Sid Hartman: Rubio the key piece to Wolves' future

I've been at sports events where the crowds really get into games, including the Vikings, Twins, Wild and all the Gophers teams, but the way I saw the Timberwolves fans get involved in games against Miami, Memphis, and Golden State this season, they could hold their own with the best crowds in town.

If this young team is able to get a top lottery pick in the 2015 NBA draft and compete with the better teams in the Western Conference, it will take the Twin Cities over, and there won't be an empty seat left in Target Center.

Of course, one of the reasons for that is the great performance of No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins this season. But as the Wolves saw while he was hurt, they need the sensational play of Ricky Rubio on the floor. The 24-year-old point guard singlehandedly won the game against the Grizzlies and nearly pushed the Wolves past the best team in the NBA in the Warriors on Wednesday.

Rubio has lost most of this season to his severe ankle sprain, but in the few games he has played he has shown improvement in his shooting from the floor. The Wolves have had Rubio work with shooting coach Mike Penberthy, and it appears their time together has paid off.

A 33.1 percent shooter from three-point range last season and a 32.3 percent shooter in his career, Rubio has improved to 41.2 percent from three in his 10 games this season. He is 6-for-13 from three-point range since returning this month.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders said Rubio is still getting back into game speed after missing 43 games.

"He's playing better, he's still in training camp," Saunders said. "He's still got to get his legs to where they need to be. He had some turnovers that were probably uncharacteristic-type turnovers [in the loss to Golden State on Wednesday].

Last year at the All-Star break, Rubio was averaging 8.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game, having played in all 53 games. This season, he has averaged 7.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Still, as Saunders pointed out, his turnovers have jumped to 3.3 per game this season, compared to 2.7 per game last season.

Saunders said that he thought the All-Star break would give Rubio, along with several other Wolves players recovering from injury, a chance to regroup before the final portion of the season.

"I'm really tired right now. I usually say if I'm tired, then the players, you multiply that by two, because they're running, I'm not really running," Saunders said. "Some of our guys that have been hurt, it's a good chance for them. It's like when you go through training camp, sometimes that first week you can get your legs back under you."

Rubio said Wednesday that he's feeling healthy after his three-month layoff.

"I'm good," Rubio said. "If we played tomorrow I'd be good to play. It's a break and I think some of the young fellas need a break, especially [Wiggins], who's been playing a lot of minutes. I don't know if they're going to get a break going to All-Star Weekend."

Twins President Dave St. Peter was asked what improvements fans can expect to see at Target Field this season.

"We have engaged Populous [the firm that designed Target Field] … to help us on what we call a master plan to start envisioning Target Field not only for 2015 but for 2025 and 2035," St. Peter said.

"I'm excited about what that is going to bring. What you're going to see here in year one in '15 is a reconfigured area in Gate 6, which is really in the left field corner, understanding the importance of that gate with all the light rail and the Northstar corridor coming into that gate. We thought we could do better in terms of sight lines and in terms of perhaps creating a dynamic space for fans to gather both before the game and during the game. We worked on that. We have some exciting announcements to make in the next few weeks about design and sponsorship in that area. I think it's going to be a game changer inside our park in terms of the gameday experience.

"We've added more group hospitality and are working really hard on customer service metrics to make wait times better. Then the food and beverage side, just the incredible number of Minnesota-branded foods we have been able to form partnerships with. We have a few really nice additions that are going to come as part of our menu in 2015."

Jottings

• One reason the Cardinals' Bruce Arians was named the NFL Coach of the Year was the presence of Tom Moore, an Owatonna native and former Vikings and Gophers assistant who while with the Colts helped make Peyton Manning what he is today. Moore is an assistant head coach with Arizona, and I'm told he made a big contribution there. Incidentally, the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald Jr., maybe the best receiver in the NFL, is reportedly in negotiations with the team to restructure his contract, which expires in 2019. In my conversations with the former Holy Angels star, he has made it pretty clear he wants to finish his career at Arizona.

• Gophers track and field coach Steve Plasencia reports that Gemechu Godi, a recruit from Iowa Western Community College, should compete for a Big Ten championship in the 200 meters. Godi ran the event in 21.21 seconds at Iowa Western and the 400 in 47.99. Plasencia also said Gophers running back Berkley Edwards "could definitely compete for two Big Ten titles," in the 60- and 100-meter dash. Edwards ran the 60 in 6.84 seconds and the 100 in 10.52 in high school.

• Reggie Lynch, the 6-10 former Edina boys' basketball standout, is averaging 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game as a sophomore starter at Illinois State, which is 15-10. Another former Hornets player in Division I is Graham Woodward, who is sitting out his transfer season at Drake after leaving Penn State.