The last time the Long Island Nets played the Greensboro Swarm, two days ago, also on Long Island, the Nets walked away with the win. Monday night, despite Danny Wolf’s strong performance, lightning wouldn’t
strike twice. Long Island fell to Greensboro, 126-114.
Wolf had another solid game, despite only being third in the boxscore. Wolf shot the ball well, connecting on six of his 11 shots from the field, including making two of his five attempts from beyond the arc, finishing the game with 19 points. Yuri Collins (24) and Nate Williams (22) led Long Island. The big positive for Wolf was his rebounding.
Last season, before trading for Drew Timme, Long Island didn’t have that walking rebound type of player. This year, Wolf has filled that gap. He wound up four offensive rebounds and 13 defensive rebounds, 17 rebounds in total, which was game-high.
Indeed, Wolf’s 17 rebounds matched the franchise rookie record for rebounds in a single Tip-Off Tournament game, and his nine fourth-quarter rebounds marked the most by any Long Island player in a single fourth quarter throughout franchise history.
Wolf has been developing quite nicely for Long Island. Long Island’s head coach, Mfon Udofia, now in his fourth year with Long Island, has been credited with developing Noah Clowney, who just had a career night, Jalen Wilson, and and Timme who after the Nets traded him to the South Bay Lakers for Williams, Monday signed a two-way with the Lakers.
Wolf also finished the game third on the team in assists with five. In his six G League games, he’s averaging 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists. However, he remains troubled by turnovers as he was at Michigan, piling up eight Monday night. That might be a record too.
Nolan Traore had a bit of a quiet game by his recent standards. The 19th pick connected on five of his 14 shots, which was down a bit from last game, where he finished connecting on 11 of his 20 shots. He also connected on three of his nine attempts from deep, finishing with 15 points.
However, where Traore excelled Monday was as a playmaker. He flirted with a double-double in this game, finishing with nine assists. Traore also had two rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Perhaps the best thing about Traore’s game was his lack of turnovers. He had only one Monday night, a big improvement just from last week when he had games of seven and four at the point. . Traore has struggled quite a bit in the early going of this season with turning the ball over.
The overall improvement in Traore’s game got a mention from Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez before the Nets and Knicks tipped off at Barclays Center. Fernandez was asked about the rookie’s 28-point, nine-assist, six-rebound game last week.
“Very good performance. [I’m] very happy. I texted [Nolan]. I watched the game,” Fernandez said on Monday. “We want to play a competitive and winning game of basketball. It starts with the habits. I know he saw the ball go in, which are things you can’t always control. But you can control taking the right shots, make the right play. I think he had a 9-3 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is very good, so all those things are positive. Same with Danny [Wolf]. You know, those consistent steps and we want to see this group competing at a high level, too.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Traore had a bit of an injury scare. He took a hard fall and was slow to get up, but remained in the game after being tended to by trainers on the sideline.
Yuri Collins, the 24-year-old 6-foot point guard, led the team in points with 24, and also had two rebounds, six assists, one steal, and two blocks to his credit. Second to Collins was Nate Williams, who finished with 22 points, connecting on nine of his 24 attempts from the field. He also had four rebounds, and two assists. After the game, NetsDaily caught up with Williams and spoke about the game.
“I’m just trying to win,” Williams told ND. “I’m just trying to do anything to win. Whether it’s making shots, getting to the basket, getting my teammates involved, playing dirty, drawing charges, getting steals, I just want to win. At the end of the day, that’s my moral of the story. I just want to win and do whatever I can to help the team.”
Williams has night in and night out finished towards the top of the points category, often for the game. When asked about that part of his game, Williams said:
“I’m a well-rounded player,” the 26-year-old U of Buffalo product said. “I work on my game a ton. I can score the ball, I can shoot the ball, I can do everything. I just want to win. Whatever I have to do to help the team win, like Coach Moo gives me the keys to be aggressive, so I’m going to be aggressive. That’s what I have to do to help the team win.”
One of Williams’ best traits on the court is that of a ball hawk. He had three steals in Monday’s game after racking up two the previous game. Williams has now recorded multiple steals in five of his first six games with Long Island, and at least one steal in all six.
“I’ve always been a good defender,” Williams tells ND. “Especially on the ball. So, it’s no surprise to me. I’ve guarded some of the best guys in the world, and did a good job on them. So, this, in the G League, doesn’t surprise me at all.”
The Sag Harbor native also told ND that his first month with Long Island has been “lovely.” “Gelling with the guys, and being on Long Island and back in New York. I’ve been in the Western Conference for the past three years, so just being back on the East Coast and back in New York has been great.”
Long Island’s fifth starter, Tre Scott, had another decent game. He finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and one assist, connecting on five of his 13 shots. He also spoke with NetsDaily following the game.
“It’s frustrating,” Scott tells ND. “It’s a super frustrating loss because I think we beat ourselves in a sense. Credit to Greensboro, they have a great roster, but it’s just frustrating. We know we had that game won. On our side we just didn’t do enough.”
Scott came off the bench in the first few games before ultimately earning the starting job following Udofia’s demotion of David Muoka. Scott became the “next man up.”
“It’s just trust the process, you know,” Scott told ND. “There’s going to be highs, there’s going to be lows. No matter how many minutes I play, if I come off the bench or if I start, you’ve got to trust the process. I trust my teammates, the coaching staff, and the decisions they make. I know what I can do and how much I can help the team, so whenever my number or my name is called, I’m going to be productive.”
As a returning player for the Long Island Nets and a G League veteran, he’s also been used by Udofia as a mentor to help the rookies.
“It’s been cool,” Scott explains to ND. “It’s been fun to get to know them, you know, pick their brains a little bit. Nolan, Danny, and even Ben (Saraf) when he was here. They’re all really good guys. Even some of the other rookies, Dre Davis, Hunter (Cattor), whoever else I’m missing. But it’s been fun being able to learn each and every one of their personalities. Being able to learn how I can get them to them in a way and be a leader, and just continue to bridge the gap and bring us all together. It’s been a fun road for me, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do everything.”
Jay Scrubb, another G League vet, led the bench in points with nine while Dre Davis had five. However, Grant Nelson had a tough game, finishing with two points, connecting on his only shot attempt, in his 11 minutes on the court. ND caught up with Nelson to get his thoughts on the game.
“We never really clicked together as a team,” Nelson, the 23-year-old 7-footer, said. “On the offensive end or the defensive end. But I think we have a lot to learn. It’s really early in the season, and I think they’re obviously a team, but we’ll just look at this film and get better from it, and I think that’s a win, ultimately.”
Nelson has been coming off the bench. Nelson tells ND that he keeps his mindset the same every game, “just bring the right energy and do everything I can to help this team win.” Nelson continues, “I know that ultimately will help my career.”
Nelson who passed on being selected in the second round back in June so he could sign an Exhibit 10 with Brooklyn, said overall, he’s happy with his decision.
“It’s been great,” Nelson says. “I love this organization. Everything that they’ve said, they’ve been honest, up front. I really respect that, it’s just been great all around.”
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (2-4) will look to get back in the win column as they travel to Atlanta to take on Javan Johnson and the College Park Skyhawks on Wednesday, November 26th. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on ESPN+.
