http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/boys_of_summer_060928.html
It's time to rewind a bit, ladies and gentlemen, and take a backward
glance at the squad Minnesota sent to the 2006 Las Vegas Summer League.
Training camp is set to kick off just after your monthly paycheck boosts
your bank account (hopefully you have direct deposit), but a better
understanding of what a few Wolf pups did in Vegas might better whet
your basketball appetite.
Rex Kalamian, Minnesota's second year assistant coach and the head coach
of the Vegas squad, gave us an insider's point of view of the experience.
"You see a lot of pressure defense in summer league ball, and not many
guys take plays off, because they are all trying to make a team," said
Kalamian. "It's the place where you are trying to develop guys that you just drafted or have been on your bench."
Cue stud rookie Randy Foye and Minnesota's 2005 second-round draft pick,
Bracey Wright, two of the 12 players the Wolves brought to the Strip.
As you may have heard, Foye was Randy Moss-style "straight cash, homie,"
in Vegas, scoring more than Johnny Chan at a nearby casino. The former
Villanova thoroughbred led the league with 24.8 points on .530 shooting
in five games, and his 2.2 steals per game tied for third in the league.
Did we mention that he was the league MVP, outplaying the likes of Ron Artest
and Amare Stoudemire?
"Randy showed his all-around game," explained Kalamian, who spent a
collective 13 years coaching and scouting for the Los Angeles Clippers,
Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets. "He was able to take the ball where
he wanted to on the court, and he made some great plays late in the game.
He showed a nice calmness, and has a great maturity to his game."
Wright, meanwhile, ranked second on the Wolves and 16th in the league by
averaging 16.4 points, and perhaps more importantly, showed Minnesota's
coaches that he could handle the rock.
"Bracey got a little more accustomed to playing the point guard position,
as it was important to us to see how he could handle pressure, and if he
could be a playmaking point guard," said Kalamian. "He played a lot of
minutes in Las Vegas, and hopefully that is a positive for him heading
into training camp."
While both Wright and Foye were able to put up impressive offensive numbers,
Kalamian suggested that defense will be of paramount importance against full
NBA squads.
"What Randy needs to do defensively will be a focus coming out of Vegas and
into Mankato (site of Wolves training camp), in terms of stopping the ball,
playing against the pick-and-roll, and recognizing the pace of the game,"
said coach Rex.
Speaking of the pick-and-roll, the Wolves saw a great deal of the classic
offensive maneuver in Vegas, and were able to being to work in Minnesota's
particular scheme used to counter the tactic.
"From a coaching point of view, there are things that you want to try during
the year that you don't want to be unsuccessful with, so what you do is to
implement it in the summer time," explained Kalamian. "Whether it's a new
offense or defense or things you just want to fool around with, you see if
it's successful.
"If you are really satisfied with how it worked, maybe you'll try it with
the full squad. It's a nice test run sometimes for what you can do during
the season."
Surely the early stage of implementation is important...but it's also nice
to see your first-round draft pick turning heads and breaking ankles.
"Actually, the NBA game is probably better suited for Randy than the college
game, because he likes to get up and down, take the ball to the hole, and
play at a high tempo," offered Kalamian. "When the ball is in his hands,
it's exciting, because you never know what's going to happen - it's like
watching Reggie Bush.
"He can either make a great pass, dribble through the lane and open something
up for someone else, pull up and take a three, and he even has a nice runner
going to his right."
Again, good to hear.
However, Foye and Wright weren't the only players who used Vegas to propel
their games into training camp. GM Jim Stack and assistant GM Fred Hoiberg
pieced a nice team together, including players like Tyrone Ellis, a pure
shooter we could see again at training camp.
"If that happens, then Summer League was even that much more successful,
not only for us but for him," said Kalamian.
It would certainly be a bonus to have discovered additional talent by way
of Vegas, but clearly the most exciting element of the Summer League was
witnessing the success of Foye and Wright.
You can see for yourself on October 3rd.
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