<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"Get Rickert out of there! He doesn't know the game!" an angry fan bellowed after Rick Rickert blew a defensive assignment Thursday during a Timberwolves summer league game at Target Center. Critics have been harsh -- and there are plenty of them -- but Rickert, a former Gophers forward, is out to prove he knows enough about the game to earn a roster spot come October. But his future remains uncertain, and making the Wolves this season still is a long shot. "There is pressure, but you can't let that pressure get to you," said Rickert, who played last season in Slovenia after being selected by the Wolves in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2003 draft and not making the team. For Rickert, the high point in the five-game summer league so far was Thursday, when he scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in 25 minutes. He shot 5-for-9 from the field and committed one turnover. He was scoreless Tuesday and had two points Wednesday. The league ended Saturday. "He has played hard, and if you're going to play for Flip [Saunders], that's where it starts," said Minnesota assistant Don Zierden, who coached the Wolves summer league team. "You've got to play hard." Kevin McHale, the Wolves' vice president of basketball operations, commends Rickert for the perseverance that he has shown. "It's a long process," McHale said. "I told him when we drafted him that some guys' road to the NBA is a very straight line, and for other people, it's a hilly, windy road. He's going to have to fight his way up there." Rickert won't speculate on his chances of making the Wolves, preferring to focus on his summer league play. But through the ups and downs, he doesn't regret the way his career has taken shape.</div> Link
