<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span id="default"> Randy Wittman said Timberwolves forward Ryan Gomes is a guy who makes you feel calm when he's on the court.</p> And for a coach, that means not worrying about major mistakes or erratic play.</p> So it wasn't surprising that Gomes had 12 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes Saturday night during Minnesota's 84-81 victory over Efes Pilsen in Istanbul, Turkey.</p> "He's that kind of player," Wittman said Monday. "He just does all the little things. He's just a solid player. He's not going to do anything spectacular."</p> Gomes pleased the coach with his six offensive rebounds, including five in the first half. Gomes converted four of those rebounds into baskets.</p> "That was an area where we were really lacking as a team last (season)," Wittman said. "We ranked 25th in the league in offensive rebounding as a team. We've been preaching through training camp that that's got to be a stat that's going to be an improvement for us. Him starting at that small forward position gave us a big lift there from that standpoint."</p> Expect Gomes to play small forward and power forward in Wednesday's exhibition game against the Boston Celtics in London. Wittman said he wants Gomes to be comfortable playing both forward positions.</div></p> Source: TwinCities</p> </span></p>
It's impossible to dislike Ryan Gomes. He's the consummate professional, a great person, very active in the community, he works extremely hard, he never complains, he hustles, and he's versatile. Any coach would be thrilled to have a guy like Ryan Gomes on their roster. I think he is and will be similar to Shane Battier. That doesn't mean he'll be as good a defender or even as good a shooter, but he's that necessary "glue guy" a winning team needs. I wish we could have kept Ryan around in Boston, he'll be missed.</p>
Yeah, when the KG trade went down, I was actually more upset about losing Gomes morethan anybody else. He's one of those guys that has to be on your favorite team for you to really appreciate him.</p>
