Recruiting – Page 57 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Guard Help Priority for U, Pitino

Posted on April 1, 2018April 1, 2018 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column.

A Gopher athletic department source said he didn’t expect to see Richard Pitino at the Final Four in San Antonio this weekend because the Gopher coach is focused on recruiting. College basketball coaches typically attend the games but Deputy AD John Cunningham said Pitino is working on filling two scholarship openings.

Pitino is all but certain to target at least one, and perhaps two backcourt players. Multiple reports have Minnesota pursuing Pitt transfer and point guard Marcus Carr who averaged 10 points and four assists last season as a freshman.

Carr, though, wouldn’t be eligible to play until a year from this fall. The Gophers need help now with their backcourt which loses senior point guard Nate Mason and lacks depth. Ryan James, the basketball recruiting authority for GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners Carr is a talented player and Minnesota could be willing to take him even though he has to sit out a year.

James predicted Pitino’s priority is finding a “ball handler” for next season, while using the second scholarship on the best player the Gophers can land regardless of position. The ball handler, he said, could be a point guard, or combo guard.

Many transfers are available and the market size may work in Minnesota’s favor in finding players who can help next season. James believes it could be the end of April or beyond before the Gophers announce the names of one or two commits. “There is no need to rush,” he said.

This year’s Final Four is in San Antonio but next year comes to Minneapolis for the fourth time and first ever at U.S. Bank Stadium. Economic impact on the local economy for the April 6-8, 2019 event could be between $100 million and $300 million. The 2017 impact on host city Phoenix was over $320 million, according to multiple online reports including Azcentral.com.

Stadium preparations in advance of the Final Four here will eliminate any amateur baseball games at the facility next winter, including more than 10 nonconference Gophers games, according to coach John Anderson. He said he will be able to find eight away games against warmer weather schools but won’t be able to replace all the games originally scheduled at U.S. Bank Stadium before being told the facility isn’t available for baseball. The Gophers won’t play their targeted 2019 total of 56 nonconference and Big Ten games.

Minnesota is scheduled to play its first home outdoor series this season at Siebert Field April 6-8 against Penn State. Last week snow was being removed from the bullpen and artificial surface in the outfield. In Lincoln, Nebraska last Sunday the Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers in temps below freezing. Anderson compared gripping a baseball in cold weather to the feel of a “cue stick” but freshmen pitchers Patrick Fredrickson and Max Meyer combined to throw a 2-0 shutout.

A Big Ten rule is that games are to be played in temperatures of 29 degrees or higher. There is urgency to battle through the elements because the conference doesn’t allow for makeup games that are lost because of weather. With forecasted temps nearing freezing next weekend, the Gophers will try to play the games. “We don’t have any other options,” Anderson said.

It’s been a painful start to the MLB season for former Twins pitchers Pat Neshek and Anthony Swarzak. Neshek, perhaps the Phillies best relief pitcher, recently went on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. Swarzak, now with the Mets, suffered an oblique injury yesterday.

The Twins Spring Ballpark Pass costing $49 for 13 games in April doesn’t include the sold out home opener Thursday. The forecasted high that day is for mid-30’s.

The Atlanta Braves are another MLB team offering discounts with some tickets available for $5 this weekend at SunTrust Park.

It might be a near consensus view among fans and insiders that Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle made the best of possible hires, with Bob Motzko as his new head hockey coach. “I think he’ll be a great coach,” said former captain Casey Hankinson. “…I think he’s got a lot of energy. I like the way he coaches.”

Motzko, who turned 57 last month, probably wouldn’t have been pursued by Coyle if he were a few years older. Not likely either that Coyle would have targeted Motzko if he were the head coach at a Big Ten school. Almost never does a Big Ten program go after the head coach at another conference school in the high profile sports of basketball, football and hockey.

Motzko built St. Cloud State into a hockey power and in 13 seasons had the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament eight times. As a student of hockey he acknowledges using the ideas of others. “That’s what a good coach is, he’s a thief,” Motzko said.

At the St. Thomas Pro Day the NFL Vikings and Bears showed interest in Tommies juniors Jacques Perra and Blake Weber, and senior Matt Christenson. Quarterback Perra and linebacker Weber (both former Gophers) will play one more season for the Tommies, while Christenson has used up his eligibility.

Tommies coach Glenn Caruso is bringing back past teams to celebrate his 10 years with the program (110-17 record, six MIAC titles, eight NCAA playoffs). Following the spring scrimmage at Palmer Field May 12, there will be a celebration at the Anderson Student Center.

Caruso texted that last semester 51 of his players made the Dean’s List for their outstanding academic work.

The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association’s Clinic starts Thursday at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park, and pre-registration savings end April 2. Prior to April 3 the costs per individual and staffs are $95 and $500 respectively; afterwards $105 and $550. Featured speakers during the three-day clinic will include Matt Birk, P.J. Fleck, Glen Mason, Bob Nielson, and Mike Prieffer. More at Mnfootballcoaches.com.

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Wolves Owner Fine with Wiggins

Posted on March 18, 2018March 18, 2018 by David Shama

After reading news media reports this month about Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves fans might be wondering about both the past and future of the team’s high-potential 23-year-old guard-forward.

Multiple websites last week reported Wiggins is unhappy about being a “third option” on the team after forward Jimmy Butler and center Karl-Anthony Towns. Until Butler was injured and sidelined in February, Wiggins was less a part of the offense than in the past when Butler was playing in Chicago for the Bulls. Speculation Wiggins might ask for a trade next summer is part of the “third option” story.

Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor spoke to Sports Headliners Friday about Wiggins. “He said he didn’t say it, and that’s the end of it for me,” Taylor said.

1500 ESPN reported on the “third option” story, and also earlier this month said there was reason to believe Taylor wouldn’t allow Wiggins to be included in the 2017 trade that sent Butler to the Wolves for Minnesota’s first round draft choice and guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. Station talk show hosts were critical of the possibility the owner overruled his basketball authorities in not allowing Wiggins to be included in trade discussions.

Taylor said he didn’t “recall” Wiggins’ name came up in conversations with Chicago. “If they asked for Wiggins, it probably never even got to me,” Taylor said.

Taylor has owned the Wolves since 1995 and watched a lot of basketball. He has his opinions about players. Would he nix a trade, or other potential personnel move the front office is promoting?

“Yeah, and I have in the past,” Taylor said. “…Sometimes coaches and GMs (general managers) fall in love with a guy and we really don’t need that guy.” (As an example, Taylor said there have been instances where he differed in acquiring a player because the skill set didn’t match the roster’s future needs.)

Wiggins is in his fourth season with the Wolves. A former overall No. 1 NBA draft pick, he is often targeted for criticism by media and fans who question the consistency of his effort during games, but not his talent. “I want him to play as hard as he can.” Taylor said. “Do I think that he can play better? I certainly do. He’s got a lot of potential. My expectation is he should do that (play hard) during the whole game.”

Taylor, though, didn’t single out Wiggins when first asked about effort, and he spoke about how coach Tom Thibodeau talks about the need for better work ethic by all his players throughout games. “It appears sometimes that they rest a little bit, they’re tired or something,” Taylor said. “If you’re going to be an elite player, there’s very little time to do that during the game. It’s kind of between games that you’re going to do that (rest).”

There’s opinion throughout the Wolves organization and elsewhere in the NBA that Wiggins’ basketball skills are so exceptional it’s difficult to define his limits. He is an extraordinary athlete and capable of becoming an all-star offensively and defensively.

Wiggins is averaging 17.9 points per game, third best on the team. He is often guarded closely and Taylor believes that creates the possibility of more offensive efficiency, emphasizing that his young star should drive more to the hoop. “I’d rather see him go to the basket and kind of open up that space,” Taylor said.

The Timberwolves made a mega commitment to Wiggins last offseason with a contract extension reported as five-years, $148 million.

Worth Noting

Butler had meniscus surgery on his right knee February 25. He was the team’s best all-around player, and fourth quarter closer, before injured. There are 12 games remaining on the Wolves’ regular season schedule and the team is trying to make the payoffs for the first time since 2004. When will Butler return?

“I don’t think I have anyone on the medical staff who has given me a date,” Taylor said.

Nemanja Bjelica, Butler’s replacement, has at times been impressive including 13 fourth quarter points in last week’s win against the Wizards. Bjelica becomes a restricted free agent in the offseason. Taylor is an admirer of the Serbian, but cautions, “We only have so much money, and we know we have Karl coming up,” he said.

Center Karl-Anthony Towns becomes a restricted free agent during the 2019 offseason. A potential top five player in the NBA, Towns will command a mega contract.

That was former Timberwolves assistant coach Eric Musselman, now head coach of Nevada, on live TV using the f-word in the locker room in celebrating his team’s opening NCAA Tournament win over Texas Friday afternoon.

Isaiah Washington (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

It seems likely Gophers coach Richard Pitino will use his one remaining scholarship on a point guard. Theoretically that person could be a graduate transfer, junior college or high school player. Heading into next season Isaiah Washington is the replacement for Nate Mason at point guard, but Washington was unsteady as a freshman. Even if Washington improves, the Gophers need depth at the position.

It’s timely to follow Courtney Ramey, the Scout.com five-star prep point guard from Missouri who decommitted from Louisville earlier this winter. He had been recruited by Pitino’s father, former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, and could be interested in the Gophers.

Gopher women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings can achieve the biggest win in her four years at Minnesota tonight if the Gophers can upset Oregon in their second round NCAA Tournament game on the Ducks’ home floor. Minnesota is seeded No. 10 in the Spokane Region, Oregon No. 2. The Gophers have never won a second NCAA Tournament game under Stollings.

Stollings once told Sports Headliners she had simple tastes in celebrating a Gopher win: A trip to Taco Bell and a Mountain Dew.

Good news for the Shake Shack location at Mall of America? New Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins reportedly had a postgame win ritual of stopping at a Shake Shack in the Washington D.C. area, according to Vikings.com.

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“Crown Jewels” among U Walk-ons

Posted on January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 by David Shama

A Wednesday notes column with the focus on football:

Don’t expect the Golden Gophers to add any scholarship football players to their recruiting class of 2018 when the second of two National Signing Dates occurs February 7. Coach P.J. Fleck has no remaining scholarships but next week expect Minnesota to announce the names of “seven to nine” preferred walk-ons, according to Ryan Burns, the college football recruiting authority and publisher of GopherIllustrated.com.

Burns told Sports Headliners the “crown jewels” of that group will be Zack Annexstad and Max Janes. Annexstad, a Mankato, Minnesota native, was outstanding last fall as a pro-style quarterback at IMG Academy in Florida. Burns said Janes, a tight end and linebacker from Mounds View, turned down four Division I offers to become a Gopher. While preferred walk-ons don’t receive scholarships, they put themselves in position to earn assistance by future performances.

It was thought the state’s Mr. Football as chosen by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association in December might agree to a walk-on offer from Fleck but Burns believes Eden Prairie linebacker Antonio Montero is accepting a scholarship to either Rice or San Diego State. Montero recently visited both schools.

Eden Prairie quarterback Cole Kramer, who will be a senior next fall and helped lead the Eagles to the 2017 6A state title, has verbally committed to Minnesota as a scholarship player for the class of 2019. Fleck has stressed the importance of having legacy players in his program, and Kramer is the grandson of former Gopher football MVP Tom Moe who also became athletic director at Minnesota.

Owatonna running back Jason Williamson has also verbally committed to Minnesota’s class of 2019. Burns said Iowa had interest in Williamson and Michigan State was following Kramer.

Fleck and his staff will headline the annual MFCA Clinic April 5-7 at the DoubleTree Park Place in St. Louis Park. South Dakota coach Bob Nielsen will be among the speakers.

Former Gopher football captain Jim Carter said his friend Mike Sherels, the ex-University of Minnesota assistant coach under Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys, has received an offer to join the Wake Forest staff as linebackers coach, and that Wisconsin also has interest in Sherels. Jay Sawvel, who worked with Sherels at Minnesota, is the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest. Popular with players and others associated with the Gophers, Sherels was a successful coach and recruiter who worked the states of Minnesota and Florida during his time at Minnesota.

Word is each player on the two Super Bowl teams can acquire about 15 tickets for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium but only two are free. The other tickets must be purchased at face value, with a guesstimate the cost is over $2,000 per ticket.

Winning players in the game receive $112,000 each, losers $56,000.

A downtown parking spot near U.S. Bank Stadium that cost $40 during the Vikings season will go for $120 on Sunday.

Dave Mona believes the Super Bowl will likely return to Minneapolis after this year’s game but it will be at least 20 years. Northern sites for the big game are rare and that works against a U.S. Bank Stadium encore.

Mona, who helped establish a top public relations agency and for decades has talked sports on WCCO Radio, was involved with efforts for the 1992 Super Bowl at the Metrodome. Next Sunday he will be the press box announcer for the game between the Eagles and Patriots. Mona has the same assignment for Vikings games.

Vikings public address announcer Alan Roach, who has also worked previous Super Bowls, will be the P.A. man for the game Sunday. Roach grew up as Kelly Burnham and lived in Slayton and Brainerd Minnesota.

The 1992 Super Bowl was the first time the NFL offered the now popular fan experience headlined this year as “Get Inside the Game.” The interactive attraction is at the Minneapolis Convention Center through Saturday as part of Super Bowl activities, charging $35 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under. Fans can experience NFL games via virtual reality technology, run a 40-yard dash against NFL players on a giant LED screen, obtain autographs from NFL players and learn football skills at clinics.

Taste of the NFL, another high profile annual Super Bowl event, also originated here in 1992. Often referred to as the “party with a purpose,” the event has raised millions of dollars to fight hunger in the United States. Minneapolis restaurateur and philanthropist Wayne Kostroski founded the event and still leads it.

Eric Curry, the well-known college basketball referee from Minneapolis, has left his executive position at Sun Country Airlines. He officiated last night’s Wisconsin-Nebraska game in Madison.

The Gophers’ Hugh McCutcheon, a former Big Ten and American Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, speaks to the CORES lunch group March 8 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Condolences to the family and friends of Twin Cities native Les Layton who died earlier this month. His career included newspaper, public relations and insurance work. Newspaper employers included the Pioneer Press and Sun publications.

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