Wolves hope Rambis is here for long run

Kurt Rambis has signed a four-year contract to coach the Timberwolves. But in sports, contracts seem to be made to be broken, and it's hard to believe that, should Phil Jackson leave the Lakers, Rambis would turn down a chance to coach the team he has been associated with for most of his playing and coaching career.

But the former Lakers assistant coach insists he is here to stay and hopes someday to extend that four-year contract and be a longtime coach here, and I believe him.

"He was after the same thing that we were after," Wolves owner Glen Taylor said. "We both talked about a four-year contract. That's what he wanted and I think that's what we wanted, to tie him up so that he would stay here for the long run. I don't think we're in to releasing him for the Lakers. I think he is here to build this team and get the good part of it when we get to winning."

Rambis said he is "absolutely committed" to the Wolves, adding: "I'm not going to look back. I made this decision to come here, I'm here, and I told Glen Taylor I'm here for the long term. I want to go through the whole process, be here from the start and I want to finish it."

The Wolves have fallen a long way over the past five seasons, ever since they reached the Western Conference finals in 2004. Looking back to the problems since they fired Flip Saunders as coach the following year, Taylor said that decision might have been the wrong move.

"One can always look back and say it could have been a mistake," Taylor said. "It was what was recommended and I went with it and I can't second-guess myself now," Taylor said. "I still talk to Flip, I'm happy with him and talk to him about his chance out in Washington. I think it's a great opportunity for him."

Asked what went wrong with the Saunders-Kevin McHale system that was once so successful, Taylor said: "I'm not exactly sure, all I can just say is whatever we were doing when we had Flip and Kevin here at the first, we started out with a plan, and that plan seemed to work for about eight years. I was really pleased with it, we got into the playoffs every year, and for whatever reasons after that, I'm not sure, we just didn't get the results. So I think I'm a result kind of a guy, so whatever the reasons -- I liked the people, it wasn't that ... I liked the people -- but for whatever reasons, we couldn't get the results on the floor."

"That starts with David Kahn and the players that he would select," Taylor said. "It is more than just coaching that I believe in. We are going to look for different players, a different system. I am very hopeful that David will work with Kurt and will build the type of team we want fairly quickly.

"I wasn't pleased with the results, so whatever was going wrong wasn't getting us the results that we need to have for our fans. It was obvious to me that we just had to start over."

Asked if he tried to get Kahn to keep McHale, Taylor said: "No. In the interview process I was very clear with David, that he should interview Kevin and get to know him and then come to his own conclusion. I wanted him to get to know him, because I think Kevin had a lot of great qualities. But David at the end had to make up his mind what was best for him and this organization."

No doubt Kahn made a great move in hiring Rambis, who was highly recommended to Taylor by Jackson and who in my opinion made one of the most impressive debuts I've been involved in at the news conference announcing his appointment.

Taylor said he liked Rambis because of his experience with a great organization, his enthusiasm and the great job he did developing young players on an NBA champion team.

Decker on watch list Gophers All-America candidate Eric Decker is one of 37 players on the watch list of the coveted Biletnikoff Award, presented to the nation's top wide receiver.

Decker, who is 100 percent healthy after playing injured much of last season, also was on the list last year for the award named for Fred Biletnikoff, an All-America receiver at Florida State before going on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Oakland Raiders.

Decker is one of only two Big Ten receivers on the list, the other being Illinois' Arrelious Benn.

Jottings One sport that has been hurt at Gopherville because of the troubled economy is the men's hockey program, with 94 percent of season tickets renewed from a year ago, compared to almost 100 percent in previous years. ... The men's basketball program has 97 percent of the season tickets sold, with only 750 obstructed-view season tickets available.

Ryan Wynn was expected to be the Gophers starting center, but back trouble is expected to sideline him this year. Wynn is a sophomore who started every game last year, mostly at right tackle.

Sean Fitzpatrick, a highly recruited tight end from Pittsford, N.Y., might follow in the shoes of his father and play for the Gophers. Dennis Fitzpatrick played for the Gophers in 1976 and '77. His son is a 6-6, 220-pound tight end who recently visited the University of Minnesota campus. ... Also on campus recently was Hyattsville, Md., running back Marcus Coker, one of the top running backs in the east, who is trying to decide between Iowa, Wake Forest and Minnesota; earlier this year it was reported he had committed to the Gophers, but that apparently was not the case. ... Hasan Lipscomb, the Texas running back who had committed to the Gophers but couldn't get into school, is attending Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, hoping to get his grades in shape so he can enroll at Minnesota in January.