McCants Looking to Emerge

With the departure of Ricky Davis comes an opportunity for other Wolves contributors to pick up the slack, especially at one of the guard positions.

Third-year guard Rashad McCants is looking to get back in a regular-season rhythm after finally being fully-recovered from microfracture knee surgery after the 2005-06 season, and what better way to do that than have an opportunity to fill a crucial void?

During Friday’s 105-85 win over Milwaukee, McCants played 31 minutes. Several times, he displayed fist pumps and chest bangs, as if to say that the guard can be the leader the Timberwolves need.

The chance to be a playmaker and a go-to guy in crunch time is a role McCants may not have had if Tuesday’s deal didn’t go through. At the end of the third quarter, McCants nailed a 15-foot jumper as time expired. He finished with 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting with four assists.

“It’s about patience," McCants said. "Most of the points I scored weren’t even on the play-call. It was just ball movement and being in the right place at the right time.”

Although McCants’ name certainly jumps out at you in the box score, the Wolves guard will be the first to indicate that the collective effort is more important.

“I just like to be on the floor and make my teammates better and just be a playmaker,” McCants said. “I look to embrace the leadership role more than anything. Now Ricky and Mark (Blount) are gone, so that leaves a lot of leadership open. And a lot of shots, minutes, everything. I’m not into stats and stuff. I just want to be out there on the floor making my teammates better.”

Coach Randy Wittman also challenged the Wolves to step up in leadership capacities.

“It's (the trade) going to allow the emergence or the ability for the emergence for some of these guys to step up and see who has leadership ability, and an understanding for what we're talking about, that we have to have cohesiveness in the locker room,” Wittman said when reacting to news of the trade. “You remove two strong personalities like that, and someone has to show that now.”

A season ago, McCants only appeared in 37 games, and came off the bench in all of them while continuing to grow stronger from his now-fully-healed injury. With Davis’ absence at the two in particular, the opportunity for McCants to find his comfort zone has come.

“When you’re given the opportunity to play four quarters, 35 minutes, the possibilities are endless—to score, to play-make, and win games,” concluded McCants.

On Friday, we saw just what those possibilities are.