What’s up with Flip Saunders’ tweets yesterday during and after the Gophers game?
The former Gophers guard and assistant coach had plenty to say about Minnesota’s performance including sharing his expertise on lack of execution. Saunders wasn’t critical of individuals but his passion for the Gophers was obvious.
Was it all the emotion of a U alum? Or was it more? Flip followers think the unemployed former NBA coach has interest in the Gophers if there is a job opening.
His resume is loaded with pluses including popularity with the fan base, Gophers donors and media. And this is one guy that doesn’t come with a costly buyout involving his former employer. During a year of coaching unemployment Saunders has stayed close to basketball on the college and pro levels, and even the Minnesota high school scene.
Meanwhile, the Gophers will learn on Sunday if they can back their way into an NCAA Tournament invitation after losing eight of their last 11 games and turning up the heat on embattled coach Tubby Smith. The Gophers, 20-12 after losing 51-49 to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament yesterday, are still a likely selection for the NCAA Tournament because of the difficult schedule the team has played and its high RPI ranking.
But if the perspective is about recent results and appearances, this is a team that has doused plenty of public enthusiasm concerning postseason play. Minnesota has lost three consecutive games and only won five times since January 9 when the Gophers were 15-1. And the way Minnesota has often played has to cause doubt among the players and coach.
Smith was asked before yesterday’s game if the Gophers might have renewed energy with the regular season over and about to open play in the Big Ten Tournament. “That’s a good question,” Smith said on 1500 ESPN. “This team has been hard to read all year long. I would like to think so. We’ve got a lot to play for. …But again, we’ve had many opportunities before.”
Minnesota said no to its latest opportunity, displaying both energy and focus that faded in and out. In a 49-49 tie and possession of the ball with about 16 seconds remaining in the game, the Gophers turned the ball over when guard Austin Hollins stepped out of bounds. Illinois’ Brandon Paul then made a jump shot as the game ended to defeat Minnesota.
The Gophers self-destructed at the end just as they had earlier in the game and so many times during the last two months. The team’s turnovers prompted BTN play-by-play man Gus Johnson to say early in the second half: “Minnesota just looks sloppy from top to bottom.”
Eleven first half turnovers (19 total yesterday) played a significant role in changing an early 7-2 Minnesota lead into the Illini pushing ahead 19-12 with about six minutes remaining in the period. Austin Hollins had scored five of the first seven points in the first half and was moving effectively without the ball. Center Trevor Mbakwe was a brute on the boards. But after seven minutes both players were on the bench with two personals each.
Hollins and Mbakwe were grounded for the rest of the half. Their presence almost certainly would have lifted a team that has often been in free fall in past weeks, and one that was stumbling again yesterday. Why not risk the possibility of more fouls on either or both players?
Instead the Gophers played without Mbawke and Hollins while missing defensive assignments that twice allowed Illini players to race down the lane without being guarded. Offensively, Minnesota was even more of a mess in the first half, often passing up shots, and playing indecisively with ineffective player and ball movement.
The Gophers reverted to other bad habits including botched efforts to inbound the ball underneath the basket or on the sideline. An early second half pass thrown by guard Joe Coleman was intercepted and resulted in a three-point goal by Illinois that slowed Minnesota’s momentum.
Behind the scoring of Mbawke, Austin Hollins and point guard Andre Hollins the Gophers made a comeback in the second half after trailing 25-16 at halftime. The Gophers built leads by as many as five points.
But Minnesota couldn’t’ score a field goal in the last five minutes and wasted an opportunity to win. The defeat adds to the criticism directed at Smith who in six years has yet to produce a winning record during the Big Ten regular season, or win an NCAA Tournament game.
But he is likely to have an opportunity to win his first “Big Dance” game next week.
Worth Noting
Don’t be surprised if in a couple of years beer is sold to the public at Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena, following the trend started last fall at TCF Bank Stadium. A majority of state legislative leaders might support the additional beer sales and the change will increase athletic department revenues.
Also ahead is a likely Big Ten schedule where each conference football team plays nine or 10 league games. A nine game schedule means in alternate years a school plays four or five home conference games.
Asked on WCCO Radio Wednesday morning about the future of basketball coach Tubby Smith, Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague said Smith is “ensconced” in his work.
New University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones will speak at the Minnesota Football Clinic on Thursday, April 4 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. North Dakota State national championship coach Craig Bohl will also speak on Thursday as part of the three-day clinic. Coaches interesting in registering for the clinic can Google Minnesota Football Clinic and find the link for more information.
The Vikings will choose Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with the No. 23 pick in the first round of the NFL draft next month, according to Joe Dove’s Bleacherreport.com NFL mock draft posted on Wednesday. At No. 25, using the first round pick acquired in the Percy Harvin trade with the Seahawks, the Vikings will select Kansas State inside linebacker Arthur Brown.
Other names of wide receivers you may see on mock draft listings are DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson; Keenan Allen, California; and Tavon Austin, West Virginia.
The Chicago Tribune’s Dan Pompei, writing for a March 9 online story about Marc Trestman, points out how fickle the coaching profession can be. Trestman, the former Gophers quarterback and Vikings assistant coach, has been fired seven times during his pro and college coaching career. At 57 he has his first NFL head coaching job with the Bears. In the story Trestman talks about how he values players as more than athletes.
Tommy Hannon — the St. Thomas All-MIAC and All-Region senior center who has already played for one Division III Tommies national championship team and is trying to win another — could have given up on his basketball career after being cut from the Cretin-Derham Hall team as a junior.
“I was so out of shape then,” Hannon said. “I was 6-foot-2 and weighed about 235. After I was cut from the team as a junior, I played intramurals. I also started working out a lot, and got myself in shape. I lost 35 pounds or so and grew three or four inches.”
Hannon, now 6-foot-7, 210, keeps a picture in his wallet from his junior year to “remind me where I once was.” Hannon and his teammates play Calvin (Michigan) at home on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. The matchup will be a Sweet 16 Division III playoff game between the 28-1 Tommies and 26-3 Calvin.
Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic will sign autographs on Sunday, April 14 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Valley West Mall in Bloomington. The Sports Card Show is a two-day event (April 13-14) and is organized by the Twin Cities Sports Collectors Club. Club members receive a discount on autographs.
Fox Sports North will televise the Twins-Red Sox game beginning at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time tonight. Other Fox North Sports telecasts from spring training will be March 21, 23, 24, 25 and 28.
It’s been a winning sports winter at Edina High School where the boys’ hockey team won an 11th state title, the girls’ hockey team placed third in the state tourney, the boys’ swimming team finished second at state, and the boys’ basketball team has advanced to next week’s state tournament.
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