http://www.startribune.com/wolves/story/1277739.html At the end of another disappointing regular season, Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman talked about how his team needed a bit of an overhaul. And he wasn't just talking about jumping, running, shooting or passing. He was referring to things such as joining, caring, wanting to win. Friday's introduction of former Florida Gators teammates Corey Brewer and Chris Richard is further proof that Minnesota is beginning to put its mindset where its mouth is. Wolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale tends to scoff when chemistry is brought up too often. But consider the team's recent trade of Mike James for Juwan Howard. And then the drafting of two players who won two NCAA titles by putting their team ahead of their stats, and you can't help but think that the "C" word has become a field of study at Target Center. "That was a little bit of our mindset when we entered the draft," Wittman said. "And here are two players who were a great part of a team. There wasn't one guy on the Florida team who stood out over another. That was an attribute we took into account." Brewer learned hard work early, growing up working with his father in the fields near Portland, Tenn. Richard spent his college career coming off the bench when he could have started at nearly every other Division I school. The bottom line: Just win, baby. "I'm a team player guy," Brewer said. "Chris is, too. Because it's all about winning. In the end, you can have a great game but lose. And then it wasn't that great. We were all about winning [in Florida], and we're just trying to bring this here." Richard, the 2006-07 Southeastern Conference sixth man of the year, declined a Senior Day start at Florida because he didn't want to mess with a winning vibe. "I think all of us are competitors," Richard said. "We wanted to win -- in every single game or at anything we do. So it's not hard to make sacrifices for the benefit of the team. It's easy to do when you want to win." And it's easy to see the Wolves are taking that into account, more and more. Last year, McHale drafted Randy Foye and Craig Smith, who have proven to be team-first guys. Then, this offseason, the team swapped out James for Howard, getting a fellow with the reputation for being good in the locker room in exchange for a player who clearly didn't enjoy being here last season. That means the Wolves have taken a step before either Brewer or Richard step on the court in their new uniform. That will happen soon enough. Both will be on the Wolves' team at the upcoming summer league in Las Vegas. There they will play with, among others, 2005 first-round pick Rashad McCants as well as Foye and Smith. Let the chemistry experiment begin. "We'll have a group of guys who will be on the team who will be playing together [in the upcoming season]," Wittman said. "These guys are the future of this team, how they get to know each other and interact, that's going to be an advantage for us." WINNER: Corey Brewer and his Florida Gators teammates became the first to win back-to-back NCAA basketball titles since Duke in 1991-92. --

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