Published Sunday, December
13, 1998
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Hartman: McHale watches
college ball
Sid Hartman / Star Tribune
With the NBA locked out,
Timberwolves general
manager Kevin McHale has
had a chance to watch a lot
of college basketball, and
he has concluded Clem
Haskins is doing a great
job of coaching the
Gophers. McHale ranks the
Gophers among the best
teams in the country. So
does Eastern Michigan coach
Milt Barnes, the former
Gophers assistant who
watched his team lose to
Minnesota 72-53 on Saturday
night at Williams Arena.
"The Gophers are fun to
watch," McHale said.
"Michigan State is
considered the favorite for
the Big Ten title, but I
think the Gophers are
better.
"In my six years of
evaluating college talent
for the Timberwolves, Joel
Przybilla is the best shot
blocker I have ever seen.
At the recent college
tournament in Chicago,
Przybilla was a big topic
of conversation. He has a
chance to be a great one."
McHale also is impressed
with the way Kevin Clark
and Quincy Lewis are
playing. Clark scored 22
points, Lewis 20 and
Przybilla had nine points,
10 rebounds and three
blocks in Saturday's
victory.
"Clark is a good shooting
guard," McHale said.
"Quincy will be a No. 1
draft choice in the NBA. He
can shoot the ball, is the
right size and can do a lot
of good things."
On another subject, you
know McHale is very
frustrated with the NBA
lockout, but he can't talk
about it. He already has
been fined $25,000 for
talking about it.
Mitchell not happy
Timberwolves player
representative Sam
Mitchell, a great
basketball player and one
of the real classy people
in the game, said older
players will suffer most
because of the lockout.
"I think the owners know
that we are serious, and
obviously the owners are,
too," he said. "But I think
it has gotten beyond that.
I think both sides have
stated their positions. I
think the atmosphere exists
to get a deal done. People
have been saying that this
should have been done a
long time ago. But I think
we had to get to this point
before both sides realized
they need to settle."
Mitchell, 35, said the
union has to be concerned
about older players.
"Aside from the money
issue, the guys that are
going to suffer the most
are the older veteran
players because there still
is going to be free agency
and there is still going to
be a draft," he said. "And
the easiest players to let
go are the older players.
"I think there should be no
more waiting. No more
posturing. I think it took
all of this to get to this
point because we were so
far apart. Now we have
closed the gap."
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