Posted December 27, 2010    

•Jon Leuer

•Trevor Mbakwe

•Jerry Kill

•Brett Favre

•Wayne Gretzky

‘Minnesota East’ vs ‘Minnesota West’ in Madison Tomorrow 

It irks Gophers fans to look at Wisconsin’s lineup and see three Minnesotans starting but that’s reality when the two teams open the Big Ten season in Madison tomorrow night.  The Gophers are expected to start three or four players who played high school basketball in Minnesota.  

The “Minnesota East” versus “Minnesota West” matchup just adds drama to a game that really doesn’t need more emotion.  The 11-1 Gophers, a top 25 team, hope for a fast start in the Big Ten Conference race but so, too, does 10-2 Wisconsin, a team that’s close to earning a national ranking and like Minnesota regarded as an NCAA tournament club come March.   

And, of course, no matter when Minnesota and Wisconsin play in basketball, football or hockey, emotions soar in the Border Battle.  But having all those Minnesota natives on the floor makes tomorrow night’s game more intriguing than usual.  

The Badgers are expected to start Jon Leuer (Orono), Jordan Taylor (Bloomington) and Mike Bruesewitz (St. Paul).  Leuer, a mobile sharp shooting 6-9 forward, is a future NBA draft choice and could end his senior season as the Big Ten’s MVP.  The muscular 6-1 Taylor is among the conference’s best point guards at both ends of the floor.  Bruesewitz, 6-6, is a blue collar forward whose scrappiness stands out on a team that knows only one way to write the word hustle, in capital letters.

Minnesota Mr. Basketball chair Ken Lien saw all three Badgers when they were high school players.  “I would sure like to see them in the maroon and gold,” he said.  “They went there for a reason because Wisconsin showed high interest in them because they fit into the system that (coach) Bo (Ryan) runs over there. …If the coaching situation had been different at the University some of those kids might have stayed home.”  

When Leuer was in high school the Gophers coach was Dan Monson.  He was fired during Leuer’s senior season.  His father, Mike, told Sports Headliners that Jon certainly had interest in Minnesota.   

“I think if you go back four years ago it was a little bit tumultuous at Minnesota and there was a lot of uncertainty,” his dad said.  “I think Jon wanted to go to a place where he felt it was stable, a good environment and winning tradition.   He had a lot of good choices.  …Minnesota was high on the radar on the list but when it was all said and done Wisconsin was his best fit and that’s what he decided on.” 

Taylor, a junior at Wisconsin, had committed to the Badgers before Gophers coach Tubby Smith arrived here.  Bruesewitz, a sophomore, was a high school senior at Henry Sibley the same year Royce White played at Hopkins and Rodney Williams was at Cooper.  Three similar forwards and the Gophers preferred White and Williams. 

 

Rodney Williams

Nolen Could Make for 7 Minnesota Starters  

The Gophers will start Minnesota natives Trevor Mbakwe, Blake Hoffarber and Williams.  Possibly starting too will be senior Al Nolen who played as a reserve last week in the team’s final nonconference game after missing several games with a stress fracture in his right foot.   

Mbakwe, an ultra athletic junior power forward, is averaging nearly a double-double in points, 13.3, and rebounds, 9.8.  Hoffarber, a senior three point specialist with perhaps the highest basketball IQ in the conference, leads the Gophers in scoring at 13.9 points and also assists, five a game.  Williams, a sophomore forward, hasn’t done that much during his career so far but on “paper” gets mentioned as a potential first round NBA draft choice.  Nolen, who provided steady play in last week’s 85-73 win against South Dakota State, is among the elite defensive point guards in the country.  

Leuer is averaging almost 20 points per game and making a conference best 50 percent of his three point field goals. Taylor is averaging 15.4 and has a remarkable total of only 15 turnovers in 12 games.  What would the Gophers look like if they not only had their present roster, but Leuer and Taylor?  Lookin’ awful good, that’s what.  Lien said the Gophers "would probably be fighting for the Big Ten championship" this winter.

The Badgers' roster also includes Princeton, Minnesota native Jared Bergrren, a 6-10 center.  The Gophers also have two other Minnesotans listed on the roster, deep reserves Dominque Dawson and Chris Halvorsen. 

Mike Leuer was asked his reaction when he sees the Minnesotans starting for the Badgers.  “...We have a plethora of very good basketball players in this state," he said.  "I think if you look around the country you can see that, because there’s a lot of players that go to a lot of places.  I just say it says a lot for Minnesota basketball.” 

Which group of Minnesotans will be happiest after tomorrow night’s game?  That’s a darn good question.   

The Gophers are more talented but the Badgers often play better basketball and at home they seldom lose.  Ryan has lost only 11 games at the Kohl Center in 10 seasons.  Minnesota showed its potential with early season wins over North Carolina and West Virginia, but for much of the nonconference schedule wasn't sharp.   

Nolen was asked if the Gophers have approached their abilities so far.  “I don’t feel like we’ve played to our potential at all yet,” he said.  “I just got back in the lineup so I’m going to have to get adjusted to playing with the guys.  But I think once we hit Big Ten and really get it rolling and get a couple practices under our belt, this team is going to be very good.”   

During a soft nonconference schedule the Gophers won by an average of only 8.9 points (Wisconsin 17.4).  Turnovers became habit forming for Minnesota and so, too, did poor free throw shooting, .624.  That won’t get it done night after night in the Big Ten, a conference that could send eight teams to the NCAA tournament.  

Ryan has no time for turnovers and his teams also make a league best .791 percent of their free throws.  The Badgers could really exploit the Gophers in those areas and also three point shooting, another strength.  Wisconsin made a school record 17 three point shots last week in a nonconference game against Coppin State.   

Predict the Badgers to win this game but if Minnesota wins act smug and say, “I told you so.  The Gophers have more Minnesotans.”

 

Worth Noting 

Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi answering a question on how well new football coach Jerry Kill, who last fall coached Northern Illinois to an upset win over the Gophers, will recruit: “He recruited well enough to beat us.”

Tracy Claeys, the Gophers new defensive coordinator, will be the speaker at the C.O.R.E.S luncheon on Thursday, January 13.  If Kill is in town, he will also speak. C.O.R.E.S members can make reservations by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S is an acronym for coaches, officials, educators, reporters and sports fans.  

Brainerd football coach Ron Stolski, who is also executive director of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, emailed this about Kill: “It is a great hire.”

The association’s annual spring clinic will be March 31-April 2. www.mnfootballclinic.com

Former Gophers national championship football coach Murray Warmath’s 98^th birthday was yesterday.   

Akron athletic director Tom Wistrcill, a former Gophers associate athletic director, was in town before Christmas to watch his Zips lose to Minnesota in a game that Akron received about $80,000 to play at Williams Arena.  Wistrcill said there are no immediate plans to schedule another game between the two schools.  Akron's coach is Keith Dambrot who was LeBron James’ high school coach.   

Akron is James’ home town and despite his defection from Cleveland to Miami, Wistrcill said James remains popular in Akron.  James’ relationship with Dambrot enabled the Zips to have a sponsorship with Nike.  James still works out during the summer at the Zips’ basketball court.  

Former Gophers basketball star Clyde Turner runs his annual holiday basketball camp for youngsters starting today and continuing through Thursday at Farview Park in Minneapolis. 

After the Vikings-Giants Monday night game in Detroit two weeks ago, interim coach Leslie Frazier attended a downtown 7 a.m. breakfast with community leaders who gathered to hear a year-end review about the Gophers and local pro teams.  Frazier didn’t arrive back in Minneapolis until about 3 a.m. that morning.  

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and wife Deanna flew to Milwaukee earlier this month to visit a five-year-old boy dying from cancer.  The youngster has been writing the number 4 backward and Favre has honored him by wearing a towel with a backward 4. 

The University of Minnesota Duluth football program is the only one in Division II history to have two 15-0 seasons.  The Bulldogs won Division II national titles this year and 2008 with 15-0 records led by coach Bob Nielson.  If administrators at the local branch of the U are wise, they will consider Nielson, who has experience as an athletic director, as Maturi’s eventual successor in the Gophers athletic department. 

No need to look twice but that was Ivy League Yale ranked No. 1 in college hockey last week.  Yale was No. 1 in the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine men’s poll while the Gophers were unranked.   

Instructive words from Wayne Gretzky directed at hockey crazed parents in last week’s The Fischler Report: expose your children to other sports.  “Especially the ages of 10 through 13,” Gretzky said in the report.  “You need a break from hockey.  It refreshes you.” 

Ticket King notified potential buyers via email that tickets for $25 each were available for last week’s Wild-Calgary game at Xcel Energy Center.

 

Leslie Frazier

Brett Favre