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Unemployed after being unjustly fired as coach of the Detroit Pistons, Flip Saunders has had a lot of time to watch the Gophers men's basketball team practice and play, and he has been very impressed with the great job Tubby Smith has done.
"The thing I like is that, number one, they have a lot of depth, they can play a lot of people," Saunders said of his college team, which is 14-1 overall and plays host to Penn State today. The Nittany Lions are 13-3 and is coming off a victory over Purdue, the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, after previously giving Wisconsin a tough game in Madison before losing by four.
The former Timberwolves coach also praised the No. 22 Gophers' ability to defend.
"They're known for their full-court pressure defense and they're known for their half-court defense being able to do things man to man," he said. "Al Nolen is one of the best."
Offensively, the Gophers have had some ups and downs, but Saunders said: "I think they have a lot things they can do. They have some guys that can shoot the ball ... when you put Blake [Hoffarber] out there, he can really shoot it. [Lawrence] Westbrook can shoot it, [Devoe] Joseph can shoot it, and you've got all those guys, [Devron] Bostick and Jamal [Abu-Shamala].
"So, they have a lot of guys they can put out there that can stroke it, and I think that's a plus to them. I think that they play within roles."
The Gophers' post players are young, but Saunders -- whose son, former Gophers guard Ryan, is on Smith's staff as a graduate assistant -- said he believes they will continue to work hard and develop.
"But I think the main thing personnelwise is they're very versatile, and you talk about taking a challenge," Flip Saunders said. "They played Michigan State and Michigan State outrebounded them by 22 and Tubby put an emphasis on rebounding, and here they go and they beat Ohio State by 10 on the boards."
Saunders believes the Gophers' record is an indication how good they can be.
"The young guys are young. They're going to play really well at times and they're going to struggle at times, that's what young players do," he said. "But there's no question that they play with confidence. They don't play like they seem like they're scared, so I think that's a big positive."
Saunders said Smith is a great coach and that people won't find a better college coach defensively.
"His guys get out there and they play hard, and what he's not afraid to do is, he's not afraid to [stick with] people that are playing well. So, he's got a lot of confidence in all the players as far as on the team, and because of that, the players go and they play with a lot of confidence."
Winning the Big Ten could be achieved this year, although it would certainly be difficult, especially considering the Gophers already have one home loss, to Michigan State. Saunders said for the Gophers to win the conference, they will have to win their remaining games at Williams Arena, and split their games on the road.
"Probably three or four losses is probably going to win it, but I don't think any coach -- whether it's me sitting on the outside, or whether it's Tubby coaching -- wants to put that type of pressure on a young team, because you really don't know how they're going to react when they get on the road," Saunders said. "But, they're definitely a team that is a Top 25 team and is a tournament team."
Will coach again Saunders signed a four-year contract with the Pistons in 2005 but was fired after three. In each of his three seasons there, Detroit made it to the Eastern Conference finals, although the Pistons lost all three.
"It's the first time in 40 years that I haven't been with some type of team," Saunders said. "It's the first time in I guess 33 years that I haven't been involved in coaching. I go through stretches where sometimes I miss it.
"But ... I go over and I watch Minnesota practice a lot at the university, and I watch a lot of games, so that kind of keeps my head into it a little bit. I'm sure that come springtime I'll be ready to get back in the saddle somewhere.
"Yeah, I'm going to coach somewhere. Not this year, but next year maybe sometime."
Frazier hopeful Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said he thought things went well in his interviews for the coaching vacancies with the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.
"I'm waiting to hear back," Frazier said "I'm supposed to hear back from Denver this weekend whether or not I'm a finalist. I'm supposed to hear from Detroit, Monday or Tuesday, if I'm a finalist. But, I thought it went well."
The word from Denver is that Frazier had a great interview. "They told me that I did a very, very good job," he said. "... I hope Mr. [Pat] Bowlen [the Broncos owner] liked what he heard."
Frazier's mentor is Colts coach Tony Dungy, and he is a clone of the former Gophers quarterback, both as a coach and as a quality person.
It will be a big loss to the Vikings if Frazier gets a head coaching job, but anybody who knows the man will pull for him. Simply put, Frazier is all class.
Jottings On paper, the Vikings' 2009 schedule doesn't appear to be too bad. Besides playing their three NFC North rivals twice, at home they also play Baltimore, Cincinnati, the New York Giants, San Francisco and Seattle. The Ravens and Giants made the playoffs, but the Bengals, 49ers and Seahawks were a combined 15-32-1 this season. On the road, the Vikings face playoff teams in Arizona, Carolina and Pittsburgh, along with Cleveland and St. Louis, both of which are coming off miserable 2008 seasons.
There was a big wedding here Saturday when Twins first baseman Justin Morneau married Krista Martin of Winthrop, Minn. Morneau recently bought a big house in Mendota, and he and his longtime girlfriend also spent some time in his native British Columbia.
It appears Breck's Bryce McNeal is the only blue-chip football player in the state that Gophers coach Tim Brewster has not got committed. Rivals.com has McNeal listed as the No. 1 prospect in the state and the nation's No. 14 receiver prospect. In announcing his decision, he said he picked Clemson because new Tigers coach Dabo Swinney recruited him his junior year and because he has a lot of family in nearby Atlanta. With the Gophers having a shortage of receivers, I believe McNeal passed up a great opportunity here.
A group of Gophers players who played under Murray Warmath helped him celebrate his 96th birthday last week. Warmath developed a good relationship with Brad Childress and attended several Vikings practices.
Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast once a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com
