It’s a little premature to reserve space in the basketball Hall of Fame for 23-year-old Al Jefferson but his name is already being mentioned more frequently with one guy who is in the Springfield, Massachusetts shrine and another who is a cinch to one day be inducted.  The Timberwolves’ young star, one of the few players in the NBA to be averaging 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, is being compared with Hall of Famer Moses Malone and Kevin Garnett, who at 31 has enough on his resume to qualify for Springfield.

Jefferson turned 23 on January 4.  He’s been making this a memorable month with career highs of 39 points against Phoenix on January 23 and then 40 versus New Jersey earlier this week. The 6-foot-10 forward-center is averaging 21.1 points per game and 12.4 rebounds this season.

In and around the lane Jefferson dazzles with footwork, fakes, power, quickness and scoring.  He draws comparisons to Malone who made a reputation as one of pro basketball’s most effective inside scorers and relentless rebounders including on the offensive end where he commanded rebound after rebound until the ball went through the basket.

Similar in size, style and talent, Jefferson and Malone also have this in common: both went directly from high school to pro basketball.  At 23 Malone was averaging 15 rebounds per game and 19.4 points in the NBA.

Jefferson was the prize possession in the trade last summer that sent Garnett to Boston for five players.  Last fall it would have been considered blasphemy to suggest Big Al is as valuable to the Wolves as Garnett.  Now it seems like common sense.

Jefferson is a much more accomplished low post player, plus more reliable scorer and clutch basket producer than Garnett.  The latter led the NBA in rebounding the last four seasons, but now Jefferson’s 12.1 is better than the 31-year-old Garnett’s 9.9 rebounds per game.  Jefferson will never match Garnett’s shot blocking and defensive effectiveness, but he’s a capable defender.

At 23 Garnett’s stats included the following: 20.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds. It’s an argument as to which player you would rather have this season, but given the difference in their ages there’s no doubt Jefferson is your man for the long run.  That makes Wolves executive Kevin McHale, who plotted the Celtics deal, look good because Jefferson is a potential superstar for the Wolves to build around.

Jefferson looks good, too, when comparisons are made to McHale, another Hall of Famer whose deft moves and footwork made him so difficult to guard that Charles Barkley said for years that McHale was the best player he ever played against. Jefferson’s teammate, Ryan Gomes, played with him for three seasons in Boston before coming in the trade here.  Gomes said Jefferson has been improving his offensive skills “each and every year since I’ve been with him.”

“He’s playing so well,” Gomes said. “He’s one of the top five low post players with his back to the basket in this league.”

Asked specifically about Jefferson’s well publicized footwork, Gomes brought up Tim Duncan’s name.  He said the San Antonio center’s footwork is the best in the league right now.  Oh, yes, that’s another future Hall of Famer mentioned in the same breath with Jefferson who, by the way, is still young enough to be playing college ball.  The Wolves, 8-36 with the worst record in the NBA, are thrilled he’s not.

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Don’t count on it but Dean Dalton said Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb could be a Minnesota Viking next season.  Although Dalton said the odds aren’t favorable because of McNabb’s expensive contract and the cost in draft picks to the Vikings, the potential fit of the former NFL Pro Bowler in Minnesota is exciting.

Dalton, the former Vikings assistant coach who now is an NFL media analyst, told Sports Headliners on Wednesday it’s likely Minnesota will look at acquiring a talented veteran quarterback to “compete (and) mentor” 24-year-old Tarvaris Jackson who just completed his second NFL season.  Dalton spoke in detail about McNabb, envisioning him as the Vikings starter next season, playing successfully in what he termed a “judgment year” for coach Brad Childress who will be trying to lead Minnesota into the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Childress, of course, was an assistant coach in Philadelphia before he came to the Vikings.  His role as Eagles offensive coordinator for four seasons is valuable and pertinent to a possible McNabb to Minnesota story.  Childress and McNabb have a relationship and record of success that includes a Super Bowl and multiple Pro Bowl selections for McNabb, plus the Eagles quarterback is experienced and familiar with the offense that Childress has implemented here.

While that part is a matchmaker’s dream, the Vikings’ management may be cautious about the salary expense of acquiring McNabb (estimated at $6 million to $10 million in base salary per year in coming seasons), plus the cost in giving up draft picks.  The Vikings do have salary cap room to make a run at McNabb, Dalton said.  He thinks, too, that with the right enticements from the Vikings, the Eagles might part with McNabb because of a willingness to commit to younger quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Kevin Kolb. Then, too, McNabb could find it appealing to join a team with a great running back in Adrian Peterson and a system that he knows so well.

Dalton was also asked for an evaluation of Jackson who started two games for the Vikings in 2006 and 12 in 2007.  This season Jackson threw nine touchdown passes and 12 interceptions despite playing against defenses loaded to stop the run and inviting the pass.  “Tarvaris Jackson has proven that he has great upside and has talent and potential,” Dalton said. “But potential is the ultimate coach killer in the National Football League where NFL stands for Not for Long.  Because what counts is production and right now he hasn’t been able to produce on a consistent basis to force defenses to adjust to the passing game. That will be the key for the Vikings’ future…become a balanced team to where they can utilize their outstanding run game in balance with a passing game that makes defenses defend them.”

Jackson missed four games because of injuries and he talked about that on Wednesday. “My biggest disappointment was getting injured so much at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I’ve never really been injured like that. …”

More help at wide receiver will assist the Vikings offense.  The team didn’t have a receiver that caught 100 yards or more in passes in a game, a team record.

Wide receiver is one of those positions where a player can come out of the college draft and make an impact.  The position figures to be a priority in the 2008 off season for the Vikings.

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Big dance or little dance?  Seems likely Tubby Smith’s first Gopher team will qualify in March for either the NCAA tournament or the NIT.

The Gophers put themselves in position to go dancing by winning 10 of 12 games during a soft non-conference schedule.  It wasn’t impressive that the Gophers lost two of their three road games against major college teams, losing to Florida State, 75-61, and UNLV, 81-64.  But, then again, Minnesota is already at 10 wins and all last season the Gophers only won nine with the same personnel.

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher, now a TV analyst, thinks the Gophers can go 9-9 in the Big Ten Conference regular season schedule and be invited to the NCAA tournament with a 19-11 record.  Despite a lack of conference strength he expects the NCAA selection committee to invite several Big Ten teams to the tourney.  Dutcher’s opinion is “they’re still going to take five or six Big Ten teams, and if you’re 9-9 you’re probably fifth or sixth” (on the invitation list).

“The key this year is you got to beat Northwestern twice and you got to beat Michigan twice,” he said.  “They (the Gophers) only play Iowa once (in Minneapolis). But you got to hope that you’re going to get five wins. …Penn State you got to at least split. …That gives you six.  All you got to do is split with some other teams, and I think they’re close enough that if I had to pick their game with Illinois, their game with Purdue, their game with Ohio State, I would just say the home team wins.”

Dutcher predicts this order of finish in the Big Ten: Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern.  The conference schedule started earlier this week but the Gophers don’t open until tomorrow (Saturday night) at Michigan State.  The game can be seen only on the Big Ten Network.

The Gophers’ non-conference schedule was loaded with home games (seven) and mediocre opponents.  “Those teams didn’t have the talent to beat them (the Gophers),” Dutcher said. “It’s hard to read this team.”

Dutcher pointed out that the Gophers overwhelmed many teams with their defense, including full court pressure, turning miscues into points.  When Minnesota played teams with “decent” guard play, Dutcher said, the results were different at Florida State and UNLV.

Still, Dutcher likes the Gophers’ improvement from last season and praises the better defense and aggressive rebounding.  He said Minnesota’s talent is better than Purdue and “at least as good” as Illinois.

At home the Gophers could be a difficult team to beat. But Dutcher said Michigan State “will be a handful” even at Williams Arena. “They’re capable of beating every other team in the conference here,” he added.

Dutcher said Minnesota’s three senior starters, forward Dan Coleman, center Spencer Tollackson and guard Lawrence McKenzie must lead the team. Coleman, 6-9, is a difficult match up, able to shoot inside, outside and drive to the basket.  Tollackson will likely be featured more in the offense during the conference season and McKenzie may not score as much as last season (despite shooting being his strength) because of his new point guard responsibilities.  All three must play more consistently than in past seasons for the Gophers to do any memorable dancing.

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