Timberwolves – Page 15 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

P.J. Fleck Makes Case for Better Gopher Pass Game in 2024

Posted on July 25, 2024 by David Shama

In 13 games last season the Golden Gophers football team averaged 20.3 points per game, ranking 12^th in the 14-team Big Ten. Minnesota was mediocre running the football and had a dismal passing game, adding up to an offense averaging 300.9 yards per game—again 12^th in the league.

“When you have the Big Ten kicker of the Year, you’re probably not very good on offense,” head coach P.J. Fleck said today at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis. Fleck is a big fan of returning kicker Dragan Kesich and his proficiency for kicking field goals but knows his offense must produce in 2024 to improve on last season’s 6-7 record.

Fleck said personnel limitations and injuries dictated what the offense could do last season. “We want that to be better. We want that (offense) to be way more balanced,” Fleck told reporters in Indy at a news conference televised on BTN. “We also have to have the personnel to do that, which I think we have.

“We’re deeper at wideout, we’re deeper at tight end. We’ve basically got our whole line coming back. We’ve got a really good quarterback who is really consistent. …We’ve got a running back room that’s really deep. And if we can stay healthy, we can be balanced and be consistent on a daily basis on the offensive side of the ball.”

At the most important position in football, Minnesota has newcomer Max Brosmer. The transfer from New Hampshire was a second team FCS All-American last season.

Fleck said the Gophers were committed to finding a portal quarterback for 2024 who would be the starter. Someone with talent and a match for the program’s culture that stresses teamwork, academics and citizenship. Fleck tells his players to work at being better people than players, believing if you’re a better person you will become a better player.

Brosmer will have just one season of eligibility with the Gophers, but his leadership has already been so apparent to the coaches and players. “He’s a meticulous ‘why’ seeker and he’s a very, curious, curious individual. And anytime you have a curious leader, you can accomplish a lot.

“The quote that he is a coach on the field gets thrown around a lot, but he truly is. He could be a doctor and a surgeon which he probably will be, but he’ll be a phenomenal coach if he decides (to be) that one day after he’s done playing.”

Adam Weber, the former Gopher quarterback who still holds school records for career passing yards and career touchdown passes, has spent time with Brosmer. “He’s very impressive,” Weber told Sports Headliners Tuesday.

Worth Noting

Fleck, entering his eighth season with the Gophers, said he and athletic director Mark Coyle have worked together longer than any head football coach-athletic director duo in the Big Ten. Fleck emphasizes the importance of sustainability in a program’s culture that comes about when leadership is in place for a long time. Minnesota had four different head coaches between 1997 and 2016.

An example, he said, of how culture translates into sustainability is the Gophers return 16 of 17 eligible starters from last season’s team.

None of those starters has received more preseason hype than offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery. Ersery is a member of the latest EA Sports College Football 25. Not only ranked at No. 24, but he is also the highest rated offensive lineman in the Big Ten.

Fleck reiterated he “loves Minnesota” and said he and wife Heather have been building a new home for more than two years and it will be completed in two weeks.

Thirteen Golden Gophers have been named as candidates to play in the January 30, 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas. That’s more than defending national champion Michigan has with nine on the watch list for the postseason all-star game.

Gophers are: Max Brosmer, Quinn Carroll, Tyler Cooper, Aireontae Ersery, Jack Henderson, Daniel Jackson, Jah Joyner, Dragan Kesich, Cody Lindenberg, Jalen Logan-Redding, Elijah Spencer, Danny Striggow, Justin Walley. https://shrinebowl.com/shrine-bowl-1000/

Former Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen, along with Rick Pizzo, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith, will host a new 30-minute B1G Countdown to Kickoff show on BTN this summer and fall to prepare fans for the Big Ten games of the day.

Condolences to family and friends of Rochester native and Gophers’ swimming great Steve Jackman, 83, who died last month. Once referred to as “the fastest man in the world” after twice winning the NCAA 50-yard free style races, Jackman was an 11-time All-American at Minnesota. Jackman graduated in 1968 from the University of Minnesota Medical school and practiced radiology at the Mayo Clinic and Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois, according to the Springfield-based State Journal Register website.

Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards is the youngest player at age 22 on the men’s Olympic basketball roster. Wolves coach Chris Finch sees another opportunity for Edwards to grow from the opportunity, watching how some of the world’s greatest players prepare and handle themselves as professionals.

Edwards has predicted he can contribute in big moments for the U.S. team. “His confidence is something that fuels him, to be quite honest with you,” Finch told Sports Headliners earlier this month.

The team’s opening game in the Paris Olympics is Sunday against Serbia. Start time is 10:15 a.m. CDT with NBC televising.

The Summer Olympics begin tomorrow and cybersecurity company AVG has a warning: phishing and scam attacks rise during the summer and winter games. Attacks were up 280 percent during the 2021 summer Olympics and 238 percent for the 2022 winter games, per AVG.

Hollis Cavner has been a golf trailblazer here for more than 30 years. His efforts began with the Burnet Senior Classic in 1993, then the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic and 3M Championship and now the 3M Open, Minnesota’s PGA Tour stop in its sixth year and going on this week at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

Cavner, his employees and volunteers have put high quality golf on the map in Minnesota while raising millions of dollars for local charities and boosting the economy. With the objective of growing interest in the game, kids 16 and under are admitted free to the tournament.

Cavner excels in building relationships including with young golfers such as Sahith Theegala who turned pro in 2020 and is now ranked No. 11 in the world. He will be at the 3M Open as will young players granted an exemption to participate including former Gopher Ben Warian.

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Coach Confident about Wolves Paying Luxury Tax

Posted on July 23, 2024July 23, 2024 by David Shama

The controlling ownership of the Timberwolves is in dispute, but head coach Chris Finch told Sports Headliners he’s optimistic about the organization’s willingness to pay the NBA luxury tax to retain core players and add talent.

“I am extremely confident everyone (among key players) is back. We’re very fortunate to have our top seven players under contract,” Finch said. ‘We’re coming off a great season. We have strong team identity —which we’re looking forward to being able to add to, not detract from.”

That was evidenced on NBA Draft night last month when the Wolves acquired the No. 8 overall selection in the first round from the Spurs by giving up future draft picks. Minnesota used the lottery pick to take Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham. The higher selection increased the franchise’s expected luxury tax by millions of dollars, with Sportrac.com now reporting the luxury tax amount for next season at $105.6 million.

The luxury tax will, of course, be on top of reportedly at least $196 million for next season in committed salaries. “Yes, Glen (Taylor) and ownership have been extremely generous in their willingness to support this roster and the opportunity I think this roster has,” Finch said. “That was evident by our ability to be aggressive on draft night to move up. That doesn’t happen unless you have ownership’s backing.”

Ownership of the Wolves and Lynx is in flux with the legal dispute between long time majority owner Taylor and the Marc Lore, Alex Rodriquez, Michael Bloomberg group. A resolution is expected by fall, with perhaps a vote by NBA owners deciding the matter.

Unconfirmed reports last spring speculated the potential new majority owners wanted to slash payroll, resulting in reduced luxury tax imposed by the league. For now, Taylor remains the majority owner and apparently is willing to pay the tax for exceeding the league tax threshold of $170,814,000.

The organization’s willingness to spend additional monies is sweet music to long suffering Wolves fans. The team is coming off a 56-26 regular season where Minnesota won the second most games in franchise history. The Wolves advanced to the Western Conference playoff finals for only the second time in their history and first time in 20 years.

Minnesota will enter next season among the favored teams to win the NBA championship. “..We have every opportunity to punch through and be considered among those teams,” Finch said after noting the last six titles have been won by six different franchises.

The Wolves return starters Mike Conley Jr., Jaden Daniels, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Rounding out the top seven are Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander- Walker.

Towns, among the team’s veterans at age 28, will earn one of the NBA’s top salaries next season at $49,350,000, per ESPN.com. His uber talent as a 7-foot combo power forward-center is undeniable but his inconsistency and pricey paycheck have made him a subject of trade speculation if the basketball front office led by Tim Connelly is told to reduce payroll.

Finch (no surprise) is a KAT supporter and agreed with the suggestion he is underappreciated in this market. “Absolutely. KAT is a phenomenal player,” he said.

Finch also said KAT had a “great season” and is among the team’s most important and impactful players. More than anyone, the coach said, KAT was willing to take the lead role in making the partnership work between himself and 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert. The two put to rest a lot of the criticism and skepticism regarding whether “Twin Towers” could play together and help fuel a winning season.

“That, plus, I thought he (KAT) had… outstanding playoffs,” Finch said. “He had a lot of really…under the radar games that were important. He took the match up of (the Suns’ Kevin) Durant, he took the match up of (the Nuggets’ Nikola) Jokic. These are things that normally you wouldn’t have thought in the past that someone would ask of KAT, and in doing so has made a huge impact on our ability to win.”

The 19-year-old Dillingham, who only played one season at Kentucky before entering the NBA Draft, shows promise of being a major contributor off the bench. He has the kind of potential and rookie salary that the Wolves likely couldn’t afford with a similarly talented free agent or traded for player.

On Sunday, in the Wolves’ last Summer League game in Las Vegas, the 6-foot- 3 Dillingham had 25 points and 12 assists in a win over the Magic. He averaged 13.6 points, while Terrence Shannon Jr., who the Wolves selected at No. 27 in the NBA Draft, averaged 13.3.

“They both have NBA skillsets, NBA athleticism, speed and we’re excited about both of them,” Finch said. “And we’re excited about our other young players that haven’t had a chance yet. Josh Minott, Leonard Miller—these guys have an opportunity to earn minutes, too.”

Shannon, a 6-6 guard-forward, shares a skill with Dillingham of successful slashing to the basket. Both could provide valuable scoring off the bench next season, with Finch noting “they have a nose for putting the ball in the basket.” Minott and Miller, both forwards, have intrigued the Wolves with their talents since being added to the roster two years and one year ago respectively.

Finch expects Dillingham and Shannon to play extensive minutes in preseason games. Whether they can average double-digit minutes on the floor during the regular season will depend on understanding the team system and philosophy and executing. Finch added there are “non-negotiables” the coaching staff isn’t willing to accept and added “the first thing they gotta do, like any young player, is make sure they’re not hurting the team.”

There’s a “currency of trust” players must earn. Finch said his rookies will have to improve as the season progresses to achieve that trust.

Finch also said the Wolves not only like Dillingham and Shannon as players and also like their character. He believes they can handle the ups and downs of what awaits them as they start their pro careers.

As with all his players, Finch’s to-do list includes developing a one-on-one relationship with the two first round rookies. Let them know what’s expected and what they need to do.

Some of the relationship building comes away from basketball. “We try to meet them where they are,” Finch said. “We try to get comfortable with them. Who are the people in their lives? … And things they like to do off the floor. They’re all-important things that we need to know about them and learn. The best way to do that is learn them in a casual, comfortable environment.”

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Could Twins-White Sox Series Provide Trade Preview?

Posted on July 7, 2024July 7, 2024 by David Shama

The Twins’ three-game series starting tomorrow night in Chicago against the White Sox might be an opportunity to set in motion a trade to improve Minnesota’s chances of advancing to the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

The Twins, who finish a three-game home series against the Astros today, are six games behind the Guardians in the race to win the AL Central Division. Perhaps more likely than overtaking Cleveland to earn a playoff spot, is entry as a wild card team. FanGraphs.com gives the Twins a 32.9 percent chance of winning the division, but 50.2 percent likelihood of being one of three wild card clubs in the AL playoffs.

Minnesota could boost its playoff prospects with a trade or two prior to the July 30 MLB trade deadline. Priorities include starting pitching and bullpen help. This week’s trip to the Windy City is perhaps timely with the lowly White Sox, 26-65, considered among the most likely of MLB teams to be sellers prior to the deadline.

As has been true all season, the Twins need a couple more solid starters in their rotation. White Sox emerging star Garrett Crochet is rumored to be available because Chicago needs prospects as it rebuilds the franchise.

Crochet was the AL Pitcher of the Month in June, leading MLB in strikeouts. The 26-year-old would add a left-hander to the starting rotation. He comes with a club-friendly contract at a reported $800,000, unless an extension is negotiated this month.

The Twins’ bullpen hasn’t been elite in 2024 like it was at the close of 2023. Help is needed for performance, consistency and depth. White Sox closer Michael Kopech could be available. Although Kopech has struggled of late, he and Crochet fit the Minnesota front office’s liking for strikeout pitchers.

Chicago outfielder Tommy Pham, rumored in past years as perhaps bound for the Twins, could be a right-handed bat that would help Minnesota in the second half of the season, particularly if injuries hit the roster. The 36-year-old veteran is having a mediocre season but has hit in the clutch and wouldn’t command a lot in trade return.

Twins president Derek Falvey, GM Thad Levine and other club leaders could be looking for some help in Chicago with Minnesota having night games Monday and Tuesday, before the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

The Twins, BTW, are TBA on Monday night’s starting pitcher, with Bailey Ober and struggling Pablo Lopez, 5.18 ERA, set for games two and three.

Worth Noting

Wow! Twins third baseman and DH Jose Miranda, who yesterday tied an MLB record with hits in 12 consecutive at bats, is hitting .376 with 13 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 31 RBI, a .419 on-base percentage, a .602 slugging percentage and a 1.020 OPS in his last 38 games dating back to May 24.

Among Gopher football players topping the curiosity list in 2024 is defensive end Jaxon Howard, the former four-star recruit from Robbinsdale Cooper who played briefly last season at SEC power LSU but transferred to Minnesota in June. Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated, told Sports Headliners earlier this year he will consider it a “win” if Howard, hyped for his pass rushing potential, becomes the No. 2 defensive end behind senior Danny Striggow, the veteran standout.

“…Now, I know the fan base and maybe members of the media want to see a bigger impact from a kid like that, but I think people have to remember he’s only going to be a redshirt freshman this fall,” Burns said about the state’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023. “It’s very rare to see a redshirt freshman come in and just have a monster impact in year one unless they’re just incredibly talented.

“I am not saying Jaxon is not, but I am saying for a kid who didn’t play very many snaps at LSU last fall as a true freshman (that’s challenging). If he can come in and go from very little snaps to over 200, maybe 300 snaps at Minnesota for his first experience in the Big Ten, I think that would be a very impactful role for him. But he’s going to have to come in and win that number two job behind Danny Striggow this fall and then once Danny graduates in January and moves on it will be up for grabs for him to potentially grab a much larger role in 2025.”

Lindy’s Sports Big Ten football magazine ranks Howard No. 71 on a list of top 75 transfer portal players in the nation. Koi Perich, the safety from Esko, Minnesota who headlines the Gophers’ 2024 freshmen class, is ranked the No. 70 on the incoming freshmen list.

The Gopher receiving the most praise by the magazine (recently hit newsstands) is senior left tackle Aireontae Ersery, named to the offensive first team preseason All-American unit. Lindy’s made Ersery an All-Big Ten first team selection, too, and said Pro Football Focus rates the 6-6, 325 pound star the best returning run blocker in the country.

Gopher senior Dragan Kesich, the 2023 Big Ten Kicker of the Year, is the No. 3 kicker in the nation, per Lindy’s. Kesich is a Lindy’s All-Big Ten first team selection and the magazine said along with senior punter Mark Crawford, named to the third team, Minnesota has the two best specialists at those positions in the 18-member Big Ten.

Lindy’s predicts the Gophers will excel running the football but questions the improvement of the passing game and defense from last season—projecting a No. 15 finish in the standings and possibly no bowl game.

Forward Joe Ingles, a summer free agent addition by the Timberwolves, looks like a savvy move by front office leader Tim Connelly. Ingles, 36, brings outside shooting, playmaking and leadership off the bench, plus years of experience with Wolves starters Mike Conley Jr. and Rudy Gobert when all three were with the Jazz. He is a “glue man” replacement for versatile veteran sub Kyle Anderson who signed a free agent deal recently with the Warriors.

The Clippers, who drafted former Gopher Cam Christie last month in the second round, play the Nuggets in a Las Vegas Summer League game Friday night starting at 9 p.m. Minneapolis time and telecast on NBA TV.

Hazeltine National Golf Course’s 16^th hole checks in at No. 47 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s top 100 golf holes.

Former Vikings wide receiver Leo Lewis leads The Lewis Sports Foundation celebrating its 25^th year with the organization’s annual Awards Dinner August 4, and the 22^nd annual Leo Lewis Celebrity Golf Classic the next day, with both events at Minnesota Valley Country Club in Bloomington. The dinner recognizes metro area community leaders for their efforts impacting the lives of youth. More at http://Lewissportsfoundation.com

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