Minnesota Sports Forum

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright resumed his stint in the G-League a couple nights ago and reeled off 30 points, literally taking over the game in the 4th quarter to rally the Wolves in a come-from-behind victory. His shooting continues to hold up well and he's got a killer short mid-range game (kind of like Nowell). He's also got some real dog in him.

If this keeps up, I fully expect him to be our 3rd PG and pretty much full time with the big league team next year.

Are you actually watching Iowa Wolves games Q or are you checking out highlights etc?

I watched a couple games in their entirety, others for portions of the games, and others just highlights.

McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

It's interesting to me that as he moved up a level of talent he is basically the man and increased his efficiency. To me SL he wasn't the guy so he played a lesser role. I don't have the familiarity with the roster like you do Q but just thinking of the guys I saw in SL and what I know of them There aren't go to scoring guys more of complimentary players. Basically it's kinda set up for Wright to do his thing.

Q I'm wondering if you have any other take always from the team. How do they play? It looks like they are middle of the road on both ends which seems solid enough. It's not like their roster is stocked with talent like I have seen from teams before either the Wolves or other g-league squads. Any other players worth mentioning even if they aren't NBA bound? I'm kinda interested in your thoughts on Bowen.

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

It's interesting to me that as he moved up a level of talent he is basically the man and increased his efficiency. To me SL he wasn't the guy so he played a lesser role. I don't have the familiarity with the roster like you do Q but just thinking of the guys I saw in SL and what I know of them There aren't go to scoring guys more of complimentary players. Basically it's kinda set up for Wright to do his thing.

Q I'm wondering if you have any other take always from the team. How do they play? It looks like they are middle of the road on both ends which seems solid enough. It's not like their roster is stocked with talent like I have seen from teams before either the Wolves or other g-league squads. Any other players worth mentioning even if they aren't NBA bound? I'm kinda interested in your thoughts on Bowen.

Yeah, Bowen is one of the guys that is a borderline NBA player. He is a hybrid forward that can really rebound the ball even though there is nothing particular about him physically that stands out. He just has a nose for the ball. He's also a pretty good slasher and his shooting has started to come on a bit. I just don't see enough from him to justify anything other than a 2-way (whether it's with us or some other team).

Yes, all the tentativeness we saw from Wright in summer league in terms of his shooting has gone away. Remember he'd almost always hesitate and either swing the ball or drive into a wall of bodies? No longer. He shoots that 3 with confidence and they are going in now! Whatever work he's put into his shot has paid off, because he looks like a totally different player offensively. The little runners and floaters are still there, but adding the long range ball has been absolutely huge for him.

Q and monster, thanks for keeping us updated on what's happening in Iowa. I became a huge Wright fan when he starred for Champlin Park, so it's nice to hear he's doing so well in the G League. He was a tough defender in high school (and college) but never much of an outside shooter. So to see him hitting 42% of his threes in the G League is encouraging. His other stats look good too...5.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals per game. PatBev won't be around forever, so maybe Wright could be his successor...but more likely as a backup PG than a starter.

Q-was-here wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

It's interesting to me that as he moved up a level of talent he is basically the man and increased his efficiency. To me SL he wasn't the guy so he played a lesser role. I don't have the familiarity with the roster like you do Q but just thinking of the guys I saw in SL and what I know of them There aren't go to scoring guys more of complimentary players. Basically it's kinda set up for Wright to do his thing.

Q I'm wondering if you have any other take always from the team. How do they play? It looks like they are middle of the road on both ends which seems solid enough. It's not like their roster is stocked with talent like I have seen from teams before either the Wolves or other g-league squads. Any other players worth mentioning even if they aren't NBA bound? I'm kinda interested in your thoughts on Bowen.

Yeah, Bowen is one of the guys that is a borderline NBA player. He is a hybrid forward that can really rebound the ball even though there is nothing particular about him physically that stands out. He just has a nose for the ball. He's also a pretty good slasher and his shooting has started to come on a bit. I just don't see enough from him to justify anything other than a 2-way (whether it's with us or some other team).

Yes, all the tentativeness we saw from Wright in summer league in terms of his shooting has gone away. Remember he'd almost always hesitate and either swing the ball or drive into a wall of bodies? No longer. He shoots that 3 with confidence and they are going in now! Whatever work he's put into his shot has paid off, because he looks like a totally different player offensively. The little runners and floaters are still there, but adding the long range ball has been absolutely huge for him.

Thanks for the thoughts on Bowen Q. What do you think of his D? I just looked at his stats again and he is shooting a ridiculous 67% on 2 point shots. He also looks like he is older than 23.

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

It's interesting to me that as he moved up a level of talent he is basically the man and increased his efficiency. To me SL he wasn't the guy so he played a lesser role. I don't have the familiarity with the roster like you do Q but just thinking of the guys I saw in SL and what I know of them There aren't go to scoring guys more of complimentary players. Basically it's kinda set up for Wright to do his thing.

Q I'm wondering if you have any other take always from the team. How do they play? It looks like they are middle of the road on both ends which seems solid enough. It's not like their roster is stocked with talent like I have seen from teams before either the Wolves or other g-league squads. Any other players worth mentioning even if they aren't NBA bound? I'm kinda interested in your thoughts on Bowen.

Yeah, Bowen is one of the guys that is a borderline NBA player. He is a hybrid forward that can really rebound the ball even though there is nothing particular about him physically that stands out. He just has a nose for the ball. He's also a pretty good slasher and his shooting has started to come on a bit. I just don't see enough from him to justify anything other than a 2-way (whether it's with us or some other team).

Yes, all the tentativeness we saw from Wright in summer league in terms of his shooting has gone away. Remember he'd almost always hesitate and either swing the ball or drive into a wall of bodies? No longer. He shoots that 3 with confidence and they are going in now! Whatever work he's put into his shot has paid off, because he looks like a totally different player offensively. The little runners and floaters are still there, but adding the long range ball has been absolutely huge for him.

Thanks for the thoughts on Bowen Q. What do you think of his D? I just looked at his stats again and he is shooting a ridiculous 67% on 2 point shots. He also looks like he is older than 23.

D is nothing special. Keep in mind the small sample size of games with the FG% on 2s. But yes, he has some offensive chops.

Q-was-here wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:McKinley Wright continued his strong play last night with 22 points on 8-15 shooting, including 3-6 from 3. He has really sustained his long-range shooting touch which is surprising to me. That will be key for him at the next level.

It's interesting to me that as he moved up a level of talent he is basically the man and increased his efficiency. To me SL he wasn't the guy so he played a lesser role. I don't have the familiarity with the roster like you do Q but just thinking of the guys I saw in SL and what I know of them There aren't go to scoring guys more of complimentary players. Basically it's kinda set up for Wright to do his thing.

Q I'm wondering if you have any other take always from the team. How do they play? It looks like they are middle of the road on both ends which seems solid enough. It's not like their roster is stocked with talent like I have seen from teams before either the Wolves or other g-league squads. Any other players worth mentioning even if they aren't NBA bound? I'm kinda interested in your thoughts on Bowen.

Yeah, Bowen is one of the guys that is a borderline NBA player. He is a hybrid forward that can really rebound the ball even though there is nothing particular about him physically that stands out. He just has a nose for the ball. He's also a pretty good slasher and his shooting has started to come on a bit. I just don't see enough from him to justify anything other than a 2-way (whether it's with us or some other team).

Yes, all the tentativeness we saw from Wright in summer league in terms of his shooting has gone away. Remember he'd almost always hesitate and either swing the ball or drive into a wall of bodies? No longer. He shoots that 3 with confidence and they are going in now! Whatever work he's put into his shot has paid off, because he looks like a totally different player offensively. The little runners and floaters are still there, but adding the long range ball has been absolutely huge for him.

Thanks for the thoughts on Bowen Q. What do you think of his D? I just looked at his stats again and he is shooting a ridiculous 67% on 2 point shots. He also looks like he is older than 23.

D is nothing special. Keep in mind the small sample size of games with the FG% on 2s. But yes, he has some offensive chops.

One last question is Bowen playing a lot of PF or is it hard to tell who is playing that position?

Monster, he currently starts next to Vincent Edwards, who is more of a 4, but he has started and played significant minutes at the 4 prior to Edwards starting. He's in the same mold as a Prince, McDaniels, Okogie.....kind of a hybrid 3/4 that ends up spending a lot of minutes as a 4.

Wright played the last 2 games with the Wolves and put up some nice stats looking like he has picked up where he left off. He basically almost single handedly tried to win one of the games at the end.