Julius Randle was asked early in Thursday’s introductory press conference if he needed to change his game to fit into Minnesota’s roster and coach Chris Finch’s schemes.

“Well I played for Finch before, I played for him in New Orleans,” Randle quickly responded. “So all you gotta do is go look at the tape, and you’ll see.”

Indeed, Randle spent the 2018-19 campaign in New Orleans when Finch was an assistant coach with the Pelicans. That year was one of the all-star’s most efficient seasons. His scoring average bumped up to 21.4 points, five points better than any prior season to that point. He recorded the highest player efficiency rating of his career, and it was his second-best season in terms of offensive win shares and true shooting percentage.

That’s somewhat surprising considering he was just 24 years old at the time and has since turned in three all-star seasons in New York.

That was a tumultuous season in many ways for the Pelicans, as Anthony Davis requested a trade in the middle of the campaign. Still, New Orleans finished 12th in offensive rating.

Randle signed with the Knicks in the following offseason, cashing in on his success in New Orleans. But he noted Thursday he wished Finch could have gone with him to New York.

“Because he’s just such a great coach. I’ve always thought he was a genius,” Randle said. “He’s a great communicator, knows how to get the best out of his players,”

Randle said he always felt “super prepared” for games that season. He knew what was going to happen, where he would get his shots and what Finch needed from him. Randle said that season with Finch “opened up my game,” and he became the versatile offensive player he is today. Randle said it marked “the easiest my game had ever felt.”

“I think he’s just that good of a coach,” Randle said. “So I’m excited to get out there with him. I know he’s going to bring the best not only out of me, but out of everybody.”

The feeling between coach and player is mutual. Finch said Randle was a “joy to coach” in their prior experience together.

“Really, really enjoyed working with him. Great pro. Loves being in the gym, comes in with a smile on his face every day,” Finch said. “He’s hungry for feedback. Really pleasant. Always kept an eye on him, just really happy for his success in New York. … I was really excited (for) the opportunity to be reunited with him, just because of that connection.”

That connection could ease the transition that needs to take place with the Timberwolves. Minnesota has its first preseason game against the Lakers on Friday in Los Angeles, though the Wolves are unsure if the newcomers will play in that one. But film from Randle’s season in New Orleans suggests he has a grasp of the randomness Finch seeks in his offense, with cuts and pick-and-rolls naturally evolving throughout a play.

“A lot of the things that we did in New Orleans still hold true in our offense here,” Finch said. “I think he’s looking forward to that.”

It produced some of Randle’s most efficient basketball. If that result can be replicated in Minnesota, the Wolves will be a better team post-trade than they were before it. The addition of Donte DiVincenzo was an obvious boon for the team’s wing depth and spacing. Finch noted the guard is “plug and play.” He will make the game easier for everyone else within the offense.

And Randle, Finch noted, generally posts eerily similar production-based numbers as Karl-Anthony Towns, the four-time all-star sent to the Knicks for Randle, DiVincenzo and Keita Bates-Diop. The concern outsiders have regarding his fit in Minnesota is he’s not as good of an outside shooter as Towns and tends to overhold the ball.

“I think KAT and Ant (Anthony Edwards) liked having the ball in their hands a lot, too,” Finch said. “I don’t see a ton of difference there.”

Finch said he doesn’t see any issues with Randle’s general fit alongside Edwards or even Rudy Gobert. Yes, he noted, there will be a growing curve as everyone learns to play together.

But any issues that may arise are more likely to be ironed out quickly because of the respect Randle possesses for Finch.

“I have the ultimate and utmost trust in Finch.,” Randle said. “I feel like he knows what he’s doing and he’ll be able to work out whatever, so I’m excited.”

The 29-year-old has a player option for next season and noted that because of what he feels Minnesota has in place, this is where he wants to be.

“You spend a certain amount of time in a place, New York, going there five years ago, having a goal in mind to accomplish a lot of great things and a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into that organization and uniform. Initially, it’s always going to be a shock,” he said. “For me, afterwards I woke up the next morning and I was just really, really excited. It was a breath of fresh air. I’m excited to bring everything I learned there over the past five years and help these guys out. My only thing here is I just want to help. I want to help Ant, I want to help Rudy, Naz (Reid),  all these guys, I want to help win a championship. So that’s the only thing that matters.

“At this point in my career, I’ve accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship, and this is a perfect opportunity to do that. That’s what matters. Winning matters the most.”

With training camp winding down, Wild coach John Hynes said his team still has much to do before the regular season begins Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Xcel Energy Center.

“It starts with the game tomorrow,” Hynes said. “It starts with going on the road against a full NHL lineup, against a team that you just beat.”

In other words, Friday night’s final preseason game in Chicago is not perfunctory.

“It’s going to be a competitive game on the road,” Hynes said. “That’s another test for us.”

The Wild didn’t release their lineup for the 7:30 p.m. puck drop at United Center, but it will be similar to the regular-heavy roster that beat the Blackhawks 7-2 on Tuesday.

Hynes said Matt Boldy, recovering from a lower body injury, will not travel to Chicago, nor will Jake Middleton, who has been practicing despite an upper body injury. Otherwise, there will be a lot of NHL regulars in the lineups for both teams, including Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard for Chicago and the runner-up, Wild defenseman Brock Faber.

Forwards Liam Ohgren and Ben Jones likely will be in the Wild lineup, as well. Ohgren is trying to earn a spot on the NHL roster out of camp after making his NHL debut with the Wild last spring. Jones is the last of the depth veterans signed in July still in camp.

The deadline for NHL teams to finalize the 23-man rosters for their openers is 4 p.m. Central Time on Monday.

Asked if he was hesitant to play regulars in the final preseason game, Hynes said, “It’s always a consideration.”

“But when you look at it, too, when you’re in training camp practices, we still have to practice. We still have to battle,” the coach added. “Players have the Players Association. Ultimately, you have to do what is best to try to get players ready to play. We don’t play for a while after that.

“I know that (Chicago is) dressing a very strong lineup, so I think it’s a good test for all our guys and we have to prepare the right way.”

Boldy says he’s ready

Boldy went through his second full practice since returning from a lower body injury for Tuesday’s morning skate and said he’ll be ready for the season opener next week.

“It sucks, it’s part of the game, (but) I feel good,” he said. “Every day it feels better.”

Hynes said he expects Boldy and Middleton to be ready for Thursday’s opener.

“It’s nice to be with the guys again, just mentally being with them, going through reps that are a little bit more line-related, and more situation-related, helps,” Boldy said.

Friday’s game will be televised by Bally Sports North.

Briefly

All of the players the Wild placed on waivers this week have cleared and were expected to report to Iowa training camp in Des Moines. … Graeme Clarke, acquired in a trade this summer, is out 4-6 weeks after blocking a shot with his right leg on Tuesday. He will rehab in St. Paul before reporting to Iowa.

A case against a man charged with raping a woman at knifepoint five years ago in St. Paul was recently dismissed due to his mental illness and indeterminate civil commitment, according to court records.

Avery Darius Oliphant, 27, faced first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ramsey County District Court after prosecutors said he raped a 40-year-old woman he’d just met on the Green Line light-rail train the morning of July 9, 2019.

Avery Darius Oliphant (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office)

Oliphant is under a civil commitment at Minnesota State Security Hospital in St. Peter with no time limit after being found mentally ill and dangerous to the public last year.

Oliphant was first deemed incompetent to stand trial on the charge in May 2021 due to mental illness. After a series of evaluations, his criminal case was dismissed in August by the court pursuant to state law involving competency proceedings.

The law states that criminal charges — with the exception of murder — must be dismissed three years after an incompetency finding unless the prosecutor files a written notice of intent to prosecute once the defendant regains competency.

An intent to prosecute was not filed by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, which spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said this week is typical in cases where the person is found to be mentally ill and dangerous and there is an indeterminate civil commitment ordered by the court.

Arrested five weeks later

The criminal complaint said Oliphant invited the woman to smoke marijuana and so they got off the train around 6:30 a.m. and went to an industrial area off University Avenue. He asked her if she would have sex with him and she told him no. Oliphant pulled out a knife and proceeded to rape her.

At some point, she tried to run and started screaming for help, but Oliphant caught up with her and hit her in the face and choked her, the complaint said.

She said he forced her at knifepoint to go inside a Subway to clean herself up. The store was closed at the time, but its door was open. She went into the bathroom, where she texted her boyfriend to alert him to the assault, but Oliphant busted inside and forced her to strip down so he could rape her a second time, the complaint said.

She saw another chance to escape and ran out of the bathroom naked and screaming, which surveillance footage from inside Subway showed.

Officers were able to pull a photo of the suspect from the footage, and circulated it among area law enforcement. Oliphant, of Minneapolis, was arrested by police five weeks later, on Aug. 16, along University Avenue in St. Paul.

The victim identified him in a six-person line-up, the complaint said. He denied involvement in the attack.

Oliphant’s criminal record includes convictions for first-degree attempted robbery in 2016, interference with an emergency call in 2017 and theft in 2018.

‘Dangerousness to the public’

An order committing Oliphant as mentally ill was issued by the court in June 2021 and additional extensions and a recommitment followed.

A petition to commit him as mentally ill and dangerous was filed in April 2022. After a two-phase hearing that included testimony from psychiatric doctors who had evaluated Oliphant, the court civilly committed him in September 2023 for an indefinite period of time.

In his order, Ramsey County District Judge Timothy Mulrooney noted that Oliphant said he was “cured” and “continues to lack insight into his mental illness.”

“As a result, he remains likely to be noncompliant with medications and continue with violent conduct if discharged into the community,” Mulrooney wrote. “Indeed, all three experts on this case have urged (Oliphant) be retained within the secure State Psychiatric Hospital at St. Peter for long-term treatment of mental illness and due to his dangerousness to the public.”

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Glamour has named St. Paul gymnast Suni Lee one of its women of the year, the online magazine announced Thursday.

“Being at the Olympics really made me fall back in love with the sport,” the 21-year-old said in a feature written by contributing editor Emily Tannenbaum.

Lee spoke to Tannenbaum about competing in the Olympics, her insecurities, her friendships and her battle with two undisclosed types of kidney disease. Lee also revealed a previously unknown fact about the latter.

“Nobody knows this, but the week before the Olympic trials, I had to get an infusion because I went into a relapse,” Lee said. It worked, as Lee not only made it to the Olympics, she helped Team USA take home the gold while picking up two bronze medals on her own.

Lee shared the story of her diagnosis. Last year, she was studying at Auburn University when she woke up one morning with a swollen face and body. During practice that day, she realized she couldn’t lift her own body: “It literally felt like I had an eight-pound vest on, and I was trying to chuck myself over the bar.”

A doctor told Lee it could be allergies, but Lee’s rapid weight gain made her realize it was much more serious. “I wasn’t able to go to the bathroom,” she said. “I couldn’t bend my legs because they were so swollen, and my fingers too. My eyes were almost swollen shut. I was like, ‘Something is happening.’ ”

After trying every allergy medication on the market and finding no success, she talked to the USA Gymnastics’ co-head physician, who helped her get tested and diagnosed her with kidney disease. She moved home to St. Paul to recover.

Once she was well enough to start training again, she found it more difficult than expected. “Bars, floor, and vault were really hard for me because I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs. My coaches would have buckets ready to go for when I needed to throw up because my medicine made me so nauseous,” she said.

After competing at the US Classic that August, her health took a downturn that led to her taking another six months off. In January, her condition had stabilized and she began training again, just seven months before the 2024 Paris Olympics. She did not say what type of infusion she received, but that it made a “world of a difference” and helped her to secure her spot on Team USA: “I was able to do everything that I was supposed to do.”

Personal tidbits

Suni Lee takes a moment to enjoy the cheers after she completed her floor routine at the United States Women’s Olympic Gymnastics trials finals at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sunday, June 30, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Elsewhere in the Glamour story, Lee talked about mentoring 16-year-old Hezly Rivera (she told her teammate “You can laugh a little in the gym. It doesn’t have to be serious all the time.”), worrying that her fall during her beam routine on her final day at the Olympics would become a meme (she made one herself on TikTok: “I can make fun of myself because at the end of the day, it’s just a competition.”) and her recent move to New York City (“I don’t know anybody in New York. So yeah, I’m scared.”).

As for the 2028 Olympics, Lee wouldn’t commit, but said if she does, she doesn’t want it to be a big story. “I’d just want to work my butt off in the gym every single day and get everything that I deserved at the Olympics. You know? It shouldn’t be deeper than that,” she said.

Lee joins fellow Olympians Serena Williams and Allyson Felix, a quartet of famous moms (Tina Knowles, Donna Kelce, Maggie Baird and Mandy Teefey), a trio of actresses (Pamela Anderson, Taraji P. Henson and Sydney Sweeney) and a pair of abortion activists (Hadley Duvall, Kaitlyn Joshua) as Glamour’s women of the year.

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