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Casey already on job with Timberwolves
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-19 09:39

MINNEAPOLIS - Dwane Casey's first full day on the job as Minnesota's new coach wasn't wasted.

By noon, he had worked out three promising draft prospects and pledged to visit as many of the Timberwolves' current players as he could before the summer starts.

New Minnesota Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey laughs during a press conference announcing his hiring Friday, June 17, 2005, in Minneapolis. Casey joins the Timberwolves after spending the last 11 seasons as an assistant at Seattle. [AP]

For Casey, the excitement of a new venture has made the hectic pace easier to cope with. And that excitement is what he's eager to show to the players he's now in charge of. He wants to let them know where he's coming from and set out the expectations for what the Wolves hope is a much better season than the one they just had.

"I'm not going to win anybody over," Casey said Saturday, after supervising a workout with Sean May and Rashad McCants of North Carolina and Joey Graham from Oklahoma State.

Though there's no guarantee any of them will ever play for Minnesota, Casey made a strong impression on the trio of NBA hopefuls.

"He's real genuine. Just very straightforward and a good guy to be around," said McCants, who dined with Graham, Casey and Kevin McHale, the team's vice president for basketball operations. "He has a good glow to him."

Graham, who played for coach Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State, shared stories with Casey, who was an assistant on Sutton's staff at Kentucky in the late 1980s.

May felt Casey's time had come to be a head coach.

"He's definitely been overdue," May said. "He's served his time."

Casey, who had been an assistant with the Seattle SuperSonics since 1994, thrives on meticulous preparation. He keeps notebooks from practices and games to use as references.

"You can tell that he knows the game and that he teaches the game," May said.

Casey must also figure out, with McHale's input, who is going to be on his staff. With the draft looming on June 28, it's definitely a busy time.

Casey won't meddle too heavily in the team's evaluation of potential picks, instead reiterating the type of players that he sees fit for his system. That usually means athletic guys who can break down defenses on the drive as well as players with good ballhandling skills, floor vision and a willingness to share the ball.

He also wants someone willing to be a good teammate and listen to instruction.

"You can't be buddy-buddy," Casey said. "But I think this is a players' league. You have to understand that."

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