Minnesota Sports Forum

Are we really giving KG credit for sweating profusely before the games? Really? Is this the point we're at in the defense of KG's mentorship? What did the guys do pre-game before KG's magical arrival?

The main thing that matters in this issue is the level of respect that the young players have for the vets. It seems that it is there. Towns and KG seemed to work well together on the court as well, and if KGs rebounding position and fight rubs off on towns look out. If the young guys are excited about it than so am I. I loved watching KG, Andre, and Tayshaun all cheering on the bench Wednesday. I see no downside to the vets contribution so far. Just imagine practice, would you rather be practicing against and with experienced vets or players who have no business being in the league. The vet presence is and will be one of Flip's greatest contributions to this team.

Camden wrote:Are we really giving KG credit for sweating profusely before the games? Really? Is this the point we're at in the defense of KG's mentorship? What did the guys do pre-game before KG's magical arrival?

Damn right we're giving him credit for sweating before the games, because of what it means. It means that KG understands the game starts well before the tip off, and that how you prepare and practice has a lot to do with how you perform in the games. What did the guys do pre-game before KG? It depends on the guy. Some guys (like Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio) would have their game faces on and work on the stuff they were actually going to use in a game. Others (like Beasley and Derrick Williams) would often be screwing around and acting lackadaisical, expecting to magically turn it on when the game started. I've actually seen both of those guys practicing shots from behind the basket (i.e. out of bounds) pre-game or at half time! You'll have to ask the other guys who go to games (lipoli, misty, etc) and see if they have noticed a difference in pre-game behavior since KG arrived, but I certainly have. It's more focused, more intense. The young guys clearly look up to KG (and Miller and Prince, for that matter) and take their lead in how they act in practice, pre-game and on the bench...and it makes a difference. I believe it already has had an impact on KAT, because he seems to play with more intensity than I ever saw him play with at Kentucky.

I wonder sometimes if a guy like Derrick Williams would have done more with his talent if he had had a guy like KG to follow early in his career...a future HOFer who will get there not because he has more talent than everyone else, but because he works harder.

Michael Beasley didn't give a shit about basketball. Derrick Williams didn't give a shit about basketball. Anthony Bennett didn't magically change into a good player when Kevin Garnett was here putting on a sweat clinic pre-game. Adreian Payne still looks clueless on the court and he's seen Kevin Garnett sweat plenty of times and he's heard the magical teachings too.

Sometimes, and this might be tough for some of you, you have to realize that some guys get it and some guys don't. Towns gets it. I feel strongly that he would be a great player with or without Garnett being here, and we need to stop giving Garnett credit for his development when most of it is Towns being a student of the game himself and putting the work in. KG could preach at Beasley all he wanted to in a hypothetical situation and Beasley still would have cared more about getting high than working on his handle/jumper/etc. That's not Towns' personality and that wouldn't be different if KG wasn't here.

Also, Towns is playing with the same intensity that he played with at Kentucky. He's just more featured here and is thriving in the role he's in. That's all there is to it.

Camden wrote:Michael Beasley didn't give a shit about basketball. Derrick Williams didn't give a shit about basketball. Anthony Bennett didn't magically change into a good player when Kevin Garnett was here putting on a sweat clinic pre-game. Adreian Payne still looks clueless on the court and he's seen Kevin Garnett sweat plenty of times and he's heard the magical teachings too.

Sometimes, and this might be tough for some of you, you have to realize that some guys get it and some guys don't. Towns gets it. I feel strongly that he would be a great player with or without Garnett being here, and we need to stop giving Garnett credit for his development when most of it is Towns being a student of the game himself and putting the work in. KG could preach at Beasley all he wanted to in a hypothetical situation and Beasley still would have cared more about getting high than working on his handle/jumper/etc. That's not Towns' personality and that wouldn't be different if KG wasn't here.

Also, Towns is playing with the same intensity that he played with at Kentucky. He's just more featured here and is thriving in the role he's in. That's all there is to it.

We'll have to disagree on this one, Cam. Sometimes it's difficult to see intangible things watching a game on TV...much easier to see when you're in the building and can watch what you want to focus on rather than what the camera is focused on.

LST, You yourself previously downplayed the mentorship thing and instead emphasized KG's influence in actual games. That's where I'm at - I think having a veteran, unselfish PF next to Towns that is one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game is helpful to Towns. In fact, I think having just one season of it is enough given Towns' talent and smarts.

My opinion. Towns looked nowhere near ready during the summer league playing with young guys who are also trying to find their footing in the league. In just a couple weeks of training camp he has improved immensely. What's different between training camp and summer league? Practicing with and against Garnett. KG has been in his ear all pre-season long. Sure Towns probably gets it on his own, but you can't tell me KG has had nothing to do with his development when he looked shaky in SL and a couple months later looks a lot better. He went from a block hungry foul machine in Summer League to a more grounded defender who isn't fouling as much. You can't tell me he just did that on his own. That's KG working with him on defense giving him wisdom on how to defend without fouling.

There's never been as quick a turnaround on a foul machine to a guy who can play with more defensive control. No 19 year old has that IQ on their own because he wouldn't have fouled as much in SL if he had that high of an IQ already. His post game looks a lot better and he's not getting pushed off balance as much. That's probably due to taking reps against KG helping him develop his game on the block by defending him. Towns may have figured all this stuff out eventually, but no 19 year old improves this much from SL to now on his own. That's basketball knowledge passed down from KG combined with reps against him to speed up the development process and teach him the right way to do things the first time. KG is one of the greatest defenders of all-time. There's no way Towns isn't greatly benefiting from playing with KG (and against in practice) and learning from him. You're giving a 19 year old way too much credit Cam. This just isn't the same guy that was at Kentucky or Cal is one of the worst college coaches of all-time for underutilizing him as much as he did.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Camden wrote:Michael Beasley didn't give a shit about basketball. Derrick Williams didn't give a shit about basketball. Anthony Bennett didn't magically change into a good player when Kevin Garnett was here putting on a sweat clinic pre-game. Adreian Payne still looks clueless on the court and he's seen Kevin Garnett sweat plenty of times and he's heard the magical teachings too.

Sometimes, and this might be tough for some of you, you have to realize that some guys get it and some guys don't. Towns gets it. I feel strongly that he would be a great player with or without Garnett being here, and we need to stop giving Garnett credit for his development when most of it is Towns being a student of the game himself and putting the work in. KG could preach at Beasley all he wanted to in a hypothetical situation and Beasley still would have cared more about getting high than working on his handle/jumper/etc. That's not Towns' personality and that wouldn't be different if KG wasn't here.

Also, Towns is playing with the same intensity that he played with at Kentucky. He's just more featured here and is thriving in the role he's in. That's all there is to it.

We'll have to disagree on this one, Cam. Sometimes it's difficult to see intangible things watching a game on TV...much easier to see when you're in the building and can watch what you want to focus on rather than what the camera is focused on.

I agree that you see things at the game that I at home cannot see. You just choose to think every little thing that KG does matters whereas there are things that I see that are valuable and things that I think are meaningless. Also, when Towns becomes one of the best centers in the league, I hope we talk about how great Towns made himself become rather than how meaningful Garnett was to his development. That'd be a crock of shit.

khans2k5 wrote:My opinion. Towns looked nowhere near ready during the summer league playing with young guys who are also trying to find their footing in the league. In just a couple weeks of training camp he has improved immensely. What's different between training camp and summer league? Practicing with and against Garnett. KG has been in his ear all pre-season long. Sure Towns probably gets it on his own, but you can't tell me KG has had nothing to do with his development when he looked shaky in SL and a couple months later looks a lot better. He went from a block hungry foul machine in Summer League to a more grounded defender who isn't fouling as much. You can't tell me he just did that on his own. That's KG working with him on defense giving him wisdom on how to defend without fouling.

There's never been as quick a turnaround on a foul machine to a guy who can play with more defensive control. No 19 year old has that IQ on their own because he wouldn't have fouled as much in SL if he had that high of an IQ already. His post game looks a lot better and he's not getting pushed off balance as much. That's probably due to taking reps against KG helping him develop his game on the block by defending him. Towns may have figured all this stuff out eventually, but no 19 year old improves this much from SL to now on his own. That's basketball knowledge passed down from KG combined with reps against him to speed up the development process and teach him the right way to do things the first time. KG is one of the greatest defenders of all-time. There's no way Towns isn't greatly benefiting from playing with KG (and against in practice) and learning from him. You're giving a 19 year old way too much credit Cam. This just isn't the same guy that was at Kentucky or Cal is one of the worst college coaches of all-time for underutilizing him as much as he did.

He was the #1 pick for a reason. Jaws dropped when he came in for workouts.

Also, there are plenty of guys that struggle through the chaos of summer league ball and then go on to look like different players in the regular season. Or visa versa. Summer League is just a glorified version of AAU ball.

As far as mentorship goes, it helps those who get it and won't help those who never will.

Being around kg won't help the Derrick Williams, Beasley or Wes Johnson's of the league. Heck, Beasley had lebron in his prime taking him under his wing in Miami and he still finds himself out of the league despite his enormous talent.

But with guys like rubio, towns and wig, it will be a big boosts. These guys get it and will absorb everything they can from them until they can find their own formula of greatness. Guys like dw,Wes and beas don't respect the game and nothing will get to them. Its about the desire of the guy receiving the mentorship. Its just the way it is.