Getting to Know... Associate Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff

JB: “I’ve had a relationship with Coach Fizz since I was 17 years old, so we’ve had this conversation for a long, long time. It was whoever got a head coaching job first, the other one was coming with him. So, my trust and respect for him was the initial reason. Then, when you take a look at the make-up of the team, the character of the players, that’s important. When you want to win and you want to go to work every day, you want to work with high character people, you want to work with classy people. I think this organization has a bunch of those people.”

JB: “So, he was getting ready to be a senior in college and I was getting ready to be a senior in high school. Tim Grgurich and Mike Brown would have a camp in the summer where guys would go and workout. At the time it was more a workout than a camp, but it had grown to become a camp. So, one summer I was in Denver, where I went to high school, Mike Brown was a video coordinator there at the time and he was going to work out with Grg [Grgurich]. Mike Brown went to the University of San Diego and Coach Fizz went to the University of San Diego, so we all came out and end up meeting there. He [Fizz] and I worked out together every day. We kind of went our ways as we got older, but our relationship started to blossom when we got into coaching. We knew each other. I started coaching in the NBA when I was 24 and he was just starting at the same [time], so our paths were kind of similar and tracking in the same direction. We were together every summer, but then our relationship just blossomed. The trust came, the respect for each other’s skill set came and our personalities are similar, so we know that we have each other’s back no matter what and there’s a trust there and a fight that we have that’s similar. The relationship off the court, not basketball related, was great. Then there’s a symmetry in what we believe in on the court, so it makes it even easier.”

JB: “As a coach, the more experience you have, the more you’re around players, it helps so you see how guys learn, ways that are effective to reach different people. You see the aftermath of all the things that happened; you don’t just see what happens at the game, you see what happens after the game, the follow through and those types of things. So, you’re better prepared for the behind-the-scenes things that you might not have seen before. As a person, being a coach’s son, you understand the importance of routine, you understand the importance of discipline, so I think that helps you be successful in life. No matter what your job is, you know that you need to have a routine, that you need to be disciplined, you need to work. I think one of the things that coaches are always talking about is how hard you work, so that’s put into you at a young age. So, I think those are the things that have been helpful for me.”

JB: “The work ethic that it takes to be great. The determination, the mental toughness, those things that separate bad from average, average from good and good to great. Obviously, there’s a bunch of guys that have skill, a bunch of guys that have talent, but the difference is the mental part of the game. Are you mentally tough enough to get it done? When things are hard, can you fight through adversity? Are you willing to sacrifice a Friday night out to be in the gym getting extra shots up or getting the rest you need, whatever it may be? He taught me the difference between what it takes, not just as an individual player, but as a team too, he taught me the difference in that.”

JB: “Gus’ [Fried Chicken]. I know every NBA guy who you talk to says the same thing, but Gus’ is one of my favorite places. When we came here, we would even order it and have them bring it to the locker room. So, I’d say it’s my favorite.”

JB: “Obviously, I’ve watched him a bunch and he’s got that fighting spirit. He’s that [type of] competitive that I think is going to be fun to be in the trenches with him. His basketball IQ, obviously, is high. His ability to play the point guard position, you have to be intelligent to be as good as he was, so there’s a lot you can learn from him. There’s certain things that you want to see through a point guard’s eyes, so to be able to ask him those questions, him having been through those experiences and when it mattered most; playoff games, big games, big moments, being able to have those conversations with him, pick his brain and learn from him.”

JB: “I have a wife and three small kids. I’ve got a five-year old girl, a four-year old girl and a boy who will turn three [years old] in August. We spend a lot of time together when we can, obviously the summers we get more time together. We love vacationing and going to the beach. Our kids they love the beach. They love the water. My wife is here now and she took them to the Children’s Museum yesterday already, so they do those types of things. We went and saw the movie ‘Angry Birds’ the other day. So, we’re looking forward to all those things.”

JB: “It was a lot of fun. It was a great year, too, for the Timberwolves. It was the year they went to the Western Conference Finals with Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, so it was an awesome experience. You had a courtside seat to some of the best basketball in the NBA every night. It was a lot of fun. But again, you go to see… because Flip Saunders was the coach and he was good enough to me that he would let me come and watch practices. You got to see everything. Again, you got to see the difference between good and great. You got to see Kevin Garnett handle practices and how competitive he is. Like, Flip would take days where he would just split Kevin [Garnett] and Latrell [Sprewell] up. Now those are two very competitive guys and changed the entire practice because they wanted to win the drill and they were going at each other so hard. So, always knowing that I wanted to coach, that played a part in my mind, but being able to watch the game and analyze the game helps you learn the game too, in a different way. It was great. It was a great experience. It was a lot fun and no pressure, since when the game was over, the game was over. So, it’s definitely something that I’ll think about getting into post-coaching.”

JB: “I watch a ton of movies. Going way back, I like The Godfather, The Matrix was one of my favorites – the first one, they got a little carried away after the first one. Those are two that stand out. I like more action movies. I like to hangout with my family, too.”