Hartman: Zimmer pleased by first look at Vikings

New Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he was impressed in his first look at his team in this week's minicamp.

"I love how this team works. They work extremely hard. They're diligent about their work, they study, they want to please and so I'm excited about it," Zimmer said.

Zimmer is entering his 21st season coaching in the NFL, but this is his first season as a head coach.

He said that he has liked what he has seen out of quarterbacks Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel but also knows that they are going to have their work cut out for them under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

"They're doing a great job," Zimmer said. "They're catching onto Norv's system. It's completely different for them, and he's hard on them. He's coaching them hard. They're doing a good job. They're learning like everybody else, and once they become a little bit more comfortable they'll be a little bit better leadership-wise."

The Vikings get an extra two weeks of practice this year because of its new coaching staff, and Zimmer knows how important that is for the team's development.

"It's great to get out on the field with these guys and see how they work and see how they think and what kind of athletes they are," he said. "This part is really good for us, and it's an important part of the process."

"They are some great athletes, there are some tremendous athletes," he said. "Cordarrelle Patterson is a tremendous athlete, obviously Adrian Peterson [is a tremendous athlete].

"We have some guys in the defensive line that are starting to show that they have a chance to be good football players. Sharrif Floyd has done a nice job so far in this camp. He's lost some weight and looks quick to me. [Chad] Greenway has done a good job, I'm proud of the way he's worked in learning a new system. We have a lot of good guys, and we'll continue to make them better."

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson thought he would have a competitive team, but because of injuries they are having a hard time at the present. They have a record of 22-16 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten and are in a tie for fifth place in the conference.

"It has been a difficult season," Anderson said. "We had our best team on the field Game 1 in Arizona and that weekend, Matt Halloran, our senior starting catcher, went down with an elbow injury. He has been out the whole year."

The Gophers also lost starting center fielder Dan Motl, who hurt his wrist diving for a ball that weekend, and from that point on they continued to accumulate a bunch of injuries.

The Gophers will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend for a three-game series with the No. 5 Seminoles. The Seminoles' closer is reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, who was 1-0 with five saves, 25 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings. But Winston was suspended from the team Wednesday after he received a citation for shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket.

• Brad Ruiter, who has done a terrific job since taking over the Timberwolves public relations position, reports single-game ticket sales for the 2013-14 season at Target Center were up 39 percent over what they were the previous season. On special promotions nights, college night sales were up 10 percent, Guys Night Out 64 percent and Crunch's Kids Day 209 percent.

• ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay wrote on Twitter that he believes Gophers safety Brock Vereen will make a great value pick in either the late second or early third round of next week's NFL draft. "Vereen has [an] intriguing skill set," McShay wrote.

• The Gophers men's basketball team is quickly building one of its most competitive nonconference schedules in some time. They will face Louisville in Puerto Rico, and now they know they will visit Wake Forest and new coach Danny Manning in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 2.

• DeLaSalle standout point guard Jarvis Johnson received a scholarship offer from Michigan State this week. He also has offers from the Gophers, Wisconsin, Iowa State and UCLA, among other schools. Coach Tom Izzo — who on Wednesday told ESPN he was staying with the Spartans despite interest from NBA teams, including the Wolves — has a connection with DeLaSalle, having recruited Alan Anderson from the school in 2000. … Speaking of Anderson, he had his best game of the playoffs with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, scoring 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Anderson also had three assists and two rebounds.

• Red Wing High School product Ryan Boldt is hitting .307 with 22 RBI for the Nebraska baseball team. Boldt was drafted in the 22nd round by the Boston Red Sox in 2013 but elected to play for the Cornhuskers. … Logan Shore, a righthander from Coon Rapids who was drafted by the Twins in the 29th round last year, chose to play college ball at Florida and is 5-2 with a 1.76 ERA as part of the rotation. In 66⅓ innings, he has walked 13 and struck out 41. In his most recent start, he gave up one run and five hits in 7⅓ innings in a 7-1 victory over Missouri last Friday. The Gators, who are ranked No. 12, are 30-15.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on 830-AM at 7:40, 8:40 and 9:20 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com