Ben Woodside, Albert Lea’s own, said he wasn’t disappointed when he didn’t get drafted Thursday night because he never expected it and becoming a free agent allowed his agents to find him the best situation on a summer-league team.

That opportunity will come with the Wolves, a team lacking guards who have signed him to play with Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington, among others, in Vegas next month. (Don’t hold your breathe on Ricky Rubio).

“It’s a great situation to play alongside great players, to compete against great players,” he said. “I’m just excited for the opportunity. I’ve landed in a great situation. I’m ready to start right away.”

He made the 90-minute ride from Albert Lea when he was a kid. Now, with about just four guards on the roster, there is a chance the guy who put up 37 points against Kansas in that NCAA tourney game at the Metrodome could next fall call Target Center his office.

“I was a big fan, coming up to see K.G. and Marbury,” he said.

Marbury? That was a long time ago.

“I was just a little guy,” he said.

You could say he still is, at about 5-11.

“I just want to show everybody what I can do,” he said. “A kid from Albert Lea, I don’t think many people expected it.”

Asked about the outside chance that he could play in the same backcourt with Ricky Rubio in Vegas, Woodside said, “I don’t care who’s next to me. You get here (NBA camps) and they’re all great players.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at 11:03 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.