On the prowl

11/6/2024

The Iowa Wolves are back on the prowl heading into the 2024-2025 season. Last year was met with some unfortunate injuries, requiring several key players to get called up to Minnesota. This season, the Iowa Wolves received major help to fill out the roster and investment in a new downtown office for the team’s brass. 

 

Last season

For the Iowa Wolves, last season did not shake out as well as they would have liked in terms of wins and losses. The team went 7-27 in the regular season with some frustrating losses in the process. Sixteen of those losses were by fewer than 10 points. Head Coach Ernest Scott was at the helm for the first time in his career and saw how the team could build off the success they had and turn those Ls into Ws.

“It was a year of lessons learned, I think, for myself and for the organization. We didn’t win like we wanted to, but, you know, we did have some victories,” he said.

Scott said he and the team will be focusing on cleaning up the small things that led to many of their close losses. Cleaning up those mistakes will be crucial during his second year in charge.

“The most frustrating thing in the offseason was going back and watching those games and all the little things that we missed out on, which cost us pretty much all of those games. I learned a lot of lessons. It’s a tough way to learn, but I’m looking at it as something that was necessary,” Scott said.

One of the victories outside of the box score for Scott was young point guard DJ Carton, who received a call-up from the Timberwolves.

“DJ getting called up was great. I think it was a testament to the work we do in terms of developing our players,” Scott said.

 

Developing talent for the next level

While wins and losses are important, the Wolves’ main function as a G-League team is to develop players into NBA talents. And, with the Minnesota Timberwolves beginning to develop into a championship contender, Iowa Wolves players need to step up even more if they want a chance to make a championship-caliber roster.

“I definitely take great pride in that, and our staff takes big pride in that,” Scott said on their ability to develop talent.

The Iowa Wolves had one of the G-League’s youngest rosters in 2023-2024, and that was one of the things that surprised Scott the most. 

“Shoot, at one point, we had three 19-year-olds and a 20-year-old. We had a college-age team,” Scott said. “Take Lance Stevenson out of the equation, and our average age was definitely under 24 years old.”

Some of the team’s players didn’t have college experience, and several only had one year under their belts.

“We’ve got to teach these guys how to be pros. And I think that’s going to be the biggest adjustment for me going from year one to two is changing my approach and really focusing on the little things like professionalism and preparation. Because, while these guys are professionally titled, they have a long way to go to embody those qualities,” Scott said.

It’s a quick turnaround for Scott to acclimate his players. Between the first time he sits down with the team’s confirmed roster on Oct. 28 and the team’s first game on Nov. 8, he gets just 10 days of prep time. 

“G-League rosters always change. So, if you don’t have the right culture and the right way of doing things established from day one, you can go down the wrong path quickly,” Scott said.

 

This season

The Iowa Wolves give people plenty of reasons to enter Wells Fargo Arena, which will be renamed the Casey’s Center in July of next year. One of those reasons is the potential to see future NBA talent right here in Des Moines. Sixty percent of NBA players have spent time in the G-League at one point or another.

The Iowa Wolves marketing team is one of the best in the business, and they have been able to prove that in back-to-back years. Despite a lack of team success — nine wins two years ago and seven last season — The Well has been as full as ever. The Wolves attracted 103,500 fans during last season, marking the first time the franchise has drawn more than 100,000. How the team interacts with the fanbase, inside and outside of the arena, is a big reason why.

“I think a lot of it is our impact in the community — just getting our brand out there while still being somewhat of a new franchise, coming into existence in 2017,” Alex Barker, Iowa Wolves director of ticket sales, said. “Identifying us as a team that’s here to stay, the five-year lease is definitely going to help that. The experience that we provide at the games — we know if you come to one game, you’re probably going to come back to another game solely based on the experience that you had.”

Besides new courtside seating the team debuted at the NBA preseason game held in early October, changes to the courtside club and a newly renovated Champions Club for the high-roller attendees, the Iowa Wolves boast their Read to Achieve program, which is also getting record participation.

More than 11,000 students signed up for the program, which rewards students and schools with prizes and Wolves tickets for accomplishing reading goals.

The Wolves Principal Community Celebration games are back as well this season. The Wolves choose six of their games to partner with a local artist who designs specialty jerseys that represent a diverse community in Des Moines. This year’s games are “Pack Has Your Back,” benefitting ​​Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative; “Black Excellence Night,” benefiting Black Excellence Iowa; “Los Lobos Night,” benefiting Hola Center of Iowa; “Hoops for Hope,” benefiting American Cancer Society; “Basketball for All,” benefiting Special Olympics; and “Galentine’s Day,” benefiting Healthy Birthday, Inc., creator of Count the Kicks.

“These different programs and the initiatives that we have in the community are really what it’s all about. With our roster turning over every year, it’s hard for the general basketball fan to tie on as a true fan of XYZ player,” Barker said. “They’ve bought into us as an organization, and that starts with us in the community.The more that we can give back and implement some of these different programs like the Read to Achieves of the world and the Principal Community Celebration series, it’s giving them another reason to attend our games.”

 

Fan experience

Director of Marketing Emily Wade says she hopes to see Wells Fargo Arena packed for the team’s Marquee Theme games. 

“We made this marquee slate of games where, if you’re going to come to one Iowa Wolves basketball game per month, let it be these games,” Wade said. “They’ll be the most fun, They are those games that feel super unique. So, when you walk in, from start to finish, you feel the theme. A lot of our marketing efforts are going into these nights because, I truly think, if you come to one of these games, you’ll want to come to more just because they’ll be so much fun regardless of the basketball outcome.”

Those marquee themes will be the Howliday Game, State Fair Day, Alpha’s Birthday, Timberwolves Day and Camp Howlaway. Each of these games will have its own special promotions, from free Naz Reid scarfs for the first 1,500 fans to Iowa State Fair-themed food, prizes and more.

 

Players to watch

Most anyone who has spent time following a G-League team knows the amount of turnaround a roster can and will experience throughout the season. Scott sees plenty of potential in this year’s roster and commends the Minnesota Timberwolves for helping the team out ahead of his second year in charge. 

“The front office did a great job of addressing some of the shortcomings that we had, personnel-wise, last year in terms of our size, in terms of our ability to rebound and defend on the perimeter,” Scott said.

One of those players expected to make a difference is defensive specialist Jalen Clark.

“I think he was one of the best defenders in the country a couple of years ago coming out of UCLA. He tore his Achilles his last year at UCLA, and he spent last year rehabbing. So, he’ll be playing his first real professional games down in Iowa with us, but we’re super excited about his talent, his defensive instincts,” Scott said.

One way the team will also be able to improve on defense is with the addition of 7-footer Jesse Edwards, a center from West Virginia, who Scott compares to Minnesota’s multi-time winning defensive player of the year, Rudy Gogert.

“Jesse Edwards is another two-way rookie out of West Virginia. Super long arms, really talented. A man that protects the rim and plays hard — a great kid. We never really had a true center for pretty much the whole season,” Scott said.

Eugene Omoruyi, who spent last season with the Washington Wizards, is another player Scott expects to see in Iowa this season.

Trevor Keels will be one of the team’s best offensive weapons this season. In 23 games last season, Keels averaged 13.5 points per game. 

“We’re really excited about him. He’s still only 21 years old and going into his third year as a pro. We feel like it’s time for him to take a step and give himself an opportunity to get called up,” Scott said. ♦

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Iowa Wolves home games

• Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks) | Opening Night
• Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami Heat)
• Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets) | Mental Health Awareness
• Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Grand Rapids Gold 
• Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Cleveland Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
• Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Cleveland Charge | Black Community Celebration
• Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons) | Howliday Game
• Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State Warriors)
• Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Santa Cruz Warriors | Hispanic Heritage Celebration
• Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Rip City Remix (Portland Trailblazers)
• Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte Hornets)
• Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Valley Suns (Phoenix Suns)
• Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Valley Suns | Cancer Awareness Night
• Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Stockton Kings (Sacramento Kings) | Disability Empowerment Night
• Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Stockton Kings | State Fair Day
• Feb. 11 at 10:30 a.m. vs. Greensboro Swarm | Education Day
• Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Rip City Remix | Women’s Empowerment Night
• Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. vs. San Diego Clippers (Los Angeles Clippers) | Alpha’s Birthday
• Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. vs. San Diego Clippers
• Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Osceola Magic (Orlando Magic) | Timberwolves Day
• March 24 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks)
• March 25 at 6:30 p.m. vs. Texas Legends
• March 28 at 6:30 p.m. vs. South Bay Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers) | Pack Battle/Camp Howlaway
• March 29 at 6:30 p.m. vs. South Bay Lakers | Fan Appreciation