Sign up or login to track your favorite teams

Sign Up for Bleacher Report

As a registered user you can subscribe to your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

You must register in order for that functionality to work!








Validating sign up form ...

Bleacher Report articles are written by fans like you

Do you want to cover your favorite sports, teams, and leagues?

Processing writing preferences ...

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. Big 10, LeBron James, USC Football

Selected Tags:

Logging in ...

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...

Timberwolves in Training: Al Jefferson Mentored by Hall-of-Famer

by Sean Stancill (Senior Writer)

1

886 reads

Sports

February 14, 2008


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.

Track this Article on My B/R
Flag This Article
Share This Article

1 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. ...

    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."

    Edit Comment Cancel

    ...

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )
    ...

Leave a Comment

  • You must register to post a comment.

  • Want to write for Bleacher Report

    We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.

    Learn More and Sign Up »



    Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
    Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.