Recruiting – Page 74 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Nanne Raves about Wild GM Fletcher

Posted on March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 by David Shama

When Chuck Fletcher was an assistant general manager of the Penguins six years ago his resume had the approval of Lou Nanne. Now Nanne believes there isn’t a better GM in the NHL than the Wild’s front office boss.

Nanne played for the NHL’s North Stars, later coached them and also led the franchise as general manager and president. He remains a passionate and knowledgeable observer of the Wild and NHL.

Fletcher, the Wild’s general manager since May of 2009, earned the attention of the Minnesota sports public three years ago when he and owner Craig Leipold brought high profile free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter here by signing them to $98 million contracts. Last spring Fletcher’s roster and Mike Yeo’s coaching had the Wild making an improbable playoff run that ended in the second round against the Blackhawks.

This winter Fletcher has negotiated trades that have included bringing goalie Devan Dubnyk and forward Chris Stewart to Minnesota. Dubnyk has made 24 straight starts, a franchise record, and has won 18 games.

Stewart, 6-2, 230 pounds, was acquired just last week and adds size and toughness to a roster that has been lacking those qualities. He complements the team’s speed and depth. The Wild is unbeaten in three games since his arrival from the Sabres.

Nanne said the addition of Stewart rounds out the roster while the trade for Dubnyk is in a class of its own among trades made this year by NHL clubs. “Far and away,” Nanne told Sports Headliners. “There’s nothing like it.”

Before Dubnyk joined the Wild the team was nine points out of a playoff spot. Now the Wild are No. 1 in the Western Conference Wildcard standings.

Nanne raves about Fletcher’s work as GM. “He’s been terrific. I expected him to do a real good job but he’s done a sensational job. He’s definitely one of the best general managers in the National Hockey League.”

Nanne praised Fletcher’s hockey support staff. “I think the Wild have been very fortunate with the front office staff that they’ve hired. They’ve identified…real quality people. They’ve hired them. They’ve let them do their jobs. I think the Wild operation is sensational.”

Fletcher’s staff is impressive but sometimes decisions have to be made by one person. “…He’s not afraid to make decisions,” Nanne said. “That’s very important for a general manager. You have to make crucial decisions at critical times, and some people are not good at it, and he’s terrific at it.”

Decisions sometimes go against the majority opinion. A franchise’s inner circle, media and fans may see things differently than the GM. “…He’s steadfast,” Nanne said of Fletcher. “He knows what’s going on and he’s got the confidence to go forward when many people are pushing in another direction.”

The Wild are on a 16-3-1 streak, including five wins in their last six games. Despite the club’s recent success, Nanne isn’t changing his prediction from awhile ago about the team’s 2015 postseason chances. “If they’re healthy at the time the playoffs begin, if they’ve got their whole team—like I said at the beginning of the year—the team is capable of winning the (Stanley) Cup or missing the playoffs. That’s how tough it is in that conference.”

Worth Noting

The telecast of last Tuesday night’s Wild-Senators game from Xcel Energy Center was the highest-rated regular season Wild game ever on Fox Sports North. The game had a 7.12 household rating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market area, according to Nielsen Media Research and was the No. 1 program in the area among all male demographics.

The Wild defeated the Senators in a shootout game, 3-2. Also adding interest to the telecast was the addition of Jordan Leopold and Chris Stewart through trades the previous day. The 7.12 rating broke the previous 6.13 record the Wild set on February 24 against the Oilers. February’s 4.63 average was the highest-rated month ever for the Wild on Fox Sports North.

In the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, 17,280 households represent one rating point, indicating more than 123,000 households tuned in for Tuesday evening’s game.

On Senior Day yesterday the Gophers lost their fifth game in the last six when Penn State won 79-76 on D.J. Newbill’s last second three point shot. Minnesota is 17-14 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten heading into the conference tournament on Wednesday when the Gophers, the No. 11 seed, play Rutgers, the No. 14 seed, starting at 6 p.m. in Chicago.

Gophers senior center Elliott Eliason, who started 35 games last season, has been given minimal playing time as of late with coach Richard Pitino using more minutes on freshmen. Eliason received his second start of the season yesterday but only played four minutes after not participating at all in the two previous games.

Apple Valley High School sophomore shooting guard Gary Trent, Jr., who is among the state’s most recruited prospects, sat in the second row near the Gophers’ bench for yesterday’s game. Trent has offers from Minnesota, Providence and Texas Tech, according to Rivals.com. Trent’s teammate, junior center Brock Bertram, has an offer from Tech where former Gophers coach Tubby Smith has finished last in the Big 12 Conference with a 3-15 record.

Ken Lien from the Mr. Basketball Committee e-mailed names of the five finalists for the 2015 Mr. Basketball Award: Sacar Anim, DeLaSalle; Bjorn Broman, Lakeview Christian Academy; JT Gibson, Champlin Park; Jarvis Johnson, DeLaSalle; Marshawn Wilson, Hill-Murray. The award goes annually to a high school senior, and this year’s winner will be announced after the boys state tournament games.

Next Sunday ESPN airs the new “30 for 30” documentary on Christian Laettner. The program focuses on his career and polarizing fan reaction that followed him long after his game-winning shot against Kentucky, advancing Duke to the 1992 NCAA Final Four. Laettner, the former Timberwolves No. 1 draft choice, will be headlining two youth clinics at Wayzata East Middle School in Plymouth on March 21 for the Timberwolves Basketball Academy.

The Gophers football team has spring practice sessions Tuesday and Thursday at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Both practices begin at 4:15 p.m. and are open to the public. Thursday’s practice is the Gophers’ last until resuming sessions again on March 24.

The Minnesota United leaves for Brazil on Wednesday to hold a preseason camp. The NASL club had an earlier preseason camp in Arizona and opens its regular season on April 11 at Tampa Bay. The home opener at the National Sports Center in Blaine is April 25.

The United has six Brazil natives: forward Pablo Campos, midfielders Ibson, Daniel Mendes and Juliano Vicentini, and defenders Tiago Calvano and Cristiano Dias. The United roster includes forward Miguel Ibarra who is also a member of the U.S. Men’s National team.

The United will play several exhibition games in Brazil and return home on March 24.

Ryan Galindo, who was announced as the new Washburn head football coach last week, is a 1999 graduate of the Minneapolis high school. He played college football at St. Thomas and from 2003-2009 was an assistant coach at Washburn. Later he was an assistant at Gustavus Adolphus under former Washburn head coach Pete Haugen before rejoining the Millers staff. He was offensive coordinator for the Millers last year, working for head coach Giovan Jenkins who last week started as a volunteer coach at Minnesota.

Comments Welcome

Pitino: Bo Ryan ‘Teaches You a Lot’

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

Gophers basketball notes following last night’s 76-63 loss to Wisconsin which used the win to clinch the Big Ten championship:

Minnesota never recovered from a slow first half start, trailing the Badgers 17-6 with about eight minutes gone in the game. The Badgers mostly cruised with a double-digit lead during the game.

“We let them score too easily,” said Gophers senior guard Andre Hollins. “They set the tone (early). We got down big. When you get down big on a team like Wisconsin, it’s hard to come back.”

The Badgers are 15-2 in league play and coach Bo Ryan has now won four Big Ten titles at Wisconsin in 14 seasons. He teaches his players fundamentals like few coaches ever have and part of the success is minimizing mistakes. In last night’s game the Badgers committed only 11 fouls and nine turnovers.

“He teaches you a lot as a coach about not fouling and not turning it over,” Gophers second year coach Richard Pitino said after the game. “It’s almost like their program is built on that. Don’t turn it over. Don’t foul. …

“They make use of it every single possession and they make you pay when you make a mistake. They really do. We turned them over nine times. He may make them walk back to Madison because of that. I thought we lost to a great team.”

The Gophers, 6-11 in the Big Ten, have their last regular season conference game on Sunday at noon against Penn State at Williams Arena. Minnesota’s Big Ten record has been a disappointment for a team that closed last season by winning the NIT and returned most of the key players.

But Pitino was upbeat last night. “I don’t think the year is weighing on anybody. I think we lost to one of the best teams in the country. We hate losing but we’ll be ready to roll on Sunday.”

Sunday’s game will be the last scheduled game at Williams Arena for several seniors including center Elliott Eliason who for much of his career has either been a starter or among the first players off the bench for the Gophers. Eliason, though, hasn’t played a minute in the last two games and just two minutes in the game before that. The Chadron, Nebraska native’s parents came to town for last night’s game and will attend the Penn State game, too.

Among the sports celebrities at the game was golf authority Andy North, the avid Badger fan who sees Wisconsin play about 30 times per year. “Bo and I have been friends for 40 years,” North told Sports Headliners.

The two men play golf together. North, who twice won the U.S. Open, said the coach is “very competitive” in attitude on the course and has a 16 or 17 handicap. North has blocked out his schedule so that if the Badgers qualify for the Final Four in Indianapolis he can attend.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, just back from a meeting with Adrian Peterson in Houston, was at Williams Arena with club colleagues.

Worth Noting

Peterson’s contract for 2015 reportedly calls for him to earn $12,750,000 but that puts him pretty far down the list of the NFL’s top paid players. The highest earners in the league are no longer running backs. There’s no question rushing is less important in the NFL than it once was. The last team to lead the league in rushing and win the Super bowl was the 1985 Bears, according to Tuesday’s Mike & Mike show on ESPN.

Ryan Galindo is the new head football coach at Washburn. Galindo, a Washburn alum, has been the offensive coordinator for the Millers. He succeeds Giovan Jenkins as head coach. Jenkins started this week as a volunteer coach at Minnesota.

Jeff Jones, the Gophers running back who didn’t qualify academically last season to play as a freshman after graduating from Washburn High School, continues to excel in the classroom at Minnesota and may soon have consecutive semesters with GPA’s over 3.0.

Jones, the Gophers’ only Rivals.com four-star player in the recruiting class of 2014, could perhaps play next fall as both a running back and slot receiver. With exceptional burst, he might be used in the slot and run the jet sweep similar to how Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon made his early reputation for the Badgers.

Playing in the slot as a potential receiver, Jones has the hands to effectively catch the ball. Jones, 6-0, 198, has added strength since joining the program last summer and will be among the team’s most intriguing prospects to watch during spring practice.

Ex-Gophers safety Cedric Thompson was one of the defenders making Minnesota’s secondary among the best in the Big Ten last year. Although Thompson has used up his eligibility, he remains optimistic about the secondary including because of redshirt sophomore (next season) Daletavious McGhee who he believes can become a “great” player. McGhee, 6-1, 208, saw limited time in nine games last season.

Former Gophers wide receiver Derrick Engel said he’s fully recovered from the ACL injury he sustained in late 2013. Engel worked out at the Gophers Pro Day this week and hopes to be selected in the NFL Draft. If not, the Canadian Football League could be an alternative.

Engel’s brother Sean, a 6-5 receiver who will be a senior at Chaska High School next season, has drawn interest from the Gophers. Sean made an unofficial visit to Boise State last month and the Broncos are expected to continue following him.

The Gophers, Iowa, North Dakota State and Wisconsin have offered football scholarships to North High athlete Tyler Johnson, according to Rivals.com. A quarterback for the Polars, Johnson projects as a defensive back in college. Johnson, likely the best senior football player in the City Conference next fall, is also a shooting guard on the North basketball team.

Former Gopher Ra’Shede Hageman learned a lot about being a professional player in his rookie year of 2014 with the Falcons. His defensive line physical skills have been compared to the Lions Ndamukong Suh who drew a suspension last year for stepping on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Would Hageman do something similar?

Hageman laughed and answered, “No. That’s a great question.”

The Gophers men’s hockey team was the No. 1 team in national polls last fall but later dropped out of the top 20. Minnesota, though, has won six of its last eight games and is ranked No. 15 in two national polls.

Lou Nanne, the former Gophers and North Stars player, has observed the team’s improvement and despite earlier disappointment with Minnesota playing below its talent level he remains optimistic about the postseason. “If they’re playing up to their ability, I expect they could win the national championship,” he told Sports Headliners.

Nanne sees the Gophers playing smarter, with more intensity and cohesiveness now. Although Adam Wilcox has experienced some inconsistency, the junior from South St. Paul remains one of college hockey’s best goalies. “I have no problem him being my goaltender in big games,” Nanne said. “If I gotta win a game in college, I’ll be happy to go with Wilcox day in and day out.”

Nanne will have knee replacement surgery next week. This week he is completing his 51st season of providing TV analysis for the state boys hockey tournament.

Jordan Leopold, the Robbinsdale Armstrong High School alum, became the 21st Minnesota native to play for the Wild when acquired in a trade this week with the Blue Jackets. Leopold played on the Gophers 2002 national title team and won the Hobey Baker Award the same year.

Every college recruiter and pro sports executive responsible for attracting free agent talent to this city should read Atlantic Magazine’s “The Miracle of Minneapolis” story. The February article by Derek Thompson says, “No other place mixes affordability, opportunity, and wealth so well.”

Comments Welcome

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.

Comments Welcome