Recruiting – Page 97 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Big Ten Bowl Woes Roll on

Posted on January 7, 2013January 7, 2013 by David Shama

Although he doesn’t think the Big Ten is “that far away,” former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi feels the disappointment of conference fans when reviewing bowl results.

The latest bowl season is over for Big Ten teams who won two games and lost five. Not that the results surprised close observers who for years have seen the Big Ten—once regarded as the king of college football—turn in season after season of mediocre and poor results.

Among the losses this bowl season was Stanford’s 20-14 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. The Badgers have now lost three consecutive Rose Bowls and Big Ten teams are 1-9 in their last 10 games played in the Granddaddy of the bowls.

Big Ten teams are 28-47 in bowl games the last 10 years, including 17-28 in early January games like the Rose Bowl, according to a story posted last Thursday by Bleacherreport.com.

“The fact of the matter is the Big Ten hasn’t been quite as good as it once was, and everyone wants it to be,” Maturi said.

The conference football product has been slipping for years and the Big Ten has gone from head of the class in the 1950s and 1960s, to among the best in later decades, to its present inferiority compared to at least three other conferences—the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12. Maturi, who has followed the league for more than five decades and retired as Gophers athletic director last summer, acknowledges the Big Ten is struggling more than any time he can remember.

The Big Ten has Hollywood like football tradition and rivalries. The Big Ten Network, with football as the lead product, is a money machine for the 12 conference schools. More than half the stadiums in the league seat 70,000 or more fans and are routinely packed for games.

So what’s the problem? The best guess is shifting demographics. While the Rust Belt and Midwest states are generally stagnant or declining in population, the South and West are growing. More population means a deeper talent pool of young football players targeting college careers.

The SEC has won the last six national titles. Tonight southern power Alabama, the defending national champion, plays Notre Dame for the 2013 title. The West Coast dominated Pac-12 Conference holds impressive wins this bowl season in the Rose Bowl and in the Fiesta Bowl where Oregon defeated Kansas State, 35-17. The SEC is rich in players from the South while the Pac-12 recruits California high schools and junior colleges, and signs players from football-crazy Texas, too.

Ohio State, the Big Ten’s best program, wasn’t eligible in 2012 for a bowl game. Maturi said when the Buckeyes return to bowl games starting next season that will be a major boost for the conference and so too will a resurgent Michigan program under second year coach Brady Hoke. Traditional power PennState looks crippled for years to come by NCAA sanctions including three more years of bowl bans. “I am worried about how long it will take Penn State to come back,” Maturi said.

Maturi is taking an optimistic view toward the future. He notes some of the bowl losses in the last few weeks have been close games (three decided by 14 total points including the Gophers’ 34-31 loss to Texas Tech). He also points out that after years of losing the annual basketball series with the ACC, the Big Ten has now won the last four ACC/Big Ten Challenges.

“I don’t think we’re that far away (in football),” Maturi said.

From Nebraska to Penn State—and 10 schools in between—a lot of people hope he is correct.

Worth Noting

Gophers assistant basketball coach Saul Smith told Sports Headliners he’s leading a quiet lifestyle away from the court. “I went to J.D. Hoyt’s for dinner with family on New Year’s Eve,” he said.

Gophers head coach Tubby Smith sat next to North Carolina coach Roy Williams watching point guard Tyus Jones and shooting guard Rashad Vaughn play in the 17^th annual Timberwolves Shootout at Target Center on Saturday. The two juniors are among the most coveted prep players in the country for the class of 2014. Jones’ Apple Valley team defeated Vaughn’s Cooper team, 80-70.

Assistant coaches Saul Smith and Vince Taylor watched the game along with Gophers players Joe Coleman, Trevor Mbakwe, Oto Osenieks and Rodney Williams. The group was targeted by fans for photos and autographs.

It’s my opinion the Gophers have a better chance of securing Vaughn than Jones who won’t surprise recruiting observers if he chooses Duke. Other schools on his short list could be Kentucky and Michigan State. Jones admirers hope to see him reduce the time he’s missed in the past with physical problems including recent back spasms.

Timberwolves Shootout organizer Jeff Munneke is already working on teams for next year’s event. Among schools being contacted is Chicago Whitney Young, a team that features junior center Jahlil Okafor, a friend of Jones and among the best players nationally in the class of 2014.

Teams participating in the Timberwolves Shootout pay their own expenses and don’t receive appearance fees. Munneke said the Timberwolves, trying to help promote prep basketball, have some years made a small profit on the event while other times breaking even on finances. This year’s Shootout field included eight teams and four games on Saturday.

Former Duluth Central and Gophers guard Terry Kunze was a state tournament star in the early 1960s. Asked at the Shootout who are the most dominant players to play in the tournament over the years, he listed Lake City’s Randy Breuer, North’s Khalid El-Amin, Melrose’s Mark Olberding and Ellsworth’s Cody Schilling.

On Saturday, for the first time this season, the Timberwolves put single game tickets on sale for their February 1 and March 27 home games with the Lakers, plus March 4 against the Heat, March 29 versus the Thunder and April 1 with the Celtics.

Northwestern, 9-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, lost at home to No. 2 (A.P.) ranked Michigan last week, 94-66. The No. 9 Gophers, 14-1 and 2-0 in the Big Ten, beat the Wildcats 69-51 in Williams Arena last night.

How ironic if Montreal CFL head coach Marc Trestman, a St. Louis Park native and former Vikings assistant, is the next head coach of the Bears. Trestman, who played part of his college career at quarterback for the Gophers, has been a past favorite of U alums for the Minnesota head coaching job.

Doesn’t look like former Vikings coach Mike Tice, the Bears offensive coordinator in 2012, will be promoted to Chicago head coach.

For the first time ever during the 17 week regular season, an NFL game was the most watched national TV program each week, according to a January 4 email from Sports Media News.

In an online article last Saturday, Sbnation.com reported most college football authorities are predicting Alabama will defeat Notre Dame in the national championship game tonight. Will Harris of ESPN, Stewart Mandel from Sports Illustrated, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports and John Tamanaha from NBC Sports College Football Talk were all quoted as favoring the Crimson Tide.

Former Twins Kyle Lohse, Matt Capps, Carl Pavano and Delmon Young are among major league baseball’s remaining free agents.

Hall of famer and St. Paul native Paul Molitor remains a subject of speculation to one day manage the Twins who for two consecutive years have finished last in the AL Central Division.

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The Right Hero for Tyus Jones

Posted on December 7, 2012March 7, 2013 by David Shama

Tyus Jones began his junior year of high school basketball on Tuesday night when his Apple Valley team defeated St. Louis Park, 98-82. Although Jones has two more seasons of basketball ahead, he would be remembered as one of Minnesota’s most legendary high school athletes if he never played another game.

The 6-foot-2, 16-year-old point guard is a preseason USA Today high school All-American. College recruiting authorities place him on a short list of the nation’s prize recruits for the class of 2014. He’s played for the USA Under 17 national team, been named the Gatorade Minnesota Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2012 and in 2011 MaxPreps.com honored him on the freshmen All-American first team.

Jones is an extraordinary playmaker on the court. He sees angles and makes passes that leave observers awestruck. He creates and executes in a blur that seems completely natural, doing things that others might need a minute to plan and then attempt.

Jones could also be commanding headlines playing football and baseball, two other sports he pursued in his younger days. But he’s more than a gifted athlete. He’s a 3.2 GPA student and a polite, articulate teenager with family values including a commitment to caring for others.

He is worthy of the adulation from younger kids who press close to him for autographs and conversations. But Jones has a hero, too—a much older man who reaches out to him, listens and inspires.

Dennis Deutsch is 75 and lives within minutes of Tyus in Apple Valley. Dennis and his wife Sally are the parents of Tyus’ mom, Debbie Jones. They are supportive grandparents including to Tyus.

Deutsch has a bad back, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and is in the process of hopefully locating a kidney donor. “Well, the worst thing I’ve got, of course, is kidney failure,” Deutsch said. “I take dialysis three days a week.”

He has had six kidney related surgeries this year. With the kidney problems and other health issues the former Devils Lake, North Dakota resident endures a lot of pain and discomfort but his family and others make life easier for him.

He retired at age 74 from a business career in North Dakota and along with Sally relocated to Minnesota to more effectively deal with health problems and be closer to family including Deb, Jadee, Tyus and Tre, a talented seventh grade athlete with his own basketball ambitions. The Deutschs attend basketball games and school activities including the recent early morning Eagle Pride recognition for Tyus’ academic achievement.

The transition of Dennis and Sally into a more visible place in Tyus’ life is something the teenager is grateful for. “I’ve been getting more and more close every day with him,” Tyus said. “He’s at all my basketball games.”

The two talk about many subjects including grandpa’s experiences as a paratrooper, or his love for poker (health permitting, he plays weekly at Canterbury Park). “My grandpa, he’s a great man so I learn a lot from him,” Tyus said.

Grandpa doesn’t pester Tyus with advice but will share his wisdom. “He’s definitely talked to me about risks,” Tyus said. “Not to put yourself in bad situations in life. My grandpa just wants the best for me. He always has my back. …

“He’s always very, very caring and loving as a grandfather towards me. It’s good to have family like I have because there’s people out there that don’t have the support that I do.”

Before Tuesday night’s game at St. Louis Park High School, Tyus renewed the tradition he has with the Deutschs. “I always make sure I go speak to him, or walk with him entering the gym,” Tyus said. “Spend time with him and my grandmother because they don’t have to be there but they’re supporting me. I make sure I go and show I appreciate it.”

Dennis was in a wheelchair at courtside Tuesday evening, another reminder of the health problems that Tyus is so aware of. “It hurts to see my grandfather go through that (health issues). Some days he’ll be in a tremendous amount of pain, and you don’t wish to see that upon anybody, especially not my grandfather.

“But you would never know that he has to go through that. He never complains. He just gets up every day and just lives life. It’s pretty amazing what he’s had to go through and what he has to go through still. He just takes it and goes with it. I feel extremely bad for him, my grandpa going through that.”

Debbie recalled how back home in Devils Lake her dad was community minded. He led a fundraising effort to maintain Lake Region State College. ”Without him doing the fundraising, the college probably doesn’t stay open,” she said. “He’s always involved in everything. That’s just how he’s been.”

Dennis said he was “born with a basketball on my back” but he wasn’t the player Tyus is or even Debbie who was twice an all-state point guard in North Dakota. Back in the day, Dennis could be a feisty parent yelling at Debbie.

“He’s very emotional,” Debbie said. “I remember…being on the court hearing him yell from the stands, ‘drive,’ or ‘shoot.’ He was very vocal. He’s just very supportive. Always been that.”

Debbie learned the game and has been sharing her knowledge with her sons. She coached Tyus’ youth teams along with her sister Darcy Cascaes who is the athletic director at DeLaSalle. Along the way Debbie encountered male chauvinism about women coaching boys from a man who suggested she “stay in the kitchen.”

From an early age Tyus has known he has basketball role models around him. One of his brothers, Jadee Jones, played collegiately at Furman and he’s the junior varsity head coach for Apple Valley High School. Another brother, Reggie Bunch, played college basketball at Robert Morris. Tyus’ dad Rob Jones (he and Debbie are divorced) played at Chicago area prep power Proviso East and collegiately at Wisconsin-Parkside. Rob and former Gophers guard Al Nuness are cousins.

With so much family in the Minneapolis area, will all that weigh on Tyus’ college choice? He admitted it’s a factor but it won’t close the deal for the hometown Gophers. Minnesota is on his list of eight final possibilities along with Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Ohio State.

Where does Dennis believe Tyus will attend college? “I have no idea. We leave that strictly up to him. The biggest decision he’s got to make is what his studies are going to be.”

Tyus said his grandfather wants him to take his time making the college choice, be sure he looks at “all aspects” of the decision and chooses a place where he will be happy. Both Tyus and Dennis talk about the importance of academics, and although Tyus is uncertain of his major he said it could have “something to do with sports or broadcasting.”

But the basketball part of the decision is huge and Tyus knows it. He could be in college only for a season or two before going to the NBA, fulfilling a career dream and benefitting himself and his family financially. He wants to be part of a college team that plays fast, knowing an up-tempo style blends best with his playmaking. It’s also important, he said, to be surrounded by talented players whose company he enjoys both on and off the court.

Neither Tyus nor his mother are sure when the college choice will be decided. He’s already made several unofficial visits to schools that interest him. As a junior in high school he can start making official visits to schools next year. He can sign a National Letter of Intent binding him to a school next November.

The family follows the Gophers and while Tyus indicated Minnesota could be his final choice no one can count on that. Sally said if he chooses a school other than the Gophers “we hope he’s on TV a lot.” Mom is prepared to buy a “ton of airline tickets.”

What about grandpa and Tyus? “I think we’ll both accept it (whatever the choice) when the day comes,” Tyus said.

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Linebackers U Recruiting Priority

Posted on November 30, 2012November 30, 2012 by David Shama

Ask prep recruiting authority Zach Johnson where he thinks the Gophers personnel priorities are for 2013 and he emphasizes junior college linebackers. The Gophers are losing two of their three starting linebackers, seniors Mike Rallis and Keanon Cooper. Junior Aaron Hill returns next season but Spencer Reeves, a key reserve behind Hill, is also a senior.

Jerry Kill and his coaches have long known about those departures but they didn’t expect to see reserve junior linebacker Brendan Beal, Rallis’ backup, suffer yet another knee injury this month which prompted speculation about his future.

“The key (for 2013 recruiting) is finding a running back, and finding linebackers, and not only linebackers but linebackers that are ready to play next year,” said Johnson, the publisher for Gopherillustrated.com. “When you look back at last year (2012 recruits), they (the coaches) went and got what? Three or four defense backs. I think they’ll go and get probably two juco linebackers, a juco defensive tackle, and that might be about all they need out of the juco ranks.

“If they could find the right juco receiver and juco running back that falls in their laps, they might take them. But as far as need goes, I think they need to go get a junior college defensive tackle and two junior college linebackers.”

Johnson said last weekend in an interview with Sports Headliners that the linebacker unit in 2012 wasn’t all that outstanding and if the coaches had reserves who were better they likely would have put those players on the field. Kill lifted the redshirt status off freshmen in other positions who could help the team.

Rivals.com lists nine players who have made verbal commitments for Minnesota’s 2013 recruiting class. Only one, Wayzata’s Chris Wipson, is a linebacker. But before National Signing Day on February 6, the Gophers will finalize a lot more than nine players and for sure more than one linebacker.

Six of the players on the Rivals list are three-star recruits while three others receive two-stars. “I don’t see any major four-star guys even on our (the Gophers) radar right now,” Johnson said.

The Gophers 2012 recruiting class was ranked last in the Big Ten by Rivals. Johnson thinks the 2013 class might also finish 12^th among the conference programs.

“Until they turn into a Big Ten legitimate team—you’re talking eight, nine wins—I think you’ll see Kill’s recruiting continue to be under the radar guys—sleepers, guys that might be an inch or two shorter than what the big teams want at their positions. And just using their (Gophers coaches) connections to find these guys that are not on the typical recruiting trail.

“I think you can win to a point in the Big Ten with that. I think you can go 6-6 and 7-5 and maybe on a good year get to 8-4, but I don’t think you can win consistently in the Big Ten when you’re competing against the likes of Wisconsin and Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State. …”

There’s hope and optimism among the Gophers faithful the 2012 class will ultimately prove it was judged way too low in comparison with other conference recruits. Johnson is not ready to conclude it will happen.

“I mean we know that they can win at Southern Illinois and at Northern Illinois but we don’t know if they can recruit (outstanding) under the radar guys (at Minnesota). Sure we’ve got some nice players but we don’t have any proof that they can find those guys and turn them into eight, nine win teams.

“We don’t even know if we can turn them into six win teams because a lot of the top players on the team right now are (former coach Tim) Brewster’s guys, at least defensively. So we really don’t know if they (Kill and his coaches) can use the same (under the radar) formula and compete at the Big Ten level. We’re assuming they can. But we’ll see what happens.”

Gophers coaches are recruiting this week while the team has the week off before bowl preparations begin. Johnson said Fairhope, Alabama cornerback Nate Andrews is expected to visit here this week. The 6-foot Andrews reportedly has offers from Florida State and Mississippi.

Gophers, Vikings & Other Notes

Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners he was aware of Jerry Kill’s health history before he hired Kill away from Northern Illinois in 2010. While Maturi did his “due diligence” about Kill, he said the health factor didn’t give him pause before making him the new Gophers coach.

“I knew he had seizures and was a cancer survivor. We checked with the medical people at Northwestern (where Kill was treated) and with doctors here,” Maturi said.

Maturi was told Kill is healthy enough to coach. Since coming to Minnesota Kill has experienced three game day seizures but has missed minimal coaching time at games and practices.

The Big Ten will add to its 12 schools membership with Maryland and Rutgers joining the conference in 2014. Maturi wouldn’t be surprised to see further expansion to 16 teams. Who might the next two schools be? “You have to look at who brings in television sets,” Maturi said.

Speculation about additional Big Ten members includes Boston College, Kansas, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

ESPN.com’s November 20 Big Ten Blog, using USA Today as its source, lists annual salaries of Big Ten football coaches. Now fired Purdue coach Danny Hope was last at $970,000 while Kill was 11th at $1.2 million. Indiana’s Kevin Wilson and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald are just ahead of Kill at $1.26 million each. Ohio State’s Urban Meyer earns a league-leading $4.3 million.

The Vikings and Packers make history on Sunday when the two teams play in Green Bay. Never before have the two rivals played their first game of the year against one another in December. When the Packers come to Minneapolis on December 30 for a second game, it will be the first time the two franchises have played both games in December.

Adrian Peterson’s 1,236 yards not only leads all NFL runners, but his yardage is more than the totals of 18 other league teams. He has rushed for over 100 yards in five consecutive games and is now tied with Robert Smith for the Vikings franchise record.

Peterson said “he’s been preparing as if” Packers All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews was playing on Sunday but an ESPN report yesterday morning predicted Mathews will be sidelined. “He’s one of their playmakers on defense,” Peterson said. “He’s a talented guy. It will definitely be easier with him not out there.”

Peterson missed the team bus from the hotel on Sunday when the Vikings travelled to Soldier Field for their game against the Bears. He said he slept through his wake- up call.

Defensive end Jared Allen said he doesn’t expect the Bears to pursue revenge against him when Chicago plays here a week from Sunday. Although Allen said there was “no ill intent in it,” the NFL fined him $21,000 for the blow he delivered to Chicago offensive lineman Lance Lewis who suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season. “You never want to injure anybody,” Allen said.

Asked whether he budgets for NFL fines, Allen said he will check to see if the money can be deducted under the “tax code.”

Wide receiver Percy Harvin is 12^th in league receptions with 62 despite missing two games. It’s uncertain whether he will play against the Packers because of his injured ankle.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway is second in the NFL in tackles with 107. He should be a Pro Bowl selection for the second time in his career.

Center John Sullivan and other Vikings Notre Dame alums will take a private jet to Miami for the January 7 BCS title game to watch the Irish play if there’s not a conflict with the Vikings’ playoff schedule.

The North Florida team the Gophers play in basketball tomorrow afternoon at Williams Arena is 2-4 including a 15 point loss to Memphis and eight point defeat against Florida State. Minnesota, 7-1 and ranked No. 21 nationally by Associated Press, has played four teams highly regarded by Sports Illustrated in its November college basketball preview issue. The Gophers lost to Duke, but have wins over Memphis, Stanford and Florida State.

The Nebraska-Omaha team that plays the hockey Gophers tonight and tomorrow night at Mariucci Arena is 2-0 in road games this season while Minnesota is 5-0-1 at home. Mavericks head coach Dean Blais is a 1973 Minnesota graduate while assistants Steve Johnson and Troy Jutting have previous experience coaching respectively at St. Cloud State and Minnesota State.

When the Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Alex Meyer yesterday from Washington in exchange for center fielder Denard Span they received a player ranked earlier this year as the sixth best prospect in the Nationals organization by Baseball America. The 22-year-old Meyer pitched collegiately for Kentucky and was drafted 23rd overall by the Nationals in 2011. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound right-hander was 10-6 with a 2.86 ERA, 45 walks and 139 strikeouts in 25 starts with Single-A Hagerstown and Single-A Potomac last season.

Outfielder Nate Roberts and pitcher Kyle Gibson from the Twins organization were included on the 22 member Arizona Fall League’s Top Prospects Team announced this week, according to mlb.com. Roberts led the AFL in batting with a .446 average. Gibson, who had a 3-2 record, was among the league’s winningest pitchers.

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