Recruiting – Page 6 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Looks Like a Star to be Born with Golden Gophers Basketball

Posted on September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 by David Shama

Enjoy a Friday notes column on various sports that even includes quotes from former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

The Golden Gophers men’s basketball team started official practices this week and insiders are confident the program has a special player in freshman point guard Isaac Asuma from Cherry, Minnesota.

If coach Ben Johnson didn’t have veteran guards, it’s likely Asuma would be in the starting lineup beginning with the first game on November 6 against Oral Roberts at Williams Arena. A four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and 247Sports, he was considered a top 100 player in the national high school class of 2024.

At 6-3 and about 200 pounds, Asuma has a Big Ten ready body with length and strength. He is also an unselfish playmaker with all-around physical and basketball skills that have caught the attention of observers since he arrived on the Minnesota campus earlier this year.

Isaac Asuma photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

Asuma’s willingness to learn, along with his friendly and outgoing personality, is the stuff of leadership. He has a poise and charisma often not seen in teenagers just out of high school.

Put it all together and it’s apparent why the attractive Asuma is referenced as a “stud.”

The team’s established star is senior Dawson Garcia who averaged 17.6 points per game. He is the leading Big Ten Conference scorer returning from last season. The 6-11 forward from Prior Lake High School was second team All-Big Ten last winter.

A scenario Johnson, his staff and Gophers fans want to see is for Asuma to stick around for a couple of years at Minnesota and play with Cretin-Derham Hall senior Tommy Ahneman. The 6-foot-10 center’s improvement has attracted the attention of major college programs including Notre Dame where he is scheduled to visit this coming weekend. Last season’s North Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year is a big target for the Gophers.

Asuma and Garcia are two of seven native Minnesotans on the Gopher roster. Women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit has 12 natives of the state.

The death last month of former Gopher assistant basketball coach Jimmy Williams reminded Minnesota sports fan Bob Klas of a Williams one liner when he was Minnesota’s interim head coach in 1986. Williams quipped: “I’m one of just two people who coaches in an arena that’s named after him.” (The other facility being the Dean E. Smith Center at North Carolina).

Eric Curry, the well-known Minneapolis area college basketball referee, plans to work 65-70 games this coming season with assignments in the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Missouri Valley and West Coast Conferences.

In the last 12 months news has surfaced about replacing Target Center and also costly renovations to improve Xcel Energy Center. The Timberwolves, if they emerge from an ownership dispute being led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriquez, apparently have interest in building a new facility in the Farmers Market area in downtown Minneapolis.

Public financing for a new Wolves arena will be difficult to secure including from a Minneapolis city council that seems most interested in grassroots and common folk agendas. “…If Minneapolis doesn’t want it, I would predict there could be more than one or more other cities that would like to bid for it, or try to get involved with the new Timberwolves stadium,” former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty told Sports Headliners. “So they’re going to have competition, I would think, if they are interested.”

Pawlenty was supportive of Minnesota’s professional sports facilities concerns as governor. He is a sports fan and values the quality of life component sports contributes to the lives of Minnesotans.

Asked about the idea of building a new multipurpose arena in Bloomington near the Mall of America for both the Wild and Wolves, Pawlenty defended the importance of Xcel and Target Center to their cities.

“With the exception of the Xcel Center, there’s not a lot of positive things happening in downtown St. Paul. In fact, a lot of negative things happening. If the Wild were to leave and not exist, I think that would present an existential threat to further threat(en) downtown St. Paul.

“So I gotta believe the St. Paul city and St. Paul legislative representatives would fight very hard to keep the Xcel Center or its future version in St. Paul. And I think the same would be true for Minneapolis.”

If the amazing Lynx make the WNBA Finals, they will have an October 18 Target Center conflict with the Timberwolves preseason game scheduled with the Nuggets that evening. The Wolves game would shift to October 17, per a local insider.

The Vikings annual game in Green Bay often prompts memories of former Pioneer Press sportswriter Don Riley who for decades wrote a pot-stirring column called “The Eye Opener.” Riley, who died in 2015 at age 92, loved to provoke the Packers and their fans.

“I never mention them as Green Bay. I just said the capital B Bushers,” Riley told Sports Headliners in 2011. He was then long retired after leaving the newspaper in 1987, with a “fan club” that included Packers fans in western Wisconsin who he insulted at banquets by suggesting they be searched for stolen silverware before leaving the facility.

Riley chose the term “Bushers” because it was “derogatory” without picking on one individual. However, he did take an occasional shot at someone including legendary coach Vince Lombardi whose wife wanted him fired from the St. Paul newspaper. “Vince told her to lay off because he’s selling tickets for us,” Riley said.

Riley built much of his controversial column’s success on bashing the Packers and Green Bay. He wrote that Green Bay had the “world’s largest toilet paper factories” and once boasted that if the Vikings didn’t beat the Pack he would push a peanut with his nose from Appleton to Green Bay. The Vikings lost, Riley never pushed the peanut, and the Green Bay newspaper accused him of having no guts.

No Minnesota sports figure is under more fire than Twins manager Rocco Baldelli who has had a front row look at his team’s depressing late season collapse. From critical emails to chants at Target Field calling for his ouster, he is a likely scapegoat for a team that in August looked like a safe bet to make the playoffs and now is a long shot.

The opinion here is it’s 65-35 Baldelli returns for the 2025 season. His staff? Perhaps 80 percent probability there will be changes.

The Lindenwood football program went Division I in 2022, one year after St. Thomas did so. Lindenwood, located in St. Charles, Missouri, defeated the Tommies 64-0 at home on September 21. The Lions come to Minneapolis to play the Gophers on September 18, 2027.

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Koi Perich Adds Intrigue to Minnesota-Iowa Rivalry Game

Posted on September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 by David Shama

The unexpected comes to mind this week as Minnesota and Iowa prepare for their 118^th football game. Why? Because both teams and their fans had no idea last year’s game in Iowa City would end with such drama.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Iowa’s Cooper DeJean fielded a punt and ran 54 yards for an apparent touchdown to give his No. 24 ranked team a 16-12 lead. However, the go-ahead score was negated after officials determined that before fielding the football, DeJean signaled an illegal fair catch.

Emotions always run high in rivalry games but the replay ruling that wiped the touchdown off the scoreboard took things to a higher level. Iowa fans reportedly threw bottles, cans, and food onto the field. The Minnesota bench was targeted with debris, forcing the players to move out of their sideline area.

The Golden Gophers hung on to their 12-10 lead, winning for the first time in Iowa City since 2000 and taking home the famous rivalry trophy, Floyd of Rosedale. Minnesota’s other four wins this century all came in Minneapolis where Saturday’s game will be played.

The 2023 game was a bitter defeat for the Hawkeyes, including for DeJean who now is in the NFL playing for the Eagles. DeJean is only 21 years old, but he will be remembered as a legendary player for Iowa. He has a charming backstory with origins in Odebolt, Iowa, a small town with less than 1,000 people.

As a high school player, the scholarship offers were modest coming from the likes of North and South Dakota schools. But like a movie character DeJean had a passion for the home-state Hawkeyes and, boy, did he make their fans happy soon after he accepted an Iowa scholarship. It was the only Power Five offer he received.

A superb cornerback and punt returner, he played three seasons at Iowa and the results were the kind of stuff that gets your uniform number retired and name on a short list of program legends. In 2022 he set a school single season record by returning three pass interceptions for touchdowns. He was a unanimous cornerback All-American last season on a who’s who of All-American teams. He was also named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and Return Specialist of the Year after dazzling on punt returns including a 70-yard TD against Michigan State—and the score that wasn’t against the Gophers.

On Saturday, the Gophers will introduce Iowa to—just maybe—their own version of Cooper DeJean. Minnesota’s nominee, of course, is prized freshman recruit Koi Perich, a substitute safety for now but already the team’s punt returner.

Perich has that small town background, too, coming from Esko, Minnesota, with a population of about 2,000. Unlike DeJean coming out of high school, the college football world coveted Perich including mighty Ohio State who he turned down at the last minute.

After signing with the Gophers in December, Perich showed what he could do in a high school all-star game in San Antonio. Playing in the All-American Bowl against some of the better prep talent in the country last January, Perich was named MVP. He had an interception, broke up two passes, made a tackle for a loss, and blocked and recovered a punt.

As a high school senior last fall Perich played defense, offense and special teams while leading Esko to a 10-1 record. He accounted for 27 touchdowns, including five on defense, along with three scores on punt returns and one on a kickoff return.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

In Perich’s brief career with the Gophers, he’s played special teams and also spot minutes as a defensive back and has an interception. But it’s been as punt returner that he has mostly caused a stir. Replacing regular returner Quentin Redding who is injured and out for the year, Perich already has a 28-yard return. He has returned three punts for an average of 16.67 yards (in 2023 DeJean averaged 11.5 for the season). .

The moxie and athleticism are so evident when Perich is on the field that his presence makes observers watch in anticipation of what he will do. He has inspired confidence in Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck who is quick to point out that Perich, unlike some freshmen who enrolled in January, has only been in the program since June.

Perich has had some catching up to do with all there is to learn in college football, but Fleck said the freshman can handle the process by the “shovels.” Talented, intelligent and confident, Perich has inspired trust in Fleck—something a freshman doesn’t easily earn.

“He’s a heck of a football player,” said Fleck who talks about the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Perich as a player who prompts anticipation that something good is going to happen when he is on the field.

Perhaps like a punt return or interception to beat the hated Hawkeyes on Saturday, or next year, or the year after?

Minnesota, with a 2-1 record, is about a 2.5-point underdog to Iowa, also 2-1. For the Gophers to win they likely will need sophomore running back Darius Taylor’s big play ability.

Taylor, who is one of Minnesota’s top Name, Image and Likeness earners, missed the North Carolina opener because of a hamstring issue. The Gophers probably win that game, a 19-17 loss, if Taylor had played.

Taylor, who averaged 133.2 yards rushing in 2023 (third best in program history), had a hamstring injury that caused him to miss seven games last season. Darrell Thompson, the record setting former Gopher running back and now color analyst on the Gopher Radio Network, acknowledged how hamstring injuries can be re-occurring.

Thompson said hamstring prevention and maintenance are challenging because “you gotta really take care of it and rehab it and never forget about it.” He added: “…It’s a big delicate muscle, especially when you’re a running back, receiver, defensive back, where you gotta…(track) the problem like all the time.”

Thompson told Sports Headliners fingers are crossed regarding Taylor. “Absolutely. We need him. He’s a very integral part of the offense. He’s the straw that stirs the drink, so we need him to be in one piece.”

Thompson believes Taylor’s production can go to a new level this fall for a couple of reasons. His workload will be shared with other backs, mostly Oklahoma transfer Marcus Major. Odds are that a “pitch count” can reduce his vulnerability to injury.

Another positive is it looks like Taylor will be targeted more as a pass receiver. In two games he already has nine receptions after a total of 11 in six games last year.

Fleck, of course, knows what he’s got in Taylor who had a 80-yard touchdown run last Saturday in Minnesota’s win over Nevada. “I think he’s one of the best players on this football team, and maybe in the country. …He’s really important to our team, not only on the field, but off the field. The type of person he is, the leader he is. How he’s developing as a man.

“There’s so many things that I love about Darius, but yeah, we missed him (against North Carolina). I mean you can’t sit there and say you don’t miss your best players when they’re not in there. …”

Thompson, BTW, was expected on Monday to start his annual routine of eating bacon each day leading up to the Iowa game. His plan is to “eat as much bacon as possible” during the week, although he confessed there are limits. There was a year when he had nine pieces in one day and he didn’t feel so “great” after gobbling all that down. The news, he said, didn’t go over well with his cardiologist.

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Yes, P.J. Fleck Really is P.J. Fleck

Posted on August 25, 2024August 26, 2024 by David Shama

P.J. Fleck begins his eighth season as head coach of the University of Minnesota football team this week. Everyone who has followed his career at the U will agree he’s unique, but more importantly he has been accepted by more Minnesotans as authentic.

Fleck’s personality and make up, with his enthusiasm, determination, vision and planning, make him stand out even among his peers across the Big Ten and nation. Seemingly never at a loss for words to advocate for his program and players, he’s filled with energy, passion, curiosity and a commitment to teach, coach and help others inside and outside the U. He is also the first to admit his over-the-top style and demand for commitment to his culture isn’t for everyone.

Interestingly, when Fleck was a preschooler, his mother was so concerned about her son’s exuberance she took him to a medical authority to be checked out. The verdict: nothing wrong with the kid who was bouncing off the walls at home—just his nature.

Fleck, 43, has preached his ‘Row the Boat” philosophy from day one at Minnesota. The mantra actually dates back to his prior years at Western Michigan where he coached the Broncos to their first bowl win in program history and in his last season went 13-1, with a final national ranking in the top 20.

“Row the Boat” means no matter how difficult the circumstances, you put oars in the water and keep rowing. The mantra and Fleck’s perspective about never giving up tie back to the death of his son Colt in 2011 who passed away soon after birth from a heart condition. The tragedy inspired the then youngest head coach in FBS to steam ahead in life regardless of the obstacles.

When Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle sought out a new head coach in January of 2017, he knew he was getting someone that didn’t fit the stereotypical coach in personality and make up. “P.J. is a proven winner and a strong leader,” Coyle said back then. “He’s built a unique, positive culture that gets the best out of his students on the field and in the classroom. His infectious energy and passion make him a terrific coach and dynamic recruiter. I am excited he will be leading the Gophers for years to come.”

Fleck has brought sustainability to the program which is something that characterizes successful programs across the country. His best team in 2019 was 11-2 and finished ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll. The COVID year of 2020 was an outlier for many programs including Minnesota, but since then Fleck’s teams have been 9-4 twice and 6-7 last year.

Brent Salem, a former college coach and son of ex-Minnesota head coach Joe Salem, is impressed with what Fleck has done at a job he considers among the more difficult places to win in the Big Ten. “He is doing it the right way, bringing in kids, recruits, that want to buy in and be part of the program.”

Fleck takes a 360-degrees view on his life and view of his job leading the program. Academically, athletically, socially, spiritually. That’s a core message to his players who have excelled in the classroom and been active in various community causes. “Our program is about two things,” Fleck has said. “Serving and giving.”

Fleck’s dynamo personality, endless energy and constant preaching about culture caused a lot of people to question whether he is genuine. More and more have come to find out who he is, including friends like Cal Simmons, a Minneapolis area insurance executive. The two play golf together at Interlachen Country Club. (BTW, Fleck likes to joke he’s “the perfect member” who pays his dues but seldom plays golf because of his demanding schedule.)

What was Simmons’ initial take about the Gopher coach? “I think like everybody’s first impression it was questioning how much of this is just an act and how much is real? I quickly came to realize that everything he says is what he believes,” Simmons said.

“He walks the talk. He’s committed to his kids. He’s committed to sending young men out into the world so that they can be successful.”

Fleck is a master of not only the big picture but also the details. His players are even schooled in how to properly shake hands. “…You know a lot of these kids have come from kind of tough backgrounds and they leave after four years ready to contribute to the world and it’s because of P.J. Fleck,” Simmons said.

How quickly did Fleck validate to Simmons who he really is? “I think immediately when I started to be around him. He’s unchanged. He’s the same way all the time. He is who he is.

“I’ll play golf with him, and we’ll talk about things. We’ll talk about football maybe a little bit, not a lot. But then I’ll hear a press conference…and he says the same thing to the press that he says to me the day before when we’re playing golf. He doesn’t tell me one thing and mask it over with a different story to the press.”

What is Simmons’ reaction to Fleck’s non-stop energy? “He’s different. His engine runs at a very high level. He’s just wound kind of tight. …I used to play a lot of golf with (former U coach) Lou Holtz. In some ways, the overall personality is somewhat the same. But you know, we’re all different and he is who he is.”

Salem, who lives and works in the metro area and is a Gopher fan, offers this perspective on Fleck’s personality and make up: “The thing I always said was if the recruits like him and the kids (his players) do…that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what we think.”

Simmons, a member at Interlachen for 46 years, might receive a call from Fleck at 8.m. asking about playing golf at 10 a.m. Simmons knows he might be second choice after Fleck’s wife Heather, but he doesn’t mind.

Fleck is about a 10 handicap, Simmons a 7. They play competitively against one another, and the better score might be determined with the final putt.

Simmons has seen the coach’s skill and competitiveness on the golf course even if changes in college football have taken away his time on the links. “P.J.’s life changed with NIL and the portal. He used to have much of the second half of May and the month of June off. He would start work again about July 1. With the portal, he doesn’t have any time off. The portal just completely shot his month of June this year. …”

The time demands that come with being a head coach in college football are over the top. Unless you’re an insider or at least on the fringe of the job, you can’t have much grasp of what Fleck’s life is like. The schedule is virtually non-stop with his administrative duties, coaching, recruiting and travelling, and engaging with players, parents, the public and media.

But there are non-negotiables with his time, including taking care of his well-being. It’s a must-do to remain physically fit and Fleck’s Thursdays include meeting with a confidant to discuss what’s on his mind. There is also a weekly date night with Heather.

When Fleck arrived here in January of 2017, he talked about winning national championships at the school that claims seven with the last coming in 1960. He also spoke early on about expanding the 50,000 seat U stadium to 80,000. Neither of those things have come close to happening and perhaps those lofty goals can be attributed to an exuberant 36-year-old coach but there’s nothing wrong with setting the bar high at a place where it’s been challenging to win for a long time.

Asked about the changing landscape of college football and the ceiling for the Gophers program last week, Fleck didn’t talk about winning championships but instead voiced optimism about the expanded College Football Playoffs that now will have a 12 team field.

“I think as you go through this with 12 teams, that leaves the window open for a lot of teams to get in there from different conferences. I think that’s exciting for the fans. I think that’s exciting for college football and the growth of the sport…I think I’ve said that publicly at Big Ten Media Days that I think it’s really healthy especially for Minnesota.”

Dave Mona is another friend of Fleck’s, and he sees a change in the coach. “I think he’s mellowed,” Mona said. “I think he’s thoughtful about what he says.”

The Fleck naysayers have been predicting for years that the coach intends to move on for another job. But Fleck frequently talks about how much he and Heather enjoy being part of this community. Fleck has established roots here including his close relationship with Coyle.

Part of Fleck’s commitment here includes the building of a new home. The house was supposed to be finished earlier this summer, but the move in was happening last week.

“I mean, we’re still waiting to move into our house,” Fleck said last Monday. “Call me frustrated. I mean Heather’s right there moving right now. We’re moving in today.

“This was (going to be) June 1, July 1, August 1 and now it’s August 19th. I told her a year ago I’d help (with the move). I can’t help (when) it’s August 19^th and our driveway is just being poured today.

“How do you move in (when) the movers show up the same time the concrete guys show up?

“So, pardon the expectation not meeting reality. Call me crazy.

“(But) they don’t have to worry about me, the Italian-Irish woman is at home. She’s got a huge heart. She got every single person lunch today.”

That sounds like Minnesota nice. Authentic.

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