Iowa Wolves' Jefferson ups his game, earns 2-way contract
Welcome to the 2017-18 edition of the Timberpups Tracker. This year, we're taking a different tact. With Minnesota having taken over a G League franchise in Iowa, and renaming it the Wolves, each Thursday we'll either track the progress of the players who might be of help to the Timberwolves in the future or a current member of the Minnesota roster. We'll also give updates on the other young players from the previous week.
This is the 8th edition of the 2017-18 Timberpups Tracker.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Forward Amile Jefferson
If back in the summer you had to guess a player Minnesota might sign to a two-way contract, Jefferson would probably have been far down the list. If he was even listed.
The 6-foot-8 forward put up decent stats at Duke, but nothing eye-popping. In 2016-17 as a fifth-year senior he averaged 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Jefferson did shoot 62.0 percent from the field with the Blue Devils over 150 games, but was just a 57.5 percent free-throw shooter.
In the Timberwolves' camp this past offseason, Jefferson played in five summer league games and didn't exactly stand out, averaging 2.2 points and 3.6 rebounds with a 28.6 field-goal percentage. Nevertheless, he was on Minnesota's training camp roster but got into just one preseason game, playing less than five minutes, missing his only shot, grabbing one rebound and turning the ball over twice.
Jefferson was signed to the roster of the Iowa Wolves and quite simply has taken advantage of the situation. Averaging 34.2 minutes per game, Jefferson is averaging 18.2 points and 13.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.9 percent from the field. He leads the G League in total rebounds -- by two over the next-highest competitor -- and defensive rebounds and is eighth in offensive rebounds (3.5).
Using advanced stats, Jefferson also leads the G League in PIE (Player Impact Estimate) at 18.8 and ranks third in rebounding percentage (20.7).
Jefferson has been remarkably consistent on the boards. He has double-digit rebounds in 19 of 23 games and his high is "only" 21 (accomplished twice).
If you're thinking, well, that's just the G League, the league's site provides NBA projections for players based on their stats and Jefferson, if he were to play on the Timberwolves, would average around 10.5 rebounds per game. We're sure he'd like to get the chance to find out. As improbable as that seemed a few months ago, it just might be in the cards.
TRACKING TIMBERPUPS
-- Karl-Anthony Towns had double-doubles in all three Wolves games last week and has turned that trick in 10 consecutive games entering Thursday. Towns leads the NBA with 38 double-doubles; New Orleans' DeMarcus Cousins, who has played in two fewer games, is second with 34.
-- Anthony Wiggins hasn't had a negative box score +/- in 13 straight games, which is the longest such streak on the Timberwolves.
-- Last week at Iowa, Justin Patton had 12 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes in one game and 10 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes in the other. He shot 9 of 15 from the field in the two contests.
-- Forward Anthony Brown, also on a two-way contract, had 22 and 16 points in Iowa's two games last week.
