Recruiting – Page 47 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins & Cleveland All about Close

Posted on August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 by David Shama

A Wednesday notes column:

Football is in the news but the sports focus in this town starting Thursday night and continuing through Sunday afternoon will be the Minnesota Twins-Cleveland Indians four-game series at Target Field. The Twins lead the AL Central Division by 3.5 games over the second place Indians in a tight race to determine the champion by season’s end in late September.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners yesterday as he looked forward to the upcoming series. “Every game is going to be close. It’s probably going to come down to the final innings one way or another. Little things are going to make huge differences in terms of a team making mistakes and (the) other team capitalizing on those mistakes.”

In nine previous games between Cleveland and Minnesota, six have been decided by one or two runs. The Twins have won five of the nine games spread over three series, two in Cleveland and one in Minneapolis.

There are 10 games yet to be played between the two teams before the regular season ends, with seven of them scheduled at Target Field. The Twins, 70-43 overall this season, are 35-21 on the road, and 35-22 at home. The Indians are 66-46 overall, with records of 36-24 and 30-22 at home and away respectively.

It’s accepted doctrine playing at home is advantageous. Players sleep in their own beds, prepare for games in familiar routines, and know the quirks and nuances of the home ballpark. There is also the energy of the home crowd. “Our fans can play a huge role in what happens here down the stretch,” St. Peter said.

Thursday night’s game is expected to have attendance of over 30,000, with tickets also remaining for the final three games of the series, but St. Peter said Friday, Saturday and Sunday could sell out.

A Twins sweep will send Indians fans buying up Maalox in large quantities. If Cleveland wins all four games it’s problematic for the Twins but probably won’t boost Maalox sales here like in Ohio. “If there is a sweep either way, it puts a team in a hole,” St. Peter said. “I tend to think of it both ways.”

Twins center fielder Max Kepler had one hit in his first 19 at bats against the Indians this season. Since then he is 9 of 19 with five home runs and eight RBI. Those five home runs came in consecutive at-bats during June and July games against now departed Indians starter Trevor Bauer.

St. Peter talking about recently acquired reliever Sam Dyson who is on the Injured List after just two games with Minnesota: “We expect he is going to contribute mightily to the Twins.”

Ken Novak, going into his 31st season at Hopkins as boys basketball coach, is wowed by Paige Bueckers, the first-team prep All-American on the Royals girls team. “She is the only girl I’ve ever seen that I think could play for a good boys’ team,” Novak told Sports Headliners.

He likens Bueckers, the dynamic point guard who will be a senior this coming school year, to the legendary Pete Maravich who played flamboyantly with jaw-dropping ball handling and passing skills. Novak said Bueckers combines so many fundamental basketball skills with a “flair” for the game. She has verbally committed to Connecticut for college.

Novak has his own star in 6-5 senior shooting guard Kerwin Walton, the only returning starter for the Royals. “He is one of the best I’ve coached,” said Novak, who has sent a long list of players to college programs including former Golden Gophers shooting guard Blake Hoffarber.

The legacy coach believes the 6-5 Walton compares favorably to Hoffarber as two of the better players he has coached. “He will be a great college player,” Novak said about Walton. “You don’t get recruited by Kansas (and) Arizona, those caliber schools, and not be really good. I think there is no doubt he is just going to get better.”

Walton, who averaged about 18 points per game last season for Hopkins and is having a high profile summer playing more amateur basketball, holds scholarship offers from 21 schools including Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, West Virginia and Virginia Tech, per Rivals.com. But Novak said his star guard isn’t favoring any particular school including Minnesota. “He knows the coaches (at Minnesota) well, and he really likes them,” Novak said.

Walton has made improvements of late and more are expected, partially because of a work ethic that includes practicing four or more hours per day. “He really works at it (getting better),” Novak said.

Novak’s father, 90-year-old Ken Sr., expects to return as one of the Hopkins boys assistant coaches next season.

Eric Morken, writing yesterday for Echopress.com, reported Alexandria’s Treyton Thompson will transfer for next season to an Indiana prep school. A class of 2021 recruiting target, the Gophers have offered a scholarship.

It was 50 years ago this summer that Noel Jenke, one of the Golden Gophers’ best athletes ever, made his professional baseball debut as an outfielder with AAA Louisville. Jenke had hit .402 in the spring of 1969 playing in his first and only season for the Gophers. The Boston Red Sox were eager to sign him and Jenke, who represented himself, knew he had leverage in the negotiations because the NFL’s Vikings and NHL Blackhawks wanted him, too.

Now retired from corporate security work and living in suburban Milwaukee, Jenke never revealed the bonus amount the Red Sox gave him and he still won’t. “It was more than the Red Sox wanted to pay me,” he told Sports Headliners. “It was one of the highest bonuses paid in the MLB draft that year, if not the highest.”

Jenke’s negotiating leverage paid off after the Red Sox initially offered $50,000. Following his contract signing the team also gave him a Chevy Impala. Jenke, who negotiated the deal surrounded by “three piece suits,” was glad he remembered the advice of a tax attorney who told him, “It’s just as easy to ask for $100,000, as it is $25,000.”

An Owatonna, Minnesota native, Jenke only played one season of baseball at Minnesota because football coach Murray Warmath insisted he be available for spring practices. As a college baseball senior, with his football eligibility expired, Jenke became an All-American but as a professional never made it to the big leagues and ended up playing five seasons in the NFL with the Vikings, Falcons and Packers. He won seven letters at Minnesota, with three each in football and hockey, and one in baseball.

As with other sports, analytics has become important in the MLS including with the Minnesota United. CEO Chris Wright told Sports Headliners there are “global data and analytics companies” that provide details on every pro soccer player in the world who is a member of a club registered through FIFA.

Wright can call up information on thousands of players based on a description of what he is looking for. He and those who work for the United can also identify a specific player they are scouting to learn more about him via analytics.

Wright said his club also employs “two and a half full-timers” as scouts, while also having about 30 part-timers who take a look at players for the United.

Bloomington, Minnesota native Steve Rushin, a former National Sportswriter of the Year, speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers group August 20.

Comments Welcome

Who Is Minnesota Twins MVP So Far?

Posted on August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Sunday notes column starting with the AL Central Division leading Minnesota Twins and a couple of interesting questions about the club.

The Twins are among the surprise teams in baseball and one of the biggest success stories. As of early August, who is the club’s MVP?

Talk about a question with no consensus answer. A Sports Headliners baseball source said shortstop Jorge Polanco and right fielder Max Kepler are deserving of co-MVP recognition. Another authority chose Kepler, then hesitated when reminded about the contributions of staff ace Jose Berrios and bullpen savior Taylor Rogers.

Polanco, Kepler, Berrios and Rogers. Who to choose? “You could make a case for all four being deserving,” a source said.

But wait.

The sources referenced here were contacted a few days ago, prior to DH Nelson Cruz making baseball history. Last night he hit three home runs in Minnesota’s Target Field victory over the Royals—becoming the third man in MLB history to have two three home run games within a 10-day period. The 39-year-old, who four times this season has driven in five runs or more, is now tied for the club lead in home runs with 30. A clubhouse leader, he has to be in the forefront of any MVP discussion.

Polanco has been hitting over .300 most of the season, has solidified the team’s up the middle defense and played for the American League in last month’s All-Star Game. Kepler, with critics wondering if he was a bust last year, has experienced a career season leading the Twins in RBI with 76 and is tied with Cruz in home runs at 30, while not only playing outstanding defense in right field but being available to sub in center.

Berrios has won 10 games with a 2.80 ERA that ranks among the best in the majors. Rogers has saved 16 games and his effective work at the end of games has helped balance off a bullpen with shaky middle innings performers. “He’s been fabulous,” a source said.

There are other names worth considering for MVP, too, regardless of whether balloting was inside or outside the clubhouse. Left fielder Eddie Rosario has just four fewer RBI than Kepler and is a fan favorite. Pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who has dropped off in performance after a lights out start to the season, still leads the team in wins with 12, a total among the best in baseball.

And here is the other question for the day: in a playoff series, who should be Minnesota’s third starter after Berrios and Odorizzi? A couple of sources didn’t recommend Kyle Gibson who has won 11 games, the second most on the starting staff.

“I am not a big Gibson fan,” a source said. “He is almost afraid to throw the ball over the plate. He is a picker, and throws too many pitches. Every time he pitches I get nervous.”

Martin Perez and Michael Pineda received more support as the third starter in a playoff series. Perez is 8-4 and Pineda 7-5 on a starting staff Twins fans hoped the front office would bolster before the July 31 trade deadline. With Berrios and Odorizzi, Gibson and Pineda all being right-handers, the left-hand throwing Perez could be the choice as the third starter in a playoff series. However, he needs to improve his work having allowed eight home runs in his last four starts, after giving up seven in his first 18 appearances of the season.

Reliever Sam Dyson, acquired from the Giants last Thursday at the trade deadline, has allowed six earned runs in two-thirds of an inning and has an ERA of 81.00 in two games. It was announced this morning the Twins have placed him on the 10-day Injured List because of bicep tendinitis in his right arm.

Former Twins closer Joe Nathan and club president Jerry Bell are inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame this weekend. Overdue for inclusion, too, is the late Halsey Hall, the former Twins broadcaster and master storyteller who delighted radio and TV audiences in the early years of the franchise.

Possible names under consideration for the Minnesota Wild general manager’s job: Chris Drury, Ron Hextall, Dean Lombardi, Tom Fitzgerald and Bill Zito.

Mike Modano, hired earlier this year as an executive advisor for the Wild focusing on business operations, probably isn’t interested in the GM job because it’s so time consuming.

Quoting Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer on a fan he encountered at Canterbury Park: “…A guy says, ‘If you win the Super Bowl, we’re going to elect you governor.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to be governor, that’s the last thing I want to do.’ “

The Vikings, who along with other NFL teams opened training camp late last month, have until August 31 to reduce their rosters to 53 players each.

The first of three Golden Gophers football practices open to the public was yesterday. The other two are August 9 (4:30 p.m.) and August 16 (4:15 p.m.)—with both on the outdoor fields at the Athletes Village.

The Big Ten Network will report on all 14 Big Ten Conference training camps, including Minnesota’s August 16.

Among the early leaders to win the Gophers’ placekicking job is sophomore Brock Walker from Sioux Falls. Coach P.J. Fleck said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle a week ago that Walker, who was an All-State defensive back and 4.0 student at Washington High School, had an impressive offseason.

Those anxious for the start of college football can get an “early fix” watching Villanova and Colgate August 24 on the CBS Sports Network. The Gophers have one of the earlier starts in college football, hosting South Dakota State August 29. FS1 will televise the game.

It will be interesting to see if the basketball Gophers offer a scholarship to 2020 Rochester Mayo shooting guard Mason Madsen. Rivals.com reported last Thursday Madsen has offers from Cal Poly, Colorado State, Furman, Green Bay, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, Southern Illinois and William & Mary. Rivals also reported Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin have expressed interest in Mason whose twin brother Gabe Madsen is on the Mayo team coached by their father, Luke Madsen.

Gabe, also a shooting guard, is the more highly recruited of the twins, with offers that include Iowa, Green Bay, Marquette, Minnesota and Northern Iowa, per Rivals. Will the Gophers eventually be interested in offering scholarships to both players?

With the state financial crisis in Alaska, it’s still not known if the men’s college hockey teams from Anchorage and Fairbanks will be competing next season. Bill Robertson, men’s commissioner of the 10-member Twin Cities-based WCHA, is waiting word on both programs, while making contingency league schedules for 10, 9 and 8 teams.

The National Sports Center in Blaine generated more than $89 million in visitor economic impact from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, according to an annual report from NSC.

Comments Welcome

U Football Hopes to Land ‘Big Fish’

Posted on July 28, 2019July 28, 2019 by David Shama

The Golden Gophers have 22 verbal commitments for their 2020 football recruiting class, per 247Sports, but local authority Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners Minnesota is still shopping and he expects the final scholarships awarded could total 25 next year.

Burns, who owns and writes for Gopherillustrated.com, said there are a couple of prep players Minnesota is targeting including four-star recruit Kaden Johnson, the 6-4 outstanding linebacker from Minneapolis. “He’s the big fish out there right now,” Burns said. “He is waiting on something. The question is what is that something.

“He is not in a hurry to make a decision, even though Minnesota and Wisconsin are getting up there in spots (scholarships still available). And I know that the Gophers are going to wait until National Scholarship Day and hold a scholarship for him.”

National Signing Day for high school players is December 18, and another state player Burns said the Gophers are waiting on is, Danny Striggow, a three-star 6-4 defensive end from Long Lake who he thinks is trying to decide between Minnesota and Iowa. “He is going to be making a decision here, I believe, in August,” Burns said about Striggow who is a state champion wrestler.

Head coach P.J. Fleck and his assistants have two four-star commits among their 22 verbals. Daniel Jackson is a 5-foot-11 wide receiver from the Kansas City area, while running back Ky Thomas from Topeka, Kansas is also 5-11.

The Gophers are gambling more on Jackson than on the average recruit. “He was the most dynamic player in Kansas as a sophomore for his class, and in the first game of the year last year, he tore his ACL,” Burns said.

Jackson’s school, Bishop Miege, has won five consecutive state championships. His coach, Jon Holmes, believes in a Jackson comeback. “He knows what Daniel is rated and he’s told me as recently as a couple of weeks ago he still thinks he’s undervalued and underrated,” Burns said.

Several years ago the Gophers recruited a potentially great running back in Washburn’s Jeff Jones, who was named the state’s Mr. Football in 2013. Jones hardly played for Minnesota because of off-field issues but the 185-pound Thomas reminds Burns of Jones.

“I think he has got the best side to side (running) ability we’ve seen in a Gopher running back since Jeff Jones,” Burns said. “That shouldn’t be taken lightly considering Minnesota has had some really good ones including two on campus right now in Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks. He just knows how to make people miss in a phone booth.”

There are always three-star recruits who during their senior seasons can push for and achieve four-star rankings. Included in that group is Anoka linebacker Cody Lindenberg, a player Burns described as ideal in size at 6-2, 210 with exceptional athleticism and “technically sound” in his game. “All he’s gotta do is put that together on a senior tape and I think Minnesota is going to be getting a steal with him,” Burns said about the Gopher verbal commit.

Minnesota has three verbal commitments per 247Sports for the class of 2021 including a big name in 6-foot-4, four-star quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis from Illinois. Burns said Kaliakmanis turned down offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Syracuse, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. “That’s about as high profile as it gets,” Burns said.

Burns believes Kaliakmanis has the physical skills to attract recruiters and then said: ““But I think what (offensive coordinator) Kirk Ciarrocca values in him so much is the way he’s able to process a defense, especially for a young kid at his age. We’re talking about a 16-year-old kid right now that put up some pretty good numbers at Antioch High Scholl in Illinois. You watch the tape, he (Kaliakmanis) knows what he’s looking at when he is staring at a defense.”

Why Minnesota? Burns said Kaliakmanis liked what the Gophers are developing on the field but there is more. He is attracted by the total culture of the Fleck regime including the relationships with teammates and outside community service activities, Burns explained.

With two freshmen and two sophomore quarterbacks on scholarship already, and Kaliakmanis in waiting, the 2020 class doesn’t have a commitment from another quarterback. Instead Fleck is placing an emphasis on other positions including offensive and defensive linemen, with verbal commits from three on each side of the ball.

Two offensive linemen Burns rates highly are Aireontae Ersery from Kansas City and Casey Collier from Texas. “Two guys that have a lot of athleticism, have a lot of length, and they’re both legitimate 6-foot-5- plus,” he said.

Ali Saad is a defensive lineman Burns believes could make an early impact in his Gopher career, despite his youth. “He is only 16 right now, and that being said he looks like a 22-year old grown man,” Burns said of the 6-4, 250 pound prep from Dearborn, Michigan.

Defensive line recruit Gage Keys is the kind of athlete who looks impressive even in street clothes. “I just think that athletically he’s as good looking (athletically) as you’re going to get,” Burns said of the Ohio prep. “He was a basketball player for the first three years. He finally this offseason said, ‘I am going to fully dedicate myself to football,’ and now he is 250 pounds already and he looks very, very special.”

It appears Fleck and his staff are jumping in early on the trend to look for international players. Sophomore offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, 6-8, 400 pounds, is from Australia by way of IMG Academy in Florida and showed so much potential last season he could be a star soon. The 2020 class has verbal commitments from cornerback Richard Agyekum of the Netherlands and defensive lineman Melle Kreuder of Germany.

Burns expects the number of international players recruited in the Big Ten and elsewhere in college football to continue increasing. “It’s a different, evolving world where last year I think maybe there were one or two Big Ten kids that came from international (places),” he said. “Well, now it’s going to be five, six or seven. Just kind of the way things are evolving across college football.”

The 6-foot-3 Kreuder is 21 years old, with a maturity that within a few years will distinguish him from his teammates and Big Ten peers. “…I would much rather have a 25-year-old defensive end…going against Iowa than I would a 17 year old,” Burns said.

The 2020 recruiting class is ranked No. 27 in the nation by 247Sports. Part of the reason for the high ranking is Minnesota has more players verbally committed than a lot programs, and so the Gophers final rank after National Signing Day is likely to be in the 30’s where Fleck’s two previous classes landed.

What does Burns think of the 2020 recruiting class? “I think it’s pretty good for a team that hasn’t really showed that they can win consistently yet. Where year one it was a struggle with P.J. trying to implement his system, five wins. Last year great September, terrible October, (and) really good late October, November, December.

“Now if Minnesota can show consistently on the field—and show that they can win seven, eight, nine games this year—yes, this is going to help with their 2020 class, but what it is really going to help is that 2021 class. …”

In Fleck’s first season of 2017, Minnesota was 2-7 in the Big Ten and 5-7 overall. Last year the records changed to 3-6 and 7-6, including three impressive wins in the last four games.

Comments Welcome