Bobby Jackson was known for his competitiveness and work ethic during 12 years in the NBA and collegiately at the University of Minnesota. It would appear not much has changed with Jackson as an NBA assistant coach.
The former Gophers star, recently hired by the Timberwolves as a player development assistant coach, has been conducting two-a-day training sessions at Target Center for Chase Budinger, coming off knee surgery, and rookie draft picks Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng and Lorenzo Brown. Wolves coach Rick Adelman had to pass on some advice to his newest assistant Sunday.
"He called to say I was working the guys too hard," Jackson said Monday as he met media at Target Center. "He said, 'I want them to have some legs when training camp starts.' I had to cut the workouts to one a day."
Jackson's move was part of a shuffle in the Wolves' assistant ranks. David Adelman, one of two player development coaches last season, was promoted to assistant coach. Shawn Respert, the second of the team's player development coaches last season, did not have the option on his contract picked up.
That will leave Jackson — who played two seasons for the Wolves — a prime role to play with the team's younger players, including top draft pick Muhammad, who gained a reputation as a "me-first" player at UCLA.
"If he can play defense, he's going to play," Jackson said after lauding Muhammad's offensive skills.
There might not be a better coach to teach youngsters the importance of defense — an offshoot of that competitiveness and work ethic — since that was Jackson's forte as a player. And it was Adelman as a coach in Sacramento, Jackson said, who shaped him as a player.
"He kind of took me from a loose cannon to a nice young player, so I have a lot of respect for him," Jackson said.