Timberwolves – Page 83 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Confidence No Problem for Miguel Sano

Posted on March 18, 2016March 18, 2016 by David Shama

What to know about Miguel Sano, the late Flip Saunders, and national championship pursuits tonight by the St. Thomas men’s basketball team and the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team. …

Sano has yet to play a full season in the majors but writers are learning the 22-year-old hitting phenom from the Dominican Republic is full of confidence. In July of last year he told Sports Headliners future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter he’s seen, and also said, “I can be better than Cabrera, I think.”

Sano spoke about what kind of batting numbers he could achieve in a full season in a March 8, 2016 article by Tom Verducci of Si.com. He told Verducci, “I don’t know, but if I stay healthy I feel like I have a chance to be something like the MVP and win the Triple Crown, and I can be on the All-Star team.”

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

In 80 games and 279 at bats last season Sano had a .269 average, with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. Sano obviously believes those are numbers he can build on this season and during his career.

Twins president Dave St. Peter views the young slugger’s confidence as a positive. “He obviously has a long way to go to get to his full potential but he’s a talented player,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He has all the attributes on the field that you would expect out of some of the better players in the game, in terms of being able to hit for power and command of the strike zone.

“I think getting back on the field defensively is going to be important for him in terms of his career. We certainly thought that was a critical thing in the offseason to move him into a position (on the field). …We’re counting on him to take that next step. We’re hopeful he’s going to be a positive force for our club for a long, long time.”

Sano, a third baseman and shortstop in the minor leagues, was mostly a designated hitter for the Twins last season. In spring training he’s learning to play right field and that’s a process. “The best thing is he’s had a great attitude about it and he’s attacked it,” St. Peter said. “He’s been a good student, asking questions, learning from mistakes. I think having Torii Hunter (retired Twins right fielder and now an instructor) in camp the first couple weeks was a huge benefit to Miguel.”

Sano is 6-4, 262-pounds but St. Peter said there are no concerns about running down balls in the outfield. “He runs fine. Running isn’t going to be the issue for him. It’s going to be how long it’s going to take for him to master (outfield) routes and play those balls that are hit right at him. We want to make sure that we give him time for the transition, but we’re optimistic that he is going to be fine in right field.”

St. Peter believes Sano can become exceptional in the field. “We think the athleticism is there for him to be a very good outfielder. The only thing holding him back is inexperience.” …

Saunders died a few days before the Timberwolves started the 2015-2016 season but the impact of his personnel decisions is evident this winter. Owner Glen Taylor hired Saunders about three years ago to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. In a short time Saunders rebuilt the roster with young talent that has yet to win consistently, but the club shows promise of eventually making deep runs in the NBA playoffs.

Only point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic remain from the team’s 20-man training camp roster in the fall of 2012. Six players remain from the 15-man roster the Wolves had opening the 2014-2015 season. In addition to Rubio and Pekovic, those players are Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins.

As president of basketball operations in May of 2013, Saunders inherited Rubio and Pekovic. This season the Wolves’ starting lineup has often consisted of Rubio and LaVine at guards, Dieng and Wiggins at forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns (drafted last June) at center. Muhammad, a forward, plays major minutes off the bench.

Jim Dutcher said Saunders, who played and coached for him with the Gophers, could see potential in players that others missed. “…His ability to foresee what a player could be, not what he was necessarily at the time,” Dutcher said.

Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Timberwolves).

In Saunders’ first NBA draft he made a trade with the Jazz that allowed the Wolves to acquire both Dieng and Muhammad. He got two No. 1 draft choices by sending his initial first round pick, Trey Burke of Michigan, to Utah. Dieng didn’t have eye-catching scoring numbers in college but at power forward for the Wolves he makes contributions the subtle observer doesn’t always see. Muhammad’s flashy talent was obvious at UCLA but some experts doubted his character. Dutcher said Saunders believed with maturity and the right coaching Muhammad could help the Wolves.

LaVine was a one-and-done freshman at UCLA in 2013-2014 and Saunders liked what he saw. “Probably biggest one (of Saunders’ personnel moves) was LaVine, a nonstarter in college and he takes him with their No. 1 choice because he could see his athletic ability,” Dutcher said. “He could say, ‘Hey, if we can refine his game, this kid is going to be a player.’ ”

After Saunders’ first year or so with the Wolves it became apparent All-Star forward Kevin Love didn’t want to be part of the franchise long-term. Saunders negotiated a deal in the summer of 2014 with the Cavs sending Love to Cleveland and bringing Wiggins to Minneapolis. Wiggins had been the overall No. 1 NBA draft choice earlier in 2014 and in his first season with the Wolves became NBA Rookie of the Year.

Dutcher believes Saunders’ easiest move was acquiring Towns. Known for their awful luck in the draft lottery, the Wolves finally won the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last year. Dutcher believes it was “pretty easy” to take Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, another big man hyped before the draft and eventually taken third overall by the Sixers. He refers to Towns as the “cornerstone” of Minnesota’s youthful team. “He is a high character kid who is only going to get better,” Dutcher said.

The Wolves’ record is a dismal 22-46 but there is too much young talent not to dramatically improve that record during the next couple of seasons. Saunders, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his health quickly deteriorate, died at age 60. Dutcher said his friend’s efforts with the Wolves “were finally about to be rewarded.”

More importantly, Dutcher said, Saunders’ death is for the many people who loved him a “tragedy that is hard to deal with.” …

Salem, Virginia is about a three hour drive from the campus of Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia. St. Thomas coach John Tauer knows CNU will have a supportive crowd when the two teams play in a Division III Final Four semifinal game tonight in Salem.

Tauer, though, didn’t seem concerned earlier this week when talking to Sports Headliners. The Tommies advanced to the Final Four last Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana, a physically imposing team and ranked No. 1 in Division III, had a home court advantage.

“Their crowd was as wild as any one that I’ve ever seen,” Tauer said. “Our guys certainly rose to the challenge. You can worry about all those factors in a national tournament. The reality is I am much more concerned trying to get our guys ready, and prepared to play an outstanding team. The crowd is the crowd. That’s fun for everybody but the reality is what’s going on inside the court is what we try to focus on.”

The Tommies (28-3) and CNU (30-1) play tonight at 6:30 p.m. (central daylight) after the semifinal game between Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6). The winners play for the national championship Saturday night. Tonight’s games are streamed live on NCCA.com. The championship game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Tauer, who has a 126-22 record in five years as the Tommies’ head coach, is now in his fourth Final Four. He played in one final, was an assistant coach on the UST national title team of 2011 and was head coach for the Tommies in the 2013 Final Four.

Last year’s team was 24-4 and its wins included a victory over eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. With four of his top six players returning, Tauer knew his team could have another high success season. The Tommies not only have talent but experience with four of their major contributors being seniors.

This week Tauer was named West Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops.com. Senior center Ryan Saarela (second team) and senior forward Taylor Montero (third team) were named All-Region.

Both players are Minnesotans, as are all but one of the 17 players on the roster. Tauer said the talent pool of Minnesota high school basketball is impressive and that’s a reason why he stays close to home in recruiting. Logistics and budget are factors too. “I don’t have a private jet (for recruiting),” he said. …

The Gophers women’s hockey team (33-4-1) plays the Badgers (35-3-1) for a sixth time this season when the two teams meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. (central daylight) in a national semifinal Frozen Four game in Durham, N.H. The Badgers have won three games, the Gophers two this season, and the winner tonight advances to the NCAA national title game Sunday that begins at 1 p.m.

The defending national champion Gophers are in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four. Minnesota is trying to win its seventh national championship and third back-to-back title.

The other Frozen Four teams are Boston College (39-0) and Clarkson (30-4-5). The two semifinal games and Sunday’s title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

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A Different Spring for Tyus Jones

Posted on March 9, 2016March 9, 2016 by David Shama

If Tyus Jones ever writes an autobiography the first chapter might be titled “March.” The third month of the year has been special for Jones—at least for the last few years including when his interest picked up about playing for the Gophers.

Three years ago Jones was a junior point guard leading Apple Valley High School to the 2013 Class 4A championship. During that same March the late Flip Saunders, who had become friends with Jones, talked with Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague about becoming the Gophers’ coach. The two men met in Indianapolis but couldn’t agree on a deal.

Jones told Sports Headliners a Saunders hire would have placed the Gophers among his final choices for college. “It would have,” he said.

Saunders was out of coaching in 2013 but wanted to get back in at either Minnesota, his alma mater, or returning to the NBA where his stops included the Timberwolves. When Jones was a sophomore in high school he first met the dynamic coach. “I got to know him pretty well throughout my high school days,” Jones said. “Just built a relationship with him, and he was a very humble, down to earth guy.

“What I remember him most for is how he wanted the best for me—and always looked out for me…giving me advice and being there for me.”

Two years ago this month Jones was a senior at Apple Valley when his team couldn’t defend its 2013 state title, losing the championship game in double overtime to Cretin-Derham Hall. During the month he received numerous national and local honors including prep All-American and invitations to the best postseason high school all-star games, while Duke fans anticipated the fall arrival of the school’s next great point guard.

Jones, part of a stellar freshman class at Duke, had the Blue Devils advancing through the NCAA Tournament last March. In early April, just about a month out from Jones’ 19th birthday, the Dukies celebrated an unexpected NCAA championship. The kid from suburban Minneapolis, who had flirted with the thought of playing for Saunders and the hometown Gophers, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Jones decided last spring to leave Duke and enter the NBA Draft. It seemed most improbable that he could end up playing in Minneapolis for the Timberwolves. But Saunders had joined the Timberwolves during the spring of 2013 and he wanted his young friend on the roster. A draft night trade by Saunders, the franchise’s president and coach, brought Jones home.

Jones’ first NBA season has been a trial, with minimal playing time off the bench and even a demotion to the Development League, but he doesn’t regret leaving Duke to become a pro and fulfill a lifelong dream. “That’s my job now and to be able to say this is a blessing,” he said. “The cherry on the top is I am playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.”

Jones, of course, wishes Saunders, who died unexpectedly last fall from cancer, was around to see him living his dream and to offer mentoring. Instead, other coaches and players like point guards Ricky Rubio and Andre Miller helped the rookie adjust to the pros where he has played in only 20 games while averaging 4.4 points and 2.6 assists.

Jones said he is a superior player to what he was at the beginning of the season, able to manage the game better and is more knowledgeable about his personnel. “At the beginning of the year I wasn’t quite as aware as I am now,” he said.

When Jones thinks back about the last couple of years and reviews how much has happened, he is grateful. “It seems like it was a blur and everything. I feel like it has just gone my way and so many doors have been opened up for me, and I am extremely blessed and fortunate.”

This March, instead of competing for championships, Jones is playing for a Timberwolves team with a 20-45 record. What has he learned about losing?

“That I don’t like it,” he answered. “But you can always learn from it and let it make you a better player and person. There’s a lot of lessons that can be brought and taught to you through this game of basketball.”

Worth Noting

Jones’ brother Tre Jones is a sophomore point guard at Apple Valley High School whose college scholarship offers reportedly include Duke, but Tyus said there is no favorite yet. “He’s pretty wide open. His recruiting process is just getting started.”

The Gopher baseball team’s first ever game in the new U.S. Bank Stadium will be Tuesday February 28, 2017, against North Dakota. Minnesota will play North Dakota in the evening, and then again the next night at the covered stadium which can be converted from a football configuration to a baseball setup.

When the Gophers played the first ever baseball game at Target Field in March of 2010, attendance was 36,065. That was a Saturday afternoon, so the Gophers’ week night games against North Dakota are expected to draw smaller crowds.

The next Twins telecast from spring training will be Sunday starting at 12:05 p.m. on Fox Sports North. The Twins will play the Orioles from Fort Myers.

Speculation is three former Gophers from the 2015 team will be chosen in this spring’s NFL Draft. Defensive back Eric Murray might be selected in the third or fourth rounds. Defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell seem likely for later rounds.

Murray pointed out after the Gophers Pro Day Monday that prospects can’t demonstrate tackling abilities in tryouts because it’s not allowed. Murray, who had no college offers other than the Gophers, said the NFL was a goal coming out of high school in Milwaukee. “It was definitely a dream. You gotta set a goal somehow. Once you set that, it’s something to reach.”

The Gophers had four players drafted last year, the most since 2006. The four were tight end Maxx Williams, Ravens (second round); linebacker Damien Wilson, Cowboys (fourth round); running back David Cobb, Titans (fifth round); and safety Cedric Thompson, Dolphins (fifth round). The 1950 NFL Draft was the last time Minnesota had four players selected in the first five rounds.

It’s been a rewarding week for former Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith now in his third season at Texas Tech. Smith was named Big 12 Coach of the Week Sunday and yesterday he was announced as Sporting News National Coach of the Year. It was the eighth time he has won a national coach of the year award. He coached the Red Raiders to a surprising 9-9 record in the Big 12 this season (19-11 overall).

Quoting a Sports Headliners reader who will remain anonymous but marveled at this column’s high praise for former Gophers coach Jerry Kill: “I want you to write my obituary.”

Retired Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron will be in town in late April to help Canterbury Park promote the May 7 Kentucky Derby and the return of live racing to the Shakopee racetrack May 20. McCarron, who twice won the Derby, will host a fund raiser for the Leg Up Fund at Canterbury April 26. The fund assists recuperating jockeys injured at Canterbury. The Derby attracts the largest amount of wagering at Canterbury each year.

Bill Davis, the former Gopher baseball and basketball star, played on the Richfield High School team that lost the classic 1960 overtime game to Edgerton in the boys state basketball tournament. Davis will speak to the “Breakfast with Leroy” group Saturday at the Bloomington Knights of Columbus, 1114 American Blvd West. Part of Davis’ presentation will include audio from WCCO Radio describing the final minutes of the game, plus postgame interviews. More information about the presentation including how to attend is available by contacting Pat Rickert at 612-861-3981. Attendees are mostly athletes from the Minneapolis public schools in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, many of whom went on to college and professional careers.

Former Midwest Sports Channel and Twins executive Kevin Cattoor is Chief Operating Officer for Foodsby, the nation’s largest food logistics delivery service. The Minneapolis-based company partners with office buildings and restaurants to efficiently provide lunchtime meals delivered by the restaurants.

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No Escaping Franchises’ Wanderlust

Posted on February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 by David Shama

A trip to southern California reminded me about the nomadic ways of sports franchises. Chargers board chair Dean Spanos has put on hold plans to vacate San Diego and play in Los Angeles—contemplating at least one final attempt for a private-publicly funded stadium in his NFL city.

Thank the Lord it only cost a billion dollars to keep the Vikings in Minneapolis.

When I started thinking about the franchise history of Minnesota’s professional sports teams, I got a bad case of the yips. Vikings, Twins, North Stars, Lakers—yikes! No wonder my right hand shakes while I try to hold a cup of coffee.

American sports teams can move around like doughnut franchises. The NBA’s Kings, for example, started as the Rochester Royals. They became the Cincinnati Royals, and later the Kansas City Kings, before emerging as the Sacramento Kings.

Baseball’s Braves had a long stay in Boston before a sometimes glorious run in Milwaukee during the 1950s and ‘60s. They broke many hearts in Dairyland by relocating to Georgia where those ambitious Braves are counting down the days before moving into their third stadium in greater Atlanta.

Long ago the football Cardinals played second string to the Bears in Chicago and flirted with a move to Minnesota before landing in St. Louis. Then the Cardinals decided Arizona was a better place to roost. St. Louis got its revenge by taking the Rams from L.A. That lasted until last month when the NFL approved a Rams return to southern California where they will play in a new palace said to be the next big thing among football stadiums.

Most Vikings fans could care less about the Rams, who every couple of decades jilt either L.A. or St. Louis. But Purple Nation is still rejoicing that Los Angeles, without any football for about 20 years, didn’t lure the Vikings to southern California where now either the Oakland Raiders (previously the L.A. Raiders) or the Chargers (long ago the L.A. Chargers) might join the Rams in that new palace in suburban Inglewood.

While you may not hate L.A., I do! I remember Los Angeles took the Lakers away from Minneapolis in 1960. To me, it was like the baseball Dodgers moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. The Lakers won five pro championships in Minneapolis, and became a dynasty again in the 1960s and beyond playing in southern California. This town lost some phenomenal basketball when it missed out on watching Lakers superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in the 1960s.

Not that this area can claim purity in chasing franchises from another city. Major league baseball began here in 1961 when the Senators moved from Washington, D.C. That was the lowly Senators franchise from Damn Yankees Broadway fame who by 1960 was still losing lots of games but loading up with promising big leaguers. In 1965 players like Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison and Camilo Pascual helped form the core of a Twins team that lost to the Dodgers in the World Series.

Less than 15 years later Twins owner Calvin Griffith was interested in abandoning Met Stadium, a facility the Vikings also pronounced inadequate. The Met’s sightlines and smaller seating capacity favored baseball but Griffith knew that at least for awhile he could make more money in a new ballpark. As for the Vikings, rumors persisted they might move to Memphis—not only the home of Elvis Presley, but where Purple general manager Mike Lynn worked before coming north.

The Metrodome opened in 1982 and saved both the Twins and Vikings for Minnesota—at least for awhile. By 1997 Twins owner Carl Pohlad let it be known North Carolina could be the franchise’s next stop. Pohlad wanted a baseball only stadium for his team and there was no disputing the Teflon topped dome was a better home for the Vikings than the Twins. Eventually the Twins and Hennepin County came up with $545 million to build Target Field and keep major league baseball here.

By the late 1990s the Vikings were also grumbling about the dome and its limited gameday revenues. As the years went by the franchise’s frustrations increased and so did rumors about moving to Los Angeles. But in 2012 the state of Minnesota, the Vikings, and city of Minneapolis pledged to build the U.S. Bank Stadium that opens this summer.

Memories and wounds from the relocation of the North Stars by villainous owner Norm Green are still vivid. Serenaded by departing choruses from fans of “Norm Green sucks!”, the North Stars’ last season in Minnesota was in 1992-1993—just two years after losing to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals. The state of hockey was left without an NHL team when the Stars skated off to Dallas.

For years the North Stars, like the Minneapolis Lakers before them, complained about their home facility. The North Stars wanted more suites and other revenue enhancements at Met Center. The Lakers were bedeviled by frustrations in finding dates and scheduling games at the Minneapolis Auditorium. The community didn’t do enough to help both franchises with their facilities needs.

Health club gurus Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner built Target Center with private funding to bring the NBA back to Minneapolis in 1989. Later they had negotiations with a group interested in taking the franchise to New Orleans. The city now owns the arena and is working with Wolves owner Glen Taylor to renovate Target Center and enhance revenues while ensuring the team remains in Minneapolis.

The city of St. Paul and state of Minnesota answered mayor Norm Coleman’s pleas to replace the St. Paul Civic Center and return the NHL to Minnesota. The $130 million cost to build the Xcel Energy Center was a lot more than the potential funding needed to renovate Met Center and keep the North Stars in Bloomington. No one will argue, though, the “X” is a premier hockey facility.

All is quiet on the relocation front in Minnesota—at least for awhile. Our “doughnut shops” aren’t available to Los Angeles or any other city right now.

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