Timberwolves – Page 104 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Hallelujah! Gophers Find Their Chemistry

Posted on February 27, 2013February 27, 2013 by David Shama

The Gophers went to church on Sunday. Last night their prayers were answered.

Coach Tubby Smith took his players to a church service, part of a plan to bring the team closer together. Who could argue with the strategy after a 77-73 upset win over No. 1 ranked Indiana at Williams Arena last evening?

Before last night the public’s memory of the Gophers was a disinterested performance in Columbus on February 20 when Ohio State embarrassed Minnesota 71-45. The Gophers lacked confidence, cohesiveness and energy in defeat, their third loss in the last four games.

But against the 24-3 Hoosiers the Gophers were reborn. Is there no wonder to what a morning in church, tutoring from a sports psychologist and a new found commitment will do?

Smith resurrected his team, now 7-8 in the Big Ten and 19-9 overall, for at least one night. Give him credit for bringing in the psychologist and using team building activities to shake off the Gophers’ malaise.

Smith said even before the game he saw a “calm” in his players not witnessed before. “It was good to see them having fun (last night),” the coach said.

Reserve forward Oto Osenieks said the psychologist helped a Gophers team that is now intent on starting a new winning streak and playing like the group rated among the nation’s 10 best last month. “We had a team meeting,” Osenieks said. “We talked to each other (and) with him. We just kind of found how to play together more and not blame each other for mistakes. Just be accountable.”

On Sunday the Gophers not only went to church, but had lunch together. “We’ve done a lot of stuff to build the team chemistry,” Osenieks said. “That was a big part of it (the success last night.)”

This was a game that had an observer believing in the second half that it was the Gophers night to win. Andre Ingram, a .333 percent free throw shooter, made two foul line shots including one that made a strange landing on the rim. Later Andre Hollins, the team’s best free throw shooter, threw up a foul shot that looked like a miss until fate gave the ball a friendly bounce.

But make no mistake, the Gophers earned this win with skill and pluck. And maybe Hollins was right when he said he thought the Gophers “wanted” the victory more than the Hoosiers. No one defined Minnesota’s night and effort more than senior center Trevor Mbakwe who had a blocked shot for the ages against Indiana center Cody Zeller, and led all scorers with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Mbawke’s performance and that of his teammates got the Gophers their biggest win of the season, improved the likelihood of an NCAA Tournament invite next month, and set off a pandemonium not seen in Williams Arena for a long time—maybe ever. Fans rushed the court after the game, swallowing up the players despite their superior size and letting loose the frustrations that have dogged both the Gophers and their followers.

In a mostly empty arena late last night a fan walked past Mbakwe in the concourse. “You’ll never forget this night,” the fan said.

Mbakwe beamed.

Amen.

Worth Noting

Smith said Sunday on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” he once thought his team could win 12 to 15 Big Ten games.

The Gophers’ Mbakwe and Rodney Williams are projected to be the No. 33 and 36 picks in the June NBA draft by Nbadraft.net.

Former Gopher basketball All-American Mychal Thompson’s son, Klay Thompson, has been an important contributor to a surprisingly successful season for the NBA’s Warriors. The second-year shooting guard is third on the team in scoring average at 16.3 points per game.

Klay was recruited by the Gophers and Smith out of high school but preferred to stay on the West Coast and never made a recruiting visit to Minnesota. At Washington State his play improved, as it has with the Warriors (averaged 12.5 points his rookie season) and he believes his “best basketball” is still ahead.

Klay said his dad, who is a radio commentator for the Lakers, gives him “advice all the time.” A consistent message is “don’t take a night off” and be aggressive in his play.

“He says if I do that on both ends I will play a long time in this league,” Klay said.

Warriors’ rookie starting forward Harrison Barnes played high school basketball in Ames, Iowa and likes Smith, who recruited him. But Barnes, who was highly recruited and chose North Carolina, said the Gophers weren’t on his final list of 10 potential colleges.

Barnes and Thompson were in Minneapolis on Sunday when the Warriors, who trailed the Wolves by 16 points in the first quarter, defeated Minnesota 100-99. The Wolves frequently can’t win close games because they don’t have an elite finisher.

Their closer, All-Star forward Kevin Love, has been sidelined with a broken hand since early January and he is unsure when he will return. He hasn’t started “basketball related stuff” as he rehabs after surgery but he hopes to have medical clearance to play in the team’s last 15 to 20 games.

Love said it’s important to participate in the final games with his teammates rather than wait until training camp next fall. Love has been working out with another injured Wolves player, small forward Chase Budinger.

A reporter questioned whether Love has everyday restrictions such as “pouring” with his injured right hand. Love teased with his response: “I do a lot of pouring.”

He said LeBron James is not only the NBA MVP but “at least in our generation you’ve never seen somebody play at that level before and win.” The two players were teammates on the 2012 Olympic team and Love admires James’ work ethic.

Love said James’ leadership style made an impression, too, and it’s something he wants to continue with the Wolves. “Just to be vocal,” Love said. “I am a guy that is always vocal and playful, and always around my teammates. …”

Apparently the performance of the Vikings’ special teams made an impression on Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Last week he hired Chris White, who was an assistant special teams coach with the Vikings, to coordinate special teams for the Hawkeyes and coach running backs. White had been on the Vikings staff since 2009 but his previous coaching experience had been college and high school jobs.

With a need at cornerback and past willingness to take chances on draft choices, would the Vikings in the later rounds select controversial LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu?

McKinley Boston was the first African-American athletic director in the Big Ten. The former Gophers AD is featured this month on the Big Ten Network’s salute to Black History Month. Boston is now AD at New Mexico State.

With three games between now and next Monday, the Wild won’t practice today after last night’s 2-1 win over the Flames. The Wild are at Phoenix tomorrow night and Anaheim Friday evening—looking for their first wins of the season against the Coyotes and Ducks. The Wild are 1-0 against the Oilers who are at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.

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Wolves to Lose $5 Million or More in 2013

Posted on February 25, 2013February 25, 2013 by David Shama

Glen Taylor expects his Timberwolves franchise to lose $5 million to $10 million this season but hopes to “break-even” financially in 2013-14. During an interview with Sports Headliners the Mankato billionaire and Wolves owner also said he’s not close to selling the team, looks forward to having Kevin Love on the roster for many years and isn’t ready to evaluate general manager David Kahn’s expiring contract.

The franchise has been losing money for years but those deficits have apparently been reduced. In 2010, for example, there was speculation the Wolves would lose $25 million.

Taylor has seen the value of his franchise increase over the years from when he purchased it in 1995 for a reported $88 million. Forbes.com valued the Wolves at $364 million last month.

Taylor, 71, has been shopping the team for awhile. Taylor’s proposal has him remaining as the majority owner for “sometime” with a limited partner eventually taking over the franchise. Some prospective buyers desire control immediately but that’s not what Taylor wants.

“I am not close to anything,” he said. “I continue to talk to people who have shown interest.”

Love, the Wolves Olympian and All-Star forward, made national headlines earlier this season in a Yahoo! Sports article expressing frustration with the franchise. Taylor said the story conveyed the message Love doesn’t like his teammates and the fans, and doesn’t want to play here, but Taylor explained that’s not correct.

“Well, he does regret it (the story),” Taylor said. “He’s expressed that. He didn’t quite anticipate it would come out the way it did. …”

Taylor and Love have talked about the future. He expects Love to be with the franchise even beyond the remaining three seasons on his contract starting next fall.

“Yeah, that’s what he indicated to me, that he’s looking long run,” Taylor said. “I think he knows of Ricky’s (Rubio) potential. …He likes some of the other players on the team. He can see we’re building a good nucleus. He certainly likes the coach (Rick Adelman).”

Love hasn’t played since January 3 because of injury. Taylor said it’s been a frustrating season for the 24-year-old who missed the start of the season with a similar hand injury but that’s not a reason to bring him back on the court until the medical staff determines it’s the right decision. Whether Love will play again before the season ends next month is in doubt.

Kahn has been the team’s general manager since 2009. He and Taylor talk frequently including about how to manage the roster regarding personnel and salaries. During Kahn’s watch the team has added impact players in Rubio, Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved and Chase Budinger but has yet to make the playoffs and almost for certain will miss again this spring.

Also frustrating is that except for Rubio, Kahn and his scouting staff has regularly misfired on their first and second round draft choices. Among first and second round picks since 2009, only Rubio and Derrick Williams are still with the team. Williams, the second pick in the first round of the 2011 draft, has teased with his potential as both a small and power forward but shown no consistency.

Taylor admitted he is “disappointed” with the first round draft results but said Kahn has “done a lot of things we’ve asked him to do.” And Taylor said he can’t hold Kahn responsible for a bizarre number of injuries that have at times sidelined many of the team’s most important players including starters and subs.

The Wolves have an option on Kahn’s contract. “We evaluate everything at the end of the year,” Taylor said. “To say that we haven’t done very well on the draft choices is a correct statement. Is that all of his responsibility? It’s certainly part of his responsibility.”

Worth Noting

Gophers coach Tubby Smith criticized the senior leadership on his team during the 1500 ESPN postgame show following last week’s 71-45 loss to Ohio State. Commentator Spencer Tollackson prompted the remark while talking about the importance of senior leadership late in the season and implying how that’s needed when a team is struggling. “Unfortunately we don’t have that type of leadership within our seniors. So it’s got to come from me and obviously I’ve done a poor job of doing that,” Smith said.

The Gophers had 24 turnovers in the game. “I have to admit obviously we’re not having as competitive practices as we have to have in order for us to get better because obviously we haven’t gotten better,” Smith said in the interview. “Our ball-handling has gone backwards. …Everybody kind of contributed to turning the ball over, especially our post players with 10 between Mo (Walker) and Trevor (Mbawke). Just baffling, to be honest with you.”

The Gophers, who have lost four of their last five games, are 6-8 in the Big Ten and 18-9 overall. Minnesota plays No. 1 ranked Indiana at Williams Arena tomorrow night.

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in Chicago March 14-17 is a sellout.

At Sports Headliners’ request, prep basketball authority Ken Lien prepared the following rankings of Minnesota high school boys’ teams.

Class 4A: Apple Valley, Osseo, Park Center, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Lakeville North, Brainerd.

Class 3A: DeLaSalle, Austin, Marshall, Delano, Blake, Holy Angels, Waconia, Hermantown.

Class 2A: Melrose, Hawley, Fairmont, Maple River, St. Peter, Byron, Braham, Redwood Valley.

Class 1A: Upsala, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrose, Maranatha Christian Academy, Southwest Minnesota Christian, Rushford-Peterson, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Browerville, Ada-Borup.

The MIAC announced last week that in 2012 the conference led all Division III leagues in football attendance for the seventh time in eight years. The conference’s nine teams hosted 48 games with attendance of 161,870, averaging 3,372 per game.

For the 15^th time in 20 years Saint John’s led all Division III schools in attendance, averaging 7,948 per game and a total of 39,741. Concordia finished No. 5 with total attendance of 24,197, averaging 4,839 fans. Concordia has been in the top five two years in a row and in the top 10 seven of the last eight years.

Patrick Klinger & Company is presenting a seminar titled “Using Sports to Drive Your Business” on Tuesday, March 19 at the University of St. Thomas. The seminar’s intent is to help businesses identify the right sponsorships to maximize investments and produce measurable results. Prior to establishing his company, Patrick Klinger was Twins vice president of marketing for more than a decade. More information about the seminar is available at klingercompany.com or by calling 612-366-0419.

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Nanne: U Potential Frozen Four Team

Posted on February 1, 2013February 1, 2013 by David Shama

Here is a Friday morning Sports Headliners roundup including Gophers hockey and basketball, the Wild, the Wolves and NBA commissioner David Stern, and even Cuban bully Fidel Castro!

Hockey authority Lou Nanne told Sports Headliners the 2013 Gopher team is “skilled at every position and has excellent goaltending.” No. 1 ranked Minnesota played in the Frozen Four last year and Nanne can see a return engagement.

“If they play up to their capabilities, they should be in the Frozen Four,” he said.

The Gophers, 18-4-4, have scored four or more goals in eight of their last nine games. In their 4-1 win over Minnesota State last Saturday night four different players had goals. Among the four was Nate Schmidt who leads the nation’s defensemen in scoring.

Minnesota leads the WCHA in power play goals and penalty killing. Goalie Adam Wilcox has a WCHA-best 17-3-4 record.

St. Cloud State and the Gophers are first and second in the league standings. The two teams play each other February 8 and 9 in St. Cloud. Minnesota has a bye this weekend.

Nanne said the Wild are talented and could finish among the better teams in the Western Conference. The key is “balanced scoring and defense.”

The Wild play at Anaheim tonight, facing a Ducks team that may pose problems in the Western Conference playoffs. In this week’s ESPN.com NHL power poll the Wild are ranked No. 9 and the Ducks No. 10 among 30 league teams.

The Wild’s Matt Cullen, who led the team in points (six) in four games against Anaheim last season, played in 427 games with the Ducks from 1997-2003. The 36-year-old center, scoreless in his first six games, scored twice in the Wild’s 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Wild prospect Jason Zucker, representing the Aeros, scored a goal for the Western Conference on Monday in the AHL All-Star game. The Western Conference defeated the East, 7-6. Zucker leads the Aeros in points with 36.

Nanne and wife Francine spent a week visiting communist Cuba late last month as part of a University of Minnesota Alumni Association trip. Asked for a quick impression, Nanne said, “Too much government.”

Cubans use ration books for food, and some buildings have no running water. The higher wage earners, including doctors, make $500 a month in American currency, Nanne said.

There are many 1950s American cars on the streets in Cuba and Nanne even rode in a 1932 vehicle. “It had a rumble seat,” he said.

Nanne also said Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, in poor health for years, was recently seen walking with a cane. His brother Raul Castro runs the country.

The basketball Gophers, who ended a four-game losing streak with a home win over Nebraska (84-65) earlier in the week, play Iowa at noon Sunday. Minnesota, 16-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten, lost twice to a mediocre Iowa team last season, 64-62 and 63-59.

The Hawkeyes were frequently the more aggressive team in those wins, combining for 21 steals. In Iowa’s 63-59 win in Iowa City the Hawkeyes not only had 11 steals to Minnesota’s one, but they out rebounded the Gophers.

Iowa, 3-5 in the conference and 14-7 overall, has several returning players from last season and is again a scrappy, well coached team. “I think, honestly, we just didn’t have the toughness mentality (last year),” said Minnesota junior guard Maverick Ahanmisi. “This year I think we have a lot of guys on this team that can take it upon themselves to slow the game down, or know when we need a shot or a basket. Last year we just let the game get away from us. Once they started scoring on us, we just put our heads down and stopped moving (fighting back).”

Center Trevor Mbakwe is disappointed with the Gophers’ start to the Big Ten schedule but still thinks Minnesota can be one of the nation’s best teams and win the league championship. “Little surprised (with the start),” he said. “We thought we had a chance to be 6-2 coming out of those two big games (losses to Indiana and Michigan). …We played a tough schedule so far. It’s the best conference in the country.”

Nebraska coach Tim Miles predicted the Gophers can win games in the NCAA Tournament. “I am really impressed with them. …If they don’t turn it over they’ll be good.”

The Gophers came into the Nebraska game averaging a Big Ten high 14.6 turnovers a game but had only five against the Cornhuskers. Among those responsible for the improvement was Ahanmisi, a reserve point guard who entered the game with 20 turnovers in 207 minutes this season. He had no turnovers in 19 minutes on Tuesday night.

Ahanmisi said his confidence, including shooting the ball, has improved. He scored nine points and made four of seven shots on Tuesday. His season field goal percentage of .463 and three point percentage, .417, are major improvements from last year’s numbers of .361 and .294.

“Back in high school I was a shooting guard.” Ahanmisi said. “That was my game. I used to shoot a lot of threes. When I came here I just got away from it. Tried to really turn into a point guard.

“It’s kind of something I really worked on—my shooting again. I think it’s coming back.”

Miles, in his first season at Nebraska, will have his Cornhuskers playing in a new state-of-the-art arena next fall. Each players’ locker has an iPad.

The first in a series called the Minnesota Timberwolves Business Alliance will be held next Wednesday at the Graves 601 Hotel and NBA commissioner David Stern will be the keynote speaker. The event, preceding a Target Center game against the Spurs, will bring together Wolves season ticket holders and corporate partners for networking opportunities.

Wolves president Chris Wright told Sports Headliners efforts to bring the NBA All-Star game back to Minneapolis (last here in 1995) will wait until his organization completes negotiations with the city for Target Center renovations. There’s no timetable for completing negotiations.

Wright and others with the Wolves have never seen a stretch of hard luck like this year’s team has experienced with numerous starters and reserve players sidelined with injuries for days, weeks and months. And even coach Rick Adelman missed 11 games to be with his wife who suffered seizures.

Since the early days of TargetvCenter there’s been speculation the franchise’s misfortunes have been tied to constructing the arena on an ancient Indian burial ground. Not true, said Wright. “That may have come from a couple of drunken guys talking at the (Cafe) di Napoli 20 years ago,” he joked.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien e-mailed this week that DeLaSalle power Reid Travis has been offered a scholarship by Arizona.

The Wednesday Sports Media News e-mail reported Brett Favre will be a guest on the NFL Network morning show Sunday preceding the Super Bowl. The network is providing more than 16 hours of live pre-game and post-game Super Bowl coverage on Sunday, according to SMN.

Denis McDonough, a 1992 Saint John’s graduate and a three-year starter for the Johnnie football team, is President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff after serving as deputy national security adviser the past two years.

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