[外電] McCants comes off bench in surprise first appearance
http://www.startribune.com/511/story/973127.html
For two games, Rashad McCants sat on the Timberwolves bench like a mascot,
suited up and on the active list yet anchored to his seat.
Wednesday night, McCants got up, the warmups came off and -- seven months
after microfracture surgery on his right knee -- he was back.
In a move that was slightly surprising in its timing, coach Randy Wittman
used McCants in the second quarter against Sacramento, the second-year
shooting guard's first game action of 2006-07. In Los Angeles on Saturday and
against Phoenix on Monday, McCants simply was on the bench as a reward from
Wittman for all the rehab work.
Wittman unveiled McCants as an option shortly before tipoff, after no public
mention of it earlier in the day or after Tuesday's practice. "He's proven to
me with our practices that we've had since I've taken over that he's made
great strides," said the coach, who logged his ninth day Wednesday in place
of Dwane Casey. "Mentally, he feels good about it. That's the main thing.
He's got to step out on the court and not be thinking about it."
Since his surgery on June 19, McCants has been working to strengthen his
knee, find his game, fit into the team and play with the abandon that made
him a lottery pick (No. 14 overall) for the Wolves in 2005. He averaged 7.9
points and 1.8 rebounds in 79 games as a rookie, upping his scoring to 14.9
points per game in his final 12 appearances.
Wittman said the staff hadn't decided yet how heavily McCants might be used
in his initial appearances. "His actions on the floor will tell me if it's a
[get his toe wet] or a full dive in the pool," he said. "He's a young kid
that's dying to get out there. He might be going 500 miles an hour, run
through the tunnel and we might not see him again."
Foye goes, Smith stays
The way the Wolves' two rookies had played, the news Wednesday wasn't so much
that guard Randy Foye had been selected to play in the 2007 Rookie Challenge
game on Friday of NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. Rather, it was that
forward Craig Smith wouldn't be joining him.
Foye, the No. 7 pick in last June's draft, ranks third among all rookies in
scoring (8.9 ppg), averaged 11.2 points in his 25 appearances before
Wednesday and was chosen as the Western Conference's top rookie in December.
Smith, the No. 36 pick overall, ranks seventh in scoring, while averaging 4.6
rebounds and shooting 55.3 percent. But with only nine roster spots, the NBA
spread the love around.
"That's my boy and everything," Foye said of Smith, "but if you go off the
numbers, he should be there."
Foye, who already made a name for himself in Las Vegas as MVP of the NBA's
summer league there, said playing in the Feb. 16 game between rookies and
second-year players was not a goal. "But when I started playing well, I kept
[the weekend] open," he said.
Wittman said he would talk to Foye to make sure he doesn't get swept up in
the distractions of All-Star Weekend. "That's a weekend that you need rest,
too," the coach said.
But Foye said he isn't even planning to stick around for Kevin Garnett's 10th
All-Star appearance, leaving Las Vegas on Saturday to visit his grandmother
back home in New Jersey. From there, he will meet the team in Washington,
where the Wolves resume play Tuesday.
Wolves go global?
It's looking like the Wolves will be heading overseas next fall. Garnett and
Foye apparently are scheduled to participate in a news conference Saturday in
Las Vegas in which the NBA announces a series of preseason games in Europe.
The Wolves could have games in Istanbul and/or London.
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