Twins/Gophers/Wolves Pre-July 4th Round-Up

Before the Super-long holiday weekend when everyone disappears for five days, I figured I should do a quick round-up of the three Minnesota sports teams I know about and touch on the biggest story right now.  See, I know (and love) both Gopher Hoops and the Twins, and I'm pretty knowledgeable about the Wolves and the NBA.  I watch the Vikings every Sunday and play fantasy football, but I don't really cover them because I don't consider myself an expert unlike the others I mentioned.  See, unlike some local folks who actually get paid around here, I stick to what I know so I don't end up saying things like whenever Paul Allen and Paul Charchian get together to talk baseball.  Actually that'd be a pretty sweet live blog each week.  I might quit my job and do just that.  Soon I'll be richer than astronauts.  

-  Most importantly, and keep in mind we're still very early in the rumor stage here, but Rich Pitino may already have the wheels turning in a big way on some very good recruits for 2014.  First, there was this:

Me & My Bro @J_Newton20 Thinking Of A Master Plan All Imma Say Is #StayTuned 👌😎
— Isaiah Whitehead (@Isaiah_W15) June 28, 2013

For those who don't know, the Tweeter is Isaiah Whitehead, a 6-4 shooting guard out of Brooklyn who ranks as the #10 SG and #35 overall player by ESPN.  He has offers from Minnesota, Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, St. John's, Syracuse, and UCLA.  The re-Tweeter is Ja'Quan Newton, a 6-2 point guard from Philly who ranks as the #13 PG and #67 overall.  He holds offers from Georgetown, Miami, Minnesota, Oregon State, Rutgers, St. Joe's, Syracuse, Temple, Xavier, and Villanova.

If you notice, the only two schools to have offered both are Minnesota and Syracuse.  That would probably be enough to spazz everybody out (myself included), but next came this tweet:

Based on a tweet, a hunch and a little more, changed Crystal Ball picks for JaQuan Newton & Isaiah Whitehead. http://t.co/9AYj29zATo
— Jerry Meyer (@jerrymeyer247) June 28, 2013

From recruiting expert Jerry Meyer who has gotten 13 of 14 commits for 2014 correct, and if you click on the link you'd see he had updated his predictions page to forecast Whitehead and Newton heading to Minnesota.

To add a little more fuel to the fire, Newton and Gopher target Reid Travis were on the Celtics together at the NBPA Top 100 Camp (no, I have no idea what this is) this year, and Newton then sent Travis this tweet

@Reid_Travis_22 follow back Bro
— Ja'Quan Newton (@J_Newton20) June 29, 2013

Does this mean the Gophers should be expected a trio of big-time commits soon?  Yes of course.


-  In the most anticipated arrival of a Twins' pitcher since Les Straker, Kyle Gibson made his debut on Saturday and was inevitably called Gibby by Gardenhire.  He was also pretty solid, going 6 innings and allowing 8 hits, no walks, 2 runs, and striking out 5 while picking up the win which we all know is the real key to evaluating a pitcher so way to go Gibby.  It's super exciting for all us Twins fans because we've been hearing about Gibson forever, he truly has #1-#2 stuff which looks even more better when your team is full of #4 guys, and he struck out five which is actually more than any other Twin on the staff averages in nine innings so yeah and stuff.

Just remember, one start does not a career make.  Using Game Score, Gibson's debut was on par with Liam Hendriks and Pat Mahomes when they made their first starts, and we know how that turned out (ok Hendriks isn't done yet, probably, but the train isn't currently pointed towards Cooperstown or even Decentville.  Actually the best debut by a Twins pitcher since 1970 belongs to Anthony Swarzak in 2009 when he went seven innings and allowed just 5 hits and zero runs.  Do I think Gibson will go the way of Hendriks or Mahomes or Swarzak?  No, not at all.  He put up a good game and has the pedigree and scouting reports behind him that none of those other guys did.  Then again, so did Rick Ankiel, Ben McDonald, and a whole mess of Met's prospects.  This year alone Cardinals stud prospect Michael Wacha pitched a gem his first time out, then got bombed the next time and is back in the minors.  Dan Straily had an awesome debut for the A's last season, but has jumped back and forth from the rotation and AAA since.

Ok, now I'm just depressing myself and realizing I'm preparing myself for disappointment because being a fan of Minnesota sports means being disappointed.  Let's just agree to stop now.

-  When the T-Wolves chose Shabazz Muhammad I wrote on the Twitter, "Yes! Shabazz!" and I was immediately and almost completely savaged (JB of Late Night Hoops was one of the few who agreed with me).  Frankly I was stunned people would hate the pick.  Who else are you going to take at 14?  The afro dude?  There wasn't a single other player available who was remotely interesting.  And looking at the draft there were only a handful of guys with the potential to be all-stars some day:  Bennett, Oladipo, Porter, McLemore, Caldwell-Pope, Carter-Williams (if he learns to shoot), Shabazz (with the right coach), and maybe Shane Larkin.  Once Pope went at 8 the entire draft was in shambles already, trading back and getting a possible future star in Muhammad and an immediate defensive presence in Dieng was a great move.  Seriously, who would you have taken at 14?  If it's anybody other than Shabazz you're really dumb, FYI.

Oh, I get it, you wanted them to keep Burke.  I get it, I really do.  I mean he's so smooth out there.  He looks like he's moving at half speed but is just as fast as everybody else, and he's just got such a good head for the game he's mentally a step ahead.  I know there are some questions about his athleticism and his jump shot, but he's battle tested in the best conference in the land, I'm sure he'll be fine in the NBA.  That's what you're telling yourself, right?  That's what you think?  Well guess what?  Guess who else that describes?

































EVAN TURNER!

Hello exactly.  You could have written the exact same thing about Turner before he was drafted #2 overall by the Sixers three years ago and he's been bust city.  He's been so bad Philly tried to trade him to Phoenix before the draft for the Suns late 1st rounder AND THEY WERE DENIED even though the Suns wing players right now are Jared Dudley, Wes Johnson, P.J. Tucker, and Shannon Brown.  Oh my!  Burke is such a sure thing that a team in desperate need of a PG, the Pistons whose current PGs are Jose Calderon and Brandon Knight and Knight is so bad they're moving him to the 2 next year, who also had a significant home town angle with him chose a shooting guard over him instead.

I'm sorry, but when Caldwell-Pope was taken (over Burke) by the Pistons the Wolves' draft was all fucked up.  Literally the only acceptable answer to the question, "what could have better than what the Wolves did" was "draft C.J. McCollum."  I don't like him as an NBAer and Flip has come out and said that he and the team viewed McCollum as a point guard so they weren't all that interested but I can see where somebody would think he could be a Steph Curry type with less gay.  That's your only answer.  If you have a different one feel free to leave it in the comments but just know that chances are you're a pretty big moron.

- Lastly, Joe Coleman announced he's transferring to St. Mary's.  Other than the Gaels total reliance on the three and commitment to defense it's a perfect marriage.

NBA Draft Rumors Heating Up

With just two days remaining before the NBA draft the rumors are running wild like DWG on the softball basepaths.  Even the #1 overall pick is up for grabs.  Many NBA "insiders" and "unnamed sources" and even named sources including Flip Saunders have been throwing chum in the water.  Here are a few of the interesting storylines that are developing...

What do the Cavs do at #1?

The Cavs have been linked with Ben McLemore, Nerlens Noel, Alex Len and even Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo.  They've also been involved in some talks about trading the pick with ESPN reporting the Thunder, Blazers and our Wolves have shown interest.

The Cavs have quality players at the PG (Irving), SG (Waiters), PF (Thompson) and C (Varejao, Zeller).  The mostly highly rumored players are McLemore, Len and Noel which is interesting because there are some redundancies of talent at those positions. If they like one of those three to be a star they obviously should take them.  McLemore makes the most sense as Waiters showed some scoring ability, but wasn't a great shooter (41% FG, 31% 3pt).  However, he's still only 21 and he did score 14.7ppg as a rookie.

In terms of fit, I would think an Otto Porter would be desireable as a very athletic and active 6'9" small forward with some solid upside.  Perhaps he's not as much of a sure thing as McLemore or Len/Noel and that also could be why Cleveland is looking to trade back a bit.  Porter gets lots of Tayshaun Prince comparisons, but I don't buy it as I think Porter is more athletic and active running the floor and handling the ball.  I'm also impressed with his work ethic as he's added muscle and improved his outside shooting in his two seasons at Georgetown (22% to 42% from 3).  Check out this video of him:

The Green Room

Barry Larkin's son, PG Shane Larkin has been invited to the green room for the draft.  This is usually a good indicator that someone likes him to go pretty high as usually no more than 15 players are invited.  This is where the player sits with their family and their agent, so maybe a Barry sighting is going to happen.  Names are chosen based on polling of GMs.  Other names that are going to be there are: Len, Noel, Oladipo, McLemore, Porter, Bennett, Burke, Carter-Williams, Zeller, McCollum, Adams, Caldwell-Pope and Karasev.  In 2012, 14 players were invited and the latest one of them went was 17th. 

Wolves Trade Talks with the Nets 

Several reports came out on Monday about the Wolves talking to the Nets about MarShon Brooks.  Brooks is a shooting guard that has a lot of offensive talent, but is now behind Joe Johnson.  His rookie year he averaged 12.6ppg, but that fell to just 5ppg last season.  Brooks is a bit of a volume shooter and has a disappointing career 30.2% 3pt.  He's already 24 too, so he's not super young.  The rumor is that the Wolves would give either Ridnour or Barea, but the Nets are at their cap limit, so something else would have to come the Wolves' way in order for the deal to happen.  The only name I see that has a big enough salary to make it work is Mirza Teletovic or a combo of Reggie Evans and either Tyshawn Taylor or Kris Joseph.  I'm not sure that the Nets would be willing to give that many role players to get Barea or Ridnour.  Another rumor I read says the #26 pick might go in the deal, which is not good.

Blazers Making a Play for Pek

The Blazers are really looking for a center to partner with LaMarcus Aldridge down low since he gets so beat up during the season playing the 4 and 5.  JJ Hickson who played well is a free agent and Meyers Leonard, last year's #11 pick is still probably not ready for prime time.  Tiago Splitter and Pekovic are targets to come in and some beef right away.  Both of these players are restricted free agents, so that means the Blazers can sign Splitter or Pek to an offer sheet and their original team has a right of first refusal.  They are also rumored to be willing to move the #10 pick in a deal.

From Russia With Love?

Andrei Kirilenko has until the 29th to decide whether or not he'll play next year wtih the Wolves or become a free agent.  Hopefully, he's giving Flip Saunders some inclinitation of which way he's leaning.  Either way, Kirilenko is a shorter term solution, so draft decisions shouldn't be affected too much.  That being said, Kirilenko may have been the Wolves best player last season with consideration given to Rubio and Pekovic.  With a healthy Love and Budinger and some lucky/good draft picks, we may once again be talking playoff push with AK47 in tow. 

From Flip's Presser Yesterday

Their final workout on Monday was Tony Mitchell and Flip liked his athleticism.  As you know I'm a fan Mitchell and wouldn't mind at all if he's the #26 selection.  NBAdraft.net has Mitchell going #24 to the Knicks.

Flip says he's been in trade talks, but doesn't expect anything to go down until the day before or the day of the draft when they "have a better idea of where everything's going to be going."  He also mentions that if Derrick Williams were in this draf the would be a top 3 player, which indicates there have at least been some talks around D-Will, but Flip has the value placed very high.  He also says there are no players in this draft that within two years you can be sure they'll be an all-star.

Saunders acknowledges the need for better 3 point shooting and says he's watched a lot of film in addition to workouts, but doesn't give much lean beyond that.  He said they won't be taking a point guard in the first round, but what does he consider CJ McCollum?  Well, when asked to compare McCollum and Caldwell-Pope it's clear he likes them both and says McCollum has more range and been a more consistent scorer. 

For the second round Flip indicates they'll be looking for upside types; maybe euro players.  Full presser is here.

Other Notes:

• Flip expects Rick Adelman to be back saying they "talk every day".  Great news for Wolves fans.
• Saunders says that former Gopher Colton Iverson is much improved from his time at the Barn.  Iverson agrees saying, "I'm not the slow slug you saw for three years." 
• Nate Sandell has a nice piece about Trevor Mbakwe and how he needs to overcome his lack of size, injury concerns and old off court issues to make it to the pros.
• Knicks F Chris Copeland is drawing interest and the rumor is the Knicks won't be able to match any offers because they are cap strapped.
• Former 10th overall pick Jimmer Fredette is being shopped and the rumor is it will only take a 2nd round pick to get the former BYU sharpshooter.  In two seasons off the bench Fredette has shot 38.4% from 3 point range.  The Wolves have two second rounders, but they're probably much too late in the round to get Fredette.  He would add to their whiteness and outside shooting.
• The Celtics are trying to move Paul Pierce, with an end game of landing Josh Smith in a separate sign and trade deal with the Hawks.  The only two teams that have the cap space to take on Pierce's $15MM contract are Cleveland and Milwaukee. 
• Metta World Peace will decide to accept his $7.7MM player option, making him the anti-Latrell Sprewell.
• Shooter JR Smith is declining his option to return to the Knicks and is electing free agency.  He has to be considered one of the top shooting guards along with OJ Mayo.

Wolves NBA Draft Notes

The NBA Draft is June 27th and the Timberwolves have the 9th and 26th picks. Let's look at what might be there at #9.

Flip Saunders has made it no secret that he has a burning desire for Indiana shooting guard Victor Oladipo.  After working out some players on Thursday he hopped a plane to go see Oladipo in DC.  Everyone knows that Oladipo is a good defender, but he's been climbing mock drafts based on his improvements in his offensive game.  Oladipo would be a great fit for the Wolves, but is it better to try and get a big man at 9 and wait on a shooter until 26 given the depth there in this draft?  Or do they just take the best available guy?  Or dangle Williams in a deal to move up to get "their guy"?

Here's a vid of Oladipo scoring against no defenders:

 
BTW, I like those drills where they whack on the guy with pads while he's in the lane.  Good stuff.

So, what do the Wolves need besides having everyone heal up and stop doing knuckle pushups?  Here's the roster and their contract length:

PG:
Ricky Rubio through 14/15
Luke Ridnour through 13/14
JJ Barea through 14/15

SG:
Alexey Shved through 15/16
Malcolm Lee through 13/14

SF:
Andrei Kirilenko PLAYER OPTION
Chase Budinger FREE AGENT

PF:
Kevin Love through 15/16
Derrick Williams through 14/15
Dante Cunningham TEAM OPTION

C:
Nikola Pekovic FREE AGENT
Greg Stiemsma TEAM OPTION

Other FA/Release: Brandon Roy, Josh Howard, Louis Amundson, Wil Conroy, Mickael Gelabale

Official free agency negotiations don't begin until July 1, so the Wolves have some opportunity to be flexible in the draft.  Needs still appear to be a shooting guard that can defend and shoot from the outside and a big man.  Budinger is a nice option presuming he can bounce back, but I certainly wouldn't begrudge the Wolves trying to get a legit SF as Kirilenko plays a lot of 4 and is no spring chicken.  Ridnour and Barea are both serviceable players as backups at the point -- unfortunately they've been pressed into much more service than you'd like.  Shved also can play some point, so I don't think it's a huge need.  There's some depth at the 4, even if Williams is moved.  I refuse to list Williams as a 3 since he's proven he can't do it.

For the bigs, Nikola Pekovic is pretty much a must sign even though he'll cost the Wolves a lot of cash.  Stiemsma showed some energy and defense at times, but I was surprised at how many mistakes he makes on the court as well.  I do like his shot blocking, but if we score someone in the draft in might be worth saving the money it costs to bring him back.  The Wolves have until July 17th to decide, so they can draft and even consider potential free agent options before making a move.

Looking at a bunch of mock drafts the consensus is Oladipo will be gone by the #9 spot.  I've seen a couple of 8s, a 6 and even a 5 pick for him. If he's there at 8 would the Pistons move back a pick for the #26 selection?  Maybe.  Is it worth it?  I lean a little more towards keeping the #26 and taking two stabs in a draft that seems to have a big group of guys that aren't separated by much.

For the #9, the mock draft group-thinkers almost all think that CJ McCollum out of Lehigh is the pick.  McCollum is terrific with the ball in his hands and can shoot (51% from 3).  He even got a Stephen Curry comparison from Hoopshype.com.  He's also a big time transition scorer, which fits well with Rubio.  What he doesn't have is size (6'3") and he's not much of a defender.  He's also a senior, so what you see might be what you get.  Here's an incredibly long youtube clip about him:

The odd man out on the four mocks I looked at had the Wolves taking Shabazz Muhammad, the 6'6" shooter out of UCLA.  They must have assumed that Wolves brass where watching his 6 of 18 performance against the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament.  Or the fact that he's now magically 20 instead of 19 years old.  In other mocks I reviewed he's at #17 (twice) and #13th.  Most consider him not an amazing athlete like an Oladipo, but he's a high volume shooter and some believe he still has upside.  He also has Tourette's Syndrome which is pretty kickass.  He's also a lefty with a beard, so obviously he's the next James Harden.

Another wing to consider is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a sophomore out of Georgia.  Caldwell-Pope is right in that 9-13 range at the end of the lottery by most mocks.  I've seen him in the 10 spot to Portland a few times.  Paul Allen (Blazers owner, not homer Vikings guy) even attended a workout.  Kentavious is a very good shooter and at 6'5" 205, he's got decent size.  He's also a pretty great rebounder, notching 7.1 a game; which means he's not afraid to mix it up at least I guess.  KCP is also considered a very good defender and kicked butt in speed and agility drills.  I dig him and wouldn't mind him at #9 one bit. 

There are also some big men that are near the #9 spot in the mock drafts.  The bonus of taking a big instead of a wing is there are a lot of wings later in the draft that could be had at #26.  However, if Nikola is signed and delivered, the SG/SF is the greater need.  Here's a quick look at a few big men:

Zeller doesn't need to see to dunk

Cody Zeller,  6'11" Soph Indiana -- Zeller has been previously thought of as a sure fire top 5 pick, but his stock has slid in some circles. He looks like a big goofus but he's incredibly athletic for his size.  He recorded a 33.5" standing vertical leap, which is like crazy high.  In fact, it's the best by anyone over 6'8" in more than ten years.  He shoots a nice jumper and runs like a mofo.  He'd be a great change of speed with Pek banging around in the middle.

Steven Adams 7' Frosh Pitt -- Adams is a big bad man in the middle.  The seven footer clocks in with a 7'4.5" wingspan and had a great combine where he flashed a pretty nice jumper.  He also has gigantic hands. Adams is another player I'd be ok with in the 9 spot. 

Lucas Nogueria (Bebe) 7' Spain -- Bebe has been linked to Philly at #11 in a few mock drafts after a recent good showing at the Eurocamp.  He's athletic for a man with a 7'6" wingspan. At just 220 pounds his body is not quite ready for the NBA.  He's about as high risk, high reward as it gets as he was previously though of as a stud in the making and then had a poor showing in 2011 at Eurocamp.  I like the untapped potential, but not at #9 overall.

Kelly Olynyk 6'11" Junior Gonzaga -- I've seen Olynyk in the #15 range in mocks so I'm throwing him on this list.  It could be the goofy hair, but he has a bit of a Luis Scola vibe to him.  The NBADraft.net comparison is Fabricio Oberto, so there's that.  He's getting a lot of "skilled" big man comments on the internet and he backed that up with 18.1ppg on 66% shooting.   In addition to looking goofy he also has a freakishly short wingspan for his height.  He's 6'10.75" without shoes and has 6'9.75" arms. 


So there you have it.  I'm at least 72% sure that one of these guys is on the Timberwolves come draft night (barring a trade).  I'll take a look at the #26 pick next week.

Thursday Thoughts

-  Can anyone explain this Derrick Rose thing?  So with the Bulls up 3-2 they have a chance to close out New Jersey in Chicago, knowing a loss sends this back to a game 7 in Jersey so this is basically a do or die game.  Both Kirk Hinrich, who started at PG in place of Rose all year, and Luol Deng, probably the team's best perimeter defender, are out and in case you forget New Jersey has Derrick Williams.  In Game 5 in a similar situation (no Hinrich) Williams abused Nate Robinson for 23 and 10 assists, and as I write this mid-way through the second quarter he already has seven assists.  All this could potentially be handled by Rose, you know the former MVP and all, coming back and playing which, by the way, his doctor's have cleared him to do.  It's just weird. 

- I'm all over Revolutionary for the Derby on Saturday (10/1 right now I believe).  He's got good results, he's ridden by Calvin Borel (the pimp daddy of all jockeys) and he drew a position near the rail but not on it (#3) which is where Borel loves to be.  There's also a good possibility of rain and Revolutionary rates as the 2nd best wet track horse in the field (behind Oxbow) and Borel likes sloppy tracks as well.  Everything sets up well for Revolutionary, which actually kind of scares me a bit, but I put a good amount on him to win and boxed him up with Normandy Invasion and Orb in a trifecta.  I also let the wife pick a horse (Goldensoul because she's a hippy at heart) and let the daughter pick one as well (Charming Kitten because she's five) while throwing a bit on Will Take Charge as my longshot and still hold a WIN ticket on itsmyluckyday that I put down on a couple of months ago.  I hit the winner 3 years ago (Super Saver) and wife hit it last year (I'll Have Another) so I think we're due for another win.

-  I made the decision not to get HBO this year in order to save money and I knew Game of Thrones was going to be the biggest test.  They tried to suck me in with the free preview that let me watch episode 1 but I held strong.  Then I spent the night at Snacks' place and he's got HBO and has all the episodes and we watched two over there and I thought I was screwed, but luckily I remember that all HBO subscribers get access to HBOGO so I can used Snacks' ID and stuff and watched the last couple to get all caught up and my god this show is just so amazingly good.

I am a huge fan of the books and I never, ever imagined they could have done it this well.  All the cool shit from the books was done right and all the stuff they changed, added, or eliminated has been done exceptionally well to the point where I honestly don't have any complaints.  There's tons of hot chicks and boobs and butts and stuff which is of course welcome, but honestly the story and the drama completely sucks me in even though I know what's going to happen already.  Daenarys with the unsullied, Jamie's hand, the fight at Craster's, even something with no action like Sansa discussing Joffrey with Margaery (hot as fire) and Lady Tyrell are all good enough to be the biggest moment of the season in pretty much any other show, and we ain't seen nothing yet.  If I had to pick the best 3 non-comedic tv shows in history I'd go with Lost (the first 3 seasons or so), Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones, and GoT is so far beyond those other two it'd be like if Jim Thome raced a horse.  A good horse.  Also no, I have never seen The Wire or Breaking Bad (although I plan to eventually) so shut it.

- So Kahn out, Flip in, eh?  Tough to fault it, and I'm sure Glen Taylor pours himself a drink every time he watches Steph Curry score 16 points in a quarter and then thinks about Jonny Flynn is probably on the And 1 Tour at this point.  Really, outside of Darko over Melo and Wade and Oden over Durant that might end up the worst draft pick of this generation.  Unfortunately, because otherwise Dawger will rake me over the coals in the comments, I have to admit that I thought Steph Curry was on the fast train to bustville.  I was convinced his big numbers at Davidson were because he played sub-par competition and his team was so dependent on him that he was going to score big no matter what, but I though his absolute upside was a spot up shooter like Steve Novak or Craig Hodges.  My oh my was I ever wrong.  The guy is a completely dynamic scorer and one of the best shooters I've ever seen.  If he ever figures out how to drive to the rim he's going to be unstoppable, and he kind of is already.  It takes a strong man with a great character to admit when he's wrong, and that man is me.

-  So Byron Buxton hit another home run tonight.  That's his fifth for Cedar Rapids and coming into the night he was hitting .383/.510/.667 with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 4 HRs, and 10 steals in 14 attempts.  Simply put - he's killing low A ball in just his second year and he's just 19 years old.  I know you don't want to rush a teenager, but it's just silly.  He's walking more than he's striking out, hitting for a huge average and showing massive power while stealing bases like crazy.  He leads the Midwest league in slugging, OPS, runs, and walks, is #2 in average and OBP, and is top 5 in homers, total bases, steals, RBI, and triples. Between him and Miguel Sano (.368/.435/.747 with 9 homers) the Twins might end up with two top 10 prospects when the mid-year Baseball America prospect ratings come out.  Pretty cool shit.

- I still can't believe Joe Johnson was ever a max deal player.

Swing and a Miss (bring on Flip)

You have to hand it to Norwood Teague, the man's got balls.  To fire Tubby Smith after the Gophers won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in forever was gutsy.  To do it so quickly after the Gophers were ousted by Florida said to me that Teague had a plan in place and was moving quickly to make it a reality.  And now, with Shaka Smart signing an extension through 2023 to stay at VCU I fear things are going to becoming quite icky.

In my mind there's only one more home run hire, and that's Flip (and yes, Brad Stevens but you can forget it).  Flip comes with plenty of question marks (but who doesn't) but he's the one I think can be an almost instant program changer.  Three things I love:

1)  He has a love for the program and the city loves him.  There's something about bringing passion to your team that goes deeper than just being the coach that seems to resonate, and having a town behind you can raise the excitement level further which can only help with recruiting and fundraising (which is needed for a practice facility which I'm told is needed to aid recruiting).

2)  He already has a relationship with the Big 3.  Going beyond that his connections within NBA circles are only going to make playing for him that much more enticing.  If Flip ends up being the hire in my opinion getting all three of them at the U suddenly is actually a possibility and I would almost guarantee at least one would stay home.  If the hire ends up being anybody else, I'm not optimistic even one becomes a Gopher.

3)  He can play a pro-style offense.  There's evidence that playing an NBA style game can work at the college level (Florida Gulf Coast's coach is an ex-NBA assistant and he has them playing an NBA type game) so not only can that help win games but it's exciting - which recruits love - and helps players prepare for the NBA - which recruits love.

Last coaching search I was anti-Flip because he was an NBA guy, not a college guy.  This time I am all in on Flip for the opposite reason. 

My concern is that Teague might not even consider him, because of ego (and I'm not using ego in the negative sense here).  Firing Tubby when he did was Teague's way of announcing that this is his athletic department and this is his chance to make a big-time hire, but I can't help but wonder if he'd view hiring Flip as more of Saunders making the decision to come here rather than Teague hiring him.  What I mean is, I can see it being looked at as a "Flip hire" rather than a "Teague hire" and I don't know how else to explain it so if you don't get it either you're an idiot or I am and I'm betting it's you. 

I think part of it is the Villa 7 thing they've built up, and I don't doubt it's a great thing for all involved, but I can't help but wonder if they're limiting their options by using Villa 7 exclusively when evaluating their options.  The top 2 names out there right now seems to Buzz Williams (/makes wanking motion) and Anthony Grant (/yawn) and both have connections to Villa 7.  Oh and by the way, there's no reason Buzz Williams would come to Minnesota from Marquette.  None.  So just stop it.  Neither is Fred Hoiberg or any other dream candidate. 

I think the plan was Shaka or bust, and they've gone bust.  Time to reevaluate and strongly consider Flip Saunders if you're looking for a game changer.  Anybody else and we're looking at a slow build, and we just went through a slow build that ended with a whimper on the eve of the best recruiting class the state of Minnesota has ever produced.  I can't believe I'm typing this, but the Gophers need Flip. 

But I'm pretty sure it's going to be Anthony Grant, which may very well turn out to be great in the long run.  I'm just sick of the long run.