Wolves' Wiggins ready to step out of the shadows

Because he plays alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, a fellow so smooth, so polished that he is able to sell optimism to long-suffering Timberwolves fans, Andrew Wiggins sometimes seems to fade a bit into the background. Quiet, at times reticent. As able to leap a small point guard in a single bound as he is to answer a question with a single word. And so, maybe, you wonder. What, exactly, is behind that impassive face?

Tom Thibodeau did. The current Wolves coach was in Chicago when Wiggins was working on his rookie of the year résumé.

"I know when I coached against Andrew his rookie year, he gave us fits," Thibodeau said. "I knew what he was capable of doing. But I don't think you really know a player until you coach him yourself. So you hear things, you see things."

That changed this summer.

Knowing how important his third year would be, expecting to be a part of a team that will end a 12-year playoff drought, knowing the jump he's expected to take in his third season, Wiggins made a choice. Instead of playing with Team Canada in an Olympic qualifier, he decided to work on his game. He followed shooting guru Drew Hanlen all over North America, from L.A. to his native Toronto, working on his handle, adjusting his shot. He added some bulk to his wiry frame.

And, with Thibodeau arriving as the new Timberwolves sheriff in town, he got to Minneapolis with most of the rest of his teammates in September, where he spent weeks getting to know his new coach.

And vice versa.

"Don't be fooled by that," Thibodeau said of Wiggins. "Winners come in all different personality types. Some guys are quiet, but they're fierce inside. Some guys are loud, and you think they're fierce but they're not. I watch a player's actions. They tell me everything."

Maybe it's a testament to how talented Wiggins is that we expect more.

After averaging 16.9 points and shooting 43.7 percent as a rookie, Wiggins shot 45.9 percent while averaging 20.7 points last year. He became only the 10th player in NBA history to average better than 20 points per game in a season that began before turning 21. Among the others: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant. He shot only 30 percent on three-pointers, but that jumped to 40 percent after Feb. 1.

And he was no shrinking violet. Able to get into the lane, and not cringing from contact, he got to the free-throw line 565 times, the fourth-highest single-season total in Wolves history and seventh in the league last season.

What's more, he embraced the big moment, becoming the team's fourth-quarter, crunch time go-to player.

"That's when my competitive instincts kick in," he said. "When I'm in my groove, only I can beat myself. If I miss a shot, in my head it's because I didn't follow through. I don't think about what the defense does. They react to me."

On the other hand, Wiggins knew his shot had to get better. A player with all the skills necessary to become an elite defender, Wiggins has to improve in that area, too.

And that's what he spent his summer doing.

With his shot, Wiggins worked on hand placement, making sure his arm didn't coming across his face, and his balance, getting his legs into the shot more.

"Just little tweaks," he said.

And more.

"Rebounding is a big thing for me," said Wiggins, whose rebounding dropped from 4.6 per game as a rookie to 3.6 last season. "And pushing the ball after rebounding. Getting out in transition and pushing the ball up the floor, creating for other people."

Wiggins started the preseason relatively slowly. He was 3-for-11 in the opener, but scored 19 points thanks to 16 free-throw opportunities. He went 5-for-17 in the second and third games combined. He broke through with a 9-for-16, 23-point performance against Miami in Louisville in game 4.

But those who have watched him since September says Wiggins' tweaked shots will bear fruit this season.

"He's shooting the heck out of the ball," Zach LaVine said. "Whenever he follows through or gets extension, he's one of the better shooters out here. We all know he can score and get to the line. So if he gets that jumper going, he'll be deadly."

But, for the Wolves to return to the playoffs, Wiggins being able to take a big leap in Year 3 is probably the biggest factor.

Wiggins is on board.

"I have a lot of goals this year," he said. "The main goal is to be in the playoffs, end the drought. We're a young team. But that doesn't give us an excuse not to win games."

Thibodeau, of course, isn't one to offer excuses.

"When you look at what Andrew's done, for a guy his age, it's very impressive," Thibodeau said. "And so, he has to continue to grow, as do Karl and Zach. We don't want to be known as young players with potential forever. That has to translate into something for our team."

"Look at what he's done at a young age,'' Thibodeau said. "It's good. But there's a lot of room for him to show all the things he can do. The thing is never to be satisfied. To always think you can do more."

Wiggins also is trying to redefine his image. He's never going to be as rah-rah as, say, Towns. But he knows he has to become more of an obvious leader.

"There are a lot of people who look up to me," he said. "I'm comfortable with what's going on, the plays we're running and the drills we're doing, so why not?"

Toward that end, Wiggins has pledged to be more vocal.

"I feel like this summer was a big summer for me mentally, too," he said. "Just knowing where I've got to be at this year, the responsibility I have."

And teammates can already see it.