Sid Hartman: Haskins, Casey sang U's praises to Smith

When Tubby Smith was asked what finally sold him on taking the Gophers men's basketball job, in addition to the sales job athletic director Joel Maturi did, the former Kentucky coach said it was the conversations he had with former Gophers coach Clem Haskins and ex-Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey.

Haskins and Casey are longtime friends of Smith. Casey was an assistant coach under Haskins at Western Kentucky from 1980-85 and an assistant under Eddie Sutton at Kentucky from 1985-90.

"It was by fate that this week happened the way that it did," Smith recalled Sunday. "I was on my way to see my son [Brian Smith] play. He plays for Ole Miss, and they were playing Clemson [in a second-round NIT game] so we flew into Charlotte, drove down there to Clemson. I came back for the Kentucky state high school basketball tournament [that] was going on.

"I had a chance to talk with Clem Haskins [at the Kentucky state tournament], and Clem had nothing but great things to say about the program, about the people there in Minneapolis and the Minnesota area."

Then, like Smith said, by fate, it just happened that Casey was at the Kentucky state tournament in Lexington.

"I'll be honest with you, talking with him [Casey] and how he really enjoyed living and working in Minneapolis, that kind of pushed me over the edge," Smith said.

Smith, who like everybody else who has met Casey can't say enough good things about the man, recalled meeting Casey for the first time at Virginia Commonwealth.

"We used to play pickup basketball at all these tournaments, like these AAU tournaments, [and] in between games we'd get a game started," Smith said. "In fact, [former Gophers interim coach] Jim Molinari used to play, too. Guys like that would be out on the road, so we'd get our exercise. That was back in the younger days, though."

Will attend Final Four

Smith will be in Atlanta this week for the Final Four. Smith said he is on the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) board, the USA Basketball selection committee and on a committee NCAA President Myles Brand put together to evaluate the state of college basketball.

"I'm involved in a lot of committees, and I'm going to have to cut back on some of those because it can take a lot out of you, and now that I'm at Minnesota I want to make sure I give my total commitment," Smith said.

While in Atlanta, he said, he plans to talk to some assistant coach candidates. He intends to be back in Minnesota a week from today to meet again with his players and get going on the job.

Speaking about assistants, he said he would "like to have someone that's familiar with Minnesota and that region ... but the most important thing is loyalty and people that have a great eye for talent. There are a lot of talented players in the Minnesota area, and we need to get on top [of that] right away."

Smith also made sure he knew the schools that won Minnesota state titles Saturday, and said he wanted to say congratulations to Buffalo, St. Thomas Academy, Holy Family and Ellsworth for those teams' special accomplishments.

No doubt, Tubby Smith is off to a great start.

Jottings

University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks said the administration has set up a seven-year loan to the athletic department to pay back the $3.6 million in buyouts to dismissed coaches Glen Mason and Dan Monson.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire made it clear that if former Gophers pitcher Glen Perkins didn't win a starting spot, the lefthander would be sent to Class AAA Rochester, where he could pitch on a regular basis. The Twins made that move Saturday.

You wonder -- after all the attention Tubby Smith's hiring got and the possibility that some season ticket holders might switch from the Wolves to the Gophers -- if there won't be some real pressure on the Wolves ownership to go over the salary cap next year and sign that one superstar who would really make a difference.

Possible assistant coach candidates for the Gophers are former Gophers player and current assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats, J.B. Bickerstaff. His father, Bernie, won't be coaching the Bobcats next year, and a new coach might want to bring in his own assistants. And you never know, at Minnesota, Smith might want to bring in his son Saul, who played for his dad at Kentucky and now is an assistant at Tennessee Tech.

The future schedule is not in favor of the Wolves making the playoffs, with remaining games at home with Seattle, Miami, Cleveland, New Orleans, Toronto, Dallas, San Antonio and Memphis, and road games at Utah, Orlando, New York, Golden State and Denver.

No doubt the Vikings still have some interest in Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, but some of the NFL officials I have talked to can't believe the Vikings will take him. What would make the Vikings real happy is if somehow Wisconsin All-America offensive tackle Joe Thomas is there when they pick seventh in the first round.

Brendan Kelly, a highly recruited defensive end for Holy Angels, became the second junior to commit to the Gophers football team. Cretin-Derham Hall running back Shady Salamon was the first to commit to the 2008 class. ... Apparently nobody claimed Wolves forward Eddie Griffin on waivers and he is a free agent. The Wolves will have to pay him for this season unless they win an arbitration hearing.

Indianapolis Colts football coach Tony Dungy will speak in Mankato on April 4 to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group. ... Dave Winfield, one of the greatest all-around athletes in Gophers history and equally successful in the major leagues, has a new book out that's receiving a lot of attention entitled "Dropping the Ball: Baseball's Troubles & How We Can and Must Solve Them." Winfield will be signing his book at the Mall of America at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Rotunda. Winfield is now a vice president with the San Diego Padres.

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, in his 26th year as the school's coach, coached his 1,500th game Sunday, a 6-2 victory over Hartford University that gave the Gophers a 14-5 record. Anderson's career record is 919-578-3. ... Former Gopher Robb Quinlan is hitting .287 with two home runs and six RBI this spring for the Angels. Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, who was slated to be the starting Angels third baseman, suffered a fracture of two fingers on his right hand Friday and is expected to be out for five to six weeks.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast shartman@startribune.com