Wolves Unfiltered: Fred Hoiberg
By Stephen Litel
February 24th, 2009
After Al Jefferson’s injury, I was fortunate enough to speak with Fred Hoiberg, Jim Stack and Kevin McHale all in one day. Gathering information on Jefferson for another venture, presenting the entire interviews would provide some value. Take from them what you will.
Here’s the first…Fred Hoiberg.
Litel: What was the biggest improvement in Jefferson’s individual game from last year to this year?
Hoiberg: “I think Al made improvements in every area. His scoring is improved. For one thing, he really added a jumpshot to his offensive arsenal and teams really have to play him honestly now from fifteen to eighteen feet. His last couple years, I think he was almost exclusively a low block player. At the end of last season, he moved his range out a little bit, but this year he’s been catching the ball out to 21-feet and he’s been knocking down that shot. With the way he uses his ball fakes, the way he spins, the way he goes up-and-under, when he gets that down, he’s going to be a bear. He already is.”
“He’s gotten better defensively as well. He had a career high in blocks going this year and he’s gotten better in team defense. There’s still a lot of room to grow, but he did improve in that area, I think.”
“What this injury will do for him now and what he has to do is really get his body into tip-top shape to allow him to play 82-games on both ends of the floor. He’s as good as anybody I’ve seen on the block and, right now, you could argue he’s the best low-post player in the league. He just needs to continue to make himself a complete basketball player by playing every minute he’s on the floor, playing team defense, filling gaps, plugging holes and he’s shown improvement in that area. I think he’ll only continue to improve.”
How would you rate Jefferson as a leader on this team right now?
“I think his leadership skills have gotten better as well. Playing in Boston those first couple of years, Paul Pierce was the leader of those teams. Coming here last year was really his first experience of being the go-to guy and the guy who is expected to lead a team. When you’re 23, it’s tough to do. It’s tough to have that thrown on your shoulders, so that’s another area he’s really grown in.”
“He was here in the summer, working with the young guys. He took Kevin Love under his wing and showed him what to expect in the NBA and Kevin has responded. He’s gotten better and I think Al deserves some credit for that.”
“This will be an opportunity for him after he gets the surgery on his knee to still have an impact on this team by talking to the guys and trying to be a leader for them. That’s another area where he will continue to grow and people sometimes forget that Al just turned 24. He’s producing like he is, but he’ll improve in all areas and continue to work towards being a better player. The ceiling is still high for him.”
Is the media criticism of his defense fair or over-exaggerated?
“That probably is the biggest weakness in his game, but it’s an area he has improved in and an area I’m confident he will continue to grow in. You could see it by his blocks per game because I think he’s 12th in the league right now in blocked shots. That’s pretty good for a guy whose defense is considered their biggest weakness.”
“The things he needs to work on are filling the gaps and, overall, team defense. We need to get where everybody trusts everybody else, so when Al comes over to help on the weak side, he has to have trust that somebody is going to drop down and cover his man. I think young teams sometimes struggle with that, but Al has improved in that area. The guys that go right to the NBA from high school, where they learn is defensive rotations in college, it takes them awhile to adjust.”
Eight or nine years down the line, is Jefferson the center on this team or has he moved to the power forward exclusively?
“Our plan is to build around Al. Anytime you have a guy you can throw the ball to at anytime in the game is a luxury. He’s one of only three guys in the league averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds and he’s shown he wants to take big shots.”
“As we move forward, we want to put shooters around Al. I think we put a guy in Kevin Love next to Al who will compliment him very well. We drafted a guy last year-Pekovic-who will be here in 2010 that will compliment Al on the defensive end. He’s a banger.”
“I think one thing we do need on this team is a shot blocker to anchor the defense and that probably is a guy who is a true center. That’s why you acquire the draft picks. You get yourself as many as we have and give yourself an opportunity in free agency and, in a couple years, have a ton of money under the cap. We have the fourth lowest payroll going into 2010 and that’s important. It’s going to allow us, hopefully, to sign a player to fill a need. Also having the possibility of having four draft picks next year, it gives us a chance to draft some players as well that will fit next to Al.”
“He’s the guy we’re going to build this thing around. A guy this versatile and as good as he is offensively, that’s a good thing to have.”
What is his biggest weakness as a franchise player?
“You could argue he’s the best low post player in the league and he’s certainly the best young low post player in our game. He has such a knack for putting the ball in the basket. In high school, he was scoring 40 a night and wasn’t focusing much on the defensive end. Now, as he continues to grow and he’s guarding guys like Dwight Howard, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan, he’s going to improve. I’ve seen improvement in the two years we’ve had him and he’ll continue to get better.”
“Talking to him about it? Yeah, I’m sure he’d tell you defense is his biggest weakness and that’s something he’s going to continue to work hard at. It’s showing in his blocked shots this year and it’s a huge improvement in what he was doing in the past. He’ll be able to watch now, he’ll go back and watch his film, he’s a diligent worker and he’s going to come back stronger than ever next year.”
