Preps – Page 98 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Look for KG to Play All Home Games

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

The Timberwolves have 11 remaining home games this season. Fans can expect to see Kevin Garnett in every one of those games in Minneapolis.

“He will play them all at home, and then some of them (13) away,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners during a telephone interview.

Garnett, the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer, returned to the Wolves via trade last month and made his debut last Wednesday night before a standing room only audience at Target Center. Garnett, who played for the Wolves for 12 years before being traded away in 2007, is no longer able to play a lot of minutes because of his aging body (he turns 39 May 19th).

In Wednesday’s game he played 19 minutes during the home win over the Wizards, and then watched the entire game from the bench on Friday night when the Wolves lost in Chicago to the Bulls. Saturday evening he played 15 minutes in a home loss to the Grizzlies before being ejected from the game for a second technical foul.

Hit by injuries that sidelined three starters for more than 100 games this season, the Wolves have struggled on the court while compiling one of the NBA’s worst records. The result has been problems at the box office and overall minimal interest in the team including poor TV ratings. The Wolves are last in home NBA attendance averaging 14,225 fans per game, according to Espn.com. Tickets have not only gone unsold but seats already purchased haven’t been used for many games this season at Target Center.

All of that and more is why bringing back Garnett was a calculated business decision by the franchise. In acquiring Garnett from the Nets in a trade that sent Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn, the Wolves agreed to pick up the remaining money owed to Garnett on his contract this season—about $4 million.

Garnett’s presence in a Wolves uniform and playing 13 home games before the season ends on April 15 is probably worth at least a few million dollars in additional revenue to Taylor’s club. The Wolves drew a second consecutive sellout (19,356) on Saturday night and even if Garnett helps the franchise attract only an additional 2,000 fans per game the revenues will be significant. Tickets, concessions and merchandise are all impacted by Garnett. His presence also increases the likelihood of fans using tickets purchased before he came back to town.

“I think we’ve really got a lot of interest (with Garnett back),” said Taylor who told Sports Headliners in January he anticipated the franchise losing a couple million dollars this season.

There’s an economic impact tied to Garnett for next season, too. Getting more fans in the building now to see the team’s roster of high potential players like 2014 first round draft choices Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine is the kind of “product sampling” Taylor and staff marketers want. The potential for selling more season tickets has increased and the renewed interest in the franchise can also impact potential revenue areas such as suite sales, sponsorship and advertising.

Garnett was only 19 when the Wolves made him their No. 1 draft choice in 1995. He is the greatest player in team history and seen as the face of the franchise. His intensity and zeal to win can be inspirational to teammates and fans. The energy Garnett created in Target Center for the first two games put new life into the fans and the Wolves who have a near worst league record of 13-45.

“He just has a showmanship about him,” Taylor said. “…The way he points his fingers and the look on his face and stuff like that. The whole crowd loves it.”

Garnett is a free agent after this season but indications from him are that if he chooses to play a 21st season in the NBA it will be for the Wolves. Taylor said there is no agreement yet about next season but the owner seemed upbeat a deal could be made. “If he remains healthy I am optimistic that he would probably want to continue try playing.”

Worth Noting

Garnett’s first home game with the Wolves last Wednesday night offered a boost in Fox Sports North’s audience compared with typical viewership of the NBA team on the cable network. A Sports Headliners source e-mailed that viewership was “four or five times better” than a typical game on Fox but because of the Wolves’ poor record this season viewership numbers have been low. At peak viewing on Wednesday night about 139,000 people were watching the game.

The telecast of last Tuesday night’s Wild game against the Oilers was the highest-rated regular season Wild game ever on Fox Sports North. The viewing audience was over 200,000.

The prediction here remains the same as months ago: in the near future U.S. Bank will buy the naming rights for the new Vikings stadium. You wonder, though, how the Adrian Peterson controversy is affecting sponsorship relations for the Vikings. Certainly Peterson’s incident with his son last year provoked concerns from corporate supporters of the Vikings and the NFL. More recently Peterson’s publicized reservations about returning to Minnesota added to speculation about how his association with the Vikings might be perceived by the public if he plays here in 2015. When companies invest millions for sponsorships and other affiliations with sports teams, controversy and public disapproval aren’t developments they want associated with their brands.

The Gophers basketball team plays No. 6 ranked (AP poll) Wisconsin on Thursday night at Williams Arena. Last season Minnesota upset the Badgers in Minneapolis and Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners it could happen again. The former Gophers coach said the Badgers struggle against guards who penetrate toward the goal, and also Minnesota center Mo Walker matches up effectively against Wisconsin Player of the Year Candidate Frank Kaminsky. “They’re built to really play well against a team like Wisconsin,” Dutcher said.

Walker and point guard DeAndre Mathieu each scored 18 points in last year’s 81-68 win at home. Mathieu’s quickness could be effective again and Dutcher advised watching Minnesota junior college transfer Carlos Morris, a 6-5 wing with NBA type slashing ability. “Morris could have a great game against Wisconsin just taking the ball to the basket,” Dutcher said.

The Badgers, 14-2 in Big Ten games, defeated Minnesota, 63-53, in Madison on February 21. The Gophers, 6-10 with two regular season games remaining, had thoughts of a winning conference record before the season and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA dream is gone unless Minnesota wins the Big Ten Tournament later this month. A victory over the Badgers would be a morale boost. “This is almost a season salvager for the Gophers,” Dutcher said.

Multiple sources have said East Ridge High School junior quarterback Seth Green, considered the top Minnesota prep football recruit for the class of 2016, will play his senior season for Allen High School in Allen, Texas. An announcement might be made soon that Green will play for the suburban Dallas school, a football power playing its home games in a $60 million stadium.

Green verbally committed to Oregon last fall and if he moves out of Minnesota it appears to further diminish any possibility he will sign a National Letter of Intent with the Gophers next February. Among Green’s college offers is one from Texas, and the Longhorns now might figure more prominently in the young quarterback’s decision-making process in choosing a college.

Rivals.com labels Green as a four-star recruit and ranks him as the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the country.

Safety Cedric Thompson was one of the ex-Gophers who impressed today at Pro Day at the University of Minnesota. Thompson was timed at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash as pro scouts looked on.

A quad strain kept ex-Gophers running back David Cobb from participating but he said he will have a private workout for scouts at the U early next month.

Among talent evaluators in attendance were Rick Spielman, Norv Turner and Mike Zimmer from the Vikings. The three talked with Gophers coach Jerry Kill on the field at the U indoor football facility where Pro Day was held.

Hamline’s men’s hockey team has an improbable success story. The Pipers were 2-22-1 last season and won just a single game the year before. Former Gopher Cory Laylin is the new coach this season and the Pipers are 13-10-4 overall after Saturday’s upset of No. 1 seed St. Thomas in the MIAC playoffs. Hamline’s 11 win improvement this season is the best in men’s Division III hockey. The Pipers scored three goals in the final four minutes to break a 3-3 tie against the Tommies (16-6-4) to win the game. Hamline, the No. 5 playoff seed, has advanced to the MIAC playoff championship game where next Saturday night the Pipers will play No. 2 seed Saint Mary’s in Winona.

Bob Gustafson, public relations director for Grandma’s Marathon, will speak at the March 12 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. A St. Louis Park High School alum, Gustafson is responsible for various public relations and marketing duties for the annual event that attracts 18,000 runners. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations for the program (deadline March 9) can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

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Gophers 4-Star Recruit a Nice Fit

Posted on February 23, 2015February 24, 2015 by David Shama

Kevin Dorsey is the only Rivals.com four-star recruit in the Gophers’ 2015 class. The point guard from Clinton Christian High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland is also a leading candidate to start for the Gophers next fall.

The Gophers starting point guard for most of this season, DeAndre Mathieu, is a senior. The team’s top shooting guard, Andre Hollins, is also in his last season of eligibility. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino will be looking for replacements and while freshman Nate Mason can play the point he might be a better fit in the starting lineup next season as a shooting guard.

Ryan James, the basketball recruiting authority for Rivals affiliate Gopherillustrated.com, told Sports Headliners that “without a doubt” Dorsey could be one of the Big Ten’s top dozen freshmen next season. James has seen Dorsey play five times and also watched him online.

James said to his knowledge Dorsey is the highest-ranked point guard the Gophers have ever recruited out of high school. While James won’t predict Dorsey as an immediate starter, he is confident the teenager will be a major contributor. “I just know he’s going to get a lot of minutes just because he’s an excellent on-ball defender and off-the-ball-defender, and he’s one of the best pace pushers you will see. I mean he will fly with the basketball in the other direction, and he often ignites it with his own defense.”

At about 5-11, 160, Dorsey certainly doesn’t impress with his stature but his athleticism, including his quickness, draws attention. So, too, does his competitiveness and aggressiveness. “Yes, I don’t think I saw a guy on the summer circuit that played as hard in an AAU-style of game defensively,” James said. “He was always drawing the other team’s best assignment, and that said everything.”

Pitino is an advocate of fast play offensively. Grab the defensive rebound and push the basketball fast toward the Minnesota goal, or create a steal and accelerate into a fast-break. Dorsey sounds like a clone of the point guard prototype for the Pitino system.

“This offense is perfect for him,” James said. “This is exactly the right fit.”

A weakness? James said Dorsey is an okay shooter. “I saw him make jumpers but I think overall he probably has to get better in that regard.”

Dorsey is rated the No. 87 prospect nationally in the class of 2015, according to Rivals.com. In 21 games for Clinton Christian High School he has averaged 22.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals, according to Maxpreps.com.

But it’s the eye test that also impresses about Dorsey. James observed that Dorsey wears basketball shorts that are short enough not to bother his knees while trying to move his feet and legs on defense. “He doesn’t care about the shorts. He cares about getting it done, and that’s another reason why people like him.”

While saying to heck with more fashionable longer shorts, Dorsey takes the court to create a frenzy including on offense. “You have to get in front of him or he’s going to hurt you,” James said.

Gophers fans hope he will do some hurting on opponents immediately next fall.

Worth Noting

This observer’s opinion on the Gophers’ chances of winning on Thursday night at Michigan State: 10 percent. Minnesota, 5-10 in the Big Ten, has lost three consecutive games and plays a Spartans team, 10-4, that has won four straight and leads the conference in field goal percentage defense. Coach Tom Izzo has the Spartans on another classic bull run to season’s end.

The Vikings announced this morning the signing of free agent linebacker Brian Peters who played the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. In 2014 the former Northwestern player led the Roughriders with 78 tackles, plus he had three sacks, one forced fumble and two interceptions.

The Twins open their home spring training schedule at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers next week with exhibition games against the Gophers March 4 and Red Sox March 5. A dugout box seat costs $15 for the Gophers game but $44 to see the Red Sox. Both games will be telecast on Fox Sports North Plus starting at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Twins second-year slugger Kennys Vargas was listed at No. 25 by USA Today in a February 13 article about “young players primed to make impacts during the major league season.” The 24-year-old designated hitter and first baseman hit .274 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 215 at bats last season for the Twins. Vargas, 6-5, 290, was the only Twins player listed in the article headlined “The 50 names you need to know.”

Kevin Garnett is 38 but he remains feisty. He was suspended one game last month for head-butting Dwight Howard of the Rockets. Known for his temper when he played for the Timberwolves from 1995 to 2007, Garnett’s altercations with teammates included Wally Szczerbiak and Rick Rickert. Garnett, who was traded by the Nets last week to the Wolves, averaged 5.1 points and 17.4 minutes per game during January. He makes his home debut with the Wolves Wednesday night against the Wizards.

Timberwolves rookie star Andrew Wiggins has his 20th birthday today in Houston where his team plays the Rockets. Wiggins was about five months old when the Wolves drafted Garnett in June of 1995.

Jim Petersen, Timberwolves TV analyst and Lynx assistant coach, turned 53 yesterday. The former Gophers and NBA player was a McDonald’s All-American at St. Louis Park High School. As a prep senior he was also the 1980 Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner.

Gophers football fans can take encouragement from a recruiting analysis article in the February 9 issue of Sports Illustrated. Big Ten powers Michigan State and Wisconsin averaged No. 6 and No. 13 in the final Associated Press rankings from 2010-2014 despite neither program having high enough averages to be in the Rivals.com top 25 team recruiting rankings during the same period.

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Gophers No Cinch for NIT Return

Posted on February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 by David Shama

The possibility draws a yawn from Gophers basketball fans but the team that once had NCAA Tournament goals is now more realistically competing for a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Gophers, 14-9 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten, have eight remaining regular season conference games including four at home against Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State. The Gophers must play Iowa, Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road. Of those seven opponents, only Northwestern, 1-8, and Penn State, 2-8, have losing records in the Big Ten. The other five teams are a combined 33-15 in league games.

Let’s say the Gophers win four of their final eight regular season games—leaving them at 18-13 overall and 7-11 in league games going into the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago March 11-15. That resume won’t interest the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. To qualify for the “Big Dance” the Gophers probably would need to win all their games in Chicago, earning automatic entry into the NCAA field of teams as the Big Ten Tournament champion. The chances of winning the league tourney are minimal because several conference teams have superior personnel.

If the Gophers win one Big Ten Tournament game before losing a second, the team’s overall record could be 19-14. That probably earns a place in the NIT, the postseason tournament for second level teams.

But what if the Gophers only win three more games? If they went 3-5 in their remaining regular season games and then lost the Big Ten Tournament opener, Minnesota’s record would be 17-15. Last year Indiana finished 17-15 and was left out of the NIT’s 32-team field. A record around .500 is no sure thing to win the approval of the NIT Selection Committee which must include Division I teams that won their regular season league titles but weren’t invited to the NCAA Tournament.

The Gophers have participated in the NIT 14 times and won three championships, although the 1998 title was later vacated because of NCAA violations. Minnesota’s record in 2013-2014 was 25-13, including five consecutive victories in the NIT to win the tourney. With four starters returning, the Gophers looked like a team that could finish among the top six in the Big Ten standings and be selected for the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota breezed through a mostly unchallenging nonconference schedule, playing 10 games at home and compiling an 11-2 record with impressive team numbers in steals and assists.

But the Gophers haven’t recovered from a slow start in the Big Ten with a schedule that had them playing three of their first four games on the road. Minnesota also lost its first two home games on the way to a 0-5 start.

Despite the disappointing record to date of 3-7 in the Big Ten, the Gophers have played competitively. Minnesota has lost six conference games by a total of 21 points.

What’s the problem? The Gophers need to be better defensively. They rank ninth among conference teams in points given up per game (league play only) at 66.3 points per game.

A major issue is defensive stops when needed, particularly late in games. That’s not just on the defense because other teams get second and third shots by out rebounding Minnesota. The Gophers rank 13th out of 14 teams in defensive rebounding.

The Gophers have created problems for themselves, too, with excessive fouling and giving opponents free throws. Also, Minnesota’s free throw percentage of .665 ranks 11th in the league.

Despite the struggles, coach Richard Pitino likes his team’s attitude. Since the 0-5 start, the Gophers are 3-2, with home wins over Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska. “They’ve never really felt sorry for themselves, and just found a way to win,” Pitino said. “That’s the way it’s gotta be with our guys.”

Gophers senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu said if the team becomes better defensively they can beat anybody. “We definitely aren’t down on ourselves. We feel like we can win a few games.”

The Gophers played last Saturday against Nebraska and for the first time this winter don’t have a midweek Big Ten game. The rest is welcome during a long season when fatigue and nuisance injuries can pile up. “These guys are banged up,” Pitino said. “It’s never been a question of effort, so they need that break because we don’t have a lot of depth right now.”

The Gophers play a physical Purdue team tomorrow led by twin-monsters Isaac Haas (7-foot-2) and A.J. Hammons (7-feet). In the season opener at Purdue Hammons hurt the Gophers the most, with 11 points and nine rebounds in the Boilermakers’ 72-68 win.

The Gophers need different results tomorrow, because—strange as it is to write on February 6—this team is playing for an NIT invite more than anything else right now.

Worth Noting

Timberwolves Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Wiggins and Gophers center Mo Walker, both natives of Canada, know each other. “We’re pretty cool,” Walker said. “Like if I see him, I’ll say, ‘What’s up?’ He’ll say, ‘What’s up?’ He knows who I am and I know who he is.”

The Gophers football team opens its 2015 schedule on Thursday, September 3 against national championship contender TCU, but Michigan and Wisconsin have interesting first weekend games, too. The Wolverines will have a rare road opener at Utah on September 3 in a game sure to draw a boisterous crowd in Salt Lake City. The Badgers play Alabama, another national title hopeful, on Saturday, September 5 at neutral site AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A hockey source told Sports Headliners he believes the Wild will “make several million” dollars from the outdoor game (NHL Stadium Series) scheduled for next winter at TCF Bank Stadium. The February 21 game against the Blackhawks—the Wild’s first outdoor game at home—can be a revenue stimulus for ticket sales and other income sources.

The source said the game represents a tryout for the Wild to one day host the prestigious and even more lucrative Winter Classic outdoor game held annually in a host NHL city during early January. The NHL’s Stadium Series and the Winter Classic are national TV attractions, generating revenues for the league and NBC TV.

The Wild has won four consecutive games. New goalie Devan Dubnyk has given up only four goals in the last five games. After a slow start before the NHL All-Star Game break, the Wild are trying to recover and make the playoffs. “They’ve got a lot of ground to make up,” the source said.

Minnesota State University, Mankato is the No. 1 ranked men’s college hockey team in the polls. Coach Mike Hastings might be the hottest college hockey coaching name in the country now. During the next couple years the Mavericks may have to fight to keep Hastings who reportedly annually earns $225,000. He is considered an outstanding communicator who relates effectively to players and others.

The Minnesota Minute Men announced the 10 candidates (high school seniors only) for the 31st Annual Mr. Hockey Award: Jack Achcan (Burnsville), Will Borgen (Moorhead), Dixon Bowen (East Grand Forks), Jake Jaremko (Elk River), Dylan Malmquist (Edina), Jack Poehling (Lakeville North), Nick Poehling (Lakeville North), Jack Sadek (Lakeville North), Peter Tufto (Saint Thomas Academy) and Christiano Versich (Saint Thomas Academy). Stephen Headrick (Breck) and Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (Burnsville) are the finalists for The Frank Brimsek Award in recognition of the state’s top senior goaltender. The 31st annual Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet will be held at noon on Sunday, March 8 at the Grand Ballroom at RiverCentre.

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