Posted March 10, 2008
Gophers Hope Board Work Rebounds
Memo to Gopher basketball coach Tubby Smith: Go find the best rebounding dude available and give him your last available scholarship for next season.
Smith has been frustrated all season with the Gophers’ lack of size, shot blocking, toughness and rebounding. The feeling may have peaked after Minnesota’s regular season loss at Illinois Saturday when the Illini out-rebounded the Gophers 45-19. That 26 point margin bettered an earlier embarrassment against Illinois when the Illini out- rebounded Minnesota by 16 in Minneapolis in another win.
Smith spent much of his post-game radio talk on WCCO addressing the rebounding and toughness futility of his team. “I don’t know what else to say,” he said. “That says it all.”
Smith said from “day one” the coaches have been preaching toughness to the Gophers. He said the team works over and over on rebounding in practice, but forwards Damian Johnson and Dan Coleman, and centers Spencer Tollackson and Jonathan Williams don’t maximize their potentials.
The rebounding issue will need to be answered next season, too. Coleman and Tollackson, both 6-9 seniors, will be replaced by incoming freshmen Colton Iverson, 6-10, and Ralph Sampson III, 6-11. Johnson, 6-7, will be a junior next season and Williams, 6-10, a senior. Iverson and Sampson are expected to upgrade the shot blocking and rebounding.
Among the Gophers' other incoming players for next season is junior college transfer Paul Carter, 6-8. However, Carter weighs less than 200 pounds, not a lot of weight for pushing and shoving under the basket. The Gopher roster for next season is comprised mostly of players 6-5 or under. Recruiting one bigger player who can rebound and defend would bring a different balance to this roster.
Meanwhile, the Gophers, who finished 8-10 in the Big Ten and 18-12 overall, play Northwestern, 1-17 and 8-21, in a 4:05 p.m. opening Big Conference Tournament game on Thursday in Indianapolis. Smith said on his radio show that the future is “all about attitude” and the tourney is an opportunity for a second chance season. But he also said “this group” has been a hard one to “crank up” the intensity with, and mentioned the intensity of practice earlier in the year for a game against Wisconsin. During the game, the coach said, the Gophers' intensity was a “no show.”
Tubby Smith
Spencer Tollackson
Worth Noting
As of Friday the Twins had sold about 44,000 tickets for the season and home opener on March 31 against the Angels, according to Patrick Klinger, vice president of marketing. “We do expect a sellout and I would expect that will happen within the next week,” Klinger said on Friday.
Courtesy of Northwest Airlines, the Twins will be giving away four bobblehead dolls this season: Ron Gardenhire (May 4), Dan Gladden (June 20), Delmon Young (July 19) and Rick Aguilera (September 6).
Jodi Olson, who was Kirby Puckett’s fiancé prior to his death from a stroke two years ago, is helping promote a walk for the American Heart Association on Saturday, April 26 at Harriet Island in St. Paul. Stroke is among the leading causes of death for Americans. Jodi is raising awareness and funds for the association. More information is available at: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/twincitiesmn/jodiolson
Gopher football coach Tim Brewster said he’s “thrilled to death” to have Ted Roof as his new defensive coordinator. Gopher defensive players have already taken a liking to the former Duke head coach, Brewster said. Roof played college football at Georgia Tech where, according to Brewster, coach Bill Curry described the former linebacker as the “greatest” player he ever coached.
The Gophers open spring practice on March 27. Brewster said practices outdoors are open to the public. Fans can check the Gopher Web site www.gophersports.com for updates.
Starting quarterback Adam Weber, who played at about 215 pounds last season as a redshirt freshman, has added 13 pounds of “muscle,” according to Brewster. He said defensive tackle Eric Small who was about 265 pounds is now at 300. Among the junior college players who will join the Gophers for spring practice, Brewster mentioned defensive back Tramaine Brock, describing him as a “tremendously exciting player.”
Brewster and Saint John’s coach John Gagliardi will be headline speakers at the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association’s clinic March 27-29 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park and on the University of Minnesota campus. Speakers will also include representatives from the Minnesota Vikings, and area colleges and high schools, according to the clinic Web site. More information is available from http://www.mshsca.org/football/mfcclinic/Schedule.htm
Ron Gardenhire
Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins
Adam Weber
Extra Innings
Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi said he and hockey coach Don Lucia have spoken about some day adding seats to Mariucci Arena (present capacity 10,000). There are no plans now but if there ever was an expansion it would likely involve dropping the floor and making the rink smaller.
The first basketball games ever played in the hockey arena will be held there on March 26 and 27. Several boys’ state high school tournament games will be played at Mariucci because the usual site, Williams Arena, will be occupied with a robotics (yes, robots) competition.
The Gopher hockey team, seeded seventh, will open the WCHA playoffs on the road for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when they play a three game series starting on Friday night at Minnesota State Mankato. The Gophers' total of 15 wins (15-14-9) is the program’s lowest since 1972-73 when Minnesota was 15-16-3.
The Minnesota Minutemen announced yesterday that Aaron Ness from Roseau High School is the recipient of the 24th annual Mr. Hockey Award, given to the outstanding senior boys player in the state. Joe Phillippi of Hill-Murray School received The Frank Brimsek Award, in recognition of Minnesota’s top senior goaltender. Ken Essay (Mankato West) and Curt Giles (Edina) received The John Mariucci Award, given to the Class A and Class AA high school coaches of the year.
The Mr. Hockey Award winner is selected by a panel of judges, including NHL scouts, Division I coaches and selected media from around the state. Other finalists for this year’s award: Tyler Barnes (Burnsville High School), J. T. Brown (Rosemount High School), Cory Fienhage (Eastview High School), Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka High School), Joe Gleason (Edina High School), Justin Jokinen (Cloquet High School), Zack Lehrke (Park Rapids High School), Drew Olson (Brainerd High School) and Jake Youso (International Falls High School).
On Friday, 19,559 fans attended the boys’ hockey tournament Class AA semifinals at Xcel Energy Center, setting a new record for the largest crowd to ever attend a hockey game in the state. The record breaks the total of 19,463 set on March 17 for the 2007 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five championship game. Also, a new all-time tournament attendance record was set with 129,721 fans attending Class A and AA sessions at Xcel Energy Center and Mariucci Arena. The previous all-tournament attendance record was in 2006 when 125,201 attended the tournament.
The Wild recalled center Steve Kelly, 31, on Saturday from Houston. He had scored 28 points there, ranking third on the team in scoring. He led the Aeros in game winning goals with six. He’s played previously in the NHL with Edmonton, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Los Angeles.
The Big Ten Conference will have minimal representation in the McDonald’s All American Basketball Games showcasing the nation’s best prep boys and girls. Twenty-four boys and twenty-four girls have been selected for the games to be played on March 26 in Milwaukee, according to a press release from PRNewswire. Two boys, guard William Buford from Toledo and center B.J. Mullens, and one girl, guard Samantha Prahalis, will play in the Big Ten, all of them attending Ohio State.
Joel Maturi
Don Lucia
