David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Rebuilt Twins Leave Early Impressions

Posted on April 10, 2013April 10, 2013 by David Shama

The Twins are already eight games into the season and while it’s too soon to make judgments that could stick for the whole year, we already have a few impressions:

The team’s 4-4 record includes a sweep of two series and two road wins. Not bad for a club that has four players new to their positions in the big leagues, a rebuilt rotation of starting pitchers and before the season was a coast-to-coast pick to finish last in the AL Central Division.

The pitchers, including those coming out of the bullpen, won’t overwhelm with velocity, but often show a lot of grit. The will to compete must characterize the whole team because the Twins are — at best — an ordinary bunch in the talent category.

Pitching always defines a season and maybe the Twins have cobbled together an okay starting staff once left-hander Scott Diamond rejoins the team. Yes, the work of starter Mike Pelfrey was ugly last night giving up eight hits and six earned runs in two innings leading to a 7-4 loss to the Royals, but that kind of performance hasn’t been the norm.

And the bullpen could be at least adequate, led by eighth inning setup man Jared Burton and closer Glen Perkins (two saves and no hits given up in three innings). Better bullpen efforts and surprises have included Anthony Swarzak’s four innings, three hits and one run work last night.

Defense is priority No. 2 after pitching and the Twins are pretty much rebuilt up the middle with rookie center fielder Aaron Hicks, new full time shortstop Pedro Florimon and second baseman Brian Dozier moving over from shortstop, his position last year. No doubts about Hicks covering ground in center with a strong throwing arm (but pardon his hitting, two hits in 30 at bats). Florimon, who played in 43 games with the Twins last season, has made low throws to first base. He and Dozier are working at their double play efficiency.

Dozier gives the Twins outstanding range at second base. Catcher Joe Mauer has dropped a foul ball pop-up, had a passed ball on Monday and at times had trouble trying to handle pitches thrown in the dirt.

Hicks has to cover for the slow moving Josh Willingham in left field. Converted first bseman Chris Parmelee has been okay so far. Mauer shows off a strong arm throwing from behind the plate, converted shortstop Trevor Plouffe has range at third base, and first baseman Justin Morneau is outstanding coming up with low throws. Sum it all up and the Twins could be average or better defensively.

Willingham, despite his slow-footedness, certainly doesn’t have to apologize for being in the lineup. He hit 35 home runs last season and is one of five Twins who have homered so far. Minnesota has hit six home runs (three last night), ranking 12^th out of 15 AL teams.

Last year the Twins tied with the Royals for a league low 131 home runs. The Twins were 10^th in the AL in runs scored, 1,448. They rank 9^h in runs scored with 33 as of today.

This team won’t dazzle with power because other than Willingham, Morneau and maybe Plouffe, no one else is likely to threaten 25 home runs for the season. The club will have to hustle up runs with singles, doubles and savvy base running (only four stolen bases so far). They will need to show grit to score runs.

There’s that word again.

Comments Welcome

Mussy & Pitino: Deja Vu in Dinkytown?

Posted on April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 by David Shama

More than four decades ago the Gophers hired a 30-year-old head basketball coach who eventually got the school in trouble with the NCAA, but Bill Musselman revived a dormant program and long after he was gone Minnesota basketball was still benefitting from his fiery work.

Last week Rich Pitino, 30, took over a Gophers’ program again in need of revival and heavy lifting to make it one of the best in the country. His passion was obvious at his Friday news conference. “I believe this is one of the best jobs in college basketball,” he said even though many college coaches might roll their eyes at such a statement.

Pitino’s reputation is that of a tireless worker who may devote 18 hours per day to his task at Minnesota. He’s known as an effective recruiter and a coach who favors full court pressure defense. To be hired as a Big Ten basketball coach at 30 years old is a remarkable achievement.

Open the Musselman file and see similarities. Like Pitino, Musselman wasn’t the first choice to become the Gophers’ coach but once he arrived you knew this guy was serious —even fanatical— about his business.

Musselman worked long hours and prided himself on his own conditioning. When he wasn’t in the office or on the phone at home, he might be playing pickup basketball where a frustrated and immature Gophers’ coach could resort to fisticuffs. He hated to lose in any competition.

In the summer of 1971, Musselman’s first year in Minneapolis, he told a pumped up crowd at Williams Arena he planned on his Gophers winning the 1971-72 Big Ten championship. Skeptics in the audience remembered that Minnesota had last been conference champs in 1937, and the 1970-71 Gophers finished 5-9 in the Big Ten.

Musselman inherited some talent on his roster in 1971 but knew he needed more. It didn’t take long to sign up junior college stars Clyde Turner and Ron Behagen. They and others formed a roster that won the Big Ten title in 1972, just as predicted.

It was more than recruiting that made the Gophers a winner, though. Musselman employed a zone defense that regularly held opponents to point totals in the 50s. On offense Minnesota was a disciplined team willing to hold the ball for long stretches to find a high percentage shot.

Musselman was a motivator who could be so crazed to win he talked to his players prior to the first practice in October of 1971 about beating Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State. Never mind that there would be no game between the schools until winter.

The desire to motivate his team and pack Williams Arena resulted in Musselman’s use of a pregame ball handling drill set to music. As the Gopher players performed 25 minutes before tipoff, nearly all the seats in the arena were filled with hand clapping, foot stomping fans.

In less than a year Musselman transformed the Gophers on the national college basketball map. During his career at Minnesota the Gophers had Big Ten finishes of first, second, sixth and third. The team was so popular games were regular sellouts, and fans who couldn’t get in the arena paid to watch on a large screen in the next door hockey arena.

Musselman left the Gophers after the 1975 season with NCAA infractions brewing and the bad taste of the infamous 1972 Minnesota-Ohio State brawl on his resume. But he had the program rolling in recruiting, victories and at the box office from the start of his assignment in Minneapolis, and that momentum carried over for years and contributed directly to the success of the two coaches who followed him, Jim Dutcher and Clem Haskins.

If Pitino can duplicate the “Good Mussy” and not the “Bad Mussy,” it will be déjà vu in Dinkytown.

Worth Noting

Rich Pitino said he welcomes the idea of the Gophers playing nonconference games against Louisville, the team coached by his father, Rick Pitino. “I would love to, if he would be willing to do it. We were going to do it at FIU, and hopefully we can do something here. I think it would be great. It would be fun to go against him head-to-head.”

Although Rich Pitino didn’t say it, the game is something the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority should be looking at for 2016, the first year of the new Minneapolis Vikings stadium. A crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 could be likely, and installing a basketball setup in the new covered stadium would be a trial run for hosting NCAA Tournament games.

Pitino has already contacted Minnesota high school recruits including Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones. He plans to have individual meetings with Gophers players this week.

The April 8 issue of Sports Illustrated said Minnesota natives Nate Wolters and Mike Muscala didn’t help themselves with their performances in the NCAA Tournament. Wolters, the South Dakota State point guard from St. Cloud Tech, “got destroyed” against the quickness and long arms of Michigan defenders in the tourney, according to an NBA executive.

Muscala, the Bucknell center from Roseville, has talent but an NBA executive quoted in the magazine said, “You can see his skills. But he needs to develop. If I were taking him, I’d try to get him to play in Europe for a couple of years.”

S.I. predicted the Timberwolves, drafting at No. 8 in the first round, will choose Indiana shooting guard Victor Oladipo.

The Vikings will play a home preseason game against the Titans at Mall of America Field on either Thursday, August 29, or Friday, August 30. A game on August 29 will be the same date the football Gophers play UNLV at TCF Bank Stadium.

A Vikings’ spokesman said the team’s date will be finalized within a couple of weeks. The Vikings’ August 25 preseason game at San Francisco will be nationally televised by NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

Gophers’ offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said he thinks former Gophers’ quarterback Max Shortell is home in Kansas still deciding where he will finish his college career. Shortell, who would have been a valuable junior for the Gophers next fall, decided to transfer from Minnesota after the season ended last year.

Limegrover, who used to weigh 400 pounds, is now at about 230 and coaching with renewed energy.

At the Minnesota Football Clinic on Friday night newscaster Randy Shaver thanked high school and college coaches for fund-raising $121,000 for his cancer research foundation. The “Tackle Cancer” promotion involved 150 high schools and two colleges in the state. The Gophers will participate this year at the San Jose State game at TCF Bank Stadium.

The clinic, a three day event led by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and held at the Double Tree Park Plaza in St. Louis Park, reported a record attendance of over 1,300, according to an e-mail from Ron Stolski, executive director of the MFCA.

At the clinic Minnetonka High School coach Dave Nelson was given the Tom Mahoney Man of the Year Award by the MFCA. “Tom Mahoney was one of the founders of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, and an inspirational, tireless leader of it for decades,” Stolski wrote in an e-mail. “The Tom Mahoney award is presented to an MFCA member who represents the best in our association. A person who devotes leadership and enthusiasm for and energy to the efforts of the MFCA. Dave Nelson epitomizes all that the award represents.”

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso said his Tommies will return “more kids than any top five” Division III program in the country. Among his top 60 players last year, 35 were freshmen and sophomores. Caruso said the Tommies might be ranked No. 2 in the nation prior to the start of next season.

St. Thomas begins the first of seven spring practices next Sunday. The Tommies, who have 91 Minnesotans on the roster, return nine starters on offense and six on defense.

Twins’ closer Glen Perkins, who earned his second save of the season yesterday in a 4-3 win over the Orioles, has yet to give up a hit in three innings over three games. The Twins, now 4-2, have swept their two opening series.

Comments Welcome

Pitino Plans to Finish Career Here

Posted on April 5, 2013April 5, 2013 by David Shama

Although he is only 30 years old, new Gophers’ coach Rich Pitino said this morning at his introductory press conference he doesn’t see the Minnesota job as a stepping stone to another position.

“This is absolutely the place I want to be,” Pitino said. “Me and my wife talked about it last night, just how excited we were that we can finally be at a place we hope to be for the rest of our lives, and build something special. I believe this is one of the top basketball jobs in the country, and I believe the University of Minnesota is one of the best universities in the country. So I am really looking forward to building at a program that competes at a very high level.”

Pitino praised the fan base, historic Williams Arena and the Big Ten as America’s best conference during his remarks. “I truly believe the sky is the limit (at Minnesota),” he said.

His teams will play full court pressure defense, trying to create turnovers and turn those mistakes by opponents into Minnesota baskets. It’s a fast style of play that can be entertaining. “I think you guys will really enjoy it,” he said.

Pitino will almost certainly pursue Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis. The three Minnesota high school juniors are among the most coveted prep players in the country, and Jones in particular has been targeted by glamour coaches John Calipari, Mike Krzyewski and Tom Izzo.

Former Gophers’ coach Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners the young coach has much to prove as a recruiter and coach. “I don’t think they (the top coaches) will be frightened to recruit against Minnesota,” said Dutcher who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten championship.

Pitino, who the Minnesota athletic department acknowledged earlier this week as the choice to replace Tubby Smith, has only one year of head coaching experience — an impressive 18-14 season this year at Florida International, a losing program that had gone nowhere under its previous failed coach, Isiah Thomas. But Dutcher’s reaction and that of many Gophers followers to the hire was, “Who?”

The response is indicative that, short-term, Pitino won’t make much impact on fan interest in the Gophers. “They won’t have to keep the ticket office open this weekend,” Dutcher said about Pitino.

Pitino is the son of 60-year-old Louisville coaching legend Rick Pitino. Already the worry-warts are speculating if young Pitino is successful here, he will then be his father’s successor at Louisville. The speculation is even frantic enough to suggest Pitino’s contract with the Gophers (perhaps not finalized yet) will include an opt-out clause to leave for Louisville. “I don’t think he can command that,” Dutcher said.

Among Pitino’s assistants at Florida International was Mark Lieberman who won five state titles as a prep coach in Florida before working at Louisville. Another assistant at Florida International, Kimani Young, has recruiting ties to New York City and New Jersey, areas Pitino is likely to emphasize at Minnesota.

Pitino’s background as an assistant to his dad and also to former national championship coach Billy Donovan at Florida is impressive. So, too, is Pitino’s reputation as a strong recruiter and his performance coaching Florida International to the school’s first winning season in 13 seasons. Regarding how he will do at Minnesota, Dutcher said, “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

But at 30 years old it’s virtually certain Pitino will bring extraordinary energy to the Gophers’ job. The program and the results had grown stale under Smith. Credit athletic director Norwood Teague with making a change the public wanted by dumping Smith and even if he didn’t hire a highly recognizable name in Pitino, his track record in hiring Shaka Smart at VCU gives the Gophers’ fan base encouragement about the future.

Pitino’s salary at Minnesota is expected to be about $3.7 million less than his father who earns close to $5 million at Louisville, according to a story in yesterday’s USA Today.

Dutcher Likes Syracuse, Louisville Tomorrow

Dutcher sees “three very good teams and kind of an unknown” in tomorrow’s Final Four lineup in Atlanta. He predicts a Syracuse win over Michigan, and perhaps a double-digit victory by Louisville against Wichita State, a team that might be the lightweight among the four schools.

Dutcher, once an assistant coach at Michigan and perhaps the sharpest TV college basketball analyst ever in this town, said Wolverines’ sophomore point guard Trey Burke isn’t just the best player in the tourney, nobody in the country is as good. “He’s got the ball more than anybody in the tournament,” Dutcher said. “He decides what to run.”

It was mostly the clutch shooting of Burke that led Michigan to an improbable late game come from behind Sweet 16 win against Kansas. The Wolverines trailed by double-digits in the closing minutes and Dutcher called it a game Michigan shouldn’t have won, but now the victory could help carry Burke and teammates to an NCAA title. “A lot of times if you win one game you shouldn’t, you go all the way,” Dutcher said. “It takes the pressure off.”

Michigan’s fate against Syracuse could well be decided by the Wolverines’ effectiveness against the Orange’s two-three zone defense. Few college teams commit to a zone as their primary defense, and maybe no one executes the two-three better than Syracuse which has been using the defense for years.

Dutcher said Michigan could do well against the zone because of outstanding perimeter shooters including Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas. It takes outside shooting and good rebounding to beat the zone, and the Wolverines have an emerging star in center Mitch McGary whose rebounding and scoring are commanding attention.

The Wolverines have three freshmen, a sophomore and junior in the starting lineup. Syracuse has more experience and Dutcher likes the way the Orange make adjustments — plus that zone defense— so he’s predicting a Michigan loss.

Wichita State will wish it was back in Kansas if the Shockers can’t handle Louisville’s full court pressure defense. That’s a relentless style most teams don’t play and if the Cardinals consistently force the Shockers into turnovers and convert steals and interceptions into baskets the game could be over early.

Louisville, the highest seeded team in the Final Four, is about a 10 point favorite to win the game. Oddsmakers like Michigan by a couple of points against Syracuse.

Comments Welcome