MINNEAPOLIS _ Solitude was Robert Covington's best friend and his worst nightmare.
He craved it, and he went to extraordinary lengths to get it.
He told his family from Chicago not to visit him last winter, and he questioned why they would want to come to Timberwolves games when he was sidelined because of a right knee bone bruise.
He would pretend to be asleep in his bed so his girlfriend would do the same, since she never nodded off first if he was still awake. Eventually, he sent his girlfriend and her son from Minnesota back to her home in Nashville, Tenn., so he could just be alone.
"I needed space," Covington said. "I needed nobody around me."
He spent those dark days going to rehab _ often late _ for his knee. Then he'd come home, nap and be alone, his only company the television. This isn't where Covington wanted to be, and he knew it, but he needed the loneliness.
"My mind was all over the place," Covington said.
What was going through it? The trade from Philadelphia to Minnesota in November jolted his life on and off the court. The injury, which Covington aggravated in a New Year's Eve game and forced him to miss the rest of last season, didn't cause his depression, but it was a catalyst.
The forward who was so integral to the Wolves' defense during their best stretch last season was helpless watching his teammates tumble out of playoff contention while dealing with an injury that wouldn't heal.
Covington didn't understand. He was doing everything he needed to do to recover, but there were multiple setbacks until finally, he had to have surgery. Why was this happening? Did he do something wrong? Was this punishment? He got to think long and hard about all this in his solitude, which sent his head "spiraling."
"Ultimately it got overwhelming," Covington said. "It got to the point where I snapped. I really snapped.
"I realized I wasn't who I am."
He needed an intervention, something that would reverse his downfall. With a little assist from his head coach, Covington found help from a place he never thought to look _ therapy.
