NBA Developmental League: Iowa Energy
Feb. 19th, 2017 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23The Iowa Energy franchise is now 10 years old. I made it to only one game this season, but the Energy are one of my favorite local experiences. It is hard to say why- as their competition mimics the NBA in that it often seems like they are only playing for the 4th Quarter and the first 3 quarters are superfluous. However, they keep things high paced with plenty of music and excitement.
Th NBADL isn't really analogous with minor league baseball. Although the NBADL has worked on it, and touts a large percentage of players who appeared in NBADL games, it's hard to say that you will see a future star.
Early in the Energy story, they were loosely affiliated with the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. As time went on, they developed into a farm team for the Memphis Grizzlies. Next year, the NBADL expands, and they will be a farm team for the more geographically logical Minnesota Timberwolves.
The current setup of a NBADL team is that they usually have 2 or 3 young players who were just drafted. This ensures that they get plenty of playing time, gain experience and they often travel frequently back and forth to the mother team. Also, there are generally one or more of a journeyman-style player, a local college hero, and a variety of players who are NBA longshots but are using the NBADL to stay in shape. Perhaps they did not go to a major college, or just perhaps they just missed the cut.
NBA rosters are limited, so most of these players will not get the call up. That said, the NBADL provides a great spot to grab someone when an injury comes up, as well as a place for rehabilitating the injured player. Also, if nothing else, it gives these players a chance to get paid for playing basketball, and they don't have to go overseas like many do.
For the Iowa Energy, that rookie is Jarell Martin who was drafted 25th overall in 2015. Martin clearly was the best player on the court with 32 points and 6 rebounds. Troy Williams also has a contract with the Grizzlies, but did not play signifcant time in the game I saw.
The current Energy lineup features Wes Washpun, a Guard who was a star at Northern Iowa, Terry Whisnant, a guard from East Carolina. Amir Williams, a 6-11 center from Ohio State.
Then there are those journeymen who lead the team. Cartier Martin was a star at Kansas State a decade ago and has had a few stints in Iowa. He has played in 243 NBA games in that time, most significantly with the Wasington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks. Forward Ja-Kar Sampson was named to the NBADL all-star team. He was a star for St John's, and has started in 50 games for the Philadelphia 76ers and started 22 games for the Denver Nuggets.
Th NBADL isn't really analogous with minor league baseball. Although the NBADL has worked on it, and touts a large percentage of players who appeared in NBADL games, it's hard to say that you will see a future star.
Early in the Energy story, they were loosely affiliated with the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. As time went on, they developed into a farm team for the Memphis Grizzlies. Next year, the NBADL expands, and they will be a farm team for the more geographically logical Minnesota Timberwolves.
The current setup of a NBADL team is that they usually have 2 or 3 young players who were just drafted. This ensures that they get plenty of playing time, gain experience and they often travel frequently back and forth to the mother team. Also, there are generally one or more of a journeyman-style player, a local college hero, and a variety of players who are NBA longshots but are using the NBADL to stay in shape. Perhaps they did not go to a major college, or just perhaps they just missed the cut.
NBA rosters are limited, so most of these players will not get the call up. That said, the NBADL provides a great spot to grab someone when an injury comes up, as well as a place for rehabilitating the injured player. Also, if nothing else, it gives these players a chance to get paid for playing basketball, and they don't have to go overseas like many do.
For the Iowa Energy, that rookie is Jarell Martin who was drafted 25th overall in 2015. Martin clearly was the best player on the court with 32 points and 6 rebounds. Troy Williams also has a contract with the Grizzlies, but did not play signifcant time in the game I saw.
The current Energy lineup features Wes Washpun, a Guard who was a star at Northern Iowa, Terry Whisnant, a guard from East Carolina. Amir Williams, a 6-11 center from Ohio State.
Then there are those journeymen who lead the team. Cartier Martin was a star at Kansas State a decade ago and has had a few stints in Iowa. He has played in 243 NBA games in that time, most significantly with the Wasington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks. Forward Ja-Kar Sampson was named to the NBADL all-star team. He was a star for St John's, and has started in 50 games for the Philadelphia 76ers and started 22 games for the Denver Nuggets.
