Bowen Waits To See What Happens Next With NBA Schedule

Former Iowa player is an assistant with the Denver Nuggets.

Ryan Bowen has gone over the game plan … for projects around his house.

The former Iowa player, working as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, has been coordinating workouts … for his dogs.

Such is life when you don’t know when, or if, the season is going to start again after its suspension last week because of concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“Just kind of waiting to hear our marching orders, to see what happens next,” Bowen said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “Nobody, obviously, knows what’s going to happen, so we just kind of follow along with everybody else.”

The Nuggets were part of the whirlwind last Wednesday night — they were playing at Dallas on ESPN when news began to break that Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the coronavirus and Utah’s game that night at Oklahoma City had been postponed.

Then came news that, after that night's games, the NBA season would be suspended indefinitely.

“During the first half, we heard the reports that the Utah game never started,” Bowen said. “Then at halftime, we heard a player tested positive. And then, during the middle of the third quarter, we got the word that hey, the season has been suspended. It was just crazy. It was a weird time.”

The Nuggets found out before the game that Golden State would be playing its home games without fans. Denver’s game at Dallas was the beginning of a three-game road trip, and the last game would be in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

“Before the game, players were starting to ask a lot of questions,” Bowen said. “They heard about Golden State, and then we were going to San Antonio and then Los Angeles. We figured that by the time we got to L.A., they wouldn’t be playing games in front of fans. Obviously it was on a lot of players’ minds. What was that going to be like? I think everybody was curious to see what that game would look like with no fans.

“How that night escalated, in a matter of 45 minutes, it was crazy.”

Adding to that night was the news that Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg had fallen ill during the Huskers’ Big Ten tournament game against Indiana. Nuggets guard Monte Morris played for Hoiberg at Iowa State.

“We had heard about that, but by the time we landed in Denver, Monte said, ‘Got a text from Freddy, he’s just got the flu,’” Bowen said. “On the flight home, there were a lot of questions. Are we going to be allowed to go home? Are we going to be allowed to go to our families?”

On Thursday, it was reported that a member of the Nuggets’ organization had tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday. All NBA training facilities were closed as of Friday.

The Nuggets are 43-22, leading the Northwest Division. They currently have the third best record in the Western Conference.

Bowen, a four-year starter at Iowa from 1994-98, played 10 seasons with the NBA. He is in his second coaching stint with the Nuggets.

Bowen said the coaching staff had been using the time off to prepare for possible playoff opponents.

But other than that, his work has been around the house.

“I was just going over the list of things to do with my wife,” Bowen said. “I’m getting a little exercise in — we’ve got some good mountain bike trails nearby. And my dogs are happy, because they’ve gone on a lot of walks.

“It’s just interesting times right now.”