Love is the first UCLA basketball player to be featured on the cover of
the EA SPORTS college basketball game. A student-athlete with a 3.2
grade point average, Love was a first team All-American while leading
the Bruins in scoring at 17.5 points per game and rebounding at 10.6
rebounds per game as a true freshman. Named 2008 Pac-10 Freshman and
Player of the Year, Love led UCLA to the Men’s Final Four(R). He was
the fifth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and later
traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 
 
"It is quite an honor to be named cover athlete of NCAA Basketball 09,"
Love said. "When you look back at some of the great players who have
had this opportunity, it’s exciting to be a part of the EA SPORTS
family and contribute to a game I’ve been playing for a long time."

 

 
 
Meanwhile, Craig Smith is supposed to be healthy enough to begin
practicing with teammates starting on Monday. He underwent knee surgery
Aug. 1 after injuring his knee in the one Las Vegas Summer League game
he played after signing a new two-year, $4.8 million deal.
 
New forward Rodney Carney still is nursing a hamstring injury that
caused him to miss the Vegas summer league games after the Wolves
acquired him from Philadelphia
 
Love says he is fully healed from a sore Achilles tendon that caused
him to miss the Wolves’ final Las Vegas Summer League game in July and
also prevented him from practicing with the U.S. Olympic team after he
was one of 12 young NBA players selected for the opportunity…
 
He plans to join his new Wolves teammates starting Monday for preseason workouts at Target Center.
 
 
 
Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site sat down with Sebastian Telfair to talk about the offseason as well as off-court topics:
Q: On the expulsion of rookies Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur from the NBA’s rookie orientation program:
Telfair: Me, myself, from being in trouble before, I was a little upset
about it. I think guys have to look at other guy’s situations and learn
from it. I don’t think (Chalmers and Arthur) meant any harm. They got
into a situation where they were doing something they shouldn’t have
been doing and I think they’ll pay for it and they’ll learn from it.
… I want people to learn from my situation and not do the same things.
 
Q: On Al Jefferson’s leadership:
Telfair: He’s our leader, and once he (establishes) consistency,
everyone else will follow that. But this year with seeing the guys
coming in, I think everyone is committed to winning. Everyone wants to
get their numbers and do something exciting, but I think we’re ready to
win.