Students Cover NBA Up Close

ThreeSixty Journalism high school seniors Brendan Thor (Harding), Heidi Sanchez (Hiawatha) and Jesse Ordoñez-Saybe (Roseville) had full media access during a Timberwolves game versus the Sacramento Kings. Each then wrote a piece about the experience, which you can read here.

Jesse Ordoñez-Saybe, Brendan Thor and Heidi Sanchez stand outside the Timberwolves locker room where they interviewed Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones.

ThreeSixty Journalism students learned what it’s like to cover the big leagues Monday, Feb. 25, at the Minnesota Timberwolves game. The Star Tribune and Timberwolves coordinated the junior reporter partnership.

The opportunity took the students behind-the-scenes, inside the locker room and courtside during warmups and game time. The highlight of the night came after the game, when students conducted post-game interviews in the locker room with all-star Karl-Anthony Towns and local legend Tyus Jones.

The day and evening started in the Star Tribune newsroom, where they took a tour and observed an editorial meeting. They met with Timberwolves beat reporter Chris Hine who talked about building relationships with the players to tell stories beyond the game night.

ThreeSixty students hear what it’s like to cover the NBA full time from Star Tribune Timberwolves Reporter Chris Hine.

Right after, they arrived at Mayo Clinic Square at the Timberwolves and Lynx offices. They were escorted to the media entrance at Target Center, and with credentials in hand started their experience.

Students joined the professional media members during pregame press conferences with the coaches, watched warmups and got an inside look at the locker room, where the NBA prohibits pictures from being taken.

Students had a meal in the media room and talked to professionals who work in various communications and journalism jobs throughout the night. With a thick stat packet in hand, the students found their media seats and watched a thrilling game the Timberwolves won 112-105.

All three students wrote stories, which will be published on the Timberwolves and ThreeSixty websites.

This is the second year ThreeSixty has sent students to cover the Timberwolves with the Star Tribune Junior Reporter program.