2022 Iowa Wolves thread

[Q-is-here]

Wolves win!!! Wolves win!!! Iowa that is.

Won a squeaker 125-124 on the road against Ft. Wayne.

- After a monster first half, Garza ran out of juice and "only" ended up with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He actually missed some 3's this game, going 1-5 from beyond the arc. Still, he was 14-23 overall from the field and absolutely dominated the first half. Defensively, he's pretty solid going mano-a-mano in the paint. He struggles more in rotation.

- Minott with an impactful game again, getting 22 points on 8-14 from the field and 3-4 from 3. He also had 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocked shots. The most encouraging thing about Minott is that he is more offensively skilled than I thought coming out of college. Despite his regularly strong stat lines, he still seems very raw to me. He definitely has upside.

- AJ Lawson saw a lot of action in place of Moore Jr. He looked active and athletic, but the shot wasn't falling tonight.

[Q-is-here]

P.J Dozier.....keep an eye on this guy. He's been really good with Iowa in limited minutes, presumably to work his way back from a knee injury last year. Go check out his body of work in Denver for the one season he was actually healthy and got regular minutes in '20-21. He was absolutely a key cog for that team, especially on defense.

Given our need for another big wing defender and rebounding from the backcourt, don't be surprised to see a call up at some point. The key is him staying healthy, which is a big if given his history.

[kekgeek]

P.J Dozier.....keep an eye on this guy. He's been really good with Iowa in limited minutes, presumably to work his way back from a knee injury last year. Go check out his body of work in Denver for the one season he was actually healthy and got regular minutes in '20-21. He was absolutely a key cog for that team, especially on defense.

Given our need for another big wing defender and rebounding from the backcourt, don't be surprised to see a call up at some point. The key is him staying healthy, which is a big if given his history.

The one thing about Dozier is they can't just call him up without cutting someone first. The only realistic cut guy on the wolves is Nate Knight.

Not saying I would or would not do that but it is a little more complicated

[Lipoli390]

P.J Dozier.....keep an eye on this guy. He's been really good with Iowa in limited minutes, presumably to work his way back from a knee injury last year. Go check out his body of work in Denver for the one season he was actually healthy and got regular minutes in '20-21. He was absolutely a key cog for that team, especially on defense.

Given our need for another big wing defender and rebounding from the backcourt, don't be surprised to see a call up at some point. The key is him staying healthy, which is a big if given his history.

The one thing about Dozier is they can't just call him up without cutting someone first. The only realistic cut guy on the wolves is Nate Knight.

Not saying I would or would not do that but it is a little more complicated

Good point, Kek. Sign me up for cutting Knight to make room for Dozier. :)

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I like P.J. Dozier as much as the next guy here, and was intrigued by the signing before the season, but I think if this team needs to make a meaningful addition at the wing or in the backcourt they'll need to do so via trade. Dozier's shooting the piss out of the ball for Iowa and that's never really been his strength so I'm not really buying it. He does have a nice blend of length, athleticism, and give-a-shit, though.

[Lipoli390]

I like P.J. Dozier as much as the next guy here, and was intrigued by the signing before the season, but I think if this team needs to make a meaningful addition at the wing or in the backcourt they'll need to do so via trade. Dozier's shooting the piss out of the ball for Iowa and that's never really been his strength so I'm not really buying it. He does have a nice blend of length, athleticism, and give-a-shit, though.

Good point, Cam. If my choice is Dozier or Knight, it's an easy one. I like the give-a-shit that Dozier brings because I think this team needs more of it. I agree with you on Dozier's shooting and I think you're probably right that any meaningful addition will probably require a trade. However, I have a hard time envisioning a trade this season that would land an impact player.

[60WinTim]

I like P.J. Dozier as much as the next guy here, and was intrigued by the signing before the season, but I think if this team needs to make a meaningful addition at the wing or in the backcourt they'll need to do so via trade. Dozier's shooting the piss out of the ball for Iowa and that's never really been his strength so I'm not really buying it. He does have a nice blend of length, athleticism, and give-a-shit, though.

Good point, Cam. If my choice is Dozier or Knight, it's an easy one. I like the give-a-shit that Dozier brings because I think this team needs more of it. I agree with you on Dozier's shooting and I think you're probably right that any meaningful addition will probably require a trade. However, I have a hard time envisioning a trade this season that would land an impact player.

Not to mention that the addition of Garza on a two-way makes Knight's role a bit more expendable...

[FNG]

I don't know much about Dozier, but I like what I hear about his attitude on the court. But while it's nice he's making his 3's at Iowa, I also note that he is only making 30% of his 2-point shots and has yet to make a free throw. And let's look at his TS% in his two years in college and his three (meaningful minutes) years in the pros as a reality check:

College: 2015-16: 42.2%
2016-17: 47.2%
Pros: 2019-20: 49.5%
2020-21: 50.1%
2021-22: 46.3%

These are terrible shooting numbers, and I don't take much solace in his making some threes in his 4 games in the (defensively challenged) G League. Having said, I would much prefer seeing him at the end of the bench than Laughing Nathan. And he also could provide some defensive toughness for those moments when our guards forget to play any defense in 3rd quarters. Yes, make the move TC.

[Q-is-here]

My point with Dozier is that he could be really helpful IF our starting unit gets their shit together, as Cam has pointed out has perhaps started to happen. The better and more locked in the starting unit is, the more you can look to improve things around the edges to get ready for a playoff run. Dozier gives us a guy that could be very useful as a defensive-minded secondary ball handler off the bench that can rebound, pass, switch onto almost anyone and maybe...just may be....hit the open 3.

But yeah, if our starters are still uneven and we don't see better play from the likes of DLO and Ant, then a guy like Dozier won't make much of a difference.

[Q-is-here]

If you guys want to watch a team that moves the ball and plays hard, please watch Iowa. Rather than suffering through a loss to Golden State, who I think we match up terribly against, I caught the other Wolves game.

- Wolves win again 108-91 and are now 6-3. They had 32 assists on 42 made field goals.

- Garza with another ho-hum game: 27 points/11 rebs/6 assists and a +33 on the night. He's too good for the G-League, but there simply isn't a spot for him in the Wolves rotation as long as our bigs are all healthy.

- AJ Lawson showed some promise, with 22 points on 17 shots, including going 4-9 from 3.

- Minott with 10 points/8 rebs/6 assts/2 blocks. He didn't score as much as he had been lately, but as you can see he still contributed in other ways.

What I like about this team is no one tries to do too much, including the vets Mudiay and Dozier. Everyone plays within a team concept. Refreshing.

Edit: One thing I'll add with Minott....he hit a couple of pretty smooth-looking pull up mid-range jumpers in this game as well as some nifty passes. I continue to see an offensive game that I didn't know existed in college.