Cooper High School junior forward Rodney Williams has impressed Ken Lien and others with his athleticism.  Lien, who chairs the Mr. Basketball Committee, said a former Gopher and pro player thinks Williams, about 6-5, 185, can one day play in the NBA.

“I am not so sure the kid couldn’t compete for the NBA dunk title right now,” Lien said.  “But physically to be an impact player he needs to get much stronger.”

Lien said Williams also needs to become more consistent with his outside shooting and ball handling.  Williams is part of an impressive junior class of state preps that includes forwards Royce White of De La Salle and Mike Bruesewitz of Henry Sibley.  Lien said Bruesewitz has verbally committed to Wisconsin.  White and Williams are among the metro areas leading scorers, averaging in the low 20’s.

The Mr. Basketball award is for seniors only so none of the above mentioned players can win the honor this year, but meanwhile Lien has announced the names of the 20 finalists.  They are: Armond Battle, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Jordan Taylor, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Tarell Clark, Burnsville; Michael Floyd, Cretin-Derham Hall; John Nance, Cretin-Derham Hall; Cody Schilling, Ellsworth; Peter Leslie, Henry Sibley; David Hanson,  Maranatha Christian Academy; C. J. Erickson, Minnetonka; Anthony Tucker, Minnetonka; Carrington Tankson, Osseo; Jared Berggren, Princeton; Jordan Hicks, Rochester Mayo; Lucas Kuipers, Rochester Mayo; Nick Haugen, Rockford; Andrew Brommer, Rosemount; Theo Rothstein, St. Michael-Albertville; Alex Schneider, St. Thomas Academy; Peter Waldvogel, St. Thomas Academy; and Joel Armstrong, Stillwater.

Lien has been associated with the Mr. Basketball Committee for 32 years.  He estimated that already this fall and winter his six member committee has seen about 200 high school games as part of the scouting for the state’s next Mr. Basketball.  The award will be presented at a banquet on April 27 at the Minneapolis Marriott West in St. Louis Park.

Lien’s latest weekly rankings of the state’s top 10 boys’ teams are: Hopkins, Osseo, Minnetonka, Henry Sibley, Cretin-Derham Hall, Shakopee, Crosby-Ironton, Stillwater, Wayzata and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. He compiles his top 10 based on who he considers the best teams regardless of school enrollment size.

He said Hopkins has a “great combination of size and quickness.”  He likes the Royals depth, too, and ability to defend opposing players on the perimeter.  He also said that because they will return so many players, both Hopkins and Henry Sibley will be formidable again next season.

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Gopher associate athletics director Marc Ryan e-mailed with news about the NCAA Final Four: “The NCAA has made the decision to go to a raised floor for the Final Four starting in 2009. The main reason is to improve the sightlines, and they referenced ‘The Barn’ (Williams Arena) as an example. They even asked us where we get our stools from that the coaches use to sit up on the floor since that…will be needed as well once this is implemented.”

If the Gophers participate in the NIT it will be a first for coach Tubby Smith.  In 17 seasons of coaching Smith has never had a team in that post-season tournament.  He’s coached 14 consecutive NCAA tournament teams.

Johan Santana is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.  The headline:  “Happy Days, Johan Santana Lifts the Mets Without Throwing a Pitch.”

The verbal commitment of Bloomington Jefferson junior quarterback Moses Alipate to the Gophers is interesting not only because he’s regarded by many as the state’s best prep player in the junior class.  His commitment may give Minnesota momentum and more success with some of the state’s other top recruits.  Holding Minnesota kids home is an issue for the Gophers.  Also, Alipate is of Polynesian descent and his commitment could bring other Polynesians here.  The last 10 years has seen an influx of talented Polynesians at college football programs, particularly western schools.  His father Tuineau played for Washington State and later was a linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings issued a one sentence press release on Wednesday regarding the release of controversial safety Dwight Smith.

Three Minnesota Wild players will make fan appearances and sign autographs during the next few days. Brent Burns is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. tonight (Friday) at Coburn’s, 225 33rd Street West in Hastings. Niklas Backstrom is booked from 6 to 7 p.m. tonight at Festival Foods, 2218 Bunker Lake Blvd. Northwest in Andover. Mark Parrish is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. at Best Buy, 12905 Elm Creek Boulevard North in Maple Grove.

Gigi Marvin of the Gophers leads the WCHA in overall scoring with 44 points.  Earlier this week she was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.

The Gopher men’s hockey team, 12-13-7, and hoping to improve its offensive production, hosts Wisconsin tonight and tomorrow night.  Minnesota has 10 goals in the last eight games.  The last time Minnesota scored fewer goals in an eight-game period was during January of 1930.  Goalie Alex Kangas has been outstanding.  In his last 11 games he has 1.75 goals against average and .935 save percentage. For the season Kangas ranks 13th nationally with a 2.14 goals against average and 12th with a .923 save percentage. Both of those numbers rank second among all freshmen goaltenders. Colorado College’s Richard Bachman ranks first.

St. Thomas’ Tom Hodgson was named MIAC men’s Coach of the Year and women’s Co-Coach of the Year after Saturday’s conference swimming and diving meet. It was the second consecutive time Hodgson has won the women’s award.  Hodgson’s athletes won four MIAC races and broke 14 of a possible 38 school records in swimming events this year, 13 of those at the MIAC meet.

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In an interview with Sports Headliners on Monday, former NHL player and executive Lou Nanne evaluated the Minnesota Wild and talked about players who have surprised him this season.  “This is the best team they’ve ever had,” Nanne said.  “They’ve got more depth.  They’ve got more skill, and they’re more physical, so all around they’re a better team.”

The Wild are in first place in the Northwest Division and rank fourth among Western Conference teams in points (tied with Anaheim).  Nanne said that’s about what he expected before the season started.  “If their goaltending stays real consistent the rest of the way, they should be able to hold on to first place in their division and be about fourth in their conference,” the former Minnesota North Stars player and president said.

With the regular season ending April 6, Nanne was asked what fans can watch for to evaluate the team.  The Wild aren’t as “good” in goals-against as in the past, he said.  The team needs to score more goals than it gives up and the margin between the two can be indicative of how effectively Minnesota is playing, he explained.

Surprises?  Nanne said the “best surprise” has been that star forward Marian Gaborik has been “healthy most of the year.”  He also mentioned other players including defenseman Brent Burns, and forwards Aaron Voros and James Sheppard.

Nanne said about Burns: “He’s probably been a surprise in the fact that he’s made such a huge jump from last year, not from the playoffs but during the regular season to how he is now.  He’s been terrific.  A big help offensively to the defensemen.

“And Voros coming up and making the team and doing what he does has been a pleasant surprise, I am sure.  He’s given them some physical-ness on the third line and fourth line.  He and (Todd) Fedoruk coming in there make the Wild harder to play against.

“And Sheppard has been a great young addition to the hockey team.  He looks like he’s going to be an excellent hockey player and have a great career.”

With more than a month to go in the season, Burns already has career highs in goals, assists and points.  Voros, acquired from New Jersey last March, has played in 42 games in his first season with the Wild.  The 6-3, 205-pound Voros and the 6-2, 240-pound Fedoruk are two physical forwards.  Sheppard, the ninth overall pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft, is the Wild’s youngest player at 19 but has shown goal scoring ability in his first season with Minnesota.

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