MINNEAPOLIS _ In 1995 there were all kinds of signs coming out of Target Center that the Timberwolves were interested in drafting Kevin Garnett, the top prep basketball player in the nation.
Then-head of scouting Jerry Sichting had been following Garnett around and watching tons of his games, and Flip Saunders, then working as general manager, had been giving hints that Garnett was a special player.
At the time, Michigan was the top basketball program in the nation. The Wolverines were a few years removed from the Fab Five, and coach Steve Fisher was bringing in top players every year. The Wolverines' top recruiter was Brian Dutcher, the son of former Minnesota coach Jim Dutcher.
Brian had told me that April that Michigan was a front-runner to land Garnett, if he went to college. Michigan already had signed Robert "Tractor" Traylor and two other McDonald's All-Americas.
When Garnett went pro and the Wolves drafted him No. 5 overall, making him the first high school player to go straight to the NBA since 1975, Dutcher said they had landed a truly unique talent.
He told me in June 1995 that Garnett "is darn near the best high school player I have ever seen."
And now, 25 years later, Garnett is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, unquestionably the greatest player in Timberwolves history and one of the greatest success stories in pro sports.
Back in '95, Dutcher compared Garnett to Rasheed Wallace, the All-American out of North Carolina who had gone No. 4 to the Washington Wizards (then the Bullets).
"If I had my choice of Rasheed Wallace, who has played two years at North Carolina, I would have taken Garnett," Dutcher told me. "Garnett is like Chris Webber was when Webber came out of high school. He is not lazy and works hard. He plays with great emotion and always competes. He really loves and enjoys the game. He has a great upside in the game. He can run, he can pass."
Still there were questions not only around the NBA but within the Timberwolves about the transition Garnett was about to take.
"What is this kid going to do once 2?{ hours of practice is over?" Dutcher asked me. "The question I would ask is, who is going to spend time with him? Who is he going to live with?"
But while there may have been questions, the fact is that the Wolves drafted not only one of the greatest players to ever play in the league, but also one of the most responsible young players in NBA history.
There were never any issues with Garnett in Minnesota, despite his youth and all of the accolades, attention and money he received.
