Sid Hartman: Gophers still have a lot of unknowns

The Gophers men's basketball team finished the season strong, overall. They went to the finals of the Big Ten tournament and did enough to get into the NCAA tournament.

At the NCAAs, however, they lost in the first round for the second year in a row, this time because of horrible second-half shooting against Xavier on Friday.

So what is the outlook for this team?

First, the Gophers lose three seniors. Damian Johnson was the team's leader and one of the best shot-blockers in the country. Lawrence Westbrook had his ups and downs, and was criticized for his poor defense early in the season, then given the assignment of guarding some of the opposition's top scorers; he led the Gophers at 12.8 points per game. Devron Bostick was suspended early in the season before returning as a role player.

There are plenty of good players returning, but no one really knows about next year's team because of the questionable status of Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White. Mbakwe faces assault charges in Miami and sat out all season, but he practiced with the team and would be a major contributor if he clears up his legal issues. White, the top freshman recruit, never played because of legal issues and dropped out of school after the first semester. Unless White gets his life straightened out, coach Tubby Smith won't bring him back.

If both come back to play, however, the Gophers will contend for the Big Ten championship.

Junior guard Al Nolen missed the second half of the season because he was academically ineligible. If he comes back, then the team has a veteran point guard.

Smith has signed two incoming freshmen, but both will probably need time to develop. Elliot Eliason is a 6-9 center from Chadron, Neb., who was that state's player of the year in 2009. Austin Hollins is a 6-3 shooting guard from Germantown, Tenn., who is the son of former NBA standout and current Memphis coach Lionel Hollins.

The Gophers are still in the recruiting battle for Cory Joseph, Devoe's brother and a top high school point guard at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev.

I believe that the addition of Mbakwe, White or Cory Joseph would make a big difference. Otherwise, there would have to be great improvement from the returning players for the Gophers to get much better.

But as long as the Gophers have one of the great college coaches of all time in Tubby Smith, they have a chance. It is unbelievable what he has done to improve the Minnesota basketball program.

Twins tickets hot According to Twins President David St. Peter, the team has already sold more than 2.4 million tickets for the coming season -- as many as the team sold all last season, when it drew 2,416,237 to the Metrodome.

Commissioner Bud Selig will be on hand for the opener against Boston on April 12 and the Twins will soon announce their plans to unveil statues of Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett on Target Plaza.

Jottings CNBC's Darren Rovell reports the Gophers have the fifth-most-profitable men's basketball program in the country. The top programs are Louisville ($16.8 million), Ohio State ($11.4 million), Wisconsin ($9.4 million), Syracuse ($9 million) and Minnesota ($7.8 million). Big Ten teams do well revenue-wise because of the conference's strong TV contract.

When Wisconsin beat Wofford in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday there were six Minnesotans on the floor -- Jamar Diggs, Noah Dahlman and Cameron Rundles for Wofford and Jon Leuer, Jordan Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz for Wisconsin. A fourth Minnesotan on the Badgers roster, Jared Berggren, did not play. The Badgers face Cornell on Sunday and will have to stop another Minnesotan, Ivy League Player of the Year Ryan Wittman.

Wild assistant General Manager Tommy Thompson reports that six of the top prospects for this year's NHL draft have local ties. They are Duluthian Derek Forbort (ranked 11th among North American skaters by Central Scouting), Blaine's Nick Bjugstad (12th), Warroad's Brock Nelson (17th), Lino Lakes' Tyler Pitlick (21st), Minnetonka's Max Gardiner (36th) and St. Paul's Mark Alt (37th). Forbort and Nelson are committed to North Dakota; Bjugstad, Gardiner and Alt are committed to the Gophers; and Pitlick is a freshman at Minnesota State Mankato.

The Twins will honor the legislative leadership that helped get Target Field built in a pregame ceremony before the exhibition game against the Cardinals on April 3. Former Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, former Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, former Senate Minority Leader Dick Day and ballpark bill authors Rep. Brad Finstad and Sen. Steve Kelley will be recognized.