on Monday.

Comments Welcome

Twins President Wants Hunter Back

Posted on October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by David Shama

Torii Hunter didn’t play yesterday as the Twins ended their 2015 season at Target Field, losing 6-1 to the Royals. It might have been Hunter’s final game as a major leaguer because the 40-year-old was indefinite about his future when interviewed yesterday morning on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle.

Hunter will talk during the offseason with his family about his future and added if he had to decide now it’s probable he will retire. Hunter, who mentioned he doesn’t want to take anti-inflammatory substances, said his plans after baseball aren’t certain but he wants to remain part of the Twins organization.

Hunter played regular right field for the Twins and hit .240 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI (second best on the team). His clubhouse leadership for a team that ended four years of 90-plus loss seasons in 2015 is well documented. The Twins finished with an 83-79 record and chased a wild card spot almost to season’s end.

“I’d love to have Torii back,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners today. “I’d love Torii to be in our clubhouse into perpetuity. He’s just a tremendous asset. He’s somebody that makes teams better. He’s a winner.”

Dave St. Peter (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

Even if Hunter decides to retire, St. Peter wants to see more of the outfielder who came up through the organization and played part or all of 12 seasons in a Twins uniform. “Ultimately, I’d be hopeful, whether he’s playing or not, that long term he’s going to be part of our organization in some way because I think in his heart he’s a Twin,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter is under the impression Hunter won’t do anything regarding a decision for 2016 until November at the earliest. St. Peter expects clarity on the issue before year end.

Hunter reportedly was paid $10.5 million this season on a one-year deal. St. Peter doesn’t know if the Twins will offer the same compensation but doesn’t expect next year will be about money. It will be about how Hunter is physically, how he feels he can contribute to team success and what his role will be with the club.

With Hunter’s career success and charisma, his post-baseball options appear numerous. He could be in demand by both national and local media for broadcast work. Also, St. Peter sees Hunter as a “powerful” influence as a Twins minor league consultant working to develop players. He also said Hunter has expressed interest in learning about front office responsibilities as a club general manager or president.

In the coming weeks Hunter will have to weigh the pros and cons of continuing his career including the physical demands of a long season. “Torii is in remarkable shape,” St. Peter said. “He takes care of his body, but only he knows the toll of a baseball season and what it takes on him.”

Worth Noting

Twins rookie DH and third baseman Miguel Sano hit 18 home runs and drove in 52 runs in 275 at bats. In a full season he might have doubled all three of those numbers.

Miguel Sano (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

Sano and center fielder Byron Buxton gained major league experience this season. St. Peter said Sano is interested in playing winter baseball but it’s not decided whether he will. Buxton will not, focusing on gaining strength and training during the offseason. In 129 rookie at bats Buxton hit two home runs, with six RBI and a .206 batting average.

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier and third baseman Trevor Plouffe delivered career years at bat. Dozier hit a team-best 28 home runs and drove in 77 runs, while Plouffe hit 22 homers and led the club with 86 RBI.

Although Ervin Santana lost his last game of the season Friday night, next year he could be the staff ace the Twins have been in search of for a long time. Santana missed the first 80 games of the season because of a suspension by MLB but he finished 2015 impressively. The loss Friday night was his first since August 19. He pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He finished the season with seven straight quality starts, going 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 50 innings, with 14 walks and 47 strikeouts.

Although it’s a minimal decrease, Twins home attendance declined for a sixth consecutive season. The club attracted 2,220,054 fans after drawing 2,250,606 last year.

Former Gopher and Twin Dave Winfield, whose big baseball career ended with the Indians 20 years ago, had his 64th birthday last Saturday.

Duluth Huskies pitcher Toby Anderson is one of nine Northwoods League players who won the Rawlings “Finest in the Field” Award for the 2015 season. Anderson, who will be a sophomore contending for a starting pitching role with the Gophers next season, had a 1.000 fielding percentage. That’s the same percentage he had last season with the Gophers.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer likes his team but isn’t ready to proclaim it a “good team” after four games and a 2-2 start including yesterday’s 23-20 loss to the 4-0 Broncos. He wants his players to execute better and focus on doing their assignments.

Asked about defensive lineman Linval Joseph at his news conference today, Zimmer praised him as “unselfish.” He said Joseph is interested in a team approach and doesn’t put himself first. Joseph, now in his second season with the Vikings, said he is more comfortable with the defensive system than last year.

The Broncos are one of the NFL’s best teams and Joseph was encouraged about the game. “I feel like yesterday showed us a lot about our team,” he said. “We’re going to fight to the end. We’re not going to give up.”

The Broncos led the Vikings 13-0 in the first half but by late in the game it was 20-20 before Denver made the winning field goal. The Vikings still had a chance before Broncos safety T.J. Ward caused quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to fumble under pressure. The Vikings allowed seven sacks and today Zimmer was asked about the pass protection of Adrian Peterson. Zimmer said his All-Pro running back is successful at pass protection and works at it.

The Vikings won’t practice after Wednesday and are off until next Monday because of their October 11 bye in the schedule. Defensive back Brock Vereen, the former Gophers safety added to the Vikings practice squad last week, said he will stay in town and work with coaches to learn the defense.

Eden Prairie High School football coach Mike Grant and his staff have led the Eagles to 37 straight wins. Senior linebacker Carter Coughlin said the coaches have taught the players about more than winning. “The coaches are all men of character, and they’re all men that all the players respect. They don’t encourage us to cheap shot ever, (or) do any of that other crap.”

The Amazing Hondo, the popular Minnesota-based magician, performed recently at a golf charity event in San Diego where he met one of his basketball heroes, Hall of Famer Bill Walton. “He is taller than tall,” Hondo said via e-mail. “When I brought up my favorite point guard, Steve Nash, his eyes lit up and he quipped, ‘Steve Nash—too small, too weak, too slow—defied all the naysayer odds. He was my favorite player to watch. He made everyone around him better—the mark of a true point guard.’ “

St. Paul resident and veteran official Kristine (Langley) Morrison, who has worked four NCAA Women’s Frozen Four tournaments, was part of the officiating crew for the Ferris State men’s intrasquad game last Saturday and the team’s exhibition game against the University of Lethbridge Sunday. That’s a first, involving a female on-ice official for a Division I men’s game.

“We are exploring new evaluation and development paths for our female officials,” said WCHA Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement. “Kristine has consistently been rated among the top on-ice officials in the women’s league and is certainly deserving of this opportunity for continued professional growth.”

The October 5 issue of Sports Illustrated noted that the late Roy Griak didn’t see his namesake cross-country meet last month for the first time in 30 years. Griak, who died in July at age 91, won Big Ten track and cross-country championships as Gophers coach. The Roy Griak Invitational is one of the best-known cross-country events in the nation.

1 comment

Coughlin Gives Spielman Gopher Hints

Posted on October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 by David Shama

Carter Coughlin hasn’t given up on Eden Prairie High School football teammate J.D. Spielman changing his mind about playing for Nebraska. Coughlin has verbally committed to the Gophers and hasn’t been bashful about encouraging other high school prospects to follow him to Minnesota.

Coughlin committed to his home state school last winter, while Spielman announced for Nebraska this summer. The two Eden Prairie teenagers are captains and buddies. Coughlin told Sports Headliners he was disappointed to learn Spielman chose Nebraska over Minnesota but he understands and respects the decision.

Still, that doesn’t mean Coughlin has lost interest in seeing Spielman sign a National Letter of Intent with the Gophers next winter when high school players can make official commitments. “I make hints every now and then but for the most part I am not drilling him too hard,” Coughlin said.

Spielman likes how the slot receiver is used in the Nebraska offense, so that’s provided an opportunity for Coughlin to promote Minnesota and its slot specialist, KJ Maye. “Whenever I am at the Gopher games and KJ Maye makes a play I always take a video of what he did, or whatever, and say this is you out there, or something like that,” Coughlin said. “He chuckles, but that’s pretty much the most I do.”

Eden Prairie is 6-0 and considered the best prep football team in the state. Spielman has been an extraordinary game changer and headline-maker with long runs and touchdowns. He is a headache for defenses with his ability to run and elude tacklers on rushes, pass receptions, punts and kickoffs. Opposing offenses see plenty of Spielman too when he plays in the Eden Prairie secondary where he is a continual threat to intercept passes and run them back for touchdowns.

“J.D. has been making a ton of plays,” Coughlin said. “He’s got like the most incredible vision of any high school player I’ve ever seen. The way he can minupulate his body (is special). Before you even know what you’re going to do, he knows what you’re going to do. It’s pretty incredible.”

Coughlin and Spielman are two of the top college prospects in the Upper Midwest. Coughlin turned down Ohio State for Minnesota. He played defensive end for Eden Prairie last season but has been moved to linebacker, the position he will play at Minnesota. He is 6-foot-4 and his weight is up to about 220 with the goal of adding 10 more pounds before he becomes a Gopher. He has run close to 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. “I’ve kept my speed and I’ve just gotten bigger,” he said.

The Eagles have won 36 straight games and are targeting another 6A title. Coughlin believes this year’s team is better than last season’s champs. “We’ve been running over teams that we’ve been playing,” he said. “Maple Grove gave us a really good game, but to be honest with you we didn’t play very well. So the fact that we beat one of the top teams in the state when we had an off game just goes to show that if we’re playing at our full potential we can beat anybody in the state.”

Eden Prairie defeated Maple Grove by eight points early last month. It was the kind of close game the Eagles always seem to find a way to win under coach Mike Grant and his staff.

“It’s kind of our identity at Eden Prairie,” Coughlin said. “The coaches have created a culture that is unquestionably a winning culture. You look at coach Grant’s statistics (winning record) and he instills that in you right from freshman year. You go in your freshman year, and you’re expecting to beat everybody.”

Grant has a saying that you don’t have to be a great player, just make great plays. “He believes you don’t have to have a bunch of great players that are all going Division I, you just have to have a bunch of players that are going to play great,” Coughlin said.

With Coughlin and Spielman, Grant has players who are great talents who play that way.

Worth Noting

Gophers interim athletic director Beth Goetz told Sports Headliners the University of Minnesota Board of Regents will be presented the final design and plan details next week for the proposed $190 million athletic facilities project. “We feel good about where we are with that presentation and are hopeful we will get approval,” Goetz said.

Approval could come next Thursday as the regents gather for two days to review University matters. The project will include an Athletes Village to benefit the more than 700 Gopher athletes, and new practice facilities for the football and basketball teams. Goetz said groundbreaking details could be announced next week.

Although fundraising revenues aren’t in place to cover the entire project cost, the University is expected to finance remaining expenses. Look for a Sports Headliners feature next week profiling Goetz, who assumed her new responsibilities last summer replacing AD Norwood Teague.

Justin Jackson, Northwestern’s sophomore running back who the Gophers will see tomorrow in Evanston, is second among Big Ten Conference runners with 516 yards and is averaging 129 yards per game in four games. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in nine of his last 11 games. The Gophers recruited the Carol Stream, Illinois native. “If you don’t get him wrapped up, he’s going to bounce off of you, and you don’t want to give him any creases,” Gophers coach Jerry Kill said.

Craig James, who was steady and impressive returning punts for the Gophers last year as a freshman, has struggled with judgment and ball security in 2015. Receivers KJ Maye and Drew Wolitarsky have experience as Gophers punt returners and might be options if James is replaced tomorrow. Wolitarsky suffered a concussion last Saturday against Ohio but Kill said earlier this week the junior will be available in Evanston.

Despite marketing itself as “Chicago’s Big Ten team,” the Wildcats have difficulty attracting fans to home games at Ryan Field. The stadium’s capacity is 47,330, the smallest in the 14-member Big Ten Conference. The 4-0 and nationally ranked Wildcats have played three games at home this season, reporting attendance of 36,024 (Stanford), 29,131 (Eastern Illinois) and 30,107 (Ball State).

Tomorrow’s game against the 3-1 Gophers won’t come close to selling out. Minnesota, though, has sold out its first three home games for the first time since the 2009 season. That was the opening year at TCF Bank Stadium.

Northwestern is ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the Amway Coaches Poll. Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner said his team can compete with anyone and deserves to be ranked. “We feel like we should be,” he said. “Being 3-1 and the schedule we played in the nonconference, we feel we should have that opportunity as well.”

The NCAA annually recognizes academic progress rates for teams that are in the top 10 percent of all teams in each sport. In May the NCAA recognized 79 percent of Northwestern’s teams in various sports, the best ranking of any FBS school. The Gophers ranked fifth nationally with 58 percent of their teams.

Adrian Peterson (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Despite gaining only 31 yards in the opening game, Adrian Peterson leads the NFL in rushing yards after three games with 291 yards. The Vikings play the Broncos on Sunday and Denver’s defense is No. 1 in the NFL. The Broncos rank No. 6 in the league against the rush, No. 1 versus the pass.

Minneapolis-born Ryan Harris has been a starter at offensive tackle for the Broncos in their first three games. Denver assistant coaches Fred Pagac (outside linebackers) and Joe Woods (defensive backs) are former Vikings assistants.

The Vikings have tickets available for their remaining six regular season home games including with the Packers on November 22. A team spokesman said the club has sold 86 percent of its seat license inventory and 90 percent of its suites in the new U.S. Bank Stadium.

The most attention given to MIAC football on Saturday will likely be the game between Bethel and Concordia, two teams with 3-1 overall records. The Royals are 2-0 in league games, while the Cobbers, who host the game, are 1-1. Concordia is giving up only 13.8 points per game, while Bethel is allowing 17.

Playmakers on offense include Bethel running back Marshall Klitzke and Cobber receiver Brandon Zylstra. Klitzke is second in the MIAC with 509 rushing yards and has five scores. Zylstra has 16 catches for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

Both teams have new quarterbacks this season. Bethel’s Trey Anderson has completed 71 percent of his passes, while throwing seven touchdown passes and no interceptions. Michael Herzog threw for 211 yards and a score last week in leading the Cobbers to 37 points in a win over St. Olaf.

If the Twins could sweep the Royals with wins tonight, Saturday and Sunday they would finish the season series with 10 victories and nine losses against the Central Division champs. Saturday’s game time was switched from an evening start to 12:05 p.m. at the request of Fox Sports.

With three games remaining in the season, the 83-76 Twins are a cinch to finish above .500 for the first time since 2010 when they were 94-68. The Twins were 5-2 on the last road trip that ended in Cleveland with a win last night. Minnesota finished 15-13 in September, the most wins in one month since April when the club was 20-7.

Former Twins Rod Carew and Jeff Reardon had 70^th and 60^th birthdays yesterday.

Prominent sports agent Ron Shapiro, who represents Twins first baseman Joe Mauer, spoke about negotiations recently to a group of Minnesota business and nonprofit leaders at the Metropolitan Club at Target Field. The event organizer was the National Mentoring Partnership, based in Boston and led by Shapiro’s son David.

The Lynx won both of their games during the regular season against the Indiana Fever. The teams open the WNBA Finals on Sunday at Target Center in the best three of five series. Sunday’s game will be televised by ABC, with the remaining games, including next Tuesday, on ESPN.

The Wild purchased 500 tickets for Sunday’s game to be made available complimentary to the first 250 fans requesting tickets on the Lynx website. The Wolves Tyus Jones and the Twins were involved with purchases for Western Conference semifinals games.

Joe Schmit, the KSTP TV sports anchor, said sales for his book have reached 13,000. Sudden Impact: Stories of Influence through Purpose, Persistence & Passion is now in its third printing.

Comments Welcome