Category: Timberwolves

 

The Gophers open their Big Ten basketball season tomorrow afternoon in Williams Arena against Michigan State and the Minnesota players hope to have the “Barn” rocking with support. 

“The Barnyard is always behind us come Big Ten play,” forward Rodney Williams told Sports Headliners earlier this month.  “We’re ready.  We’re gonna put on a show for them (the fans).  Hopefully they can be that sixth man for us.” 

Williams is one of college basketball’s dunk-masters.  He knows his slams can ignite the crowd and figuratively shake the pillars in the 84-year-old arena.  

“The louder they (fans) get, the more tough it’s going to be on other teams,” Williams said.  “Let’s hope I can get a dunk (on Monday) that’s going to shake the pillars.” 

Minnesota is 12-1 and ranked No. 11 in the country by the Associated Press. Michigan State, just like the Gophers, has thoughts of finishing near the top of the Big Ten standings.  The Spartans, 11-2 and No. 19 in the A.P. poll, are 17-2 against the Gophers in the last 19 games.  The last Minnesota win in Williams Arena came in 2006.   

Tubby Smith, who began coaching the Gophers during the 2007-2008 season, has only one win over the Spartans (2010 Big Ten Tournament).  But this year’s group could be his best team at Minnesota, and Williams said the Gophers believe in themselves.   

“No team intimidates us,” Williams said.  “We’re not worried about them (the Spartans).  We’re worried about what we gotta do. …” 

Williams predicts success against the Spartans despite past history between the two teams.  “They got the best of us in past years but I think this year is a little different.  We got a team that we can count on anybody on any given night.  We got depth.  I think we’re just more team oriented this year.  I know we’re definitely ready for the 31^st.  

The Gophers, who finished 10^th in the Big Ten last season but did win four games in the post-season NIT, have a talented starting five in Williams, forward Joe Coleman, center Trevor Mbakwe, and guards Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins.  The reserves include players with starting experience.  The Gophers are also an athletic bunch who can attack offensively, pressure defensively and swarm the boards for rebounds.  

MSU coach Tom Izzo has made a reputation for boot camp toughness including an obsession for rebounding.  Derrick Nicks and Adreian Payne are among the Big Ten’s leading rebounders this season.    

Williams said the Gophers will be ready to match effort with the Spartans on the boards.  And Minnesota will need to impress defensively, too, since MSU is known  for shutting down opponents.   

Austin Hollins believes the Gophers made their defense better during the 13 nonconference games.  “Our defense got a lot better.  Keeping the same intensity on defense throughout the whole nonconference schedule is huge.  We always stress that coming out (for the game), getting up in their face, making it hard for the offense to run their plays.  Making it hard for them to do anything and just forcing turnovers, and I think that’s one of our strong points.  We really improved there.” 

Hollins said the Gophers are “not going to do everything right” but he thinks the team is ready for the Big Ten schedule.  And Williams considers Monday’s game a first step for a team that includes among its goals winning the conference title and playing in the NCAA Tournament. 

“It’s huge,” Williams said.  “It’s the first game of the conference play.  Rankings don’t usually mean much, but it’s two ranked teams going against each other.  It’s gonna be huge for us to get that first win in the Big Ten so we can move forward and go on from there because we’ve got big goals for the season.  Getting that first win is gonna be huge.” 

Vikings & Other Notes 

The loudest crowd of the season is almost a certainty at Mall of America Field this afternoon.  The hometown Vikings can qualify for the playoffs by defeating the rival Packers in the final regular season game of the year for Minnesota, and Adrian Peterson needs 208 more yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards.  Mall of America Field is among the loudest stadiums in the NFL and “crowd noise can definitely throw off communication” for the opposing team, said Vikings running back Toby Gerhart.   

The Vikings encourage fans to wear purple and will place “rally towels” on every seat in the stadium—the first for that promotion since a playoff game against the Cowboys in January of 2010.  Target HQ Tower, the Lowry Avenue Bridge and the 35W Bridge are lit in purple at night this weekend as part of a Minneapolis show of support for the Vikings franchise.  

Peterson was held to 86 yards rushing last week by the Texans.  “Obviously they closed us down in the run game but then again I look at the film, it was several plays where I was just a tackle away from taking it to the house,” Peterson said. “Ultimately, when you look at it, it seems like they did a better job than I really feel like they did.”  

Peterson talking about breaking Dickerson’s record today: “Deep down inside I feel like I’ll get it.” 

In one word, how he describes his running style: “Vicious.” 

Despite Peterson’s success, no players from the Vikings offensive line were chosen for the Pro Bowl.  Selections for the post-season all-star game are made by fans, NFL players and coaches.  There’s justifiable criticism that voters aren’t knowledgeable, and it’s a popular allegation in Minnesota after Vikings center John Sullivan was passed over for the Packers’ Jeff Saturday who hasn’t been starting for Green Bay.  Sullivan was named a Pro Bowl alternate.  

“He (Sullivan) had a heck of a year,” Gerhart said.  “It’s a shame that we didn’t have any offensive line guys make it, especially Sully our leader.  When Adrian puts up that type of a season—he’s a heck of a player—but it’s not all on him.  Those guys up front are what’s gonna get a play going.” 

Former Gophers national championship football coach Murray Warmath, who died in 2011, would have turned 100 last Wednesday.   

The December 31 issue of Sports Illustrated predicts Alabama will defeat Notre Dame 23-16 in the BCS national championship game on January 7. 

The Timberwolves have sold 10,000 season tickets, the franchise’s largest total since the 2004-2005 season, according to club executive Ted Johnson.  A second consecutive Target Center sellout crowd watched the Wolves defeat the Suns last night, 111-107. 

Ricky Rubio missed the game because of back spasms.  Coach Rick Adelman is hopeful the point guard will return for Wednesday night’s game at Utah.  

The Wolves, 14-13, are off to their best start since having the same record in 2005-2006. 

The Tapemark Charity Pro-Am for women will be Tuesday, June 4 and Sunday, June 9.  The men’s event will be June 7-9.  The golf tournaments raise funds for Minnesota nonprofits serving people with developmental and learning disabilities.   

Comments Welcome

 

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is 27 years old and 294 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single season rushing record.  He said today at Winter Park where he and the Vikings are preparing for their last two regular season games of the year that if he maintains his health and passion he might play pro football until he is 40.

“I think I can perform at this level for a long time,” Peterson said.   “It depends how long God bless me to play, 35, 36. …”

Peterson is the cover story for this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated.  “I feel like I can play 10, 12 more years,” he told the magazine.

The amazing Peterson, who is having his best season despite tearing his ACL about 12 months ago, is full of self-confidence.  That is obvious by his dramatic recovery from ACL surgery, and the mindset with which he approaches his future.

Peterson doesn’t seem to put limitations on what he can do.  He told S.I. he wants to run the 400 meters for the United States in the 2016 Olympics, and is interested in becoming a “socially conscious entrepreneur.”

Peterson was asked today if he could break Dickerson’s record on Sunday against the Texans, and not need the season finale against the Packers on December 30.  Peterson didn’t refute the possibility.  “That’s how I am looking at it.  Just get it done.  Get it out of the way.”

At this point in the 16 game NFL schedule most players have injuries.  Peterson has groin and abdominal issues but he minimized their importance.  “Normal wear and tear. …I’ll be ready to roll,” he said.

Not a surprising answer from the man who is regarded as the best running back of his era and is seen as super human by some fans.  “God watches over me,” Peterson said.  “My spirit man be out there doing the things that I do on the field.  It’s beyond me.”

 

U Needs Big Ten Attendance Boost 

The Gophers men’s basketball team ranked ninth among Big Ten Conference schools in home attendance averages through games of last week, according to figures from the league office.  Minnesota is averaging 10,501 fans per game for seven nonconference games.

That announced figure of 10,501 is larger than actual fans in attendance, with some games probably having 6,000 to 7,000 patrons inside Williams Arena.  The arena’s capacity is 14,625 and during recent seasons the Gophers typically haven’t come close to filling the building for nonconference games, while Big Ten games may sell out.

But this fall’s no-shows by season ticket holders and minimal interest among single game buyers has been startling.  To see so many empty seats despite having an exciting nationally ranked top 20 team to watch isn’t a good sign for a program that historically was among the Big Ten leaders in largest home attendances and gross ticket receipts.

New Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague talked with Sports Headliners about the lack of interest this fall, and also included the ticket selling challenges of home football games in the conversation.  “In the offseason I want to do some real research in finding out where we are with the tickets for football and basketball,” he said.  “I’ve only been here five months so I am trying to figure it out, but the offseason will be a time when we can take a step back and really look at it, football and basketball.”

The Gophers sold 7,136 public season tickets and 1,182 student season tickets for this season, according to a story in yesterday’s Star Tribune by Mike Kaszuba.  The combined total of 8,318 was the lowest shown on a season tickets graphic dating back to 2007.

Some public customers didn’t renew their tickets because of the new preferred seating charges placed on tickets.  Other fans may have not renewed because of seven consecutive second division finishes during Big Ten seasons (ninth and 10^th the last two years).  And certainly an unattractive schedule of home games that included American, North Florida and Lafayette didn’t entice potential buyers for either season tickets or single game tickets.  “I agree we need to add quality opponents best we can,” Teague said.

The Gophers finish their nonconference schedule with a game on Saturday night at home against Lafayette.  Then it’s all Big Ten games including a much anticipated league opener at Williams Arena on December 31 against Michigan State.  Teague said single game ticket interest “going forward has been phenomenal,” referring to conference opponents coming here.

Starting with the Michigan State game the Gophers will be announcing attendances much closer to the numbers of fans in the building than was true this fall.  The Gophers, though, averaged 12,723 in Big Ten games last season, the first time that figure was under 13,758 since 2006-2007.  In all home games Minnesota averaged 11,794 last season, the lowest since 10,974 in 2006-2007.

If the Gophers fulfill predictions of being a Big Ten title contender, Minnesota won’t have a problem besting last season’s attendance numbers.  And a winning season will likely boost offseason ticket sales and announced attendances next fall during nonconference games.

 

Worth Noting

As of Monday, the 11-1 Gophers’ RPI rating was 11, while 10-2 Michigan State was 53.  The Gophers are ranked No. 13 in the country by the Associated Press while the Spartans are No. 20.

The Vikings will use TCF Bank Stadium during part of the construction process for their new downtown stadium.  Teague told Sports Headliners expansion of seating in TCF Bank Stadium’s west end will increase capacity from 50,805 to about 60,000.

The Gophers continued practicing this week on campus for their December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl game.  Coach Jerry Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” Sunday that senior quarterback-wide receiver MarQueis Gray is the healthiest he’s been in awhile.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Gray starts the bowl game against Texas Tech at quarterback instead of first team freshman Philip Nelson.  A switch to the strong running Gray could give the underdog Gophers an advantage, and provide a final game reward to the senior who likely would have been the starting quarterback all season if not for injury.

In Houston the McDonald’s Family Pack promotion for the game costs $99 and offers four game tickets, hot dogs, sodas, and four McDonald’s coffee vouchers and four ice cream vouchers (www.meinekecarcarebowloftexas.com).

Vikings rookie kicker Blair Walsh was selected yesterday as the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week for his five field goals performance against the Rams last Sunday.  Walsh joins Adrian Peterson and Randy Moss as the only rookies in franchise history to win the Player of the Week Award multiple times in their first NFL seasons. Walsh has set the Vikings’ rookie scoring record with 117 points after surpassing Moss’ 106 points in 1998.

Peterson has been rounding up tickets for Sunday’s game in his native Texas for some time.  He said over “100 family members” will attend the game against the Texans in Houston.

Minneapolis native and Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is tweeting to his fans about guessing what his favorite Christmas movie is.  For those who guess correctly, Fitzgerald will do a random drawing and award the winner a pair of signed game gloves (used).

The Timberwolves are in the midst of a three game schedule against the better teams in the NBA.  Tuesday night they lost to the Heat, the team with the second best record, 16-6, in the Eastern Conference.  Tonight the Wolves play at home against the 21-4 Thunder, the team with the best record in the Western Conference.  Then Sunday the Wolves are in New York to play the Knicks with an Eastern Conference leading 19-6 record.

The Wolves are making only .294 percent of their three point attempts, a 30-team league low.  Outside shooting is an issue because of injuries to Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger.  Defenses can crowd interior space close to the basket because of the Wolves’ outside shooting problems.

Tonight’s game, a 6 p.m. start because of the national broadcast by TNT, is only the second game between the Wolves and Thunder since March 23 when the two teams played a news-making double overtime in Oklahoma City.  The Thunder won 149-140, combining for 289 points—the fifth highest total in an NBA game in over 15 years.  Love scored 51 points.

The St. Thomas men’s team, ranked No. 4 nationally by D3hoops.com, plays at home tomorrow night against No. 5 UW-Stevens Point, three times an NCAA champion in the last 10 years.  Admission is free with tipoff at 7:30 p.m.  Both teams are undefeated this fall.

The Tommies’ wins include an overtime victory over Bethany Lutheran, 94-91.  St. Thomas sent the game into overtime after trailing by five points with 6.6 seconds remaining.  Coach John Tauer has an experienced team with four senior captains starting, Will DeBerg, Tommy Hannon, Noah Kaiser and John Nance.

Comments Welcome