NEW YORK _ It was Tom Thibodeau's first season as head coach of the Timberwolves, and his squad had stopped in Louisville for a couple days before a preseason game. Rick Pitino, who was coaching the Louisville Cardinals at the time, took his staff to observe Thibodeau's session. They expected a relaxed atmosphere considering the NBA's reputation, but were floored by the intensity and efficiency.
"He was meticulously organized, almost scary organized, and he reminded me of Bill Belichick," Pitino told the Daily News. "I've spent a lot of time with Belichick and Thibodeau's got a lot of the same mannerisms, the same attention to detail that Belichick has. And that's about the highest compliment I could give someone."
Pitino recalled that Andrew Wiggins, the Timberwolves' gifted young wing, was approaching the practice lackadaisically, which prompted a succinct and effective response from Thibodeau.
"He said, 'Wigs, you're going to reach your potential one way or the other.' Nothing else, just 'I don't care, you're going to reach your potential,' " Pitino said. "And Wiggins just got after it from that point on. He never had to correct him the rest of the practice. That was it. And the practice was brilliant."
Wiggins went on to his best season as a professional, averaging 23.6 points and playing all 82 games. Thibodeau, however, lasted less than three seasons with the Timberwolves, leaving behind a complicated legacy marked by success (the franchise's only playoff berth in the last 16 years) and rifts with both the star player (Karl-Anthony Towns) and team owner (Glen Taylor).
Thibodeau, 62, is now the leading candidate to coach the Knicks coach next season and beyond, as team president Leon Rose, a longtime agent, is set to officially make his hire by the end of the month. For the struggling franchise, the most pressing matter is player development because the roster offers little in the way of established talent, only raw potential in RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.
And while Thibodeau's meticulous style might not have resonated with Towns, an examination of the coach's history suggests that he's boosted the careers of players who are wired to work and win. Development has always been a Thibodeau concentration.
And to understand its origins, you have to go back to Pitino.
