Jonah BallowWolves Editor/Writer
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Wolves Make Impact In Mankato Community
Rookies Wayne Ellington and Jonny Flynn quickly realized the responsibilities of NBA players outside of the intense practices and games. After the morning session on Friday, Flynn and Ellington headed over to the Bridges Community School in Mankato.“It’s all worth it; we are very blessed and very fortunate,” Ellington said. “To be able to come out here and do things like this, reading stories to kids and put smiles on their faces means a lot to us.”
To jumpstart the festivities, Wolves radio broadcaster Alan Horton introduced Crunch to the group of 40 first and second graders. As expected, the children reacted with a series of screams and laughter when Crunch entered the room.
Flynn and Ellington then fielded a round of questions from the students before reading, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. The point guard and shooting guard looked like they were in midseason form by taking turns reading the pages of the book. Crunch acted out the scenes while the children watched intently to every word from the players. “Seeing all the big smiles with no teeth in their mouth, it was just a great thing to come out here and do this. It’s a great program and hopefully we can keep continuing to do this,” Flynn said.
At the conclusion of the story, prizes were awarded after another successful Read to Achieve initiative from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“It’s just wonderful to have sports figures come in and showing that their reading, that they like to read, and I bet on Monday we have a ton of new readers. I just want them to be excited about reading and to know that everybody reads and its lifelong. That is our goal here to promote lifelong learners and readers that is what I would like to take away from this experience, “ Bridges Community School principal Robin Courrier said.
On Thursday, director of scouting/administration for the Wolves Rob Babcock, center Ryan Hollins, and forward Corey Brewer made the trip to Mankato East Junior High for a basketball clinic. The three members of the Wolves’ staff spoke to over 80 students about the importance of setting goals and hard work in school.
“It is a neat opportunity for our community, the city of Mankato and our surrounding communities and also for our school here, East Mankato High. Our students often times don’t have an opportunity to get up to Minneapolis to watch the Timberwolves play so having them come here and run this clinic is really nice.” principal Rich Dahman added.
With Babcock playing the role of instructor, Brewer and Holllins displayed the correct form for fundamental drills. Ironically, the players worked on the same drills during the morning practice at training camp.
“It was a lot of fun, just coming out and interacting with the kids, talking with them and feeding off their energy, talking to them about school,” Hollins reacted. That is something we have the opportunity to do as NBA players. It’s our job to give back, anyway you can influence the kids or help one or two of the kids, it’s a success.”
The group of seventh and eighth graders was itching to get on the floor and show their skills in front of the players. 10 teams split up on 10 different baskets to participate in a variety of drills and contests for prizes. Hollins and Brewer made the rounds to provide 1-on-1 instruction, which is certainly a unique experience for the students.
“It’s fun working with kids. They always surprise you with something and just their energy and questions they have, it’s fun to interact with them,” Hollins said.
Earlier in the week on Wednesday, the Wolves took part in another Read to Achieve event with a different age group. Damien Wilkins and Devin Green faced the challenge of reading to 4-5 year olds after the second day of training camp. Wolves television broadcaster Tom Hanneman anchored the activities and then Wilkins and Green read, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Kelly Olson, the head of the Greater Mankato Early Learning Initiative was impressed with the impact of the players, “It’s wonderful, and we are so thrilled they would take time out of their busy schedule to come out and show the kids how important reading is. These children look up to them, especially when they are seven-feet tall and the kids are about two-feet tall, so I know it’s very exciting for them."
The players then assisted the young children with a giant puzzle, a similar mental strain to learning the triangle offense. Green seemed to thoroughly enjoy the festivities, “Definitely, I have little brothers and sisters, I played a big part in raising them, so it’s always cool to hang out with kids. At the same time, this might be the only time they get to meet an NBA player.”
During the 2009-10 season, the Fastbreak Foundation will host a variety of community events featuring Wolves players and personalities. Minnesota completes a busy week in Mankato with the first preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night at 5 PM.
For complete coverage, visit Training Camp Central 2009.
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