David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Lining Up ‘Next’ Shannon Brooks

Posted on March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Thursday notes column with a focus on Golden Gophers football including recruiting for the 2020 class, and comments and quotes from Tuesday’s spring practice open to the media and public.

Per 247Sports, Minnesota has five verbal commitments for its class of 2020. The commits include Topeka, Kansas running back Ky Thomas, who could come to Minneapolis next year as a four-star prospect. Ryan Burns, the local recruiting authority with Gopherillustrated.com, is intrigued by Thomas, listed at 5-11, 185 pounds by 247.

“I think if he can stay healthy, I think he’s going to be the next Shannon Brooks,” Burns told Sports Headliners this week. “I think he’s got the best lateral quickness we’ve seen in a Gopher running back since Jeff Jones.”

Brooks, a redshirt senior this fall with the Gophers, is a slashing, side-to-side runner that is also elusive in the open field. Despite injuries resulting in partial seasons, he has 1,882 career rushing yards and five touchdown runs of 37 yards or longer. Jones, the 2013 Mr. Football in Minnesota, was a four-star recruit coming out of Washburn High School but personal issues held back his development in college football.

Another 2020 recruit at a playmaking position is Rosemount’s Jonathan Mann, 6-foot-2, 190 pounds per 247. The wide receiver has been committed to Minnesota for about a year, despite offers from Big Ten and SEC programs. When Burns talks about the three-star recruit, he mentions Gophers senior wide receiver Tyler Johnson who was named Association Press All-Big Ten First Team last fall after catching 74 passes for 1,112 receiving yards (second in the Big Ten in both categories).

“Someone (Mann) that I think with an athletic skill-set as good as what Tyler Johnson was coming out of high school,” Burns said. “I am not saying he’s going to be Tyler Johnson but I think athletically he’s as raw as Tyler was coming out and I think he’s on the same level athletically.”

A second verbal commit from the state of Minnesota is Winona defensive end Aaron Witt, listed at 6-5, 230, according to 247. Burns describes him as a “very aggressive” player.

‘’Aaron Witt is someone that they (the Gophers coaches) really, really like at the defensive end position now,” Burns said. “He’s got to put on a lot of weight. He’s only 235 pounds right now, and you look at him, and you’re like he looks like he’s a buck 70 soaking wet.”

C.J. West from La Grange Park, Illinois is another defensive commit, a 6-2, 305 pound tackle. Iowa and Iowa State have pursued him but 247 reported in late February that West wants to play for the Gophers. “Someone that the staff thinks is the most powerful defensive tackle in the Midwest,” Burns said.

The fifth verbal commit for 2020 is Casey Collier, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle per 247. He is from an under recruited part of Texas (small town Mont Belvieu) and Burns said that’s a factor in why other Power Five schools haven’t offered him a scholarship. “Obviously good size,” Burns said. “He’s got extremely long arms; someone that is athletic enough in their eyes (Gopher coaches) to play tackle.”

Collier’s older sister, Charli, was a McDonald’s girls basketball All-American last year.

An estimated 250 fans attended Tuesday’s indoor Gopher football practice where loyalists could not only watch the team but have a photo taken with Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Minnesota reclaimed the traditional trophy with the Badgers with a win last fall for the first time in the series since 2003.

The victory over Wisconsin was part of a surge by the Gophers with surprise victories in three of their last four games. With most of his players returning in 2019, head coach P.J. Fleck knows the Gophers, who are drawing top 25 national mentions in early rankings, won’t be taken lightly by opponents this year. “We’re not going to shock anybody; surprise anybody at all,” Fleck said at a post-practice media session.

The 2019 season will be Fleck’s third as Minnesota’s head coach. Struggling college programs, including Minnesota’s in the past, are characterized by small senior classes and totals can even dip under 10. The Gopher roster lists 14 players in their final season of college eligibility, but Fleck sees things going in the direction he wants.

“We don’t have those senior classes of 25 or 30 guys…we’re not there yet,” he said. “Those guys (who will make a large senior group) are still sophomores (total 36).”

Sophomores include running back Mohamed Ibrahim who rushed for 1,160 yards last season, the second most for a Gopher freshman ever. He set a school single game rushing record with 224 yards in the impressive 34-10 bowl win over Georgia Tech.

Fleck said Ibrahim can get better. “I don’t worry about him because he’s the hardest worker we have. The way he works, the commitment level he has. He doesn’t take anything for granted, whatsoever. He knows he has to get better, loves getting better, loves the competition and that’s what you want to recruit and develop (in players).”

Seth Green, the Gophers wildcat formation specialist who scored eight rushing touchdowns last season as a redshirt sophomore, has a lower body injury that Fleck said needs time to heal. “He’ll be fine,” Fleck said.

Green, the former East Ridge quarterback, could be among the players Fleck will hold out of the April 13 Spring Game at TCF Bank Stadium.

In addition to the Spring Game, the other remaining opportunity for the public to see the team is next Tuesday starting at 4:45 p.m. on campus.

Antoine Winfield Jr. returns as a redshirt sophomore this spring having played in only four games last season because of injury. He will go into the fall regarded as one of the Big Ten’s best secondary players and perhaps eventually become a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation’s premier defensive back. His father, former Minnesota Viking Antoine Winfield, won the Thorpe while at Ohio State.

Junior’s brother Austin will join the Gophers later in the year as a freshman walk-on defensive back. Asked what the first tip will be for his little bro, Antoine Jr. said, “Never be late for anything.”

Former Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi, now in his sixth year serving on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, will host colleagues in town for the Minneapolis Final Four for an open house at his residence on Sunday, April 7.

The Twins, who open their regular season today, have a formidable schedule between now and early May. They play championship contending teams in the Astros (twice), Indians, Mets, Phillies and Yankees. If Minnesota can be at .500 by May 6 it will be impressive.

Last Sunday’s “60 Minutes” program on CBS predicted legalized sports gambling will be approved in over half of the states by year’s end. Minnesota is all but certain to be included, if not in 2020 then sometime beyond.

Nbadraftnet.net’s latest projections for the 2019 NBA Draft in June don’t include Gophers Amir Coffey or Jordan Murphy in either the first or second rounds. Apple Valley’s Tre Jones, a freshman at Duke, is projected to go in the second round at No. 36 to the Mavericks. The website predicts the Timberwolves will take Texas Tech shooting guard Jarrett Culver at No. 13 and Washington forward Robert Franks at 43.

The MLS United’s Darwin Quintero has three assists and is tied for the league lead in that category with two other players. The Loons, who will have their first game ever at Allianz Field in St. Paul on April 13, hosted season ticket holders for an open house last weekend. The club’s Black and Blue Team Store, and Brew Hall, are open to the public including on non-game days.

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Molitor Optimistic about Twins’ Season

Posted on March 26, 2019March 26, 2019 by David Shama

Paul Molitor told Sports Headliners during a telephone interview yesterday he is “optimistic” about the Twins having a successful 2019 season. The former Twins manager likes the team’s potential and he was down in spring training recently watching the club he managed from 2015-2018. He likes the roster’s potential.

Many odds-making authorities believe the Cleveland Indians will win the AL Central Division. The Indians, winners of three consecutive division titles, are in town for a three-game series against the Twins starting with Thursday’s season opener at Target Field. This week Bovada, the popular online gambling site, had Cleveland as the favorite to win another division championship, with the Twins next and followed by the White Sox, Tigers and Royals.

Sports Illustrated, though, has a different forecast than the trend to favor the Indians, who boast perhaps baseball’s best starting staff but didn’t upgrade the overall roster enough to win the magazine’s full confidence. In the publication’s MLB preview issue that came out late this month, S.I. ranks the Twins No. 5 among American League clubs, and predicts Minnesota will win the division with a 90-72 record. The Indians will finish 89-73 and one game behind the Twins in the standings.

There is optimism about the Twins, 78-84 last season, because there are multiple promising additions to the roster—and their division is perhaps the worst in the 30-team majors. “The Twins lineup has been beefed up, and the (pitching) rotation boasts surprising depth,” said S.I.

Quotes in the magazine from an anonymous scout included comments about mystery players Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. “…Byron Buxton has all the talent in the world, but he essentially got the previous regime ousted with how he crapped the bed,” the scout said. “Miguel Sano is always hurt and always fat, but there’s hope for Buxton and Max Kepler, who needs to lift the ball with more authority.”

If S.I. is correct in predicting the Twins will lose in the postseason to the Yankees, that will be the sixth time New York has ended Minnesota’s advancement in the playoffs.

Molitor is in ongoing discussions with the Twins about a future role with the club. He was fired after last season with reportedly two years remaining on his contract. He was AL Manager of the Year in 2017 when he led the 85-77 team to the playoffs.

The popular 62-year-old Minnesota native said he remains open to managing again in the majors but he is using time away from the game to be with family including 12-year-old son Ben who accompanied him to spring training.

Worth Noting

Molitor is friends with Golden Gophers baseball coach John Anderson whose team has its home opener at Siebert Field starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Minnesota is 7-13 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten.

Former Gopher football wide receiver Drew Hmielewski, who gave up football last year to focus on baseball, hit his first career home run for Minnesota on Sunday in a win over Penn State. He is a redshirt sophomore outfielder.

With his outstanding play in regular season and tournament games in March, Gophers junior forward Amir Coffey might now project as a late first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Coffey will test NBA interest in the coming weeks. He is better than some players on current NBA rosters, but he might benefit from gaining more physical strength and experience by returning to Minnesota for his final season of eligibility.

This is the first school year in University of Minnesota history the Gophers have won a football bowl game (December against Georgia Tech) and NCAA Tourney basketball games (last Thursday, Louisville; Saturday, Michigan State).

The opinion here is Kevin Harlan, who called the Gophers’ two NCAA Tournament games for CBS last week and was the original radio voice of the Timberwolves, is the best play-by-play guy ever to work in Minneapolis-St. Paul calling professional or University of Minnesota sports.

If Scott Layden doesn’t return as Timberwolves general manager after this season, Calvin Booth might be a candidate to replace him. Booth is assistant general manager of the Nuggets and previously worked in the Wolves’ front office.

Media outlets, including the Kansas City Star, were reporting yesterday that Rochester John Marshall five-star forward Matthew Hurt will announce his college choice April 19. Presumably the University of Kansas is still a finalist, although speculation is Jayhawks coach Bill Self could one day be coaching in the NBA where his name has been linked to the Bulls, Spurs and Thunder.

Hopkins star point guard Paige Bueckers is on spring break this week in Billings, Montana, where she is instructing youngsters at the free “Buckets With Bueckers” clinics. Paige’s mom, Amy, lives in Billings.

Former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill, now athletic director at Southern Illinois, will be in Minneapolis next week for the Final Four and plans to see friends he made here from 2011-2015.

Game time for the annual Gophers Spring Football Game has been set for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13 at TCF Bank Stadium.

The top three overall seeds in the NCAA men’s hockey playoffs are schools from the state of Minnesota, with No. 1 St. Cloud State, No. 2 Minnesota Duluth and No. 3 Minnesota State. A college hockey authority told Sports Headliners that’s a historical first for Minnesota hockey.

The Minnesota Wild, with five games remaining in the regular season, are likely to make the playoffs if goalie Devan Dubnyk is at his best. A playoff spot will be a positive with season ticket holders who are seeing an increase in the cost of seats for 2019-2020.

Former Vikings draft choice WR Moritz Böhringer of Germany is on the Bengals practice squad as part of the 2018 NFL International Player Pathway Program.

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Gophers’ Best Makes Cards Collapse

Posted on March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 by David Shama

Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino called it a “perfect game.” Three former Golden Gophers coaches told Sports Headliners Minnesota’s 86-76 win over the Louisville Cardinals this afternoon was the team’s best performance of 2019. A friend in Des Moines for the NCAA Tournament game described it as beautiful to watch.

However you want to say it, the Gophers gave a success-starved program and fan base a very happy Thursday afternoon by winning their opening game in the East Region that features national powers Duke and Michigan State, No. 1 and 2 seeds.

Pitino made the “perfect” reference on his postgame radio show heard in Minneapolis-St. Paul on KFXN Radio. He was elated to win his first ever NCAA Tournament game in the closing weeks of his sixth season at Minnesota. The tourney win was just the program’s second in six tries since 2000.

Pitino’s team has experienced highs and lows this season. The Gophers had a stretch where they lost six of seven games in February, before rallying to win five of their last seven including today in a dominant performance against Louisville. At times things have been difficult off the court, too, including the death of guard Dupree McBrayer’s mom. Minnesota has been resilient, though. “It’s been a really fun group to coach,” Pitino said after the game.

The Gophers have embraced the underdog role in recent weeks and again today as they upset No. 7 East Region seed Louisville. As the No. 10 seed, Minnesota wasn’t expected to win against a Cardinals bunch—that while stumbling of late—held a win over powerful North Carolina and almost took down Duke, the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.

Louisville, North Carolina and Duke are programs with a historic ACC pedigree, but the Gophers weren’t intimidated today. “They played a much more aggressive game (than typical),” said former Minnesota assistant coach Al Nuness. “They were aggressive defensively. They were up in their (the Cardinals’) chests defensively. They went after loose balls. They just played a lot more aggressive than Louisville did. Louisville kind of played passive.”

Nuness, also a former Gopher captain as a player, referred to Minnesota’s performance as “by far” its best of the season. “The best all around game,” he said. “Defensively they played great. Offensive rebounding they played great. Shooting, especially from the three point line…they played very good. Turnovers, I think they had maybe five for the whole game.”

Nuness was also impressed with the coaching of Pitino and his staff. The Gophers, he said, changed up defenses including using a full court press. Louisville specializes in three pointers but Minnesota held the Cardinals to nine made threes and 34.6 percent on conversions.

“They played a heck of a game,” said Jim Dutcher, who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten championship. He called the win the biggest of Pitino’s six years at Minnesota.

Bill Fitch, another former Minnesota head coach who went on to become one of the winningest coaches in NBA history, likened NCAA Tournament games to “strangers” meeting for a first time. Why? Because usually the teams are from different conferences and not that familiar with one another. Halftimes, Fitch said, become important because that’s when new strategies may surface. “I thought Minnesota did a very good job of adjusting. …The whole game was decided by that 12-0 run at the start of the second half.”

The Gophers, who built their second half lead to 19, had 11 three pointers in the game, including two from power forward Jordan Murphy who entered the game with just six in the previous 34 games. When the Gophers came out of halftime leading 38-33, Murphy hit a three pointer to start the Minnesota run. “When you get him shooting three pointers, you got something going,” said Fitch, who praised how Minnesota responded to Louisville’s late game press and poise throughout the afternoon.

Gophers loyalist Steve Hunegs was among the couple thousand or more Minnesota fans in Wells Fargo Arena today who saw Minnesota make 11 three point shots. Those fans shook the building with the “Minnesota Rouser” and provided a home court advantage. Hunegs wrote this via email:

“As you saw, the players played beautifully and the coaches coached beautifully. … There was much ‘Williams Arena will’ among the thousands of Minnesota fans who made the trip.”

The Gophers’ record is now 22-13, while Louisville is 20-14. Next up for Minnesota is a rematch against Big Ten champion Michigan State, a team that defeated the Gophers 79-55 in February in East Lansing. “From here on out, it gets tougher (advancing in the tournament),” Fitch said.

Dutcher thinks Minnesota has a “good chance” of winning, though, noting the Spartans are known for scoring droughts. If the Gophers can guard like they did today, covering both the perimeter and interior like seldom before, it could make things interesting.

Unlike this afternoon when the teams didn’t know each other that well, there will be all kinds of storylines the coaches will be anticipating. Dutcher said MSU power player Nick Ward has bullied the Gophers inside in the past, although he has been playing with a hand brace. Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu and Murphy (slowed by back spasms today) will have to respond.

Gabe Kalscheur led the Gophers in scoring against the Cardinals with 24 points and made five of 11 three pointers, the best of anyone in the game. Kalscheur had some open looks that indicated the Cardinals weren’t all that familiar with his long distance ability.

“If he’s got room to eye the basket, he’s a very, very good three point shooter, and he shot well all year,” Dutcher said. “The Big Ten teams where they see each other so often they’re aware of that. They’re (the Spartans) gonna press up on him. (Michigan State coach Tom) Izzo is going to make him put the ball on the floor. They’re not going to give him a wide open three.”

Pitino compared today’s game to a “war.” Against the physical Spartans, the war figures to escalate on Saturday.

Worth Noting

Gophers basketball reserves Hunt Conroy, Michael Hurt and Brady Rudrud were among the 928 Big Ten student-athletes competing in winter sports who were announced yesterday as Academic All-Conference. To be honored student-athletes must be enrolled fulltime at their institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

Saturday night’s WCHA men’s playoffs title game at the Verizon Center in Mankato was a near sellout as of late yesterday afternoon. The championship game has sold out the last two years at other sites and this year matches regular season champ Minnesota State against Bowling Green.

Three of the top four teams in the latest USCHO national rankings are Minnesota programs, with St. Cloud State No. 1; Minnesota State, No. 2; and Minnesota Duluth No. 3. Massachusetts is No. 4. The Gophers aren’t ranked but Bob Motzko, who just finished his first season as head coach, has the reputation of being an outstanding recruiter and is likely to make Minnesota a power again.

The Twin Cities-based WCHA remains a favorite to add Arizona State as a member in a couple of years. Because ASU is playing and scheduling as an independent, the Sun Devils haven’t played a game since March 2 and won’t be back on the ice until March 29 when they participate as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.

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