National Basketball Association

Wolves' new shooting coach says confidence is key to getting better

Published Oct. 2, 2014 2:05 p.m. ET

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MANKATO, Minn. -- Mike Penberthy can recite the success stories, right down to the statistical evidence supporting them.

Paul George. Rookie year: 29.7 percent from 3-point range. Each of the next three seasons: 36 percent or better, including a nine-percent jump in Year 2. In the same time span, he's improved his foul shooting from 76.2 percent to 86.4 percent.

Reggie Jackson. Two seasons ago: 23.1 percent from 3, 83.9 from the free-throw line. Last season: 33.9 percent and 89.3 percent, respectively.

Jrue Holiday. In five NBA seasons, he's a 43.8 percent field-goal shooter and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Andre Iguodala is the best 2-point man of the bunch, boasting a 46.1 percent clip.

All have spent offseason time working one-on-one with the Timberwolves' newest assistant coach. And all of them are better because of it.

"When we go through practice, we are looking at everything. It's a whole canvas," president and coach Flip Saunders said. "With Mike, it's going to be able to look at one person on that canvas and really lock into what they're doing."

It's why Saunders called Penberthy this summer and had him work with point guard Ricky Rubio for a week. It's why Shabazz Muhammad, Zach LaVine and Chase Budinger took some time to be tutored as well.

And it's why Saunders hired Penberthy last week to become Minnesota's full-time shooting coach, a rare benefit among NBA franchises.

"You could change your life if you're a better shooter," Penberthy said Wednesday, the Wolves' second full day of training camp workouts at Minnesota State in Mankato.

In no other case is that more pertinent than that of Rubio, the fourth-year point guard who can seemingly do everything save for the game's most integral requirement. As his camp and Saunders haggle over a contract extension, Rubio's 36.8 career field-goal percentage ranks worst all-time among NBA point guards who have taken more than 500 attempts.

It will be a long, winding process to rectify that, Penberthy said; in addition to continuing to work him out this year, he'd like to get him for 100 days next summer and really zero in on the issues. But Rubio's work ethic toward getting there has been "incredible," Penberthy said.

And there's one key ingredient the laid-back, Californian with the same goatee and spiked-up hair he sported during his NBA playing days has identified.

"Confidence," said Penberthy, who shot 39.6 percent from 3 for the Lakers on their way to the 2001 NBA crown. "You read all the time that you're not a good shooter, you start to believe it. No matter how strong you are as a player, you start to doubt yourself. There's a fear of failure. It's more psychological than anything."

The same goes for the rest of a team that ranks 26th in the league in field-goal percentage (44.6) and second-to-last in 3-point percentage (34.3) since 2005. Budinger and recently-acquired Mo Williams can be knock-down shooters. Kevin Martin already is. Rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine could be someday, depending on their development. Even small forward Corey Brewer, a sub-30-percent career 3-point shooter, has his spots on the floor from which he can hit.

So Penberthy will spend "as much time as I can" with them outside of practice honing their mechanics, habits and mindset. He won't play as much of a role during team workouts -- players will be expected to come to him on the side.

It's a model similar to the one employed by Chip Engelland and the Spurs. The shooting guru is one of the behind-the-scenes anchors of San Antonio's dynastic run the past decade and beyond.

Every shooter, Penberthy says, has "a blueprint; there's some residue of their success that they left that you could take from. And you can teach it to those guys. Steph Curry is different. He's a scoring shooter. Klay Thompson's a shooter, coming off screens. . . . Corey Brewer lives in the world of confidence. That's his corner shot. Technically, you wouldn't say go shoot like Corey Brewer. But, confidence-wise, you draw from that.

"Everyone's different."

And Penberthy, according to his most scrutinized pupil, is a master at working with such nuances.

"I think he understands," Rubio said. "He feels the player. When I say that, I mean he teach you not how to change, but how to feel the shot. It's something that I've been working with him, and I'm going to try to work almost every day with him here in Minnesota."

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