Jason LaFrenz from the Gophers marketing department said after the last football season a survey indicated 83 percent of public season ticket holders planned to renew their tickets. Now the renewal process is “pretty much finalized” and 90 percent of season ticket holders have committed for next season. He said that figure compares with 93 percent last year.
The better than expected renewal rate ties to the growing popularity of new coach Jerry Kill. The hire didn’t create much positivity with many fans last fall but the public and media has been impressed with his coaching success at other schools and the forthright way he’s gone about his job so far at Minnesota.
A website called Coaches By The Numbers analyzes college football coaches and offers data flattering toward Kill. Kill has won almost 70 percent of his games when playing teams with equal talent, and approaches 50 percent when at a talent disadvantage, according to the website’s analysis.
Former Gophers’ football player Jim Brunzell is working on a book about his professional wrestling career. Jumping Jim wrote in an email: “I’ve had knee, shoulder, and hip replacement. For 28 years, nearly 5,000 matches, I had a great run.”
Prep basketball authority Ken Lien told Sports Headliners via e-mail that Siyani Chambers from Hopkins is drawing interest from Providence and Georgia Tech while Sanjay Lumpkin of Benilde-St. Margaret’s has offers from Northwestern, Santa Clara and Princeton. Lumpkin’s teammate, Isaiah Zierden, has interest from Maryland and Notre Dame, while Braham’s Tyler Vaughn received offers from St. Cloud State and Northern State, according to Lien.
Ndudi Ebi, who the Timberwolves drafted out of high school as their first pick in 2003, is playing pro basketball in Europe.
NBAdraft.net has the Wolves choosing forward Derrick Williams from Arizona with the No. 2 pick in next month’s draft. Former Gopher Mychal Thompson’s son, forward Klay Thompson, is projected by the website to be drafted No. 12 by Utah.
Sports Headliners believes the Wolves will draft Kentucky center Enes Kanter.