RICHARD PITINO – Page 3 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Basketball Ticket Sales Minimal

Posted on June 9, 2021June 9, 2021 by David Shama

The University of Minnesota athletic department sold 138 new public season tickets for men’s basketball from March 23 through May 23 of this year. There are 64 new accounts for the 138 total.

The information was emailed to Sports Headliners following a request to the U regarding current and past totals for season tickets. The March 23 date was a day after Ben Johnson was named head coach.

During past weeks the media has consistently provided coverage of the new basketball leadership and the athletic department has been promoting season ticket appeals via mass emails. The department has also worked at publicizing Johnson, his new assistants and new players. But all of this has prompted minimal season ticket commitment, and that shouldn’t surprise those interested in the program.

After Richard Pitino was fired in mid-March, Johnson was the hurried replacement choice of U president Joan Gabel. Johnson, a Minneapolis native and former Gopher guard known for his high character and likeability, arrived in March with no previous head coaching experience. The 40-year-old’s resume includes assistant roles at multiple schools, including two Big Ten jobs (the U and Nebraska) and one stop in the Big East. To most fans in the general public there isn’t enough excitement about the hire to ponder buying tickets, and the verdict on Johnson as a head coach won’t be known for at least a couple of years.

Since Johnson’s arrival there has been a near 100 percent turnover in the roster. Player turnover is always anticipated when coaching regimes change and in these times many college programs see a lot of flux because of the easy-to-use transfer portal. Those players moving on at Minnesota include the only two from last season’s team with ticket buying appeal, guard Marcus Carr and center Liam Robbins.

Most fans are unfamiliar with the present roster of players who have transferred to Minnesota. Early media predictions are for the Gophers to finish toward the bottom of the 14-team Big Ten next year. The 2021 club placed 13th in the standings with a 6-14 record.

The athletic department has a June 10 deadline for renewal of season tickets. In the days and weeks following the U will know whether the trend of recent years in declining sales will continue. The pandemic prevented fans from attending games last season but the three prior years the public season ticket totals were 5,944 (2019-2020), 6,155 and 6,524.

About 15 years ago season tickets totaled over 9,000. Long gone are the days when Gophers basketball was a tough ticket. Sellouts are rare at 14,625 seat Williams Arena. The average attendance of 10,232 for the 2019-2020 season was the lowest since 1970-1971.

In the glory days and winning years of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s home sellouts were common and season tickets were even passed from one family to another. The Gophers back then were leaders in Big Ten attendance and basketball revenues (pricing tickets higher than most other programs). The decline now in season ticket sales is a blow to a cash-strapped, largely self-supporting athletic department that depends on the profit making sports of football, and men’s basketball and men’s hockey, to pay the bills.

The season ticket base that remains is an older demographic that remembers the successful programs of coaches Bill Musselman, Jim Dutcher and Clem Haskins. Those ticket buyers have remained loyal and stayed through the 21st century failed eras of coaches Dan Monson, Tubby Smith and Pitino. Others have given up their tickets, discouraged by the product on the court and preferred seating fees.

Younger ticket buyers are in the minority at Williams Arena, a near 100-year-old facility loved by many but disparaged by others. Buying season tickets requires a commitment of time and money that many Minnesotans aren’t willing to make right now for Gophers basketball.

The proof is in the numbers.

Worth Noting

Filling up Big Ten football stadiums is challenging. Despite a winning program and minimal competition for the sports dollar, Iowa is offering three-game mini-plans starting at $150.

Potential number: It might take a new deal that pays about $23 million in the first season to satisfy Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter.

Among the over 100 campers at P.J. Fleck’s Minneapolis football camp last week was quarterback Kyle McCormick from California. While there are highly recruited high school players at camps like Fleck’s, many preps like McCormick are trying to get noticed.

“He (Kyle) absolutely loves P.J. Fleck and (offensive coordinator) Mike Sanford,” said Kyle’s dad. Lee McCormick, a 1980 graduate of Golden Valley High School, became a fan of Fleck when the Gopher head coach was leading Western Michigan to prominence.

Lee admires Fleck’s energy, values and success, and he told Sports Headliners it would be a “dream” to have Kyle, who has an offer from Yale, play for Minnesota. Kyle, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound pro style passer heading into his senior year, will compete for the starting quarterback job this summer at La Costa Canyon High School in San Diego County.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association is hosting the 57th annual Football Hall of Fame August 13 at the Doubletree, 1500 Park Place Blvd. Inductees are Bill D. Bailey, Starbuck; Karl Deis, Mora; Terry Horan, Concordia College; Mike Plinske, Bethel University; Richard Robinson, Minneapolis North.

Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold talking about three key players his team plans to re-sign before training camp begins: “Kirill Kaprisov, (Kevin) Fiala, (Joel) Eriksson Ek are three players that you go, wow, what exciting players. What potential going forward.”

Two words not often associated with the NHL: Gentlemanly conduct. Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon is a finalist for The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy presented annually to an NHL player “adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

Comments Welcome

U Not Alone in Big Ten Rosters Shuffle

Posted on April 14, 2021 by David Shama

University of Minnesota basketball fans are alarmed to see eight players with remaining eligibility announce this winter and spring they won’t return for next season. While Minnesota’s total is worthy of headlines, other Big Ten schools have rosters in limbo, too.

Watching underclassmen opt for the NBA has for a long time changed the status of offseason rosters. More recently the NCAA has made it easier to transfer from one school to another, with this year even college seniors granted another season of eligibility. The transfer portal for men’s basketball has over 1,200 players interested in leaving their programs.

Alex Bozich, from Insidethehall.com, summarized the status of Big Ten rosters in a story Monday. He presented a long list of players who either could be or are in transition at the 14 Big Ten programs, including defending champion Michigan where stars Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner are undecided about the NBA. At Wisconsin Nate Reuvers, from Lakeville North, is in the transfer portal, while Brad Davison, from Maple Grove, is undecided about a return to Madison.

Bozich reports the Gophers, along with Penn State having seven players leaving that program, lead the conference in roster departures. Both Minnesota and Penn State have new coaches in Ben Johnson and Micah Shrewsberry. And that offers insight about the upheaval at their schools.

At Minnesota Johnson isn’t retaining the assistant coaches of his predecessor, Richard Pitino. Assistant coaches are counselors and mentors to players, establishing strong bonds with them. Gophers from last season’s roster are moving on for various reasons including the likelihood of more playing time elsewhere, but not knowing the new coaches has to factor in, too.

Johnson should hire the assistants he wants just weeks into his first experience as a head coach. However, his roster development is being scrutinized as it should, and he only has two noteworthy players apparently returning from last season’s roster, guard Both Gach and forward Brandon Johnson. At Monday’s news conference he said the two have been “awesome from day one,” but he didn’t say with certainty they will be on the team in the fall.

Pitino’s recruiting for the freshman class of 2021 was set earlier this year with signings by centers Treyton Thompson (Alexandria, Minnesota) and Kenny Pohto (Sweden), but Johnson said Pohto’s status is now uncertain. Thompson is part of a developing roster that includes four transfers Johnson reportedly has commitments from.

Those four are Jamison Battle (George Washington); Luke Loewe (William & Mary); E.J. Stephens (Lafayette); and Sean Sutherlin (New Hampshire). Neither the players nor their former schools rouses the Gopher fan base, but their arrival may well indicate the program’s future.

Johnson’s vision for his program is to emphasize player development. His hiring of assistant coaches Jason Kemp and Dave Thorson is consistent with that goal. Both earned reputations at other schools as talented basketball instructors and mentors.

Kemp, most recently at William & Mary, has almost 15 years of assistant coaching experience. He is a native of Madison, Wisconsin and his coaching stops include Midwest assignments at North Dakota State and Minnesota State. He coached Wisconsin native and Gopher transfer Loewe at William & Mary. “There will be a lot of other new faces (coming to the roster),” Kemp said.

Thorson could have the most coaching influence on how the Gophers play defense. That’s been a Thorson specialty at his college assistant coaching assignments and before then as head coach at DeLaSalle where his teams won a record nine state titles. He left Colorado State to rejoin Johnson who played for him at DeLaSalle. Thorson has been following Johnson since he was a seventh grader and praises his former player’s character. “I have so much respect for him as a human being,” Thorson said.

While these are unsettling times for Gophers basketball and even the community, Thorson said Johnson’s “greatest strength” is his ability to address adversity. “He’s the right leader for Minnesota at this time,” Thorson said.

Worth Noting

Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor is in a 30-day window to finish up negotiations with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to sell his franchises. Taylor told Sports Headliners things look pretty much settled. “We haven’t really left very much to do that we would argue about,” he said.

With the deal expected to go through, Lore and Rodriguez will come in as limited partners for two years before having complete control. During the two years Lore and Rodriguez will have the same access to information as Taylor, and input on decisions. As a member of the NBA Board of Governors, Taylor will continue to make decisions on behalf of the Timberwolves.

Taylor has already vetted ecommerce mogul Lore and baseball great turned businessman Rodriguez. Before any ownership agreement is finalized the NBA will also provide a thorough vetting.

Taylor talking about fired coach Ryan Saunders and possibly a future role with the Timberwolves organization: “I think it’s a lot more likely that we will help him get a job with another team.”

On Monday the Minnesota Twins were No. 4 in MLB.com’s first power rankings of the regular season, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees.

Winning both games of a double header is chancy, but it will be interesting to see how the Twins do today and tonight with their two best starters facing the Boston Red Sox. Kenta Maeda, 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA, starts the first game, with Jose Berrios, 2-0 and 1.54, pitching the second.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talking about Xavier Woods, a newly acquired free agent safety and former Dallas Cowboy: “I like bringing guys when other people say they’re probably not good enough somewhere else.”

The Minnesota Football Showcase (the state’s annual prep all-star game) will be played Saturday, June 26 at US Bank Stadium. North and South rosters include 16 all-state players. Ten players are headed for Division I-AA (FCS) programs but none to Division I (FBS). The last 10 years (including 2021) the schools with the most player participation are Totino-Grace with 20, Lakeville North and Mankato West at 16 each, and Eden Prairie, 13.

No word from the football Gophers on open practices for the public, or the annual spring game.

ESPN’s college football power index out this week has Alabama No. 1 in the country, with Minnesota Big Ten West rivals Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern and Nebraska all higher ranked than the Gophers at No. 49. ESPN gives Minnesota a 3.1 percent chance to win the Big Ten West.

New University of St. Thomas hockey coach Rico Blasi comes from Miami (Ohio) where he was hired by Joel Maturi, the athletic director at Miami before he took over as AD at Minnesota. Tommies AD Phil Esten worked for Maturi at Minnesota and they are long time friends.

Comments Welcome

U on Spot with 2 basketball Hires

Posted on March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 by David Shama

When Lindsay Whalen was hired as the University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach three years ago the cheers were heard from Cannon Falls to Thief River Falls. The home state hero had a halo above her head after a storied playing career with the Golden Gophers, WNBA Minnesota Lynx and US Olympic team.

Whalen, always the coach on the floor from her point guard position, led the Gophers to their only NCAA Final Four appearance early this century. Then she became one of the WNBA’s best playmakers while helping the Lynx to four league titles. Throw in two Olympic gold medals and you have a dream playing career.

Gopher fans figured Whalen would dazzle as the U coach after being hired by athletic director Mark Coyle.

Time out.

Being a head coach requires a much different skill-set than playing. Whalen and the public have seen evidence of that in her three seasons leading the Gophers.

Whalen’s Big Ten record is 21-33, with 9-9 (her first season) the best she has done. Marlene Stollings, Whalen’s predecessor, went 27-25 in her first three Big Ten seasons. Pam Borton, Whalen’s coach at the U, started out 33-15 the first three years.

Prior to Borton, Brenda Oldfield (now Frese) coached Minnesota for one season, going 11-5 and tying for second place in the conference standings. That was one year after Cheryl Littlejohn ended her four-year train-wreck with a 1-15 season. Frese, who left the Gophers for Maryland, remains the gold standard for women’s basketball coaches at Minnesota.

Gifted coaches do things early on that are observable and command attention. It might be an extraordinary influx of talent within a year or two. Head coaches need to know what type of talent they need, where they can get it and possess the salesmanship to close the deal. They also must hire a staff that recruits at a high level.

Even without over the top talent, a skilled coach/teacher can immediately impact his or her team and the results with the schemes and plays they use, adjustments made during games, the development of players and effort put forth. As an example, look at video from the Loyola of Chicago-Illinois men’s tourney game played earlier this month. Coach Porter Moser’s team destroyed Illinois’ offense with defensive schemes and “hair on fire” effort to knock the No. 1 seed Illini out of the tournament. The Ramblers put on a clinic offensively, too, with an unselfish style featuring ball movement, precision screens and cuts, and high percentage shots. Twice in the last four years the low profile Ramblers have earned their way into the Sweet 16 of the “Big Dance.”

By hiring Whalen, Coyle took a chance on a first-time coach who will need to achieve much better results in the next three years. Her contract, extended by a year in February of 2020, ends in 2024. Whether it’s the 38-year-old Whalen or someone else, the program has the potential to not only be a Big Ten winner but to become the first money making women’s sport at Minnesota.

Coyle has gone risky again, hiring Ben Johnson as the new men’s coach to replace the failed Richard Pitino who in eight seasons had one Big Ten winning record. Johnson, 40, has many years of assistant coaching experience including five spent under Pitino. Now he finds out how different the role of a head coach is and all the components that go with it.

Having that assignment in the Big Ten, one of America’s premier basketball leagues, is no Sunday stroll in Dinkytown. Pitino, hired at age 30, had one season of head coaching experience before controversial U AD Norwood Teague brought him to Minneapolis. The Gophers paid Pitino about $15 million over eight seasons for what one critic described as “on- the-job training.”

Gophers football fans remember the rocky path of Tim Brewster. Although he was known as one of college football’s top recruiters as an assistant, he had no head coaching experience. Brew won six Big Ten games before being fired about halfway through his fourth season at Minnesota.

Juwan Howard at Michigan has made a terrific entry into college basketball head coaching, despite no previous experience. He came from the NBA Miami Heat where both as a player and assistant coach he had superb mentors in front office boss Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra. Just as important, Howard put together a gifted staff of assistants that excels in both recruiting and X’s and O’s.

Johnson has made two coaching stops as an assistant in the Big Ten and one in the Big East. He worked for Pitino and also Tim Miles at Nebraska who tried for seven seasons to make the Cornhuskers an NCAA Tournament fixture (“danced” one time). Johnson’s most recent stop was Xavier where during three seasons at the Big East school the team record was 51-37, with no championships or NCAA Tournament appearances. He has been credited with both coaching and recruiting contributions there.

Johnson is known for his character and likeability. He has many friends and relationships in his hometown of Minneapolis where he played two seasons as a Gopher guard for head coach Dan Monson. He will “swim or sink” on the results of in-state recruiting where there is annually an abundance of Division I talent. Look for him to bring back home one or two assistant coaches who are state natives to help form the Minnesota connection with prep coaches and players.

Two weeks ago I wrote the following about the Gopher head coaching job:

“After the failed performance of Pitino and two predecessors, it is vital that the Gophers get the best hire for the first time this century. The program has the potential to annually produce teams landing in the top half of the Big Ten. Not to just have an occasional winning season here and there, but sustained success like the neighboring Wisconsin Badgers.

“There are never guarantees of future successes with a coach. That’s why Coyle should not pursue a person with limited, or no head coaching experience. The more successful a coach’s background at his previous stop, the more likely success can be expected at a place like Minnesota. No guarantees, but at least the margin for error has been reduced.”

A day after I wrote the above two paragraphs, Coyle announced he would cast a “wide net” in his national search. He also said expectations are for the Gophers to win championships. A week later he announced Johnson as his new head coach.

Whew! That’s moving fast. What about experienced coaches like San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher? A U alum and native of the state, Dutcher served up more than a nod of interest in the Gopher job last year when his new contract with the Aztecs included a minimal buyout if he were to leave for Minnesota.

A basketball lifer, Dutcher has more than 30 years of top experience as an assistant and head coach. He helped Michigan assemble the legendary Fab Five group in the 1990s, and at San Diego State convinced Kawhi Leonard to play for the Aztecs.

In four seasons as head coach at San Diego State, the Aztecs have won two Mountain West Conference regular season titles and two tournament championships. The last two seasons his record is 53 wins, 7 losses.

There was no buyout on Johnson’s contract and he reportedly will be the lowest paid head coach in the Big Ten. If money drove Coyle’s decision, why did it? Yes, the athletic department is tens of millions in debt because of the pandemic’s impact on finances. However, the total loss for this fiscal year doesn’t look as intimidating as once forecast. The U will be borrowing money to cover debts throughout its state system including the Twin Cities campus. A part of that borrowed money will go to the Gopher athletic department to pays its bills and meet future obligations including coaching hires.

If Coyle had pursued a more expensive coach, he could have said he was making a generational hire that was going to fix Gophers basketball long term. Someone who because of their accomplishments was likely to build not just a winning team or two, but set the course for sustained success. Part of Coyle’s position for spending more money on a coach could reference the TV revenues from Big Ten football and basketball that came through despite the pandemic. That wasn’t a given last summer when athletic department debt at $70 million seemed possible (perhaps $40 to $50 million now). Adding to a brighter picture is that the University system, like other major colleges throughout the country, is receiving millions from the federal government for pandemic budget relief.

In a reaction to debt last fall, Coyle convinced the Board of Regents (by a 7-5 vote) to eliminate three men’s sports. Did he move too quickly? The annual savings will be less than $2 million per year. If fan apathy at Williams Arena hadn’t been so prevalent for many seasons, the athletic department would have been generating that sum or more annually.

And that leads back to Whalen and Johnson, and whether they can produce a lot more wins and dollars at the box office than we’ve grown accustomed to for many years. No guarantees, not even close.

Comments Welcome