BOB SANSEVERE'S BODY SHOTS: MINNESOTA GOPHERS POINT GUARD AL KING NOLEN JR

I got this from the St Paul Pioneer Press. Here is a story that Bob Sansevere did on Minnesota Gopher Al King Nolen JR.

HEAD AND HEART

Al Nolen's first passion was football.

"I was in the third grade when I first started playing basketball," said Nolen, the standout sophomore point guard for the University of Minnesota men's basketball team. "I liked football a lot, and my mom forced me to play basketball. Once I started playing, I realized this is the game I love."

Gophers coach Tubby Smith should send a thank you card to Nolen's mother for steering her son to basketball. Nolen has played a significant role in the Gophers' 11-0 start and was outstanding with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists when they beat then No. 9-ranked Louisville for their biggest win of the season.

"He has a good basketball IQ," Smith said. "He really is a tough kid. He doesn't back down. He really takes the fight to the opponent. He's got all the qualities."

EYES

Nolen's eyesight is 20/20, prompting him to say, "I've got good eyes. I'm able to see the whole court. I tell my teammates that even though they don't see me looking at them, and they think I'm not looking at them, I see them."

Smith, who coached several exceptional players at Kentucky, said point guards "have to have that extra sense of what's going on, where everybody is, like a quarterback. He has to know where his receivers are, and has to go through his reads. Al does it as well as anyone I've had."

MOUTH

Asked how he would like to be remembered at Minnesota after he completes his Gophers career, Nolen said, "I want to be known as one of the best all-around players. I don't want to zero myself into one part of my game. I also want people to think I'm a nice guy, a great teammate, a good friend, a good guy in the community, a pretty humble guy. I try to do whatever the team needs. If they need rebounding, I'm going to try to rebound. If we need assists, I'm going to try to get people involved. If we need scoring a little bit, I'll try to score. Whatever we need to win is what I'll try to do."

UPPER BODY

Nolen, who is 6 feet 1, 180 pounds, had a slighter build when he played for Minneapolis Henry High School. Since joining the Gophers, he has spent considerable time in the weight room. Though Nolen admits he's "still not the biggest guy," he said the work he has done on his upper body has added muscle and made him stronger.

"It comes into play when I'm guarding somebody," Nolen said. "I'm able to control him a little more. And when you go by a guy (for a layup), you've got to be strong with the ball" to maneuver through the tangle of bodies often found in the lane.

HANDS

Smith likes Nolen's hands. A lot.

"He's got super hands," Smith said. "He can latch onto things. And he's got strong hands. He can go inside and pull that ball out, lots of times, in traffic."

Nolen makes good use of his hands, particularly on defense.

"I'm really good at getting in a lane and deflecting passes," Nolen said. "I'm real quick with my hands. I think my hands are one of my better assets for defense."

LEGS AND FEET

Nolen knows his limitations.

"I may not be the speediest guy, but I've got a pretty quick first step," he said. "I like to lull my opponents to sleep. On defense, I'll play lazy on a person. They think I'm not playing defense on them, and I'll make the quick move. On offense, I'll dribble real lazy and maybe give some hesitation. And my first step is pretty quick to get by the guy."

Smith said "the good players have that" ability to fool an opponent.

"You can't always be pressuring a guy. You've got to use defensive fakes, deception," Smith said. "The offense is trying to deceive you and they're changing pace, so you've got to change pace defensively. Sometimes, I think (Nolen is) not really concentrating, but he's just trying to bait a guy into maybe feeling comfortable and relaxed and then he pounces on him."

Asked what his vertical leap is, Nolen said. "I'm not too much of a jumper. I can't jump that high, really. I can dunk the ball, but plenty of people can do that. That's probably one of my lesser attributes — my jumping ability."

Nolen is being far too modest about his leaping ability, according to Smith.

"He's got hops. The guy can dunk the ball. He's only 6-1," Smith said. "He's got the total package. He really does."