David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Not Gaining or Losing in Tyus Chase

Posted on May 6, 2013May 6, 2013 by David Shama

Debbie Jones told Sports Headliners her son Tyus remains interested in the Gophers. She also said the highly coveted Apple Valley junior point guard may choose a college as part of a group decision with Jahlil Okafor from Chicago and Justise Winslow from Houston.

Tubby Smith and his staff spent time pursuing Tyus but Smith was fired as Gopher coach in March. During the search process for a new head coach it appeared Flip Saunders might succeed Smith. Saunders, a former point guard who made a career coaching in the NBA, knows Tyus and local recruiting observers thought Saunders might win a recruiting derby for Debbie’s son who could be the best player nationally in the prep class of 2014.

With a new Gopher coach in Richard Pitino, who is only 30 with one year of head coaching experience, are the Gophers behind or ahead where they once were in the recruiting process with Tyus?

“I think they’re the same as they always have been,” Debbie said. “Tyus has it narrowed down to seven schools and Minnesota is one of those seven. They were there kind of regardless of who is coaching there. I think the new coach, coach Pitino he’s reached out and we’ve had a number of conversations. They’re still in the running.”

The seven schools are Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State. Pitino is no power coach like Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, John Calipari, Tom Izzo and Thad Matta but the Gophers are the hometown team. Coach Scott Drew and Baylor in faraway Waco, Texas might seem like an unusual final seven choice.

On the Baylor staff is former Hopkins High School standout Jared Nuness, a distant cousin of Tyus. He has long admired Nuness. “It’s family and so you know…it’s a consideration,” Debbie said. “It’s always nice to know somebody and stuff like that.”

Does Pitino’s lack of experience as a head coach work against him in eventually convincing Tyus to become a Gopher? “Well, I guess it’s just something you take into consideration as he (Tyus) goes through this process and we’re looking at all the schools,” Debbie said. “You kind of take everything into consideration. I don’t know that that will be a determining factor but you consider all the things when you look at the seven schools.”

In the Rivals.com top 150 for the national high school class of 2014, Okafor, a center, is rated No. 1 while Tyus is No. 3 and Winslow, a forward, is No. 10. If those three decided on the same university, boosters would immediately make airline and lodging reservations in Indianapolis for the 2015 Final Four. How much credibility is there about a possible Tyus-Okafor-Winslow package?

“I know Tyus and Jahlil talk about it frequently and I really believe that that will happen,” Debbie said. “Justise from Texas is another one — that they’ve talked about going somewhere together. I do see that happening. So as we get right down to it and taking some official visits, narrowing things down, I think it’s a real possibility.”

Worth Noting

Tyus Jones’ grandfather, Dennis Deutsch, may have a kidney transplant but must have more tests. Deutsch and Tyus have a close relationship.

Will Rashad Vaughn, the shooting guard who is rated the No. 6 player in the country by Rivals.com for the class of 2014, play his senior year for Robbinsdale Cooper or go elsewhere? Perhaps to a prep school outside Minnesota?

Each Wild home playoff game is worth about $5 million to the franchise, according to a pro hockey source who asked not to be named. The Wild hosts the Blackhawks tomorrow night for their second 2013 home playoff game. Revenue sources include mostly ticket sales but also suites, merchandise and local TV broadcasts.

Another hockey source, FSN’s Kevin Gorg, said the key for the Wild to even the series at two games each tomorrow night will be for Minnesota to “slow down” the pace against the more talented Blackhawks. Gorg said Wild veteran Pierre Marc-Bouchard probably played his best game ever for Minnesota in its win yesterday.

A Timberwolves’ official said new president of basketball operations Flip Saunders will be paid a “mid-market” NBA salary. That might mean compensation in the range of $2.5 to $3.5 million.

Although Saunders has more than 13 years of NBA head coaching experience, he wasn’t hired as a potential emergency replacement for Rick Adelman if the 67-year-old Wolves’ coach abruptly decides to retire because of his wife’s health concerns.

“I think Flip would have the potential of finding us the right coach,” said Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor. “That’s how I really have looked at it. But at this point I have only looked at Rick as our coach. I have a high degree of confidence that he is going to stay. I didn’t ask Flip to come here because he could coach. That was not part of my consideration.”

With a devastating run of injuries that turned the Wolves into a team that had a 31-51 record, the team’s TV ratings for 2012-13 averaged 2.2, a decline from 2.9 the previous season. A Wolves’ spokesman emailed that information and said a playoff contending club could produce numbers two and three times the 2.2.

Vikings’ defensive tackle Shariff Floyd, the team’s first selection in the first round of last month’s NFL draft, said his sleeve length is 31 inches. Draft observers have questioned his ability to pass rush because of short arms but Floyd told Sports Headliners that’s “not a factor at all.”

Floyd, 6-3, 297, has asked for help from retired Vikings’ defensive lineman Pat Williams who played at 6-3, 317. Williams has agreed to mentor Floyd.

Cordarrelle Patterson, another of the team’s first round draft choices, said the playbook has already been more manageable for him than expected because he’s been given time to absorb the material and coaches have been helpful. He’s open to whatever assignments the team gives him as a wide receiver, punt returner or kickoff returner.

Community involved former Viking and St. Paul native Matt Birk is the honoree at the annual Bobby Jones dinner tonight at Interlachen Country Club in Edina.

Murray’s Restaurant owner Tim Murray has another summer baseball trip planned with friends. This year’s itinerary will feature games in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Paul Allen, the radio play-by-play voice of the Vikings, will speak to the C.O.R.E.S. group on Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Author Jim Bruton and former Viking Dave Osborn will autograph copies of Bruton’s book on the Vikings’ 50 greatest players. Anyone interested in attending the luncheon and program should contact Jim Dotseth by Tuesday, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Allen is the track announcer at Canterbury Park where the Shakopee racing facility had an estimated 11,000 patrons on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby and set a simulcast wagering record of more than $1.61 million. The previous record of $1.48 million was set in 2004 on Derby Day.

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Nanne: Wild Hope to Frustrate Chicago

Posted on May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 by David Shama

Lou Nanne doesn’t underestimate the importance of tonight’s second game between the Wild and Blackhawks in Chicago. “I think it’s maybe the biggest game of the series,” he told Sports Headliners.

There are potentially six games left in the best of seven Stanley Cup playoff series but both teams will answer questions after tonight. The Blackhawks, the No. 1 seed in the NHL’s Western Conference, had to work hard to win in overtime on Tuesday night in Chicago. With the series moving to Minnesota next week for games three and four, will the Blackhawks feel more or less pressure tonight holding a 1-0 series lead?

The Wild stumbled late in the season, needing a last game win in Colorado to earn the No. 8 spot in the playoff seeding. Did the ultra competitive 2-1 loss on Tuesday help or hurt the Wild’s chances to win tonight? Did the result leave the Blackhawks confident or wondering if they might blow this series to the bottom seeded team that showed defense and energy beyond what they have expected?

Nanne is hoping for a seven game series but a loss tonight will have him thinking about a Chicago sweep, or eliminating Minnesota in five games. “I am worried about that,” he said.

Nanne’s NHL experiences included playing, coaching and working in the front office for the North Stars. He thinks Wild coach Mike Yeo told his team to play cautiously, hoping to avoid mistakes against the talented Blackhawks before the last game. Nanne said if he were coaching he would take the same approach with the Wild tonight.

“I am sure he told them to play very tight, not open it up,” Nanne said. “Try and frustrate the Blackhawks and hope to get opportunities on their turnovers…to score on the occasional chance you might get.”

Nanne doesn’t minimize the possibility of a Wild win this evening. “They proved they could play with Chicago, beat Chicago,” he said.

If the Wild don’t win tonight, Nanne won’t be receptive to suggestions the players choked. After Minnesota lost 6-1 last Friday night at home to the Oilers in a game that had mega playoff pressure, there was speculation the Wild choked.

“I think that’s ridiculous,” Nanne said. “Those statements are usually made by people who have never played sports.”

The next night the Wild met the challenge of qualifying for the playoffs by beating the Avalanche in Denver. “In a tougher place to play,” Nanne said.

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Kill Earns High Praise from Assistant

Posted on May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 by David Shama

The Gophers and Iowa were the last two Big Ten teams to finish their spring practice schedules last Saturday. Both are programs trying to establish themselves in the conference after 2012 seasons when the two teams had identical 2-6 records, but if there is a sharp contrast between the programs it’s with the coaching staffs.

The Hawkeyes have six new assistants on their staff since the 2011 season. But the Gophers have the same core group, boasting a staff longevity that is unusual in college football.

Gophers’ assistant head coach and linebacker coach Bill Miller has worked for about a dozen head coaches and knows the staff loyalty to Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill is special. Kill has seven assistants who have worked for him 14 years or more at Minnesota and previous head coaching stops, according to Miller.

“He treats them good,” Miller told Sports Headliners earlier this spring. “He is a good man. He’s a good guy to work for. He’s sincere. … He’s a tell- it-like-it-is.”

Coaching relationships can be volatile but Miller said Kill, who has been the Gophers’ head coach for two seasons, doesn’t “threaten you with your job and things like that.” “I guess I work harder for a guy that wants me to do well and treats me good, and then I don’t want to disappoint him.”

Miller described Kill as humble, organized and a tireless worker — someone who treats not only the coaches “great” but the players too. That kind of leader makes recruiting easier and more successful, according to Miller.

“You can sincerely sell the farm for him and guarantee people that their son is going to be treated well when he comes here,” Miller said. “They’re going to be disciplined and they’re going to do the right things. The good players that I’ve been around in the last 35 years…they want that type of environment, that type of structure, and that’s what I think our staff gives them.”

Miller was first employed by the Gophers in 1986 when John Gutekunst took over as head coach succeeding Lou Holtz who in 1984 and 1985 ignited a passion for football in Dinkytown not seen since. The Gophers had about 56,000 season ticket holders after Holtz worked his magic with state football fans.

Miller, who came back to the Gophers a couple of years ago after multiple coaching stops elsewhere, saw that fan support in the 1980s and sees it happening again. “They’ll support somebody that puts a good product out there. I guarantee you we are putting a good product out there, and it’s gonna get better and better and better. If it doesn’t, hey, they’ll fire us just like they fire anybody else.”

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