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It’s really hard to get a handle on rookies and what type of players they’re gonna be. They just haven’t had a lot of time putting the paint on their canvas – and we, as fans, haven’t had the opportunity to see them perform their art much. In the NBA, another element which makes this tough is that the best rookies are often on bad teams – unless they’re your home team, how many Minnesota Timberwolves games are you gonna watch? I haven’t seen Kevin Love much this season but I actually caught a T-Wolves game back in the pre-season. Love’s play in that game caused a very rare thing – a pre-season game worth watching. From that day, it was easy to see the guy was smart, got after it, and would have a role in this league for a long time. I didn’t expect him to do what he has the last few months, putting himself in the Rookie Of The Year talks (which he had a ridiculously good campaign for by the way). Kevin Love joined 790 The Zone to discuss whether or not he would have came out of high school if he could have, his craziness level, and the confidence he has in his team.
On Kevin McHale’s attitude / effectiveness:
“You saw what we did, what the coaching staff and what we did in January. We went 10-4, had the best record in January, so we know what we’re capable of. Mac (Head Coach Kevin McHale) has just done a fantastic job, I hope he comes back for seasons to come. Touching on him as a player: he was a beast. I use to watch him growing up – had the old ‘Showtime Lakers’ and Boston Celtics highlights tapes with all those guys. He’s a tough guy and you can tell in practice that he wants us to go hard and doesn’t call many fouls. So, you better toughen up if he’s gonna be the coach the next few years.”
If rules allowed, on whether or not he would have entered the NBA draft straight out of high school:
“I probably would have tested the waters but like I’ve been saying, I wouldn’t have traded in that UCLA experience for anything. There’s so many things that went in to it: we had the sunshine out there in Westwood, the beaches, good looking girls, and the basketball of course…”
On the way he looks at playing basketball:
“Somebody who says they’re crazy, they’re not crazy, I try to keep that to myself. As far as just getting after it, I just try to treat every game like it’s my last and there’s no such thing as selfish rebounds, so I’m gonna go after every single one. It’s all about how you approach the game and I approach it with a fierce competitiveness every time.”
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