Reggie's Crystal Ball
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Jonah BallowWolves Editor/Writer
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Jonah Ballow sat down with Wolves assistant coach Reggie Theus as he peers into the crystal ball. Theus describes the relationship between the coaching staff and players along with the exciting times ahead for Wolves fans.
Jonah Ballow: Reggie, you have a lot of experience playing in this league, and now you're assistant coach here, you were also head coach of the Sacramento Kings. How difficult is it for a young team like this to go through a season like this, and even though the wins aren't stacking up, there's a lot of progress going on the court. What is the frustration level with the team, and where do you come in and kind of relax their tension on an everyday basis?
Reggie Theus: Well, we try to create an environment -- a competitive environment. And understand that our goals are immediate and also for our future, and I think all our players understand that when you're playing out on the court, regardless of the scenario, these players love to play. And they love to compete. So we just have to, as a staff, try to keep that edge and try to keep them competing every single night. Sometimes we're just overmatched, sometimes we don't have enough talent on the floor, sometimes we just don't play well. But I think that what the fans understand--and just when I'm walking around and people are talking to me--what the general fan sees in this team is positive. I think the players are feeling that love coming back from the city also. It's kind of working hand in hand, so for our jobs we create a style of basketball, create a system with Kurt at the helm. Do what he wants to do, and just build from there. I think that we've set a platform that we can really work from.
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Reggie Theus: I think that from day one, they've worked hard. I think that we have continued to work hard. Now that we are in the "dog days" of the season, our goal is to keep them focused on getting better -- from whatever you've accomplished to this point. Now, at the end of the season, to try and take it a step higher, and that's the challenge that you keep having to put in front of your players. Intermittent goals. Sometimes you play the game in two-minute, three-minute increments. So, you have a chance to win the next three minutes; 'let's win the next two minutes.' Well now, let's see how many games we can win in the next 20 games, and how good can you get? What can you change in your game, from right now until the end of the season, that's going to make you even that much better going into the summer.
Jonah Ballow: We look at a guy like Jonny Flynn in the backcourt, a guy that was so quick in college, and really a productive guard, and now he's trying to change up his game a little bit this season. I know Kurt has asked a lot of him. What are some of the trials and tribulations he's gone through this year, and what do you see from him going forward?
Reggie Theus: He's had to learn how to play basketball from a completely different perspective. He's playing in a system that's a pass-first system, where he's a put-the-ball-on-the-floor-first guy. He's had to learn the responsibility of the other guys on the floor, and I'm a true believer that no matter how good you are, when you go from high school to college and then college to the pros, you have to learn how to play all over again. That learning curve is shorter for some guys, some guys it takes longer. The point guard position is the toughest position there is. I came in this league after being pretty much a wing most of my life, and they put me at the point guard. It's very difficult. So, Jonny's learned a lot. He's gotten significantly better from the beginning of the season, and he will continue to grow rapidly.
Jonah Ballow: What do you see from another young guy in the frontcourt there, Kevin Love? We see the numbers. But you see him on a day-to-day basis and how he's grown during this season. What do you think of Kevin Love?
Reggie Theus: Kevin has been--and he has to continue to have--that level of consistency. He has a reputation of being a guy that's a double-double guy. That has to be his goal, every single night: double-double. From what I've seen mostly, Kevin has lengthened his range on his shot, he's knocking down the jump shot more than I actually thought he could, from the beginning of the season until now. I'm really impressed with that part. For me, it's just about consistency for him; he's finding that level, but he has to get better in the post. That's his next move. That's what he has to do next, he has to find a go-to move that works for him at post.
Jonah Ballow: Like I said, you've been around this league for a long time, and when you look at the core nucleus for this squad, people can see these things. It's not always showing up as wins, but…
Reggie Theus: And it's not always supposed to. At this point, it's not necessarily supposed to show up in the win column. But, it's supposed to show up on effort-based things. When people watch our team they can see that very easily.
Jonah Ballow: So what is that next step, as you look into the crystal ball of the next couple years? If you look at what's going on in Oklahoma City right now, and how that team is finally running on all cylinders, will we see that same type of thing right here in Minneapolis?
Reggie Theus: Well, Oklahoma City has done a great job of marketing, they've done a great job at putting together a team and a way to play, and Oklahoma City has really taken to the team. They have 15 or 16 thousand people at the games every night, but that team was pretty good when it got there. It was underachieving. I give them a lot of credit, but that team was always pretty good; there were just some things from a structural standpoint that had to change. I think Scotty Brooks has done a good job of taking care of that. But yes, in terms of the way we'd like to do things, our team being young, having a couple guys that are not necessarily superstars--Kevin Durant is a superstar--that's something that we're hoping Al Jefferson can become or Jonny can become. Or, if we get lucky, we might have a high draft pick and we could get one more guy that's on that high level and start to build. We have to get more athletic; we have to get stronger. To me, we're not a very physically strong team. We have to get some strength around the basket.
Jonah Ballow: Fans aren't as lucky as myself to get to be in practice and watch this coaching staff work together. What's that been like for you?
Reggie Theus:
For me, this is my first time being an assistant coach at the NBA level, so I've learned quite a few things this year in terms of what an assistant coach is supposed to do. Our meetings are pretty interesting, the back-and-forth, everybody's pretty opinionated, but the one thing I have a lot of respect for and the thing I like the most, is that when it's all said and done Kurt is our leader and we back him up 100 percent. Guys that have great experience in coaching--head coaches or whatever--to watch us work as a unit, with all the different levels of experience to back Kurt, that's what I like the most. When you deal with the players, there isn't anything that the players can ask that we don't have an answer for. There isn't one scenario that could happen on the floor that one of us haven't had some kind of direct contact with. Jonah Ballow: Do you still get that same juice on a game night?
Reggie Theus: Oh yeah. I still have my same routine, almost. In terms of when I eat, how I do it, when I go home, I kind of keep the same routine. I did the announcing for a long time, for about nine years, between my playing and actual coaching, and that's part of what I missed: the competitiveness. Coaching gives you that competitiveness, because you live and breathe with the guys. It might not be you out there playing, but you live through them vicariously. When things are going well, you feel good about the job that you've done. When things are going badly, you feel just as bad about what you can do to make it better.
Jonah Ballow: On this team, it seems like there's so much camaraderie between the players and coaches. You guys are able to joke around and get to work, but you also have that level of respect with one another. How does that help this team grow?
Reggie Theus: Well, as an assistant coach you have to have a different relationship than the head coach. Our job is to get to know the guys, so they feel comfortable talking to us about the things that might be bothering them on the floor or in the locker room or outside the game itself--at home, or whatever. We try very hard to let them know that 'we were you at one point, so there's nothing you're going through that we haven't already seen.' But consistency and sincerity are things that have to be--with an assistant coach or a head coach--when the players know that you sincerely care about them, that relationship grows. Of course, Kurt's a jokester. Kurt likes to keep things very serious but light at the same time, so there's a good blend -- a good mix of the positives and the negatives.
Jonah Ballow: So you're having a good time.
Reggie Theus: I'm having a great time! It's a lot of work, but I'm having a great time.
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