Brady Heslip and Kyrylo Fesenko both played on the Timberwolves Summer League squad and also signed Training Camp contracts with the Wolves.
After that, though, their similarities end.
Heslip is a spot-up shooter who made a career of it at Baylor.
Fesenko on the other hand, looks like a gentle giant on the court. Physical when he needs to be, but seemingly always with a smile on his face.
To be brutally honest, when you look at this team’s roster, it doesn’t look exactly favorable for either player to make the final 15. But for Heslip (24) and Fesenko (27), they are thinking of it more as an opportunity to prove themselves. While their ages aren’t old to the common folk, it is indeed old for a basketball player.
Most NBA fans are more acquainted with Heslip. Heslip played four years at Baylor and is probably known for his hair as much as his skill set.
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In his senior season, he connected on 118 three-pointers (tied for second in Big 12 history), while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. In four years at Baylor, he nailed 301 three-pointers, second in school history.
If there’s anything we know about the NBA in 2014, it’s that the three-point shot is becoming more and more significant every second. The league average for made three-pointers per team last season was 635 (the Wolves were 35 below that mark). If we go back just five years ago to 2009-10, the league average stood at just 527. That’s quite the difference.
“I think (the three-point shot) is my strongest attribute as a player, absolutely,” Heslip said after Tuesday’s practice. “I feel like I can do other things like run the team, get them into the offense, be a smart player out there and not turn the ball over. But my shooting is obviously the thing I do best.”
Heslip has a very valuable tool, much like Robbie Hummel, despite being an undersized guard. At the “Dunks After Dark” event, he noticeable had trouble guarding Ricky Rubio. If/when Heslip does indeed make an NBA roster, whether it’s with the Wolves or another team, it will likely be because of his outside shooting ability.
Overall, though, he’s treating this Training Camp to improve as a player, something many players at home wish they had.
“This is a great opportunity for me, number one to get better as a player and number two just move closer to my dream of playing in the NBA,” Heslip said. “Learning from the coaches and these guys. It’s just a great opportunity.”
For Fesenko, it’s not quite as easy.
The 7’1” center has already had his opportunity in the NBA. He was a second-round selection in the 2007 NBA Draft via the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s played a total of five seasons in the NBA and has averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. While playing for the Wolves in the 2014 Summer League, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in five games.
Fesenko knew that he probably had a spot on the team’s Training Camp roster, especially after staying in Minneapolis and working with the team’s trainers. Since Summer League, the big man has lost 20 pounds and has stepped up his conditioning game. Still, he thinks there’s another layer to his game that he hasn’t shown the coaches.
“I know I played decent in the Summer League. I still think I didn’t show what I can do,” Fesenko said. “I didn’t show my full potential.”
What exactly is his full potential?
“I got much more of an offensive game that everybody can expect. I’m just ready to get out there and show everybody what I’ve got.”
Basketball is a crazy sport. Injuries happen. Players rise up to the occasion while others do not. It seems as if Heslip and Fesenko are happy to be with the Wolves Training Camp squad, but their ultimate goal is beyond that. It seems like they are doing everything they can do get to that spot.