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5/10/2007Gopher Sports News and Notes
The sudden and dramatic signing of Tubby Smith, coach of the 1998 NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats and 2003 NCAA Coach of the Year, as the next Gopher men’s basketball coach electrified local sports fans and media like few recent events. Upon his entry into Williams Arena for an introductory press conference March 23, Smith earned a standing ovation and chants of “TUB-EE! TUB-EE!” from the enthusiastic student contingent. Positive reviews of Smith’s coaching prowess, academic success, and character poured in unabated.
Ticket sales spiked, with hundreds of Gopher men’s basketball fans ordering season tickets upon hearing the news of Smith’s signing. Smith has been to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments with teams from Tulsa, Georgia, and Kentucky, and the Gopher faithful are eager to watch him turn around the Gopher program, which finished 9–22 (3–13 in the Big Ten) last season.
The 55-year-old Maryland native will have a lot to work with his first season, however. Minnesota returns every key player, including leading scorer Lawrence McKenzie, top rebounder Dan Coleman, and center Spencer Tollackson. Smith, whose given first name is Orlando and who is the sixth of 17 children of parents who still reside in Maryland, also has one scholarship available to offer this spring.
Gopher sports teams won four conference titles this winter: wrestling, men’s swimming and diving, men’s hockey, and women’s indoor track and field. The wrestling team went on to win its third NCAA title of the decade (the first since 2002) in dramatic fashion.
After suffering several upsets during the second day of the three-day NCAA tournament, Minnesota wrestlers bounced back, winning four of five matches in the final medal round to pile up enough points to earn the team title. Undefeated Minnesota senior heavyweight Cole Konrad pinned his top competitor less than two minutes into his final match to win his second individual title and fourth all-American honor. “The true character of a team is when you get in a hole and you dig yourself out and do what you have to do to win,” coach J Robinson said at the post-meet press conference. “They responded when they had to respond; that’s what champions do.”
The men’s swimming and diving team used an even more dramatic finish to earn its fifth conference title in the past seven years. Minnesota trailed Michigan by six points going into the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. The Gophers, needing a win, faced a Northwestern squad stacked with three of the conference’s best freestylers. Minnesota fell behind early, but scintillating second and third legs put the Gophers just ahead of Northwestern, and junior Mike Woodson held off the Big Ten 100 freestyle record-holder to win by just 0.16 seconds. Penn State edged Michigan for third and the Wolverines ended up four points back of the Gophers. “I think that took 10 years off my life,” coach Dennis Dale said later.
The first spring football practice under new football coach Tim Brewster got under way with enthusiasm and a twist: Brewster invited former players and coaching colleagues to address his team during practice sessions. Among those taking him up on the offer were Tubby Smith; Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan (a former Gopher assistant); former Gopher coach Murray Warmath, who led Minnesota to its last national and Big Ten titles; retired NFL stars Carl Eller and Bobby Bell; and current pro players Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney. Perhaps the most unusual presence at Gopher practices is a piece of sod from the Rose Bowl field, a constant reminder to the team of their ultimate goal.
—Chris Coughlan-Smith