Timberwolves – Page 93 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers 4-Star Recruit a Nice Fit

Posted on February 23, 2015February 24, 2015 by David Shama

Kevin Dorsey is the only Rivals.com four-star recruit in the Gophers’ 2015 class. The point guard from Clinton Christian High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland is also a leading candidate to start for the Gophers next fall.

The Gophers starting point guard for most of this season, DeAndre Mathieu, is a senior. The team’s top shooting guard, Andre Hollins, is also in his last season of eligibility. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino will be looking for replacements and while freshman Nate Mason can play the point he might be a better fit in the starting lineup next season as a shooting guard.

Ryan James, the basketball recruiting authority for Rivals affiliate Gopherillustrated.com, told Sports Headliners that “without a doubt” Dorsey could be one of the Big Ten’s top dozen freshmen next season. James has seen Dorsey play five times and also watched him online.

James said to his knowledge Dorsey is the highest-ranked point guard the Gophers have ever recruited out of high school. While James won’t predict Dorsey as an immediate starter, he is confident the teenager will be a major contributor. “I just know he’s going to get a lot of minutes just because he’s an excellent on-ball defender and off-the-ball-defender, and he’s one of the best pace pushers you will see. I mean he will fly with the basketball in the other direction, and he often ignites it with his own defense.”

At about 5-11, 160, Dorsey certainly doesn’t impress with his stature but his athleticism, including his quickness, draws attention. So, too, does his competitiveness and aggressiveness. “Yes, I don’t think I saw a guy on the summer circuit that played as hard in an AAU-style of game defensively,” James said. “He was always drawing the other team’s best assignment, and that said everything.”

Pitino is an advocate of fast play offensively. Grab the defensive rebound and push the basketball fast toward the Minnesota goal, or create a steal and accelerate into a fast-break. Dorsey sounds like a clone of the point guard prototype for the Pitino system.

“This offense is perfect for him,” James said. “This is exactly the right fit.”

A weakness? James said Dorsey is an okay shooter. “I saw him make jumpers but I think overall he probably has to get better in that regard.”

Dorsey is rated the No. 87 prospect nationally in the class of 2015, according to Rivals.com. In 21 games for Clinton Christian High School he has averaged 22.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals, according to Maxpreps.com.

But it’s the eye test that also impresses about Dorsey. James observed that Dorsey wears basketball shorts that are short enough not to bother his knees while trying to move his feet and legs on defense. “He doesn’t care about the shorts. He cares about getting it done, and that’s another reason why people like him.”

While saying to heck with more fashionable longer shorts, Dorsey takes the court to create a frenzy including on offense. “You have to get in front of him or he’s going to hurt you,” James said.

Gophers fans hope he will do some hurting on opponents immediately next fall.

Worth Noting

This observer’s opinion on the Gophers’ chances of winning on Thursday night at Michigan State: 10 percent. Minnesota, 5-10 in the Big Ten, has lost three consecutive games and plays a Spartans team, 10-4, that has won four straight and leads the conference in field goal percentage defense. Coach Tom Izzo has the Spartans on another classic bull run to season’s end.

The Vikings announced this morning the signing of free agent linebacker Brian Peters who played the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. In 2014 the former Northwestern player led the Roughriders with 78 tackles, plus he had three sacks, one forced fumble and two interceptions.

The Twins open their home spring training schedule at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers next week with exhibition games against the Gophers March 4 and Red Sox March 5. A dugout box seat costs $15 for the Gophers game but $44 to see the Red Sox. Both games will be telecast on Fox Sports North Plus starting at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Twins second-year slugger Kennys Vargas was listed at No. 25 by USA Today in a February 13 article about “young players primed to make impacts during the major league season.” The 24-year-old designated hitter and first baseman hit .274 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 215 at bats last season for the Twins. Vargas, 6-5, 290, was the only Twins player listed in the article headlined “The 50 names you need to know.”

Kevin Garnett is 38 but he remains feisty. He was suspended one game last month for head-butting Dwight Howard of the Rockets. Known for his temper when he played for the Timberwolves from 1995 to 2007, Garnett’s altercations with teammates included Wally Szczerbiak and Rick Rickert. Garnett, who was traded by the Nets last week to the Wolves, averaged 5.1 points and 17.4 minutes per game during January. He makes his home debut with the Wolves Wednesday night against the Wizards.

Timberwolves rookie star Andrew Wiggins has his 20th birthday today in Houston where his team plays the Rockets. Wiggins was about five months old when the Wolves drafted Garnett in June of 1995.

Jim Petersen, Timberwolves TV analyst and Lynx assistant coach, turned 53 yesterday. The former Gophers and NBA player was a McDonald’s All-American at St. Louis Park High School. As a prep senior he was also the 1980 Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner.

Gophers football fans can take encouragement from a recruiting analysis article in the February 9 issue of Sports Illustrated. Big Ten powers Michigan State and Wisconsin averaged No. 6 and No. 13 in the final Associated Press rankings from 2010-2014 despite neither program having high enough averages to be in the Rivals.com top 25 team recruiting rankings during the same period.

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Glen Taylor: ‘No Ill Will’ for Kevin Love

Posted on January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 by David Shama

Kevin Love will be greeted with boos when he and his Cavs teammates play the Timberwolves on Saturday at Target Center. The former NBA All-Star power forward will likely be heckled by some fans, while others will applaud his return to the arena where he played six seasons for the Wolves.

Love’s departure via trade last summer is a major setback for the Wolves who have the worst record in the NBA, 7-37. The team has played most of the season without four starters from last year including Love and injured regulars Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and Ricky Rubio.

Glen Taylor said Love, a key contributor on the 2012 US Olympic team, forced a trade because he wanted to play for a winning team and the Wolves haven’t made the playoffs since 2004. But the Wolves owner holds no grudges against the 26-year-old Love, a rare NBA player who has career averages in double figures for scoring and rebounding.

Taylor told Sports Headliners earlier this month he plans to see Love on Saturday. “I am going to treat him like a friend,” Taylor said. “I have no ill will against Kevin at all.”

In January of 2012 the Wolves had an opportunity to give Love a maximum five-year contract but chose instead to negotiate a four-year deal that gave him an early opt out. If the longer agreement had been made Love likely would still be on the roster and perhaps could have been persuaded to eventually finish his career in Minneapolis.

The Wolves would have enhanced their relationship with Love by offering him a longer contract and more money. He proved on the court he was deserving of the max contract, finishing the 2011-2012 season with a then career high average of 26 points per game.

“Knowing what we know today and all that stuff, it was probably a mistake (the contract),” Taylor said. “It doesn’t bother me to say that was a mistake. It’s a decision that was made at that time and it turned out to be that Kevin really played well after that. I respect him and admire him for his work ethic and all the things that he has done. We’d have been better off having the longer term contract. …”

David Kahn was the franchise’s lead basketball decision maker when the Love four-year deal was negotiated and finalized. Kahn’s years with the Wolves have been much scrutinized and criticized beyond the Love saga. First round draft decisions that included passing on guard Steph Curry in 2009 and center DeMarcus Cousins in 2010 are among the most discussed. Curry, drafted by the Warriors, is fifth in the NBA in assists and 10th in scoring, while Cousins, playing for the Kings, is fourth in scoring and second in rebounding.

Curry was mentioned to Taylor, and he was asked if hiring Kahn, who had never led an NBA basketball department prior to his opportunity with the Wolves, was a mistake. “I don’t want to say that,” Taylor answered. “No matter who you hire they have to make some guesses. They’re going to be right some of the time and they’re going to be wrong some of the time.

“For me to say or anybody knew that Curry was going to be that good, I just think they didn’t know that. It turned out that we made mistakes, that’s for sure.”

Worth Noting

The Cavs, led by forward LeBron James, guard Kyrie Irving and Love, are in their first season together and learning to play as a unit. Among the NBA title favorites, the Cavs have struggled overall as shown by their 26-20 record but have won seven consecutive games.

Love, who is averaging 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds with the Cavs, might be the best outlet passer in the NBA. Just ask former Timberwolves forward Corey Brewer who had a career high 48.1 field goal percentage last season, with many of his baskets coming on layups after catching long passes from Love.

The Gophers basketball team, 2-6 in the Big Ten and 13-8 overall, might have its best opportunity this season to earn a road win tonight at Penn State, 1-6 and 13-7. State College is historically one of the easiest places for Big Ten teams to win and since 2000 Minnesota is 8-4 at Penn State. The Gophers’ two conference wins were at home against Rutgers and Illinois.

Ross Travis, the former Chaska High School player, leads Penn State in rebounds per game at 6.9. The 6-7 senior forward has started 19 of 20 games and averages 4.8 points per game.

Condolences to the family and friends of Lu Vorpahl who died earlier this month at age 103. Lu was probably the oldest former Gophers football player prior to his death. The Minneapolis native was born June 30, 1911 and played football for the Gophers in the early 1930s. (See Sports Headliners’ June 30, 2014 feature about his remarkable life.)

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team plays Gustavus at home tonight. The Tommies’ only loss of the season was to the Gusties in St. Peter, 68-65 on December 3. UST, 15-1 overall and 10-1 in the MIAC, is ranked No. 2 in the country by D3hoops.com.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will be the guest speaker at the May 14 CORES luncheon. Bob Gustafson, from Grandma’s Marathon, will speak at the March 12 program. CORES luncheon programs are at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Information about both programs is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

The state of Minnesota has 203 Division I men’s hockey players, according to information provided by College Hockey, Inc. Michigan has 151 followed by Massachusetts, 112; New York, 81; and New Jersey and Pennsylvania with 52 each.

Minnesotans are 12.7% of all Division I men’s hockey players and 18.7% of the Americans playing. Conferences with the most Minnesota natives are the NCHC with 57, Big Ten 39, and WCHA, 34.

Former Gophers tennis coach David Geatz had his 58th birthday last Friday. Geatz, now head men’s coach at Pennsylvania, coached the Minnesota men’s team for 18 years and won five Big Ten titles.

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Wolves Lineup Age Matches Gophers

Posted on January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 by David Shama

When it comes to youth, the Big Ten’s Golden Gophers don’t necessarily have anything on the NBA’s Timberwolves. Consider this:

The Gophers starters usually are 21-year-old Joey King, 23-year-old Mo Walker, and three 22-year-olds—Andre Hollins, DeAndre Mathieu and Carlos Morris. Those five average 22 years of age. Key reserves are Charles Buggs, 21, and Elliott Eliason, 23.

Because of injuries and searching for productive players, the Timberwolves have used many starting combinations but nine times the opening lineup has been: Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins, both 19; Shabazz Muhammad, 22; Gorgui Dieng, 24; and Thad Young, 26. Again, average age is 22. Other young players on the roster include a pair of 21-year-olds, Anthony Bennett and Glenn Robinson III.

What to make of this?

Well, the Gophers “grey beards” haven’t collectively been able to make enough plays to prevent a 0-5 start in Big Ten games. But Minnesota has been competitive, losing two games by two points each, and two more by four and five point margins.

The Timberwolves have been a mess, losing 15 of their last 16 games while compiling a record of 6-31—flirting with the worst showing so far in the NBA. And what were the results with the youthful and inexperienced LaVine and Wiggins group? A winless 0-9.

The overall record is certainly no surprise since the Wolves have been playing most of the season without four starters from 2013-2014. All-Star Kevin Love has relocated to Cleveland while Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and Ricky Rubio have missed most of the season with injuries.

Coach Flip Saunders has been left with a roster that isn’t ready to play consistently—never mind win games. The record so far leaves them well positioned for a high first round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and the addition of more young talent to the roster.

It is somewhat surprising a team with as much experience as the Gophers has struggled to close out and win tight games. The Gophers not only have starters but bench players who have past Big Ten experience.

Hollins was a three-year starter coming into this season and his teammates aren’t exactly without game experience. Seniors Eliason and Walker averaged 21.5 and 18.5 minutes per game last season, while Mathieu, a junior college transfer at Minnesota in 2013-2014, averaged 30.2. King averaged 19 minutes per game two years ago at Drake and 22.4 minutes with Minnesota last season. Morris has the least major college experience but he is a junior college transfer, not a player just out of high school. Mathieu is a senior, while King and Morris are juniors.

After Tuesday night’s loss to Iowa, some Gophers were crying in the locker room. Disappointment has reached that level. Hollins said this 0-5 start is the most difficult period for the team since he became a Gopher.

Hollins is dating Gopher Rachel Banham, the preseason choice in women’s basketball for player of the year in the Big Ten. Her season ended in December when she tore an ACL. What message of encouragement has Hollins offered? “Stay strong. Come back stronger than ever.”

Hollins and the Gophers have 13 remaining Big Ten regular season games including Saturday at home against Rutgers. Hollins might offer his teammates the same advice he shared with his girlfriend.

The Wolves traded Love last summer and knew they would have to adjust without their All-Star power forward but the absence of Martin, Rubio and Pekovic due to injuries is as surprising as the Gophers 0-5 Big Ten start. Martin was counted on to replace some of Love’s scoring and be a prime option for clutch shots. Rubio’s performances early in the season before he was injured indicated he might be ready for his best year as a playmaker. Pekovic, when healthy, is among the NBA’s top low post scorers.

Pekovic, though, is fast gaining a reputation more for his run of injuries than his brute strength and low post scoring. He has only played in nine games this season. He missed 28 of the team’s final 38 games last season.

Pekovic reportedly accepted a five-year, $60 million contract from the Wolves before the 2013-2014 season. When Sports Headliners asked Glen Taylor about trading the 29-year-old, 295-pound center, the Wolves owner said: “At his salary, I wasn’t planning on trading him, but even if I was I don’t think I could be thinking about it now until he shows he’s a guy that can play consistently. Otherwise, he’s paid too much money.”

Taylor said fans are appreciative of the potential shown by young players like Wiggins but for now all the losing has put a dent in gameday ticket sales at Target Center. The Wolves rank last in attendance in the 30-team NBA, averaging 13,818 fans per game, according to Espn.com.

Taylor said the franchise may lose a “couple million dollars” this season but it is 2015-2016 that concerns him more financially. He wants to see the Wolves get their three veterans back in the lineup and play with the young talent. Win some games and show fans “the injuries were the reason that we didn’t win” while creating hope for the future. Positive momentum closing out this season can help retain and even grow the season ticket base for 2015-2016.

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