In the past, I've written articles about big men and the coaches responsible for their development, so I'm doing it again—this time in a different city and on a different player.
Today, I'm featuring Al Jefferson and Kevin McHale.
Jefferson has emerged as a dominant force and a definite bright spot in the organization that is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jefferson is averaging 21 and 12, better than most big men in the league. He has definitely surpassed early expectations in Minnesota and then some. McHale, in his own right, was a great big man in the NBA, winning three rings with the Celtics in 13 seasons.
Kevin has also taken a whole lot of heat for the way he handled the situation in the Land of 1000 Lakes. McHale went through a series of coaching changes and was figured to be getting the short end with the Kevin Garnett trade.
But Kevin has been able to teach the basic fundamentals to the kid and give him support in his effort to fill the shoes previously worn by Kevin Garnett.
Those are pretty big shoes to fill, but Al is right on pace to become the cornerstone of this franchise and the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ organization.
Al has been snubbed and rightfully deserved an All Star berth this year after outplaying almost all big men in the Western Conference. If Jefferson would’ve been invited to the ball in New Orleans, he would’ve been showcased as McHale’s dedication and hard work to an outstanding young talent.
McHale should get recognition, respect, compliments—basically sugar and spice and everything nice—for creating a bright spot on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
1 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Big Al has really impressed me this year, both on and off the court. First, he signs his five-year extension against his agent's wishes. His agent wanted to play hardball and Al wasn't trying to play games. Now he's set for life while Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Andre Igoudala and Emeka Okafor have played distracted all season long.
His game is much more developed than I remember. He's got a nice little baseline jumper and he's embraced his role of leader with this team.
The next step for Al is to play better defense and start winning games and the All-Star nods will follow.
He deserved the recognition. He'd probably tell you "Good lookin' out."
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