Jim Souhan: Jefferson shows he can take it to 'em

The power forward was too passive early but showed near the end he can battle with the big fellows.

By Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

Last update: November 6, 2007 - 10:50 PM

Three games into his Wolves career, we know that Al Jefferson is a pretty good player and an honest man.

The sports world is still reeling -- Scott Boras was taken to the emergency room with heart palpitations, and Jefferson lost the right to audition for remakes of Jerry Maguire -- from Big Al's assertion that he is not yet worthy of a maximum contract.

Then Tuesday night, Jefferson meandered against Orlando's imposing Dwight Howard for three quarters before putting on the kind of fierce, rallying fourth-quarter performance that The Bashful Ticket rarely offered.

Jefferson outscored Howard 12-2 and outrebounded him 6-2 in the fourth quarter of the Wolves' 111-103 loss at Target Center.

After the game, Jefferson was again blunt as a dunk. His coach, Randy Wittman, had noted that Jefferson looked too passive for three quarters.

Al? "The first three quarters, I don't know what the hell I was doing out there," he said.

Theo Ratliff, the Wolves' surprisingly functional center, took ill before the game, forcing Jefferson, a classic power forward, to match up with Howard, one of the game's best pure centers.

It turned into a matchup that two assistant coaches -- Orlando's Patrick Ewing and the Wolves' Ed Pinckney, the combatants in the epic Georgetown-Villanova 1985 NCAA championship game -- could appreciate. Howard finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds; Jefferson with 25 and 10.

Satisfied? Hardly. "I'm just so used to the first two games, I was seeing double teams every time, and it just hit me -- I realized, just go," Jefferson said. "Even though Dwight is a good player, I knew I could get my shot off. I decided in the fourth quarter to go at him. But that's something I should do the whole game, it should never take until the fourth quarter to realize I can take somebody."

Even with a full, healthy roster, Jefferson needs to be the Wolves' star. Tuesday, he should have been the first option all game.

This team desperately misses Randy Foye at the point -- even if Foye is not a classic point guard, he's far better than Sebastian Telfair. Rashad McCants has become this team's most creative scorer, and he went out because of an ankle sprain after hitting his first four shots in the first quarter.

With Foye and McCants missing, the Wolves were lucky to stay in the game long enough for Jefferson to draw them as close as two points in the fourth, inspiring a few standing ovations.

The crowd was sparse enough that everyone on and near the court could hear Wolves executive Kevin McHale coaching from the stands. "Yeah, I keep McHale's voice in my head all the time," Jefferson said.

Those gathered around him laughed, but he was serious. "True story," Jefferson said. "I really keep his voice in my head all the time. I know what he's going to say and what he wants me to do, and I just keep his voice in my head at all times."

Even when asleep? "No," he said. "When I'm on the court. Or when I'm watching film, I'm just thinking, That's what you should have did.'"

The Bashful Ticket was known for a splendid all-around game and fallaway jumpers at the buzzer.

Will Jefferson want the ball down the stretch? "I don't necessarily feel like I should take the big shots," he said. "But I feel like the ball should go through me."

To summarize: Jefferson demands the ball but not every last dime.

To quote the last line of Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com

Recent Sports stories

'Outlaws' shut down running game - November 6, 2007

'Outlaws' shut down running game - With the rout of Seattle, the Vikings defense may have been overlooked. But it was the defensive line that stopped the Seahawks cold, holding them to a mere four yards rushing. More