Utah Jazz: Al Jefferson thrived in Minnesota homecoming

"That one I did foul Kevin Love pretty hard," he said. "But they (referees) said it was a block and didn't call no foul, (so) we're going to go the other way."

All in all, it was a good return for Jefferson.

He held court for media at the morning shootaround, before tipoff and again after the Jazz win. Both Twin Cities' daily newspapers featured him prominently as their main package on Sports sections with big photos on Wednesday morning. He was also interviewed by a Sports Illustrated reporter leading up to his reunion game.

Moments before he took to the court and received a mostly positive and loud reception — including "Welcome back, Al!" yells — Jefferson admitted it was strange going to the Target Center's visiting locker room.

The 25-year-old also told a local paper that he remains fond of Minnesota's fishing holes and joked that he'd forgotten how cold the area was — a chilly fact that kept him from visiting any of his favorite old haunts in his day-and-a-half stay.

But his favorite part of the trip was the Jazz picking up their 21st win of the season.

In the Star-Tribune, Jefferson was quoted as saying how excited he was to have won as many games with Utah in November as he had all last season with Minnesota.

It was correctly pointed out that that was a bit of an exaggeration. The Jazz won 13 games last month, which was two less than the struggling T-Wolves garnered in their 15-win campaign of 2009-10.

It feels good now, he mentioned, to be on a team that strives to win games and championships.

Playoffs are four months away, but Jefferson is already even getting into scoreboard watching.

"I'm just happy to get that win, especially because Oklahoma City lost (Wednesday)," he said. "(We'll) just try to continue to get more wins. We're leading our division and (will) try to stay ahead."

In other words, he hopes to put off that offseason fishing in Minnesota as long as he can.

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