We got Luka (Garza)!

[winforlose]

How was Iowa ticket sales last year? Or is it more or if you build it they will come bandwagon thing?

Ha! Well, like most places, football is still king, and Iowa is no exception. And the different sizes of arenas and stadiums make comparisons impossible (if I recall, both Ohio State and Michigan have stadiums that seat over 100.000 fans). Basketball arenas are the same. But another cultural difference I’ve noticed is that when it gets cold, Iowans go inside and many Minnesotans go out and play! This puts agrarian Iowa fans in front of their TV’s watching college sports, and makes them economically one of the best traveling fanbases for bowl games.

G-League attendance is generally pretty low everywhere. Maybe Wembo will change that. In the meantime, I think the immense popularity of Garza in Iowa will get his fans to notice the G-League, and probably attend games that they may have never considered before.

I have a better idea. Note, it is not original. This idea was used in the Keanu Reeves movie The Replacements. You want to get people to the game, use striper leaders. Cheerleaders who are also strippers. Tell the men that if they stick around they can get a special cheer (with progressively less clothing,) after the game. Short of that, I am not sure I see it.

[Klomp]

How was Iowa ticket sales last year? Or is it more or if you build it they will come bandwagon thing?

Unfortunately there's no real way to track this

Can we eyeball it from the video broadcasts, or do they not show the crowd? (Honest question as I have only seen highlights from Iowa.)

The deciding Game 3 from the 2011 NBDL Championship they had around 9,000. An early season game in 2017 had under 2,000.

[winforlose]

So I don’t watch college ball and I didn’t see Luka play last year. I wanted a better understanding of his defense, so I ran some searches. Can someone who is more familiar with this video please watch it and comment? I just want to know if it is fair or overly negative based on lowlights?

Watch on YouTube

[Folklore]

So I don’t watch college ball and I didn’t see Luka play last year. I wanted a better understanding of his defense, so I ran some searches. Can someone who is more familiar with this video please watch it and comment? I just want to know if it is fair or overly negative based on lowlights?

Watch on YouTube

Hopefully with him being thinner and having a better coach he'll be better. I'd like to see Naz play with him. But man, he runs like he has a parachute on. I couldn't help but notice it watching that.

[winforlose]

So I don’t watch college ball and I didn’t see Luka play last year. I wanted a better understanding of his defense, so I ran some searches. Can someone who is more familiar with this video please watch it and comment? I just want to know if it is fair or overly negative based on lowlights?

Watch on YouTube

Hopefully with him being thinner and having a better coach he'll be better. I'd like to see Naz play with him. But man, he runs like he has a parachute on. I couldn't help but notice it watching that.

I just want to know if this was a legit sample size or if this was more a lowlight reel that was blown out of proportion. I get that he didn’t have a ton of playing time, but between last year and Iowa I figure there might be enough data to at least distinguish between the two.

[BlacJacMac]

Hopefully with him being thinner and having a better coach he'll be better. I'd like to see Naz play with him. But man, he runs like he has a parachute on. I couldn't help but notice it watching that.

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking during that Lakers 4th quarter.

I think he'll be serviceable when our defense is set, but he's going to be awful in transition.

[Nick K]

So I don’t watch college ball and I didn’t see Luka play last year. I wanted a better understanding of his defense, so I ran some searches. Can someone who is more familiar with this video please watch it and comment? I just want to know if it is fair or overly negative based on lowlights?

Watch on YouTube

Hopefully with him being thinner and having a better coach he'll be better. I'd like to see Naz play with him. But man, he runs like he has a parachute on. I couldn't help but notice it watching that.

I just want to know if this was a legit sample size or if this was more a lowlight reel that was blown out of proportion. I get that he didn’t have a ton of playing time, but between last year and Iowa I figure there might be enough data to at least distinguish between the two.

The running with a parachute comment was funny for sure. He did look slow. That's been the knock on him. I've been closely watching him here in his limited minutes and he looks quicker today than he did then. Most all big guys look slow running down the court. Look at Jokic.

No doubt there is plenty of room for improvement but he has great raw skills for a big guy. You can't teach that. His defensive short comings can be improved upon. Plus, Finch has to put him in positions where he can excell so he isn't exposed. Finch will do that.

Also, as he learns the pro game and gets used to the speed of play, he will anticipate much better which will add to his perceived quickness. Many of the defensive issues in the video were him not recognizing fast enough what was happening.

You can bet they will have him do agility drills that will help. I love the potential of the guy.

[shrink]

That head drop he has always done when he starts running in the opposite direction magnifies it.

I will add one thing. I watched most of his games at Iowa for two years. The guy sprinted (or whatever his facsimile of sprinting is) back up court after every defensive possession, whether it was a made basket or a defensive rebound. It was weird to see him as the first guy back, and the Hawkeyes took advantage by passing up to him for layups. He’s not fast, but he beat his defender because he worked, and made him run every single time. Maybe that’s not fast enough for NBA speeds, but it was fast enough for Garza to get a basket or two every game, just by out-working his opponents, and that made me respect him a lot.

[winforlose]

Why did we waive Lawson for Garza if Paschall was injured and going to get cut anyway? Did we hate both two way players?

[Nick K]

Don't underestimate the impact someone like Garza even can have on the bottom line for the G League. Of course it's not just about making money and they wouldn't do this if they didn't think he could play, but they're already building Iowa ticket packages in his honor. People will go to Iowa games just to see Garza, I'd guarantee it.

This is so true. I grew up in Iowa, and what many in Minnesota might not realize, is that the Hawkeyes (and to a lesser extent, the Cyclones), are bigger there than maybe even the Vikings are here. All the Iowa kids grow up wearing black and gold, people drive from all over the state to watch games (and to any of their road games). Twin Cities residents enjoy the Gophers but they also have access to all four major sports. With Garza, we might see sell outs of G-League games in Des Moines, and if he ever gets called up, he might even add to ticket sales for the Wolves too, from an Iowa fanbase.

I love that!

[Nick K]

That head drop he has always done when he starts running in the opposite direction magnifies it.

I will add one thing. I watched most of his games at Iowa for two years. The guy sprinted (or whatever his facsimile of sprinting is) back up court after every defensive possession, whether it was a made basket or a defensive rebound. It was weird to see him as the first guy back, and the Hawkeyes took advantage by passing up to him for layups. He’s not fast, but he beat his defender because he worked, and made him run every single time. Maybe that’s not fast enough for NBA speeds, but it was fast enough for Garza to get a basket or two every game, just by out-working his opponents, and that made me respect him a lot.

That's really good stuff shrink.

[Klomp]

Why did we waive Lawson for Garza if Paschall was injured and going to get cut anyway? Did we hate both two way players?

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

[shrink]

Why did we waive Lawson for Garza if Paschall was injured and going to get cut anyway? Did we hate both two way players?

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Maybe. With players down at this level, controlling their rights isn’t as important as maintaining a good relationship with the player and the agent. None of these three are likely to play for the main team, at least for the next few months of this season. The player or the agent could have asked to have the team decline the contract, so they can go after other opportunities. Neither Lawson or Paschall distinguished themselves in this pre-season to earn a two-way here. But at this personal level, we may never know.

[Klomp]

Why did we waive Lawson for Garza if Paschall was injured and going to get cut anyway? Did we hate both two way players?

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Maybe. With players down at this level, controlling their rights isn’t as important as maintaining a good relationship with the player and the agent. None of these three are likely to play for the main team, at least for the next few months of this season. The player or the agent could have asked to have the team decline the contract, so they can go after other opportunities. Neither Lawson or Paschall distinguished themselves in this pre-season to earn a two-way here. But at this personal level, we may never know.

I wondered this as well. And Paschall talked about nearly quitting basketball, but our FO talked him into giving it a shot. Maybe not earning a roster spot, plus another big earning the other two-way was enough for him to ask out of his deal.

[shrink]

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Maybe. With players down at this level, controlling their rights isn’t as important as maintaining a good relationship with the player and the agent. None of these three are likely to play for the main team, at least for the next few months of this season. The player or the agent could have asked to have the team decline the contract, so they can go after other opportunities. Neither Lawson or Paschall distinguished themselves in this pre-season to earn a two-way here. But at this personal level, we may never know.

I wondered this as well. And Paschall talked about nearly quitting basketball, but our FO talked him into giving it a shot. Maybe not earning a roster spot, plus another big earning the other two-way was enough for him to ask out of his deal.

Or he may still want to play for MIN down the road, but he doesn’t want to do his rehab in Iowa.

[shrink]

Iowa Wolves signed Luka’s Iowa running mate, Jordan Bohannon a few days ago. This is probably an investment in Luka, since he will spend so much time in Des Moines. Bohannon holds the All Time Iowa record for three pointers and assists, very clutch, and he literally has Steph Curry range, but he is too small to ever play in the NBA.

Watch on YouTube

Now all the Iowa Wolves need to do is pick up Joe Weiskamp, who was recently cut by the Spurs despite a $2 mil guaranteed contract, and the team will win the G-league and set box office records in Des Moines!

[Calinks]

Iowa Wolves signed Luka’s Iowa running mate, Jordan Bohannon a few days ago. This is probably an investment in Luka, since he will spend so much time in Des Moines. Bohannon holds the All Time Iowa record for three pointers and assists, and he literally has Steph Curry range, but he is too small to ever play in the NBA.

Now all the Iowa Wolves need to do is pick up Joe Weiskamp, who was recently cut by the Spurs despite a $2 mil guaranteed contract, and the team will win the G-league and set box office records in Des Moines!

Maybe this will start a new trend of G-League teams reshaping themselves with major college hometown favorites to draw tickets lol.

[Klomp]

Now all the Iowa Wolves need to do is pick up Joe Weiskamp, who was recently cut by the Spurs despite a $2 mil guaranteed contract, and the team will win the G-league and set box office records in Des Moines!

Wieskamp is definitely on my radar for the 2-way spot

[winforlose]

Iowa Wolves signed Luka’s Iowa running mate, Jordan Bohannon a few days ago. This is probably an investment in Luka, since he will spend so much time in Des Moines. Bohannon holds the All Time Iowa record for three pointers and assists, very clutch, and he literally has Steph Curry range, but he is too small to ever play in the NBA.

Watch on YouTube

Now all the Iowa Wolves need to do is pick up Joe Weiskamp, who was recently cut by the Spurs despite a $2 mil guaranteed contract, and the team will win the G-league and set box office records in Des Moines!

Isn’t he taller than JMAC? Siri says he is 6’1. Why isn’t he a two consideration? We badly need another PG.

[Klomp]

Isn’t he taller than JMAC? Siri says he is 6’1. Why isn’t he a two consideration? We badly need another PG.

Who said he's not under consideration?