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This is Amelia Rayno's second season on the Gophers' basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina (Go Tar Heels!), where fanhood is not an option. In 2010, she joined the Star Tribune after graduating from Boston's Emerson College, which sadly had no exciting D-I college hoops to latch onto. Amelia has also worked on the sports desk at the Boston Globe and interned at the Detroit News.
Follow Rayno on Twitter @AmeliaRayno
Posts about Basketball
Target Field's POPULOUS to create 'U' master facilities plan
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: October 1, 2012 - 5:45 PM
The ‘U’ has officially selected a well-known master planning firm to sketch out how the school can realistically move forward with athletic facilities in the next 5-15 years.
Athletic Director Norwood Teague said POPULOUS -- a Kansas City-based design and planning firm that has stockpiled an impressive resume both locally and world-wide – was chosen for the job last week.
POPULOUS (formerly HOK Sport) will not necessarily do the specific design for any facilities; rather, it will lay out a loose blueprint of what the ‘U’ wants to and can feasibly do, and provide precise cost estimates.
Teague has said a basketball practice facility is at the top of the list, along with a new supplemental facility for football, and that it is a “need more than a want.” He estimated that the planning phase would take about three months – then Minnesota would hope to move into a design phase with at least some projects.
Other notable projects by POPULOUS:
-Locally, Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium
-Other prominent facilities nation and world-wide, including Yankee Stadium, Wimbledon Centre Court and the Olympic Stadium in London.
It's official: Trevor Mbakwe is coming back for another season
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: April 16, 2012 - 12:10 PMAnnouncing via a video (embedded below) that he has "unfinished business," Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe will officially return for another season with the men's basketball team.
Mbakwe, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in late November, was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. He had hinted he was going to return, but Monday's announcement makes it official.
"I think it is beneficial for many reasons. It gives me the opportunity to play another year of college basketball and hopefully contribute to a team that showed it can be dangerous," Mbakwe said in a statement. “It also provides me with the opportunity to leave the university with a Master’s degree. That means a ton to me. Not many athletes have that chance to get multiple degrees during their stay and unfortunately it took an injury for me to have this opportunity but I am going to take full advantage of it. I am excited to get back on the court with my teammates.”
Said Gophers coach Tubby Smith: “He has obviously proven to be a dominant player in this league and I have no doubt that he will return to the form that made him that type of player. He will certainly be a welcomed addition to next year’s team.”
A Tyus Jones update
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: December 9, 2011 - 3:03 PM
With his sophomore season just underway, the excitement surrounding recruit Tyus Jones is heating up all over again. Tuesday’s at the Apple Valley star guard's season opener against Eden Prairie -- during which he scored 37 points -- Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals were in the crowd, among others. I caught up with Debbie Jones, Tyus’ mother, to chat about the reignited hubbub.
Q Have you guys called a lot of schools already?
A We have spoken to a number of colleges. Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State, Duke, Arizona, Baylor, Iowa, Iowa State, Providence. I think that’s it.
Q So who is on the list right now?
A I don’t think he really has a list per se, all of the places that have contacted him we’ve looked at, checked out, talked with them and did some looking online. But I don’t think he has a list just yet. He probably had his favorites – but I couldn’t even give you what that list is. He’s gotten a lot of mail that comes into the high school for him from a lot other schools, your Florida, your Kansas, your Marquette, Stanford and a lot of those types of schools, but we haven’t spoken with any of them directly yet.
Q What’s going to factor into the final decision?
A I really think you’ve got to take absolutely everything into consideration. You look at the school, you look at the program, the coaching staff, the university as a whole, the system they run, the academics. I mean, I just think you have to take the whole entire system into play. Because all these big universities, they’re going to have a lot of similar things as far as academically, set up for kids and programs and things like that. So I wouldn’t say there is just one or two things, you really just have to take the situation as a whole and really look into things. And that’s why it’s so time-consuming.
Q What does he like about the ‘U'?
A Well, it’s close. That’s what I like about the U. We’ve been over there and on campus and stuff. You know, I think the people are good that they have in place over there. It’s a good university – they have good programs. I can’t say one thing over another thing that would stand out other than the closeness for me.
Q From Tyus’ tweets it seems like he’s pretty excited for the new high school season.
A He’s very excited to get it going. We had our first game on Tuesday. We led the whole way but Eden Prairie is just very disciplined and very well coached and they got us at the end.
Q Does Tyus take losses pretty hard?
A Definitely. Every game is so important. But it’s just ‘get back after it and hopefully play better.’ We play again on Saturday (against Tartan).
Q How cool is it for Tyus to have so many schools in the building, like on Tuesday? Tom Izzo came to see Tyus play in person – pretty neat.
A It was pretty cool. We have called and talked with him. He’s just a great guy. A great coach obviously, but just a great guy. They just kind of wave ‘Hi’ because you can’t really do any conversations and stuff like that.
Q Did you guys know they were coming?
A When we had talked with them they said they were going to try and make it because they didn’t have games those nights. Coach Smith and them – the U had a game, so they couldn’t be there. But yeah, we had an idea they were coming.
Q Tyus is just 15 – how’s he handling all this attention? Does he get into the recruiting stuff?
A He’s just fine – he understands it all and gets the whole thing, so he handles it very well. It’s great and the attention and all that is wonderful, but he just wants to win games. So that’s his main focus and he knows he’s just got to play and keep getting better. Obviously he’s into it, but he’s got his priorities straight. He knows what he’s got to do both on and off the court and in the classroom. But because it came at such an early age, it kind of gives us an opportunity to really check out the schools and the coaches and the whole program of a number of schools ahead of time. That part of it is kind of good in a way I guess so you can kind of check them all out fully rather than do it as a last minute or quick decision
Q How about you? Do you kind of feel like a manager already?
A It definitely could be a full-time job I think. I’m just fine. I think at times it’s overwhelming when you think of the whole idea of it. It’s pretty impressive to have coaches at the games. I never expected that at all. It’s all great. My oldest (Jadee) played because we went through some of this with him because he played Division I basketball, but we just didn’t go to this extent. And especially not so early.
Q Is it strange for the rest of the team to see all these big names checking out Tyus on the first game of the season?
A The whole crowd was pretty electric and there was a lot of buzz over who was in the crowd and stuff like that. Kids were nervous – our team is very young. So everything is really new to I think everyone. But they handle it pretty well. When we’ve had workouts in open gym and stuff, there were coaches in the gym at times they could be, so they’ve seen them before, too. But it’s a big deal, and they just kind of have to put that aside and go out and do what they have to do.
Tubby Smith names likely starters for Tuesday exhibition
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: November 1, 2010 - 12:15 PM
Tubby Smith says he'll start Al Nolen, Blake Hoffarber, Rodney Williams, Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III during Tuesday's exhibition against Northeastern State at Williams Arena.
But newcomers Trevor Mbakwe, Maurice Walker, Chip Armelin and Austin Hollins have been impressive in practice, Smith said at Monday's media availability.
"Trevor is playing extremely well," Smith said. "Maurice Walker is playing extremely well in the post. Austin Hollins and Chip are pushing Blake and Rodney, so we've got some good depth. And that's going to be the key."
Smith used Iverson and Sampson in his starting lineup one time last season when the Gophers suffered a 66-65 loss to Texas A&M at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif. During the 2008-09 campaign, Minnesota went 12-7 when Smith started the 6-11 post players.
Smith doesn't give reporters access to practice.
But a source close to the team said Mbakwe and Devoe Joseph, last season's hero in the Big Ten tourney, may crack the starting lineup by the time the conference season begins in late December if they continue to excel in practice. Hollins has an outside shot to end up with the starting five, too, the source said.
It's clear that the Gophers have options with Mbakwe and a talented group of freshmen.
I think the Gophers will go with the lineup they're using Tuesday until there's a reason to make a switch. That reason may come as early as mid-November during the Puerto Rico Tipoff. If the Gophers beat Western Kentucky in that tournament's opening round, they'll probably face North Carolina.
A win over the Tar Heels would be huge for the season and the program. But they'll have to match North Carolina's athleticism.
This is probably their most athletic group:
G Al Nolen
G Devoe Joseph
F Rodney Williams
F Trevor Mbakwe
C Ralph Sampson III
If they wanted length and athleticism, they could use this group:
G Devoe Joseph
G Austin Hollins
G Rodney Williams
F Trevor Mbakwe
C Ralph Sampson III
Smith always says that he's not concerned about who starts because he plays so many guys. If a reserve enters a game and makes an impact, he'll leave him on the floor.
Still, the starters often dictate the pace. A quick start against Purdue in last year's Big Ten Tournament led to one of the team's best performances under Smith. A slow start at Michigan last season resulted in one of the squad's worst losses in his four years.
So starters matter. But I picked Minnesota to finish fourth in the Big Ten because of its depth.
"We want to play our pace, to push the ball in transition, get after them defensively," Smith said. "And in that style of play, we'll play a lot of people."
Lebron, Legacy and Loyalty: The trickle-down effect of "The Decision"
Posted by: Amelia Rayno Updated: July 8, 2010 - 4:51 PM
Thanks a lot, LeBron.
It's already bad enough that every high school and college wannabe thinks he has to hold a press conference whenever he makes a "decision."
That every prep kid on a "top 100" list thinks he has to announce that he’s narrowed down his list of colleges before he narrows down his list again and then, narrows down his list one more time. Were you really considering Hofstra? Made a choice yet? "I'll tell you at the press conference."
It's so frustrating that every college kid who thinks he's destined for NBA greatness makes everyone wait for the obvious announcement that he's going to enter the NBA draft. No. 1 overall pick John Wall told me in April that he had a really tough decision to make. Really? $5 million per year. Endorsements. The best basketball in the world. I commend him for making such a tough decision.
It’s annoying that every wishy-washy Division I basketball player who's dissatisfied with his playing time feels the need to tell the world that he's considering a transfer.
That every high school kid who's not in his team’s starting rotation by the end of his sophomore season threatens to go to another school. Play for another coach. Move to another district. Well, go!
That college coaches flirt with NBA gigs and then, tell the public that they never really thought about leaving because they have the best jobs in the world. But those private jets were nice!
The James fiasco confirms what most basketball fans already know.
Basketball creates, maintains and supports more divas than any sport in the country. The self-obsession, however, begins at the top of the game's pyramid.
(Kudos to Kevin Durant for signing a five-year extension Wednesday and avoiding the “me-first” attitude of his counterpart.)
James' one-hour promo on ESPN Thursday night will only make things worse for anyone preaching the value of teamwork, selflessness, loyalty and legacy to young basketball players who mimic everything the NBA all-star does.
Whether he stays in Ohio or not is beside the point. He's ignored the values emphasized by his predecessors and made this entire hoopla all about LeBron, um, King James, according to his new Twitter handle.
Legacy and loyalty don't mean anything in basketball today. And that philosophy affects all levels of the game.
If you're going to stay in town, then stay in town. The suspense, the mystery, the drama is not necessary. Sure, Michael Jordan had conversations with the Knicks in the '90s, but did you ever think he was leaving Chicago, his legacy, to go anywhere else?
Magic Johnson equals Lakers basketball. Ditto for Larry Bird in Boston. These guys defined their teams, their cities and their eras because they stayed with one franchise for the duration of their careers. And they won titles.
There's nothing wrong with free agency. Bron-Bron has every right to look around. The man gets to choose his employer. We'd all do it if it were that easy.
And if he chooses another squad … fine. But don’t hold everybody hostage.
He can save the "I just want to win" one-liners. And he can hold off on the Boys and Girls Clubs of America references, too. This is not about helping the needy. It’s about James entering the Terrell Owens stratosphere and embracing a Diva-complex that’s been largely ignored until now.
He’s also telling the young athletes I deal with every day that it's all about them.
I got a message in my inbox Wednesday morning from a guy named Keith Estabrook. Didn't recognize the name. But his email offered this subject line: "If you want to know more about LeBron James and 'The Decision' please visit www.LeBronjames.com."
"Lebron James and 'The Decision'" sounds like a '70s funk band that plays summer music festivals. But I guess Estabrook is James’ publicist.
Estabrook and the rest of James' camp really went overboard with this production. I can't believe they're calling it "The Decision."
And I fear the impact that the charade will have on the rest of the basketball world.
This sport values decisions over production. Where will Player X finish his high school career? What college will he choose? Will he turn pro this year or next year?
James' primetime special will add even more weight to these deliberations in the future.
Minnesota men's basketball fans have experienced the backlash of a variety of "decisions" over the last year.
Royce White quit via YouTube. Thought about returning, then left school. Trevor Mbakwe has been through a dramatic legal situation that's affected his entire career. But now he's in the "possible transfer" boat with rumors that he's considering a transfer to a number of other schools, including Memphis.
Texas commit Cory Joseph toyed with the idea of playing for the Gophers but ultimately signed with the Longhorns. Tubby Smith is always the focus of coaching rumors at the end of each season. But he manages to say just enough to make you think he's staying, while leaving the door of opportunity "slightly cracked."
Will someone just make a decision and stick with it? Does it have to involve so much drama?
The LeBron special will turn future "decisions" into more elaborate, unnecessary presentations.
Jordan’s decision to return to the Bulls in 1995 meant something. Winning three more rings during his "Welcome Back" tour in the '90s meant everything.
I hope the national media refuses to mask LeBron’s true diva persona in the future. He’s no longer Kid Wonder. He’s a grown man who’s caught up in his own hype.
Yes, he’s a very good player. But the great ones (Magic, Bird, Michael, Kareem, Big O) let their legacies speak for themselves. At all levels, players get too much money, too much prestige, too much fame before they’ve proven anything.
He says he wants to be better than MJ.
MJ was flashy off the court. But when it came to basketball, he just won. A lot. That’s the only statement he needed to make.
LeBron says he wants Cleveland to surround him with more talent. But superstars make guys like Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant, Derek Fisher, Steve Kerr and Robert Horry look like borderline all-stars in clutch situations. That's what makes them great.
James' perspective will inspire more "put better guys around me and we'll win" rhetoric instead of "I'll help the guys I have get better" mantras.
But maybe my ideas are old school.
You decide.
Westbrook, Rickert vying for spot with Timberwolves summer league
Former Gophers Lawrence Westbrook and Rick Rickert are competing for a spot on the Timberwolves' summer league squad, which begins play in Las Vegas next week. The two are attending a minicamp that began Thursday and ends Saturday.
Earlier this week, former Gophers forward Damian Johnson worked out for the Miami Heat, an attempt to latch onto that franchise's summer league squad. Johnson considered trying out for the Timberwolves' team, but things have gone well in Miami and it looks like he'll be a part of Miami's summer league squad.
Rickert, who plays in the Australian Basketball League, was drafted by the Timberwolves in 2003 but ended up playing in Europe. He recently signed a lucrative deal with an ABL squad but maintains his dream of competing in the NBA.
The Timberwolves have two spots available on their summer league roster.
Keith Kreiter, the agent for both Johnson and Westbrook, said he believes the two still have a shot, albeit slim, to make it to the NBA. The Chicago-based player rep said he's heard from multiple NBA squads who believe Johnson and Westbrook belong at the next level.
"Both players are very attractive to international teams," Kreiter said. "Several teams have fallen in love with Lawrence ... and Damian, who is 6-7 with a wingspan of 7-2. ... A lot of people feel as if Damian belongs [in the NBA]. One team feels as if Lawrence belongs [in the NBA]."
If they don't find work in the NBA, however, Johnson and Westbrook won't have a problem finding a gig overseas, Kreiter said. So far, he said he's heard from solid European teams that are willing to offer the two Minnesota grads "$75,000 to $120,000" per year.
Notes
-Gophers freshman Oto Osenieks hasn't enrolled yet due to NCAA Clearinghouse issues. He's currently competing for Latvia's under-20 national team. Osenieks said he hopes to have all of his academic issues cleared up in time for the start of fall semester.
"I know that I will not come to summer school for Minnesota," Osenieks said. "I will go to play with my Latvian national team. I pray God that I will be cleared by NCAA to play next fall. Hopefully everything is going to be OK."
-Haven't heard anything else on Mbakwe's status. He suffered a dislocated finger during a recent Howard Pulley summer league game. When I talked to him a few weeks ago, he said he hadn't made up his mind about transferring. He's scheduled to go to trial for felony assault in Miami July 26.
-Rumblings that White may end up with Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State.
White told me that he's hoping to appeal to the NCAA to regain his eligibility. He's currently academically ineligible to compete in the fall, meaning he'd have to pay his own way if he enrolled at any Division I school.
But White says he will ask the NCAA to allow him to play because he never attended his second-semester classes and that the NCAA should grant him eligibility based on his first semester, when he completed all of his courses and earned a 3.2 GPA.
I think it'll be tough to sway the NCAA on this one.
Coming Next Week: A conversation with Tubby Smith
I talked to Smith about a variety of topics a few weeks ago. Hear what he has to say about the program, his summer, Royce White and his 2010-11 starting point guard next week ....
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