Sid Hartman: Smith is upbeat talking about Gophers' prospects

Tubby Smith has been busy recruiting and wrapping things up in Kentucky, so the new Gophers men's basketball coach was in town for only one day during May. The NCAA permits some limited workouts during the offseason, so Smith and his assistant coaches did have a chance earlier to get some idea of how much talent they will have to work with this season.

" I think they're all gonna be good players. We've got a good nucleus back," he said.

New Gophers football coach Tim Brewster had a lot to say after he was hired, but Smith hasn't been as talkative, although he has sounded optimistic when he did talk about the team.

"I think in [Spencer] Tollackson and [Dan] Coleman I think we got some skilled big men that can do some things," Smith said.

"I think Lawrence McKenzie has got some talent. I think we got some guys that could help us. Those are the three seniors, and the underclassmen, the guys that are back, like the Bryce Websters and the Jonathan Williams, the Kevin Paytons, just need to believe. They need some encouragement and they need somebody to give them some hope."

Smith said he feels good about the situation at Minnesota.

"You take a job and you do the best you can," he said. "I think we got some players. I think we can compete in the Big Ten. Obviously, last year is a tough transition when you lose a coach [seven] games into the season. "That's tough to do. I think Jim Molinari did good job keeping them together."

The Gophers have one scholarship available, and Smith didn't rule out signing somebody for the coming season.

"We're always recruiting. We could, I'm not going to say no, but I'm going to say yeah, because I don't know," Smith said. "We're involved. We're recruiting guys still that could possibly play. People are always calling us about this guy who could help you. So were evaluating all those calls when people say there is somebody that can help you now."

Smith said, as far his staff is concerned, that he might be interested in hiring a film and video coordinator.

Asked if the Gophers will have a Midnight Madness to start the season, Smith said:

"We're going to do something to promote basketball. We'll do something, I don't know if it will be that but we'll do something along those lines."

There are a lot of pluses to the hiring of Smith, but one big thing he gives this program is credibility. And that will help recruiting. And let's face facts: you win with good players.

Johnsson will play

Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough said defenseman Kim Johnsson, who was the victim of a cheap shot in the first-round playoff series against Anaheim and suffered a serious concussion that could have ended his hockey career, underwent some medical tests recently and said the results were very favorable. Now there isn't much doubt the defenseman -- who signed a four-year, $19.4 million contract last offseason -- will play this coming season.

The hit on Johnsson by the Ducks' Brad May in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series resulted in a three-game suspension for May.

Some 100 high school and college hockey players who are considered potential high NHL draft choices are in Toronto this week for various tests and workouts. Among this group are seven players from Minnesota. They are: Mark Guggenberger, a goalie from Richfield; Jake Hansen, a right winger from White Bear Lake; Mike Hoeffel, left winger from North Oaks who is with the USA under-18 team; Ryan McDonagh, a defenseman from Cretin-Derham Hall; and centers Jim O'Brien of the Gophers, Nico Sacchetti of Virginia, Minn., and Patrick White of Grand Rapids.

Kyle Okposo, the Gophers hockey star selected in the first round by the New York Islanders in the 2006 draft, will decide in the next two weeks whether he will sign a pro contract or remain playing college hockey.

Apparently, the Islanders have not made their best contract offer yet.

Jottings

Viking owner Zygi Wilf, speaking optimistically about the future of his team, said: "The day I left our draft meeting, I felt it was a turning point in the future success of this team. The way the draft was handled just gave me the impression we are on our way to some good things."

Mike Radcliff, the Twins' director of scouting, said Mike Mee -- the Gophers' leading hitter and team MVP -- will be taken in the major league draft but will not go high. That is because even though the outfielder/first baseman is a good hitter, he is considered a player without a position.

Ralph Sampson III, the son of the former Virginia basketball star, is being recruited hard by Minnesota. Sampson did well in the recent Nike Memorial Day Classic in Nashville while playing with the Georgia Stars and got more teams interested. According to GopherIllustrated.com, Smith took a liking to the 6-11 player in April while watching him play in a tournament in Houston. Two weeks later, Sampson came to Minnesota for a visit and could be close to a commitment. ... Kevin Walker, the son of former Gophers defensive back DeWayne Walker, the defensive coordinator at UCLA, apparently still is sticking to his Minnesota commitment, although he told Gopher Illustrated.com that he had received an offer from UCLA and that he could be interested if San Diego State offered him a scholarship because if would give him a chance to play close to home. ... Former Gophers forward Rick Rickert had a good enough season -- averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds this year playing in the NBA Development League -- that he has been selected as one of the 10 league players who will play several games in China in August. Rickert, who said he has become stronger, also has agreed to play with the Charlotte Bobcats' summer league team.

Gophers sophomore outfielder Matt Nohelty has been named to the Academic All-America third team. He previously was named to the Big Ten All-Academic first team. ... University of Minnesota men's senior golfers Bronson La'Cassie and Niall Turner have been named to the Ping All-Midwest Region team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

The Twins promoted pitcher Brian Duensing from Class AA New Britain to Class AAA Rochester and in his debut for the Red Wings, he gave up two runs in six innings in a 3-2 victory against Richmond.

Former Gophers guard Khalid-El-Amin is playing in Mariupol, Ukraine, with the Azovmash and has sparked his team to their second league championship. El-Amin will return here to prepare to host his first Muslim-sponsored celebrity basketball tournament July 13-14. Revenue from the tournament will be used to raise funds for the expansion of Al-Ma'mun (a neighborhood assistance outreach program in North Minneapolis). El-Amin said he hopes to have a number of NBA stars play here including former Connecticut teammate Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons, Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers, Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the Sacramento Kings, Lamar Odom of the L.A. Lakers and Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Kris Krier, a local high school wrestler who did well despite the fact he is legally blind, has transferred from Cal State Fullerton, where he was redshirted, to Augsburg College. ... Steve Martinson, a former NHL player from Minnetonka, coached the Rockford (Ill.) IceHogs of the United Hockey League to the Colonial Cup and the league championship this year. ... Former Hopkins basketball player Dan Vandervieren has left Purdue and transferred to Colorado State.

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