PORTLAND, ORE. – Gorgui Dieng played three seasons for Rick Pitino at Louisville, so the Timberwolves center knows a little something about being coached "hard," a word interim coach Sam Mitchell chooses occasionally to describe his approach this season — particularly with Dieng.
At age 26, in his third NBA season and given his collegiate past playing for a demanding and combustible coach, Dieng has accepted it and played on, all the way to Friday's 20-point, 15-rebound night in a 103-90 loss at Utah.
"You know, he's that type of coach," Dieng said.