Weekend Fun : The NBA G League
Nov. 18th, 2019 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23 Each year, we try to get to the Iowa Wolves. They are part of the NBA's Gatorade sponsored G League.
The nature of Basketball is that Minor League doesn't quite translate from Baseball.
That said, the NBA is trying to make it that way, and with what they call two-way players, there are guys on the court who have and will spend time in the NBA.
It is with this, that the local team has been rebranded the Iowa Wolves and is linked closely with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a relatively "short" drive up I35.
In the past, this team was branded the Iowa Energy, and had various ties to teams like the Suns, the Bulls, and the Grizzlies. This night was a nostalgia night for those days. In fact, Nick Nurse was on hand to receive appreciation. Nurse's career yells persistence, and the Iowa team was a big part of that. He was a college assistant coach, then a Junior College coach, and then a coach in the British Basketball League for six years. he would coach in Belgium and in the USBL before getting a chance to helm the Iowa Energy as their inaugural head coach.
From 2007-2011, the Energy were top of the standings and won the League Trophy in 2011. Nurse would become assistant coach for the NBA's Toronto Raptors, then head coach, and this summer, they won the NBA Finals. It's a great story.
It is nice to have a place where local college stars can play and try to break into the NBA. This has been something the Iowa team has done, and this year is no different.
Lindell Wigginton was a star at Iowa State. He applied for the NBA Draft, but ultimately was undrafted.
He looks good playing for the Wolves, and had 16 points and 5 rebounds. The only Iowa player with more points was Jaylen Nowell, who is one of those players who is "assigned" by the NBA team. Nowell was drafted in the second round and was Pac12 player of the year for Washington.
Two other players who had double digit scores and have an affiliation with the Minnesota team are Naz Reid (6' 9" Center/Forward from LSU), and Jordan McLaughlin (5'11" Guard from USC). Coming off the bench with big nights were James Webb III (Forward from Boise State, who played 10 games for the Brooklyn Nets) and Trevon Duval (Guard from Duke, who played 3 games last year for the Milwaukee Bucks).
One thing I noticed that maybe you can tell from the descriptions is that there was a lot of NBA caliber talent. In the past, there were always a couple, but there certainly is more breadth of talent.
The Agua Caliente Clippers (affiliated with the Los Angeles Clippers) took the lead early and never gave it up. In the past, these games have been ping-pong affairs, but this one was never in doubt, as Iowa shot horribly. Still, these are always action-packed and fun. 130-102 was the final score.
The Clippers had Jonathan Motley. Motley was a star at Baylor and played 33 games in the NBA for the Clippers and the Mavericks. He is considered by Ridiculous Upside as the best player in the G League currently. His 30 points and 10 rebounds were only bested by James Palmer Jr (undrafted by the NBA. He was a star at Nebraska).
The nature of Basketball is that Minor League doesn't quite translate from Baseball.
That said, the NBA is trying to make it that way, and with what they call two-way players, there are guys on the court who have and will spend time in the NBA.
It is with this, that the local team has been rebranded the Iowa Wolves and is linked closely with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a relatively "short" drive up I35.
In the past, this team was branded the Iowa Energy, and had various ties to teams like the Suns, the Bulls, and the Grizzlies. This night was a nostalgia night for those days. In fact, Nick Nurse was on hand to receive appreciation. Nurse's career yells persistence, and the Iowa team was a big part of that. He was a college assistant coach, then a Junior College coach, and then a coach in the British Basketball League for six years. he would coach in Belgium and in the USBL before getting a chance to helm the Iowa Energy as their inaugural head coach.
From 2007-2011, the Energy were top of the standings and won the League Trophy in 2011. Nurse would become assistant coach for the NBA's Toronto Raptors, then head coach, and this summer, they won the NBA Finals. It's a great story.
It is nice to have a place where local college stars can play and try to break into the NBA. This has been something the Iowa team has done, and this year is no different.
Lindell Wigginton was a star at Iowa State. He applied for the NBA Draft, but ultimately was undrafted.
He looks good playing for the Wolves, and had 16 points and 5 rebounds. The only Iowa player with more points was Jaylen Nowell, who is one of those players who is "assigned" by the NBA team. Nowell was drafted in the second round and was Pac12 player of the year for Washington.
Two other players who had double digit scores and have an affiliation with the Minnesota team are Naz Reid (6' 9" Center/Forward from LSU), and Jordan McLaughlin (5'11" Guard from USC). Coming off the bench with big nights were James Webb III (Forward from Boise State, who played 10 games for the Brooklyn Nets) and Trevon Duval (Guard from Duke, who played 3 games last year for the Milwaukee Bucks).
One thing I noticed that maybe you can tell from the descriptions is that there was a lot of NBA caliber talent. In the past, there were always a couple, but there certainly is more breadth of talent.
The Agua Caliente Clippers (affiliated with the Los Angeles Clippers) took the lead early and never gave it up. In the past, these games have been ping-pong affairs, but this one was never in doubt, as Iowa shot horribly. Still, these are always action-packed and fun. 130-102 was the final score.
The Clippers had Jonathan Motley. Motley was a star at Baylor and played 33 games in the NBA for the Clippers and the Mavericks. He is considered by Ridiculous Upside as the best player in the G League currently. His 30 points and 10 rebounds were only bested by James Palmer Jr (undrafted by the NBA. He was a star at Nebraska).
