Wolves: Foye receives rookie honor for December

The news release from the NBA made it sound so dry Tuesday: Timberwolves guard Randy Foye had been named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December after averaging 9.6 points and making 90 percent of his free throws last month.

The Wolves and their fans, however, know Foye's value and potential have little to do with his averages and more to do with the highlights he creates, the production he packs into short stints and an ability to take over games in key stretches that is as rare on the Wolves squad as it is around the league.

"Randy gives us a scorer with that second unit," coach Dwane Casey said. "He does a heck of a job of coming in and picking up the pace, maintaining pace and in some circumstances, creating pace. That's something we want to have. You like to have that energy coming off the bench, those young legs coming in."

Among his snapshot moments: Foye scored 15 points with seven rebounds in a loss to the Spurs on Dec. 13. He set a season high with 25 points, including the game-winner, to beat the Bulls on Dec. 26. And he had 18 points with four assists and two steals Saturday at New Jersey.

The No. 7 pick from Villanova, Foye wasn't too shabby in his first January game, either, helping the Wolves outscore Charlotte 34-16 Monday during the rookie's stint of 11 minutes, 25 seconds in the fourth quarter. While point guard Mike James sat, Foye teamed mostly with starters Kevin Garnett, Ricky Davis, Mark Blount and Trenton Hassell in the comeback from 20 points down against the Bobcats.

Garnett, rather colorfully, likened it to the way young cousins act when they're around only the older kids, freed from the adults' watchful eyes.

"When they walked to the store with us, they got to cut the cartwheels in the street," Garnett said. "They got to throw the rocks. They're skipping, we're jumping, we're having fun.

"It's similar to Randy. Case has a tight grip on him. Which you should -- he's a rookie. You have to make sure he understands the foundation and how things work. That's only right. But when he's with us, he knows we let him go. He loves to take his man one-on-one. The kid has so much within him, man, you can't just bottle that up."

Home schooling next?

Coming back from 20 down against Charlotte is one thing. But the Wolves would prefer to measure themselves against playoff teams, three of which they will see on the upcoming four-game homestand. They face San Antonio today and, after a visit from Philadelphia on Friday, get Houston and the L.A. Clippers next week at Target Center.

Do the Wolves have what it takes to reach the postseason? Garnett did not hesitate.

"Why not? Why not?" he said. "Other teams that you see doing well are teams that have been together for a while. Phoenix has [Steve] Nash and they've had that chemistry, that whole thing jelled quickly. But they didn't start off as fast [this season] as they'd have liked to. Dallas, same story. San Antonio, very similar.

"I think Denver, before the altercation on the court and the [Allen Iverson] trade and stuff, they had a nice little chemistry going. Utah, now they're healthy, they've been there, the system's there. [Coach] Jerry Sloan has those guys playing hard, they're playing together."

In other words, the Wolves are working toward that stability and consistency.

"It's not just going to happen overnight," Garnett said. "We're not going to click our heels, close our eyes and say something three times and it's going to happen. There are going to be some nights when we get our butts kicked. There are going to be some nights when we get beat in the fourth quarter. But the lesson, we have to learn it and apply it and make sure that doesn't happen more than a couple of times."

Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com