Posted April 13, 2011    

•Kurt Rambis

•Francisco Liriano

•NHL Draft

•Trevor Mbakwe

•Coaches of the Year

Ex-NBA Title Coach: Wolves a 'Poor Situation'

There’s been talk the Wolves will terminate coach Kurt Rambis sometime after their season ends tonight but former NBA championship coach Bill Fitch told Sports Headliners,“I would be slow to move on the coaches.” 

Fitch, who coached Boston to a league title and also had Houston in the finals during a long career, is retired and living in Texas but remains a close NBA observer.  He’s aware of how the Timberwolves franchise is floundering, winners of 32 total games out of 163 during the last two seasons.  

“There are probably a lot of reasons (for the Wolves record) other than coaching ,” Fitch said by telephone.  “When you get a poor situation, I would start looking at management before I would coaching.”  

Rambis is finishing the second season of a three-year contract.  President of basketball operations David Kahn hired Rambis and is also completing his third season.  Rambis and Kahn inherited a talent-poor roster and have been trying to rebuild. 

Both the 2010 and 2009 drafts have been second-guessed.  Rambis was hired after the 2009 draft when Kahn and his staff passed on sharp shooting guard Steph Curry and quickly traded point guard Ty Lawson, both first round picks.  Last year the Wolves preferred shooting guard Wes Johnson to center DeMarcus Cousins on the first round.   

Few would argue a Wolves starting five of guards Curry and Lawson, with Cousins at center, along with forwards Kevin Love and Michael Beasley, would be a better starting five than what Minnesota has now.  Curry averages 18.5 points per game for the Warriors while Lawson is a developing point guard and scorer for Denver who made 10 of 11 three point shots last week while scoring 37 points against the Wolves.  Cousins averages points 14 points and 8.7 rebounds for Sacramento, both better totals than Wolves’ center Darko Milicic who is averaging 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while finishing up his eighth NBA season.  

Fitch, who left the Gophers’ job in 1970 to begin his NBA career, said firing coaches should not just be about “wins and losses.”  He added management has to ask, too: “Who could I get better?”

 

Worth Noting 

The Twins, who defeated Kansas City last night at home, have a record of 26-11 against the Royals since the start of 2009. The Royals, who might have the best talent in the minor leagues, are expected to be among the worst teams in baseball this season but so far have a 6-4 record.   

Erratic 27-year-old left-hander Francisco Liriano starts today for the Twins.  Capable of being very difficult to hit, Liriano has a 7.71 ERA so far this season and at times shown poor control of his pitches.  The Twins could be patient with Liriano for awhile but it’s debatable whether management will commit to him for a long-term contract after this season when his present deal ends.  

A good guess from reports is that injured second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be back in the lineup by late May or early June.  In addition to rehabilitating his injured left leg, he can benefit from the down time by learning more about the major league environment and improving his English.  

Twins outfielder-first baseman Michael Cuddyer has also played 63 games at second base during his career, most recently on Sunday.  He has made only three errors at second, all of them in 2004.   

Luke Hughes has played in three games for the Twins since being recalled from Rochester to help replace Nishioka.  Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said on his KSTP Radio show on Sunday that Cuddyer and Hughes have about the same range in the field. 

Among the offseason decisions the Wild face is whether to renew the contract of popular forward Andrew Brunette who signed a three-year deal with the team in 2008. 

Center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Western Hockey League and defenseman Adam Larsson from the Swedish Elite League were named the top NHL 2011 draft-eligible skaters from North America and Europe after NHL Central Scouting Bureau released its final rankings on Monday. The entry draft will take place at the Xcel Energy Center with the first round on June 24 and subsequent rounds June 25.  

The April 11 issue of Sports Illustrated ranks Ohio State No. 2 and Wisconsin No. 10 in early 2011-12 college basketball rankings.  Minnesotans Jordan Taylor, a for sure 2011-12 preseason All-American point guard, and Mike Bruesewitz, predicted to be a featured forward in the offense, are the only Badgers mentioned in a brief summary about the team.   

Bruesewitz had his carrot top fro shaved to raise money for the National MS Society  in the fight against multiple sclerosis.

 

Notes Plus

Yahoo Sports rates the Gophers’ Trevor Mbakwe the No. 12 power forward in college basketball.  Mbakwe, who has interest in turning pro instead of returning for his senior season, isn’t included among nbadraft.net’s projected players to be chosen by NBA teams in 2011.  Last year the website projected sophomore Gopher forward Rodney Williams as a first round draft pick, but not any more after he averaged 6.8 points.  

Next fall WCCO Radio will have its most minimal major sports play-by-play offerings in over 50 years.  The station will carry Timberwolves games, but no longer is the broadcast home of any other major pro sports teams or Gophers football, basketball or hockey.   

Tim Leiweke, the former Timberwolves executive who is leading the drive to bring the NFL to Los Angeles, is the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year.  As chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group, Leiweke provided leadership in the development of the Staples Center and the L.A. LIVE entertainment complex that have been credited with helping to economically revive downtown Los Angeles.  Earlier this year a $700 million naming rights deal with Farmers Insurance was announced for a new football stadium in Los Angeles.  

The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association announced its coaches of the year by classes: 5A, Brad Anderson, Wayzata; 4A, Marc Franz, Rogers; 3A, Mike Kesler, Rochester Lourdes; 2A, Don Seipkes , Ottertail Central; 1A, Denny Lux, New Ulm Cathedral; and Nine-man, Jeff Gronner, Cromwell.  Brainerd’s Ron Stolski was honored as the Coach of the Year after setting the all-time state prep record for most career wins, 330.

The Butch Nash outstanding assistant coach winners are Mike Allen, Northfield; Kirk Golberg, Lakeville South; Greg Johnson, Delano; Mark Johnson, Rocori; Jeff Moore, Verndale; Jeff Moritko, Totino-Grace; and Charlie Reed, Cretin-Derham Hall.

Win Willy, owned by Jerry and Marlene Myers’ Jer-Mar Stables of Minneapolis, won the Grade 2 $350,000 Oaklawn Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Ridden by Cliff Berry and trained by Mac Robertson, the five-year-old thoroughbred has now won $821,960 in his 18-race career.  

 

Trevor Mbakwe

 Rodney Williams