Timberwolves – Page 47 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Timing of Saunders Firing Debatable

Posted on February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 by David Shama

Ryan Saunders was fired as the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach last night, but the timing is debatable. Why replace him now rather than wait until season’s end? When all is considered, would the Wolves benefit more by switching coaches this spring?

The Wolves are hiring Toronto Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch to replace Saunders. Wolves basketball boss Gersson Rosas decided not to ride out the season with Saunders, or replace him with an interim coach. Either move could have provided additional time to identify the best candidate to lead the woeful Wolves. One candidate could have been Minnesota native and former NBA head coach Dave Joerger, now an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s Rosas’ job to plan ahead for various scenarios and you can bet he has been thinking about Finch for awhile. No doubt he believes Finch is the right leader for his team. But Finch has no NBA head coaching experience, and neither did Saunders two years ago when he took over as interim head man, and later was hired permanently by Rosas. Rosas and Finch worked together with the Houston Rockets so the two presumably have the rapport needed between the front office and the bench.

Even if hiring Finch turns out to be a terrific decision, he likely would have been available when the NBA season ends this spring. So why rush the hire when the candidate pool might be even better?

Also, taking over the job now isn’t nearly as ideal as having an offseason and training camp for Finch to formulate decisions including systems to implement and assistants to hire. The impressions he makes on players now might be better in a new beginning rather than during the frantic NBA marathon of games. It is a positive that Finch will get a firsthand look at his Timberwolves personnel now, both players and staff, including their talents and quirks on and off the court.

There is often a honeymoon period for a new coach and the expectation is a fresh voice in the locker room will spark more wins than Saunders was going to produce. That may not be as positive as it first sounds. The Wolves, 7-24, have the worst record in the NBA. At that pace Minnesota has a realistic chance of ending up with a top three selection in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft later this year. In the NBA’s 14-team draft lottery, the worse a club’s record, the better the chance of lucking into a high draft selection. Even more to the point this year is that Golden State owns the Wolves first round selection unless its a top three pick (Minnesota got that protection in a 2020 trade).

A dream scenario for the Wolves in the draft is to find hometown hero Jalen Suggs—the Minnehaha Academy alum now leading 22-0 Gonzaga as a freshman—available to them among the top three picks in the draft. Mock drafts have Suggs going early, perhaps No. 1, and the 6-4 Suggs is just what the Timberwolves need.

Saunders would probably still be coaching if he had a better point guard. Before he was fired last night his team lost by four points to the New York Knicks. Minnesota has a maddening list of close losses, and in February alone the Wolves have lost six of 12 games by five points or less.

Those were games the Wolves couldn’t close out, partially because of poor decision making on the floor from the likes of D’Angelo Russell, or the missing and diminished skills of Ricky Rubio. Suggs, with his size, length, quickness, unselfish approach, scoring, passing and defensive skills, could be an immediate upgrade over Russell and Rubio. With Suggs directing, the Wolves could have a rocking offense with the scoring talents of Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards.

The decision to let Saunders go had to be emotional for him and owner Glen Taylor. Saunders, 34, has known the 79-year-old billionaire since he was a boy. The connection between the Saunders family with the Wolves has included a minority ownership share in the franchise and prominent roles coaching and in the front office by the late Flip Saunders, Ryan’s dad.

Ryan is a high character person, well liked by those who know him. After assistant coaching jobs for his dad and Tom Thibodeau, Rosas and Taylor thought he was ready to be a head coach. He wasn’t. His teams were often dreadful defensively and seldom succeeded in big moments.

Worth Noting

Suggs, along with three Gonzaga teammates and head coach Mark Few, is on the cover of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. The No. 1 ranked Zags appear headed to a national championship showdown with No. 1 Baylor, 17-0 and led by a coaching staff that includes assistant and Minnesota native Jared Nuness, son of former Gophers captain Al Nuness.

The 2021 Gophers are a troubled team at 13-10 and have lost three consecutive games and four of their last six. Minnesota’s chances of being invited to the NCAA Tournament have nosedived from all but certain to precarious since defeating No. 3 ranked Michigan last month, the Wolverines only loss of the season.

Coach Richard Pitino’s team is dealing with injuries and wounded pride. Gabe Kalscheur, the team’s best perimeter defender, is out indefinitely after finger surgery. Center Liam Robbins and guard Both Gach are playing but injured, with Robbins perhaps hurting the most with an ankle restricting him.

Robbins has been the Big Ten’s leading shot blocker. “It’s really hurting our defense. He’s really hobbled right now,” Minnesota coach Pitino said on KFNX Radio Saturday after the Illinois game.

Illinois embarrassed the Gophers at Williams Arena, winning 94-63. The Illini assaulted Minnesota with dunks and other easy shots. At times the Gophers played with minimal effort. Senior center Eric Curry acknowledged as much after the game when asked how Minnesota can improve future outcomes. “Have a sense of pride. Can’t let the other guys come in like today, just do what they want to do.”

The Gophers, 6-10 in Big Ten games, have 3-13 Northwestern at home Thursday night. Then Saturday it’s 1-12 Nebraska in Lincoln, with two more remaining regular season games, March 3 at Penn State (4-11 record), and March 6 Rutgers (8-9) at home. The remaining opponents are mediocre at best but the Gophers are in no position to disrespect anyone.

Former Golden Gophers basketball public address announcer Dick Jonckowski will receive his third chemo treatment for cancer Tuesday and he reports feeling good. He has stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Condolences to family and ex-teammates of former Gophers linebacker Tim Wheeler, who passed away earlier this month. Wheeler was an undersized but hard hitting linebacker for Minnesota in the mid-1960s, earning three letters in football. His father, Roger Wheeler, was an All-Big Ten end for Minnesota in 1926.

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Only Football for Coach Mike Grant Now

Posted on February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by David Shama

Mike Grant, 63, is more than a month into a new experience at Eden Prairie High School. As of January 1, he is retired as the activities director but continues with his legendary career as head football coach. No complaints, though.

“My days are certainly full.” Grant told Sports Headliners. “Football takes as much time as I want to put towards it.”

With no administrative or teaching responsibilities, football is his only focus at the school he has been coaching at since 1992 and where his Eagles have won 11 state championships. As activities director, Grant was sensitive to other sports and their coaches, and he didn’t want to offend others by being outspoken about the value of football. “Now I can promote it all I want,” he said about the game he loves and learned from his famous dad, Bud Grant.

The EP varsity and junior varsity teams were undefeated last year. The sophomores and freshmen each lost a game. But Grant believes it’s not winning that is the most important reason kids come out to play football at his school and others across the state.

“You can have a great experience in football and win one game because you are with your buddies,” Grant said. “There’s camaraderie in football that is very different than any other sport.”

With all the success Grant has had at Eden Prairie, readers might scoff at his remarks. But before coming to EP he was head coach at Forest Lake where the wins were few and opponents could almost predetermine the final score.

“I have been there,” Grant said. “I look back on that and those were some of my fondest memories with those kids that were playing. I still see those guys. They are men now and they have nothing to say but great things about playing football way back then.”

A lot of youth are specializing in one sport these days. An industry has developed of paid trainers from outside the school systems who work with young athletes with ambitions of earning college scholarships and even professional careers.

Sometimes disillusion sets in long before high school graduation. By focusing on one sport, kids may eventually realize they are missing out on their full potential as high school athletes, or that the advice from others isn’t working for them. Grant has seen some of his better players take a circuitous route to his roster. “Because they come back out (for football) as juniors and seniors after being told that they should focus only on basketball, or only on hockey, or only on whatever. …”

During the last several years the safety perception of football has taken a nosedive with the public because of negative publicity concerning concussions in the NFL and college football. Even though the incidence of concussions in high school football is reportedly less than some other activities, parents have been apprehensive in allowing their sons to participate in the sport.

“I don’t know that we had one concussion last year,” Grant said. “But there was so much hype and media hype about concussions, that a lot of parents pulled their kids from it (football). So football numbers everywhere are down and we’re certainly no different. I always look at it (as) if we’ve got a problem, everybody else has got a bigger problem in terms of numbers.”

Enrollment at Eden Prairie High School has for decades been among the largest in the state. In the EP football system, Grant estimated participation numbers are off by about 30 percent. The trend is more skilled athletes are likely still participating but the marginal players, who Grant said can really benefit from football, may not be.

The varsity Eagles were a senior dominated team last season. “I thought we were the best team in the state last year,” Grant said. Only a few starters return for 2021 but a lot of others on the 2020 roster came off the bench and gained experience. “We’ll be as good as we’ve ever been,” the coach said about the coming season.

Worth Noting

This week will significantly influence whether Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers basketball team earns an invitation next month to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota lost at Maryland Sunday, but tries for its first road victory of the season tonight (Wednesday) at Indiana, and then plays No. 5 ranked Illinois in Williams Arena Saturday.

A major positive is the Gophers, 6-8 in the Big Ten and 13-8 overall, have tied a school season record by defeating five top 25 ranked teams. A road win tonight and a home upset of Illinois would bolster Minnesota’s wobbly win-loss record. That’s not likely to happen but if the Gophers could pull to 8-8 in league games by Saturday night, NCAA prospects boldly brighten with two of their three remaining games at home. Northwestern (Feb. 27) and Rutgers (March 6) come to Williams Arena, with Minnesota playing at Penn State March 3.

University officials provided no update at last week’s Board of Regents meetings about borrowing money to cover the system’s anticipated budget shortfall of perhaps $166 million. Details are apparently yet to be finalized including a significant portion of the loan targeted to Gophers athletics whose deficit this fiscal year is speculated to be $40 million or more.

The Timberwolves’ next road game is Sunday in New York where the Knicks feature familiar faces. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whose demanding style helped the Wolves to a rare playoff appearance before being fired, has the lowly New York franchise earning a better record than the Wolves, 14-15 versus 7-21. This is Thibodeau’s first season with the Knicks and two of his player favorites are former Wolves Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. New York media speculates whether Thibs will clash and last with controversial Knicks owner James Dolan.

Don’t fret yet but offseason additions by the Chicago White Sox, including former Twins pitchers Liam Hendriks and Lance Lynn, have crystal ballers making the Sox favorites, or co-favorites with the Minnesota Twins, to win the AL Central Division. Hendriks has ERAs under 2.00 the last two seasons as a late inning stopper. Lynn could win 15 games or more for the Sox. Vegasinsider.com lists the Sox as 10-1 World Series favorites, with only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres more likely to win out in 2021.

Ben Reppenhagen, the Edina native who played high school football at St. Thomas Academy, is a redshirt freshman tight end at TCU and grandson of the late Mike Wright, the 1959 Gophers football captain.

Three Minnesota natives took half of the six spots on the WCHA 1990s All-Decade team announced by the Twin Cities-based league Tuesday. The team includes former Gophers Brian Bonin (forward, White Bear Lake) and Mike Crowley (defenseman, Bloomington) and ex-North Dakota goaltender Karl Goehring (Apple Valley). All-decade teams this winter are part of the league’s 70-years celebration.

Guess who is only four years away from eligibility for Social Security? Michael Jordan is 58 today.

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Tom Brady Instincts Impress Bud Grant

Posted on February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 by David Shama

Tom Brady, 43, has been the quarterback on seven Super Bowl winning teams including last night when he helped lead the Tampa Bay Bucs to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. After the game he was given the Super Bowl MVP Award for the fifth time. “In our lifetime we’re not going to see anybody even close to him record wise,” Bud Grant told Sports Headliners during an interview this morning.

While setting NFL player records Sunday night for most Super Bowls won and Super Bowl MVP awards won, Brady completed 21 of 29 attempts (72.4 percent) for 201 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, a 125.8 passer rating. He also built on his Super Bowl records for the most career completions (277), passing yards (3,039) and passing touchdowns (21).

Grant, the former Minnesota Vikings coach who took four teams to Super Bowls in the 1970s, used to ask scouts about the instincts of players they were evaluating. The scouts spoke about the measurables of players like size and speed but Grant wanted to know more.

“I said, ‘No, instinct is not measured. It is observed.’ All the great players have good instincts. His instincts (Brady’s) are as good as anybody. He doesn’t make many mistakes. Even those jump balls that he throws, they’re pretty darn close to being right on the money. …His instincts tell him who to throw to, where to throw, when to throw.”

Bud Grant (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

When Grant coached he spoke of durability. One player might sprain an ankle and be sidelined for weeks, while another could be ready for next Sunday. Grant looks at Brady and sees a great quarterback who has been able to avoid injuries.

“One of the main things (about Brady’s success) is he’s durable,” Grant said. “He takes a few hits, not a lot. He gets rid of the ball quick. He’s like (Aaron) Rodgers. Those guys, as soon as the ball is snapped they know where they are going with the ball and they don’t get caught with the ball.”

While Brady generated a lot of attention last night, Grant said it was the Bucs’ defense that won the game. That unit contained Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who Grant compares with Vikings Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. Mahomes, now, and Tarkenton in the 1970s when he quarterbacked for Grant, are two of the most entertaining escape artists in NFL history. The Bucs sometimes made Mahomes scramble for 20 yards and not have much to show for it. “The best team won, there’s no question about that,” Grant said.

Going into the game he didn’t realize how outstanding a team the Bucs, who came on strong late in the season and during the playoffs, really are. “I don’t watch that much football. I can’t sit there for three hours, or six hours on Sunday, and watch all those games. I’ve got other things to do. But I watch enough football and I enjoy it. …”

The beloved Hall of Fame coach, now 93 and healthy, has a large family of children and grand kids living within about 30 minutes of his Twin Cities residence. The pandemic has sidelined his legendary passion for hunting and fishing. Sometimes his outdoors companion is son Mike Grant, the Eden Prairie football coach. “We haven’t planned anything, only because COVID limits your options,” Mike said.

Worth Noting

Grant sizing up the entertainment value of last night’s big game: “It wasn’t a very good game to watch from a spectator standpoint. There weren’t a lot of big plays. …It’s probably going to be forgotten pretty quick, that game yesterday.”

Bob Hagan, the Vikings vice president of football and media communications, didn’t work the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years. He has been part of NFL PR staffers from around the league servicing the media in the past, but the pandemic dramatically reduced credentialed media covering the 2021 Super Bowl.

Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson, and wide receiver Tyler Johnson and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. from the Bucs, were Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys Gophers recruits. Wilson wasn’t even ranked by 247Sports coming out of high school and came to Minnesota from junior college. Johnson and Winfield were 247Sports three-star players as preps.

Dan O’Brien said son Casey O’Brien starts work this week in a support position for RBC Wealth Management in downtown Minneapolis. The inspirational Casey, a former holder on the Gopher football team, earned his degree in finance at Minnesota in December. He completed his course work in 3.5 years while also playing football and fighting cancer (his Twitter page identifies him as a five-time cancer survivor). “He’s nine months cancer free right now,” Dan said.

Dan’s last day as athletic director at St. Thomas Academy will be April 2. He has accepted a position with Hays Financial Group in Minneapolis but will continue coaching football at St. Thomas. The former Gophers coach is grateful for the opportunity to continue in that role. “This fit right into their (Hays) philosophy of giving back to the community,” he said.

Garrison Solliday, the Mr. Football finalist from St. Thomas Academy, has preferred walk-on offers from Duke and Wisconsin, and is likely to play inside or outside linebacker in college. Danny McFadden, the Academy running back, has accepted a preferred walk-on invite to Stanford.

Word is Chet Holmgren, the Minnehaha Academy superstar who could be the No. 1 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, will consider joining the pay-for-play G League team for elite prospects, but is leaning toward college next fall. Holmgren’s list of potential college programs still includes the Gophers. The programs in contention for the nation’s No. 1 prep prospect are: Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State.

In yesterday’s 247Sports composite team rankings for 2021 recruiting, Wisconsin at No. 15 in the country led all Big Ten West football programs. The Badgers’ group of 21 recruits features one five-star offensive lineman and two four-star O-line prospects including Riley Mahlman from Lakeville South. Nebraska at No. 20 and Iowa, No. 23, are closest behind the Badgers, with Minnesota next at No. 37.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who because of COVID-19 protocol hasn’t played in a game since January 13, might return tonight in the Timberwolves’ home game with the Dallas Mavericks.

Fan criticism of Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino is intensifying after three consecutive losses and a 0-6 road record. Pitino, now in his eighth season at Minnesota, has coached one team with a winning regular season Big Ten record.

A pessimistic reader asked if Minnesota can earn its way into the NCAA Tournament with a 14-12 regular season record. Highly unlikely. The Gophers, 11-7 right now, would probably need to win two games in the Big Ten Tournament to qualify for “March Madness.”

MLB.com didn’t include Twins minor leaguer Jhoan Duran in its top 100 MLB prospects listing but sees him as the organization’s player most likely to break through. A summary last Thursday said the right hander’s fast ball approaches 100 miles per hour and that Duran throws a “nasty splitter/sinker hybrid” that can get big leaguers out.

The Twins are hoping to play in front of fans this spring for more than the franchise’s direct benefit. Customers at Target Field could help revitalize downtown businesses.

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