Ernest Scott is ready for his first head coaching job with the Iowa Wolves
It was a largely productive year last season for the Iowa Wolves under mostly new leadership, both with the parent club in Minneapolis and at the G League franchise in Des Moines.
The Wolves were home for successful 2-way, assignment and call-up players and set a franchise attendance record at Wells Fargo Arena as the G League team found a renewed emphasis under first-year Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
That success led to a number of promotions recently, most notably with Jeff Newton moving from head coach of the Iowa Wolves to assistant coach with the Timberwolves, and his assistant, Ernest Scott, being elevated to head coach of the Iowa Wolves.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Scott, a first-time head coach, told the Register last week. “I’m going to learn a lot about myself. I'm going to make a lot of mistakes, but I’m definitely going to be prepared.
“I can’t wait to get in those situations, take my lumps along the way, but in the end, I think I’m going to be just fine.”
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Scott helped oversee a player development machine in his two years as an assistant in Des Moines that helped guide 2-way players Luka Garza, Eric Paschall, McKinley Wright IV, AJ Lawson and Nate Wright, along with NBA assignment players like Wendell Moore, Jr. and Josh Minott, a pair of 2022 draft picks.
He’ll be joined on the bench by Nate Bubes, who spent the last two years as a quality control coach with the Timberwolves and Michael DiBenedetto, who was a basketball operations associate last year for the Iowa Wolves.
“I couldn’t be happier for Ernest, Nathan, and Michael to take on these new roles with our team in Iowa and continue to develop our young players,” Timberwolves director of player personnel /Iowa Wolves general manager Jon Wallace said in a statement released by the team. “Ernest has worked hard to earn this role and has developed great relationships with players, staff and the community in Iowa. We look forward to Nathan and Michael joining him in Des Moines as we prepare for the upcoming season.”
With the Timberwolves looking to take another step after making the NBA playoffs play-in game the last two years, continuing the development pipeline down Interstate 35 will continue to be important.
“We are excited for the future of our G League team,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said in a statement released by the team, “and know that these three will do a phenomenal job leading our program in Iowa.”
Scott enjoyed a 13-year professional playing career that included multiple stops in the G League and overseas.
“What these guys are going through, I’ve been there,” Scott said. “The day-to-day, the ups and downs – that's what people don’t understand on the outside looking in, all the changes daily.
“Waking up with one lineup, going to bed with a different one, not knowing who’s coming down from Minnesota, who’s coming up and we had games with 12 or 13 guys, and we’ve had games with seven.”
While Iowa's roster may change from night to night, the overall goal of developing players for the Timberwolves remains the same.
“The continuity and familiarity … that's a big deal,” Scott said. “Especially with Josh and Wendell and Luka, building on that, as much as we’re going to have them.
“Continuing to build and seeing what new guys we can get.”
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Wolves elevate Ernest Scott to head coach
