Kevin Love totaled 1,000 rebounds in his 64^th game of the season.  That’s the fastest pace for an NBA player since rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman totaled 1,000 in 57 games back in 1994.

Love, the Timberwolves talented 22-year-old forward, is leading the league in rebounding with an average of 15.7.  That’s the best average since Rodman averaged 16.1 in 1997.

Rodman led the NBA in rebounding for seven consecutive seasons including a career high 18.7 in 1992, and he holds the top seven per year rebound averages since 1971, according to Wikipedia.  Is Love, who is only now completing his third NBA season, capable of eventually averaging close to 20 rebounds per game?

“No, this is probably…the top end of what he’s going to be able to get accomplished,” said Timberwolves assistant coach Bill Laimbeer.  “When you play with a team that doesn’t have a rebounder on it (like the Wolves), you’re going to get a lot of the rebounds.  Our pace of play (another factor) is pretty strong to get a lot more rebounds to be had.  We get another solid player to go along side of him as a rebounder, his stats will go down.”

Laimbeer played with Rodman in Detroit and Laimbeer once led the NBA in rebounding with a 13.1 average.  He thinks a season where Love averages 15 to 16 rebounds is likely his ceiling.

“That’s probably the highest he’ll go,” Laimbeer told Sports Headliners.  “He will probably end up (averaging) 12-13, maybe 14…the next five years.”

Could Love play increased minutes and boost his numbers? “No, he’s playing 35-plus, you can’t play much more than that,” Laimbeer said.  “You just wear yourself out.”

Love is a better shooter and scorer than Rodman.  Love averaged 21.8 points and 16.3 points during 53 consecutive double-double games, the best such streak since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.

But Laimbeer makes it clear Rodman was the more skilled rebounder. “Rodman was a much better rebounder because he was quicker and could jump higher…a pogo stick.  Dennis got up in the 18 range in some years. That’s all he did was rebound, so that’s all he concentrated on.”

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Laimbeer was asked how many players on the 17 wins and 52 losses Wolves could have played on his Detroit NBA championship teams in 1989 and 1990.  “Oh, I don’t know, probably a couple,” he answered.  “We were a very deep ball club.  We had a lot of great players that had been in the league a long time.  We were a very veteran team.  Maybe three (Wolves).”

Laimbeer wouldn’t be specific with three names, saying he didn’t want to get himself in “trouble.”

Laimbeer has videotaped a message for Rodman as part of a Pistons’ tribute to the rebounding king on April 1 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.  Rodman’s No. 10 jersey will be retired.

The Wolves play the Lakers tonight in presumably their last game against Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson who is retiring after the playoffs.  Seven years ago the North Dakota native authored a book titled The Last Season.  Wonder what the sequel will be called?

Darko Milicic’s career bests in average points, 9.0, rebounds, 6.9, and assists, 1.8, versus the Lakers are his highest against an NBA team.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said on WCCO TV sports Tuesday he will wait until the end of the season to review the job status of Kurt Rambis.  Rambis is finishing his second season as coach and has another year on his contract.

President Barack Obama’s predicted Final Four basketball teams are Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh.

His brother-in-law, Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson, has yet to have a winning overall record, or Pac-10 Conference record, in three seasons.

At 2 p.m. today the five finalists for the prep Mr. Basketball award will be announced on KSTP AM (1500).

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St. Thomas will start five native Minnesotans when the Tommies play in a Division III Final Four game tonight against Middlebury (Vermont) in Salem, Virginia. While the Gophers are mediocre, other Division I, II and III schools have success with Minnesotans including the 28-3 Tommies.

 

St. Thomas starters are Tyler Nicolai from Hopkins, Alex Healy, White Bear Lake, Teddy Archer, DeLaSalle, Tommy Hannon, Cretin-Derham Hall and Anders Halvorsen, Henry Sibley.  Among the reserves is former Cretin-Derham Hall athlete John Nance who transferred to St. Thomas from the Gophers where he was a quarterback on the football team.

During the last three seasons the Tommies’ 81-8 record is the best in Division III basketball.  Head coach Steve Fritz is 592-246 (.705) in 31 seasons, winning 16 regular-season MIAC titles and 10 MIAC playoff titles.

Fritz’s lead assistant is Johnny Tauer.  In 1994 Fritz coached Tauer, then a 6-5 junior forward from Cretin-Derham Hall, in the Final Four.  The Tommies (24-7) finished fourth in the tournament.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s clinic is still open for registrations.  The March 31-April 2 clinic, with headquarters at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park, will have four featured speakers, Gophers coach Jerry Kill, Wyoming coach Dave Christensen, Vikings assistant Fred Pagac and Brainerd prep coach Ron Stolski.  www.mnfootballclinic.com

The Twins didn’t provide financial figures but spring training in Fort Myers is a plus for the franchise’s business operation.  It was a wise decision when years ago the franchise moved its spring training camp from Orlando in central Florida to Fort Myers near the Gulf of Mexico where thousands of Minnesotans vacation and other natives of the state have relocated.

Luke Hughes, who is trying to make the Twins’ roster as a reserve infielder and leads the team in spring training home runs and RBI, didn’t have an impressive 2010 Venezuelan Winter League season.  He hit .196 in 51 at bats.  Hughes, only the eighth Australian ever to hit a home run in the majors, had 15 home runs with New Britain and three with Rochester in 2008 for his best single season home run total in U.S. pro leagues.  He has five this spring.

Outfielder Jason Kubel, who is batting .441 this spring, is playing for a better contract in 2011.  This is the last year of his deal with the Twins and his batting average slumped from .300 in 2009 to .249 in 2010.

Ten finalists were announced last night for the Hobey Baker Award recognizing college hockey’s best player: Cam Atkinson, Boston College, Carter Camper, Miami of Ohio, Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth, Matt Frattin, North Dakota, Andy Miele, Miami of Ohio, Gustav Nyquist, Maine, Chase Polacek, Rensselear, Justin Schultz, Wisconsin, Paul Thompson, New Hampshire and Paul Zanette, Niagara.  Connolly (Duluth) and Polacek (Edina) are Minnesota natives.  The award winner will be announced on April 8.

The latest issue of The Fischler Report includes an article saying that “reportedly” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has signed a five-year contract extension.  The newsletter praises him for doing a “remarkable job over nearly two tumultuous decades.”

Houston Aero Jed Ortmeyer, who skated in three games with the Wild this season, was nominated for the Fred T. Hunt Award given to the AHL player that best exemplifies sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey. The Aero forward has a rare blood disorder that makes his blood clot too easily and requires taking blood thinners before playing, creating a higher risk of injury.

The Wild signed German goalie Dennis Endras to a contract for next season. He was MVP of the 2010 IIHF World Championship where he had a 4-2 record with a 1.15 goals against average and a .961 save percentage.

St. Olaf won the President’s Cup recently for first place finishes by the men and women in combined Nordic-Alpine skiing.  The Oles finished ahead of such schools as Boston College and Colorado College in national championship competition.

 

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