Randy Wittman
Head Coach
Randy Wittman, who was promoted to head coach of the Wolves on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007, is in his third stint with the Timberwolves coaching staff. He spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic after serving in the same capacity with the Wolves from 2001-05.
Wittman was with the Timberwolves for five seasons (1994-99) as an assistant coach before serving as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons (1999-2001), where he compiled a 62-102 record. Wittman originally came to Minnesota from the Dallas Mavericks, where he spent the 1993-94 season as an assistant coach. He also served one season (1992-93) as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers.
A 1983 graduate of Indiana University, Wittman played nine seasons in the NBA. He was a first-round draft choice of the Washington Bullets but was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks prior to the start of the 1983-84 campaign. During his NBA playing career, Wittman saw action with the Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Pacers, averaging 7.4 points per game and shooting 50.1 percent from the floor.
A two-time academic All-American at Indiana, Wittman was a member of the Hoosiers' 1981 NCAA championship team and was named co-Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior in 1983. Wittman was honored in November 1995 with induction into the Indiana University Hall of Fame. A native of Indianapolis, Wittman and his wife, Kathy, have two children, Ryan and Lauren.
NBA.com profile on Randy Wittman.
Kevin McHale
Vice President of Basketball Operations
On February 12, 2005, McHale added the title of head coach to his already impressive resume, becoming the sixth bench leader in team history. He took over for Flip Saunders, who was relieved of his coaching duties. Under McHale, the Timberwolves went 19-12 down the stretch in 2004-05.
In the summer of 2005, McHale engineered a number of transactions to help the Wolves improve in the tough Western Conference. Through drafting, trades and free agent signings, McHale landed Rashad McCants, Marko Jaric and Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Additionally, McHale hired longtime Seattle SuperSonics associate head coach Dwane Casey to become the team's seventh head coach.
McHale's constant desire to improve the Timberwolves and his single-minded focus to win mirrors the attitude he exhibited during his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics.
One of McHale's most heralded moves came on May 11, 1995, when he selected high-school phenom Kevin Garnett with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. Considered a bold move at the time, the Wolves were rewarded with an outstanding rookie campaign from Garnett.
McHale has had a history of success in the game of basketball. In high school, he led Hibbing to the Minnesota Class AA State Basketball Tournament title game. In college, he posted a career average of 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in four seasons at the University of Minnesota, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1979 and 1980. And in the pro ranks, he joined the Boston Celtics for three NBA championships, the first coming in his rookie season with the team.
McHale continued that tradition of quick success with the Timberwolves, moving from special assistant in 1993-94 to assistant general manager in 1994-95 to vice president of basketball operations. In that role, McHale is responsible for the team's entire basketball operations department, overseeing player personnel decisions, scouting and the coaching staff.
In McHale's first season with the Wolves, 1993-94, he served as a special assistant to the coaching staff. That position utilized the experience of his lengthy basketball career, which culminated in the retiring of his pro, college and high-school game jerseys. In August 1994, he was promoted to a newly created position of assistant general manager.
Prior to coming to the Timberwolves organization, McHale played 13 seasons as a power forward for the Celtics before retiring in the spring of 1993. A first-round selection (third overall) by Boston in the 1980 NBA Draft, McHale helped lead the Celtics to three NBA championships (1981, 1984 and 1986), five Eastern Conference titles and eight Atlantic Division crowns. He was voted the NBA's top sixth man twice (1984, 1985) and was selected to the All-NBA First Team in 1987. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times (1986, 1987 and 1988). The 6-10 forward/center averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in 971 career regular-season games. He shot 55.4 percent from the floor and 79.8 percent at the free throw line. In 169 postseason contests, McHale increased his averages to 18.8 points and 7.4 rebounds.
On Oct. 1, 1999, Kevin McHale was recognized for his achievements with the Celtics by being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. In the typical McHale style, he gave credit to his teammates for helping him to get there. But no one goes into the Hall of Fame without a lot of hard work and personal accomplishment.
In addition to being named to the Basketball Hall of Fame, McHale has received other honors for his basketball prowess. On July 8, 2000, he was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. During the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, he was honored as one of the NBA's Top 50 Players for the league's first half-century. On Feb. 18, 1995, he was honored as the top player in U of M men's basketball history, as the school celebrated its 100th anniversary in the sport.
McHale and his wife, Lynn, along with their five children, Kristyn, Michael, Joseph, Alexandra and Thomas, reside in North Oaks, Minn.
Jim Stack
General Manager
Jim Stack enters his second season with the Timberwolves after being named the team's General Manager on July 9, 2004. Stack came to the organization with 22 years of professional basketball experience as a player and front office executive. Stack has served in the basketball operations departments of the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks.
Stack spent the 2003-04 campaign as an advance scout with the Knicks. Before his stint in New York, Stack spent three years as an assistant coach with the Pacers, beginning with the 2000-01 season.
During Stack's 13-year tenure with Chicago, the team won six NBA titles and established a record for most wins in a season, with 72 regular-season wins in 1995-96. Stack last served as the Assistant Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Bulls for four years after being promoted from his previous job as Special Assistant to the Vice President of Basketball Operations, where he spent eight years. As the Special Assistant, his duties included scouting on all levels, contract negotiations and analysis. Stack played an active role in the acquisition of every Bulls player, and his duties also included free agent scouting and all playoff advance scouting. Stack began as a scout with the Bulls organization prior to the 1988-89 campaign.
Upon his 1983 graduation from Northwestern University, Stack was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the sixth round (117th overall) in the 1983 NBA Draft. He spent five years playing professionally with teams in Belgium, Israel and France.
Fred Hoiberg
Assistant General Manager
On April 17, 2006, Fred Hoiberg announced his retirement from the NBA and joined the Timberwolves front office. Hoiberg begins his first year as the Timberwolves assistant general manager. He will have duties and responsibilities relating to both the Timberwolves’ basketball department and business operations. The 34-year-old underwent successful heart surgery on June 28, 2005 to correct an enlarged aortic root and did not play during the 2005-06 season.
Hoiberg played 10 seasons in the NBA for the Timberwolves (2003-05), Bulls (1999-2003) and Pacers (1995-99). In his final season, 2004-05, Hoiberg led the NBA in three-point shooting accuracy at 48.3 percent. The previous season he finished fourth in that category. Hoiberg averaged career-highs of 9.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 2000-01 with Chicago. He registered a career-high 28 points to accompany a career-best 13 assists in a career-high 52 minutes March 3, 2001 at Milwaukee.
Hoiberg played four seasons at Iowa State University, appearing in 126 games and averaging 15.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He left the Cyclones ranked third in career scoring and first in career three-pointers made and attempted.
As a high school senior, Hoiberg was named Iowa's top high school football and basketball player, and led Ames High to the Iowa state basketball championship.
Hoiberg met his wife, Carol, in high school and the couple has four children: Paige, Jack, and twins Sam and Charlie.
Rob Babcock
Assistant General Manager
Rob Babcock, who has 19 years of NBA management experience, returns to the Timberwolves after spending the past two seasons as the general manager of the Toronto Raptors. He will be responsible for overseeing the Timberwolves draft and scouting efforts, both at the collegiate and NBA level.
Babcock spent 12 years with Minnesota during his first stint with the team, the final two seasons as vice president of player personnel. Babcock served as the team’s director of player personnel from 1994-2002, and two seasons (1992-94) as a scout. Babcock joined the NBA in 1987 as the director of scouting for the Denver Nuggets, where he spent five seasons before joining the Wolves.
A native of Phoenix, Babcock attended Grand Canyon College in Phoenix and helped his team to a second-place finish in the 1974 BAIA final national rankings. Babcock began his coaching career in Mexico City at The American School Foundation. He later returned to Phoenix where he coached at Greenway and Maryvale high schools. In 1982, he earned Southwest Valley Coach of the Year honors.
Rob and his wife, Laura, have two sons, Nathan and Christopher.
Zarko Durisic
Director of Player Personnel
Durisic begins his first season as the team's director of player personnel after serving eight years as the Wolves' director of international scouting. In his new role he will focus on the draft and salary cap issues.
A native of Montenegro (part of the former Yugoslavia), Durisic played for the national teams of Yugoslavia at all levels (cadets, juniors and seniors). He came to the United States in 1980 and attended Wichita State University. Durisic was a member of two NCAA tournament qualifiers. His 1982 team lost to eventual national champion North Carolina State. Durisic's teammates at Wichita State included former NBA standouts Cliff Levingston, Austin Carr and Xavier McDaniel. After graduation from Wichita State in 1984, Durisic played professionally for 11 seasons in Slovenia, where his teams won six Slovenian national titles.
Following his playing career, Durisic coached in Slovenia. His 1995-96 squad included future NBA players Rasho Nesterovic and Vladimir Stepania. Durisic, his wife, Tatiana, and their daughters, Jelena and Alexsandra, reside in Los Angeles.
Jerry Sichting
Assistant Coach
On May 11, 1995, Jerry Sichting was named director of scouting and player development for the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Dec. 18, 1995, he added assistant coach to his title. Known throughout his NBA playing career as a hard-nosed, tenacious competitor, Sichting brings those same qualities of dedication with him to his first NBA front office and coaching position.
Sichting acquired an in-depth knowledge of the pro game from his 10 seasons as a player in the NBA. He began his career in 1980 and spent the following five seasons with the Indiana Pacers, averaging a career-high 11.5 points per game during the 1983-84 season. In 1985, Sichting signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent and became an integral reserve. In 1986, he teamed with Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale to lead the Celtics to the NBA title.
Midway through the 1987-88 campaign, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished his playing career in 1989-90 as a member of the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks. Sichting appeared in 598 career regular-season games, recording an average of 6.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. He saw action in 47 playoff contests, posting averages of 3.0 points and 1.7 assists per outing.
After his playing career ended, Sichting remained in Boston and ran the Jerry Sichting Basketball Camp for five years. He also spent four seasons (1991-95) serving as the analyst on Boston Celtics radio broadcasts. His broadcast resume also includes fill-in roles on radio and television with the Indiana Pacers during the 1990-91 season, commenting on various high school broadcasts throughout Indiana and a pregame show for his alma mater, Purdue University, on WTTV-TV. A native of Martinsville, Ind., Sichting and his wife, Joni, have four children, Jared, Jason, Jordan and Jenna.
John-Blair Bickerstaff
Assistant Coach
The youngest assistant coach in the NBA at 26 years old, John-Blair Bickerstaff follows in the footsteps of his father, Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who was the youngest assistant coach when he joined the NBA in 1973 at 29 years old.
Around basketball his whole life, Bickerstaff provided color analysis on radio broadcasts in 2003-04 for the Minnesota Timberwolves when the team won the Midwest Division and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. Prior to that, he served as the director of operations for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program where he oversaw all administrative areas of the program and assisted the coaching staff with recruiting, scouting and coaching. John-Blair also worked together with Bernie Bickerstaff to prepare draft prospects for predraft workouts at a facility in Washington, DC.
Born March 10, 1979, Bickerstaff played collegiately at Oregon State University, where he was the youngest NCAA Division I player as a 17-year-old freshman, and the University of Minnesota. He played two seasons with the Golden Gophers from 1999-2001 and averaged 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. As a senior, he had 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds and paced the team in field goal percentage.
Dean Cooper
Assistant Coach
Dean Cooper enters his first season on the Wolves coaching staff after spending the previous nine years with the Houston Rockets, most recently as Vice President of Player Personnel. With the Rockets, Cooper was responsible for the evaluation of draft prospects, free agents and potential trades. He also oversaw the coordination of national and international scouting activities.
Cooper was elevated to VP of Player Personnel for Houston after working three years as the team's Director of Scouting. In his first five years with Houston, Cooper served as video coordinator/scout for two seasons, assistant coach for two campaigns and NBA personnel scout for a year.
Before joining the Rockets, Cooper coached four years at the college level. He worked for two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., before taking a similar role at the University of Buffalo for two years. While at Aquinas, he also served in an advance scouting role for the Connecticut Pride of the Continental Basketball Association for one season. Cooper began his coaching career at a pair of Michigan high schools, spending five years at Belding High School and three years at Caledonia High School.
A native of Belding, Mich., Cooper is an active camp director in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program, which is a global basketball development and community relations outreach program that promotes leadership, education, sportsmanship and healthy living, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
Ed Pinckney
Assistant Coach
Ed Pinckney comes to the Timberwolves from his alma mater, Villanova University, where he was an assistant coach the past four seasons. Pinckney returned to Villanova after a long career in the NBA. Following his retirement from the NBA in 1997, Pinckney joined the Miami Heat organization as part of its radio and television broadcasting team. In 2002-03 he was named to oversee the club’s mentoring program.
A No. 1 draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in 1985, Pinckney spent 12 years in the league as a player with Phoenix, Sacramento, Boston, Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Miami. His best seasons were 1986-87 with the Suns when he averaged 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds and 1988-89 when he averaged 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Kings and Celtics. For his career, Pinckney averaged 6.8 points, on 53.5 percent shooting, and 5.0 rebounds in 793 games.
As a collegian, Pinckney was one of the finest players in Villanova history. He helped lead the Wildcats to the 1985 NCAA national championship with a 66-64 upset of heavily favored Georgetown. Pinckney was named Most Outstanding Player for his 16-point, six rebound effort in the win. A four year starter from 1981-85, Pinckney scored 1,865 points (seventh most in school history) and collected 1,107 rebounds (fourth in school annals). Pinckney later had his number retired by the school.
Pinckney and his wife Rose Marie have four children: Shea, Spencer, Austin and Andrea.
Brent Haskins
Assistant Coach / Advance Scout
Brent Haskins is in his seventh season with the Timberwolves and his second as an assistant coach/NBA advance scout. Previously, he served three seasons as an advance scout for the team and an additional three campaigns as the club's video coordinator. Prior to joining the Timberwolves, Haskins spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota.
Haskins assists the coaching staff during draft preparation, summer league, training camp and the playoffs. He is also responsible for assembling the club's summer league team. His duties as an advance scout require him to travel throughout the country to watch the Wolves' upcoming opponents and prepare a detailed scouting report on the upcoming opposition. The scouting report, along with individual and team breakdown tapes prepared by the Wolves' video department, allows the coaching staff to formulate a game plan for an opponent.
Haskins graduated with a sports management degree from Minnesota in 1996. The native of Wayzata, Minn., resides in Plymouth, Minn.
Mike Lindahl
Video Coordinator
Mike Lindahl begins his third season as the team's video coordinator.
Lindahl is responsible for recording and editing of all videotapes of Wolves' games, opponents' games and numerous college contests. The videos are used for evaluating Wolves' performances, scouting upcoming opponents and assessing collegiate talent.
Lindahl is a 2003 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in sport management.
Lindahl and his wife, Heidi, reside in Shakopee, Minn.
Gregg Farnam
Head Athletic Trainer
Gregg Farnam begins his ninth season with the Timberwolves and his sixth as the team's head athletic trainer. He came to the organization from the St. Paul Saints Northern League baseball team, where he served as trainer during the 1998 baseball season.
He was the athletic trainer for the gold medal-winning United States men's basketball team at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, in September 2001. He also provided medical coverage for the women's volleyball team and the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in July 2003.
In addition to being responsible for every aspect of the Wolves' training room operations, Farnam works closely with the team's medical staff in monitoring a player's physical condition as well as the assessing and treatment of injuries. He is also responsible for coordinating team travel.
Farnam has also provided game coverage for the Institute for Athletic Medicine. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine from St. Cloud State University and has a master's degree in exercise science and health promotions from California University of Pennsylvania. He is a certified member of the National Trainers Association, as well as the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Farnam and his wife, Tiffany, along with their sons, Nolan and Maximilian, and daughter, Mae, reside in Rogers, Minn.
Dave Vitel
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Dave Vitel enters his first season as the team's strength and conditioning coach. A specialist in the field, he is responsible for developing and prescribing individualized training programs for the Wolves.
Vitel joins the Wolves training staff after serving as the past five years as the head strength and conditioning coach at Loyola University Chicago. In that capacity, he was responsible for improving student athletes' individual athletic performance with specific training regimens as well as overseeing all 15 of Loyola's varsity athletic teams in their use of the weight room.
As the strength and conditioning coach of the Timberwolves, Vitel is responsible for developing and implementing individualized training programs for each of the Timberwolves players. Vitel has trained professional athletes in the NBA, including multiple first-round and second-round NBA Draft picks, NFL and Major League Soccer.
The Elgin, Ill. Native has also previously worked for the Chicago Bulls and University of Arizona. Vitel received his bachelor's degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and his master's degree in education from Loyola.
Andre Deloya
Physical Therapist
Andre Deloya is entering his sixth season as the team's physical therapist. He joined the team after serving for 10 years as a supervisor for the Institute for Athletic Medicine in Minneapolis.
Deloya has over 25 years of experience in the field of physical therapy. Deloya graduated with a master's degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has a doctorate in physical therapy from Boston University. He has extensive experience in neuro-rehabilitation, orthopaedic rehabilitation and sports and dance medicine.
He has worked with professional athletes from Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League, as well as local and national dance companies and touring musicians and figure skaters.
Deloya is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Deloya and his wife, Eileen, along with their daughters, Amanda and Hailey, reside in Edina, Minn.
