Another Great Read on Love
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:19 pm
Some highlights:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... ove-101230
But many NBA stars are born into basketball. The difference with Love was that he lived it -- constantly -- from a very young age. He devoured instructional videos of NBA greats and can still rattle off their names like an alphabet sing-along: Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Pete Maravich, the "Boston outlet drills" video with Danny Ainge and Bill Walton, and Pete Newell's "Big Man Moves," which taught him how to maneuver in the post.
"My father will tell you that while other kids were watching Big Bird, I was watching Larry Bird," Love laughs.
He spent every free minute on form, moves and drills: dribbling a basketball out the passenger-side window of a car at about 10 mph or the "50 free throw" drill, where he had to go through three or four drills, make 10 shots and then make 10 free throws.
Beasley and Love, who first met playing AAU basketball almost a decade ago, are the team's resident jokers.
"I have a drier and -- I shouldn't say this but I will -- sophisticated sense of humor, while Mike is just all over the place," Love says. "That's how he gets his laughs, and it's still funny."
When Love learned that Beasley had been traded to Minnesota this past offseason, he was excited, since the two have remained good friends. Still, Al Jefferson's departure brought on mixed emotions. "I was really close with Al, so it was a little bittersweet because he was a mentor," Love says. "But it also opened up more playing time for me and more opportunities, so I can't say that I was mad."
Love works out hard, arriving at least an hour early to practice on most days. At 225 pounds, he weighs less now than he did in high school. Jason Fawcett, Love's former high school trainer, says Love's constant dedication has helped him become far more athletic than some realize. "He's never going to have a 42-inch vertical jump, but his intelligence, combined with fundamentals, combined with his athleticism is a really rare combination," says Fawcett, who has worked with numerous elite athletes. Fawcett points to Love's single-leg balance and hand-eye coordination in particular, noting that Love performs at elite levels in each category.
Love has also morphed his slightly doughy frame into a chiseled physique through his diet. He has a personal chef, Isaac Werre, a 26-year-old Minnesota native who comes to Love's downtown apartment three times a day when the team is in town. Unlike Beasley, who reputedly orders Skittles by the case, Love's eating habits are very structured: three healthy meals a day, lots of produce and protein from local markets or Whole Foods, and very few sweets or snacks.
Werre says that Love doesn't keep 12-packs of beer or bottles of wine in his refrigerator, nor ice cream in the freezer. Bags of chips will remain in the pantry for months at a time, untouched. Recently, when he'd grown tired of drinking plain water, Love went out on a limb and started adding Crystal Light.
Love thanks Werre for every meal, a respectfulness that Werre says isn't always common among high-profile clientele. "He's 22, but you'd never guess that in a million years because he's so respectful and mature for his age," Werre says.
When dining out, Love says he is recognized sometimes -- more often this year -- and that the "Minnesota nice" adage holds true. Fans are polite and supportive, such as the middle-aged woman who spotted him inside Starbucks and wished him luck in the game the next evening, but didn't ask for an autograph or photo.
"Hopefully I'm in the Timberwolves' long-term plans," Love says. "I know that we can be better. We have a ton of cap space, another draft coming up, and we're only going to get older. All those things will help us." He points out that he is only 22 years old and that many players peak at 27, 28. And while there hasn't been much improvement in the wins and losses columns, the gap in final scores is shrinking, like the Wolves' recent six-point loss to Denver.
Aside from his father, his best lessons in leadership came this past summer as a part of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the FIBA World Championship. "More than anything, this summer made me realize that I can play at the top level of the NBA, and be one of the top-five, -10, -15 most productive guys in the league," Love says.
Statistically, he's done that this season. He leads the league in rebounds per game (15.5), double-doubles (28) and points-rebounds-assists (38.6 average). His epic 30-30 performance had fans nationwide buzzing and filled Love's phone with texts and calls. Westbrook says he saw Love's stat line while preparing for his own game that night and sent a congratulatory text to his good friend. "Is it good enough?" Love responded. The one-liner was a reference to a conversation earlier this summer, when Love had told Westbrook he'd turn in that "kind of night" this season and Westbrook said it wouldn't happen.
"Clearly, he had all those tools already within himself and just his mindset changed [after this summer]," teammate Wayne Ellington says. "His role changed, too, so he's in a position where he can really excel."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... ove-101230