Timberwolves – Page 99 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Reports Heat Up on Leslie Frazier

Posted on December 29, 2013December 29, 2013 by David Shama

Decisions about the Vikings coaching staff — including head coach Leslie Frazier’s future — will be made now that the 2013 season is over but there will be a lot of disappointed players if Frazier doesn’t return next year.

Speculation increased today that Frazier will not return as coach. Commanding the most attention this afternoon was a report by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports that Frazier will be dismissed tomorrow.

Frazier said at his post game press conference today he “doesn’t get concerned about reports about my job.” He also said he hasn’t been told about a meeting with ownership tomorrow.

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf watched today’s Vikings-Lions game at Mall of America Field. He declined to talk with media about Frazier’s future.

“I think the guys in this locker room all support coach Frazier,” Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph told Sports Headliners on Friday.

Frazier was a defensive back on the 1985 Bears Super Bowl champions and Rudolph said the Vikings appreciate the playing experience of their coach. “There’s nothing worse than a coach that’s never played the game; (someone) that kind of expects things from you that are not realistic.

“He knows what it’s like to be in our shoes. He has realistic expectations from us. It’s out of our control what happens in the next couple weeks but I think he definitely has the support of the guys in this locker room.”

The Vikings, who were 10-6 last season and made the playoffs, finished their year with a 14-13 win over the Lions. The 2013 season record was 5-10-1. Asked if the team psyche could be described as shocked, Rudolph answered: “Definitely.”

The Vikings lost four games by four points or less, plus a tie with the Packers. If those games had been wins, the Vikings would have won the NFC North and made the playoffs again.

Rudolph said before the season expectations were for a deep playoff run. “If your expectations weren’t to win the Super Bowl this year, then I don’t know why you would have been here,” he said.

Instead, Frazier has finished up his second losing season in the last three (3-13 in 2011). The disappointment of 2013 hasn’t changed the admiration Rudolph and others have of Frazier, though.

“I don’t think you can find a better person,” Rudolph said. “You may find other people as good as him in that (coaching) profession, but you won’t find anyone that’s a better person than he is.”

Worth Noting

The outside temperature at kickoff for today’s game was about minus four. The Vikings are likely to play in that kind of cold next year at outdoor TCF Bank Stadium. Spokesman Jeff Anderson said the club expects to soon choose a state-of-the-art heating system for the stadium field that will be installed for next season. Without such a system, the playing surface would be too hard and unsafe for December and January games.

Vikings running back Toby Gerhart joking after being asked about the team playing outdoors next season: “A lot of Minnesotans think we’re soft playing at the dome.”

Gerhart, a free agent for 2014, is not sure where he wants to play next season but when asked said he could be interested in joining his ex-college coach Jim Harbaugh with the 49ers. “I had a good relationship with him,” Gerhart said. “It would be fun to reunite.”

Former Viking Robert Smith addressed the Mall of America Field crowd today at the final game ever in the Metrodome, a facility that opened in 1982. He quoted Dr. Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

Joe Webb, another Vikings free agent, has finished his first NFL season as a wide receiver but admitted quarterback is still in his “heart” after playing the position “all my life.” Has he considered Canadian pro football where running quarterbacks are valued? “I’ve never been in Canada a day in my life,” he said. “God’s will. Whatever he has in store for me, that’s what I’ll take.”

Quarterback Josh Freeman was acquired by the Vikings in October but except for one game didn’t play. Webb, who played quarterback for the Vikings from 2010-2012, said it can “take a year” before a quarterback masters a team’s offensive system.

Former Vikings Pro Bowl running back Dave Osborn, who played in three Super Bowls, will be the CORES luncheon speaker on Thursday, January 9 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. A social period from 11:15 a.m. to noon will precede the lunch and talk by Osborn. More information, including reservations, is available from Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Gophers radio analyst and all-time leading rusher Darrell Thompson after being asked how many times Minnesota would beat Syracuse if the two teams played 10 games on a neutral field: “They are (Syracuse) better than they look on film. Gophers probably win six of 10 times.”

Gophers coach Jerry Kill said this morning on WCCO Radio star tight end Maxx Williams will not need knee surgery after being hurt in the Texas Bowl loss to Syracuse Friday night.

Washburn running back Jeff Jones plays in the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Jones hasn’t made all his official visits to colleges that interest him so it’s unlikely he will announce his choice at the prestigious prep all-star game that will be televised on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Marv Wolfenson, the original Timberwolves owner who died earlier this month, once told me he thought about naming his NBA expansion club the Polars. Wolfenson attended North High School and played basketball for the Polars.

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Claeys High on Hageman NFL Draft

Posted on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013 by David Shama

Gophers defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys doesn’t hesitate when talking about senior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman being chosen during the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft.

“He will be a first round draft pick. I don’t see 20 teams passing him up, let alone 32 once they get a chance to work him out,” Claeys told Sports Headliners this week.

If Claeys is correct, Hageman will be the first Gopher selected in the first round since running back Laurence Maroney in 2006. Hageman became the first Minnesota player to be chosen first team All-Big Ten since 2009 (wide receiver Eric Decker) when he made both the media and coaches all-conference teams.

Hageman finished the 2013 regular season with 34 tackles, a team-high 11 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one interception, eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one blocked field goal and one blocked extra point.

A converted tight end, the 6-foot-6, 311-pound Hageman was announced as the Gophers’ MVP and outstanding defensive player at the team’s awards program on Sunday. “I think he’s improved a lot since we got here,” said Claeys who came to Minnesota with head coach Jerry Kill for the 2011 season. “Each year he’s made leaps and bounds (improvement). I think this year he made a lot more individual plays than he has in the past, and that caused people to have to double team him more.”

Claeys said Hageman has “tremendous upside” and will benefit from playing in the NFL where he won’t face as many blocking schemes. “He’s right up there with the best that is in the Big Ten and I think that will show on draft day,” Claeys said.

Media specializing in draft analysis have varying opinions on where Hageman will be selected, with Dane Brugler from CBSsports.com among the more optimistic. He projects Hageman being selected No. 29 in the first round by the Patriots. He also ranks him No. 2 among projected defensive tackles available for the draft.

Claeys also believes senior Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen will be drafted. He projects Vereen as a “middle rounds” choice because of his abilities including experience playing both cornerback and safety for the Gophers.

Worth Noting

Chris Werle, Gophers senior associate athletic director, e-mailed that as of Wednesday morning 40,000 tickets had been sold for the outdoor Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium. The doubleheader, featuring the Gophers men’s and women’s teams, will be played the evening of Friday, January 17. If severe weather causes postponement, the classic will be rescheduled for Sunday, January 19.

The athletic department is looking for financial help with the cost of busing students to the Texas Bowl where the Gophers play Syracuse in Houston on Friday, December 27. The Gophers football marching band will fly to Houston.

Big Ten Network football analyst Gerry DiNardo said on Sunday after the announcement of the seven Big Ten bowl game assignments that the Gophers have the most favorable match-up. The Gophers are 4 ½ point favorites to defeat Syracuse, according to yesterday’s Linemakers story on Sportingnews.com.

Jeff Jones, the state’s 2013 Mr. Football, visits Iowa State this weekend. He visited the Gophers last weekend. Other official visits aren’t scheduled yet.

Last night legendary former Saint John’s head football coach John Gagliardi received the Contributions to College Football Award during the Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN. Gagliardi retired after the 2012 season as the winningest coach in college football history.

The Eagles team that plays the Vikings on Sunday at Mall of America Field has won five consecutive games and owns a league best 5-1 road record. On Sunday the Eagles, led by new head coach Chip Kelly, will try to become the fifth team in NFL history to have 11 games of 400-plus yards in a single season.

Nick Foles has emerged as the Eagles quarterback and he is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Kelly is quoted in the story as saying Foles will be the team’s quarterback “for the next thousand years.”

Gophers basketball players heard from Louisville coach Rick Pitino when he was in town earlier in the week to watch Minnesota play South Dakota State at Williams Arena. Gophers forward Oto Osenieks said Pitino told the players that to be a better team they have to improve defensively. “He said he watches us all the time on TV,” Osenieks said.

Asked about the similar mannerisms and appearances of Pitino and his son Richard Pitino, the Gophers coach, Osieneks said: “You can tell they’re related.”

Phil Jackson includes Minnesota connections in his bestselling new book Eleven Rings. The NBA coaching legend writes about his Williston High School team losing in the North Dakota state tournament finals to Rugby led by Paul Presthus who went on to become captain of the Gophers. Jackson also writes about the “my way or the highway” style of Bill Fitch, his University of North Dakota coach, who after going to Bowling Green coached the Gophers. After a great career at North Dakota, Jackson chose the New York Knicks of the NBA over the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is fourth among front court players and guard Ricky Rubio is eighth among backcourt players in voting for Western Conference players to determine who will participate in the Sunday, February 16 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. The NBA issued the first of voting updates yesterday. Balloting concludes on Monday, January 20.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher has high praise for Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones. “I think he is the best (prep) guard in state history,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “He has great court awareness and when he needs to take over the game he does. I think he will play well immediately for Duke (next year). An NBA friend told me he thinks he can play at the next level.”

Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Jim Smith is one victory away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball’s all-divisions win list. Smith has a 758-538 career record in 50 seasons.

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National Championships Coach Praises Kill

Posted on November 1, 2013November 3, 2013 by David Shama

J Robinson, 67, has coached the Gophers to three national championships in wrestling. He has strong philosophies about coaching and life, and doesn’t hesitate to express them.

“You’re put here for a purpose. You’re not put here to be happy,” Robinson told Sports Headliners.

Robinson is a former Army Ranger who when asked about Gophers football coach Jerry Kill brought up leadership. Robinson, who attended both Ranger and Jungle Warfare School before serving in Vietnam, said leadership isn’t measured just when the leader is present. A test of leadership is whether things “fall apart,” or if they function successfully when the leader is absent.

At times the Gophers have been without their football leader because of Kill’s absence to better manage his epilepsy, but the program has excelled in wins the last two Saturdays over nationally ranked Northwestern and Nebraska. Kill played a partial role in those wins but they wouldn’t have happened without the staff he hired and the players he tutored in two-plus seasons as Minnesota’s head coach.

The success doesn’t surprise Robinson. “He’s got a formula for what I would call success,” Robinson said.

That “formula” has various elements from identifying player personnel to infusing discipline into the program to being willing to trust and delegate responsibilities to assistant coaches. The Gophers are a surprising 6-2 so far this season and maybe on track to duplicate third year turnarounds Kill led at Southern Illinois (10-2) and Northern Illinois (10-3).

Last Saturday’s win over Nebraska, a school the Gophers hadn’t defeated since 1960, was a potential program-changing victory. But to make that a reality this Minnesota team will have to distinguish itself from others who have had similar headline making upsets.

The 1977 team upset No. 1 ranked Michigan 16-0 in Minneapolis, then lost games the next two weeks and finished 7-5 after being 6-5 the year before. In 1986 the Gophers surprised No. 2 ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor but lost the next two games, ending with a 6-6 record after the previous season’s 7-5 mark.

In 1999 the Gophers surprised No. 2 Penn State in “Happy Valley” and won their next two games before losing in the Sun Bowl to Oregon. That season the Gophers were 8-4, winning three more games than in 1998 but in 2000 and 2001 the records were disappointing, 6-6 and 4-7.

The Gophers also surprised Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2005, only to lose the next two games and finish the season at 7-5 after being 10-3 in 2003. Coach Glen Mason was fired after the 2006 bowl game when the Gophers were 6-7.

At Indiana tomorrow the Gophers will try to do the unusual, follow up on a major win with another victory and signal a major shift in the program. Quarterback Philip Nelson said beating Nebraska, college football’s winningest program since 1970, was a confidence booster. “I think this one’s a big one just because Nebraska is a great team. Nobody really ever expects us to really win that much.”

Worth Noting

Freshman wide receiver Donovahn Jones ran four times from scrimmage for 40 yards against Nebraska. A converted prep quarterback, he is still learning how to play wide receiver.

Asked how close he is to becoming a primary receiver Jones said, “I have a little more learning before I get to that point. I am not that far away.”

Jones, who turned down a Missouri program that wanted him to be a wide receiver, said he isn’t interested in returning to quarterback. The position demands passing skills he doesn’t believe he possesses. He also said senior wide receiver Derrick Engel and freshman running back Berkley Edwards are probably the only offensive players faster than he is.

Gophers deputy athletic director David Benedict said earlier this week more than 5,000 tickets remain for the Penn State game at TCF Bank Stadium on November 9.

St. Thomas Academy coach Dave Ziebarth earned his 100^th career win last week. Ziebarth, 100-26-0, coaches his team tonight against Henry Sibley in the Section 5-5A championship playoff game.

Texas native Adrian Peterson is requesting 62 tickets for people he knows to attend Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas against the Cowboys. The Vikings All-Pro running back said he was a Cowboys fan growing up.

Peterson still has tightness in his right hamstring but said keeping it warm and stretching enables him to run effectively. “Last week (Sunday’s game) I felt good,” he said. “It’s probably the best I’ve felt in a couple of weeks. This week I’ve just got better.”

Cordarrelle Patterson is the only NFL player with two kickoff returns for touchdowns this season. The Vikings rookie didn’t even return kickoffs in high school, had one touchdown in junior college and two in college. His returns this season are for 105 yards and 109 yards, a distance that is tied for the NFL record.

Vikings placekicker Blair Walsh said he is no longer bothered by a left hamstring injury and will be able to kickoff and handle other kicking in Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

Coach J Robinson has eight All-Americans returning to his wrestling team and believes the Gophers could contend for the national championship. InterMat’s rankings have three Big Ten schools as the best in the country with Penn State No. 1, Iowa No. 2 and Minnesota No. 3.

The Gophers basketball team opens its exhibition schedule tonight with a 7 p.m. game against Cardinal Stritch. New Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said earlier in the week he’s been impressed with his team’s attitude and poor practices have been minimal.

Pitino described junior guard Kendal Shell as a player that at first he questioned having on the roster, but not any more. Shell played in nine games for a total of 20 minutes averaging 0.7 points per game last season. “Kendall is the most improved player by far,” Pitino said.

Another changed player is junior forward Mo Walker who has lost almost 60 pounds after not being able to play effectively at 310 pounds last season. Pitino wants more change, though. “He needs to be meaner on the court,” the coach said.

Drake transfer Joey King, who is from Eagan, expects a lot of family and friends at games. The sophomore forward said his grandparents are talking about “getting a bus” for game day supporters.

Wally Ellenson, another sophomore forward for the Gophers, is the brother of Henry Ellenson who is ranked as the No. 42 player nationally in the prep class of 2015 by Rivals.com. Wally said his brother (Rice Lake, Wisconsin) has grown a couple more inches to 6-10. “He kind of wants to stop but I don’t think he has a choice,” Wally said.

Junior forward Oto Osenieks only averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game last season but now might become a starter. Osenieks passed on an opportunity to tryout for the Latvian team that played in the European championships this summer. With a new Gophers coach and changes in the program, he stayed in Minneapolis to improve. “I don’t regret my decision. I got so much better in the summer.”

Osenieks said he’s become a more aggressive player while remaining an “unselfish” teammate. “I am not afraid of contact,” he said.

Osenieks is taking business courses in school and some day may open a Latvian restaurant in Minneapolis. “I love it here,” the Riga, Latvia native said.

Daquein McNeil, the Gophers freshman guard from Baltimore talking this week about the weather in Minneapolis: “I hope it doesn’t get colder.”

The Wolves are at home tonight against the Thunder, a favorite to win the NBA title and the club that new Minnesota shooting guard Kevin Martin played for last season. Martin’s NBA stops have also included the Kings and Rockets where he played for Wolves coach Rick Adelman. Martin was a major scorer for Adelman’s Rockets in 2010-11, averaging 23.5 points per game.

Wolves power forward Kevin Love played in only 18 games last season because of injuries but had a memorable season in 2011-2012. He became only the third player in NBA history (Larry Bird, 1984-85; Charles Barkley, 1992-93) to average 25+ points and 10+ rebounds while making 50+ three-pointers.

Former Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn is living in Portland and looking for his next career opportunity. Wolves owner Glen Taylor said Kahn contacted him asking for assistance regarding a potential position that didn’t work out.

Wolves CEO Rob Moor said renovation of Target Center is expected to begin late next spring or early summer. Changes to the building will happen in phases over about an 18 month period and could force the Lynx to find another home court for some games.

Moor also said that while seating capacity for concerts will increase there will not be additional seats for basketball as part of the $100 million renovation.

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