Future is bright for Iowa hoops
Tom Kakert | Editor
Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook are the two building blocks for the future.
In the end, the Iowa basketball team was what most of us thought they would be in the 2016-17 season.
Realistically, many felt that the Hawkeyes could be a potential NCAA Tournament bubble team that very well might end up in the NIT. There was also a feeling that with so many new pieces, Iowa would be prone to really good and really rough moments and they had that too.
Iowa’s season and their run in the NIT came to a close on Sunday evening with an overtime loss to TCU. While it may have played out like many of us thought it would, I think it’s fair to say that it was also better than expected.
There were some great wins at Maryland and Wisconsin, at home against Purdue, Michigan, and Iowa State, plus a four game win streak to end the regular season. Iowa was 3-1 against schools still alive in the NCAA Tournament. There were also a head scratching loss to Omaha, some gut-wrenching overtime defeats at Nebraska and Minnesota, and head scratching performances against Northwestern, Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, and twice against Illinois.
While the Hawkeyes will lose Peter Jok and his 19.9 points per game, this season showed that Iowa’s group of freshmen were even better than expected and the future of the program is certainly looks bright.
Jordan Bohannon finished the year on fire, concluding with a 25 point and 13 assist effort on Sunday. He posted a double-double in the final three games of the season and is believed to be the first Iowa player to have at least ten points and ten assists in three straight games.
Tyler Cook was second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 55% from the floor. One amazing stat, Cook ended the year making 18 straight field goal attempts. Fellow frosh Cordell Pemsl, averaged 8.9 points per game and led the Big Ten, making 61.4% of his shots during the season.
Before we dive too far into the future, what went right this season for the Hawkeyes?
Iowa scored three points per game more than last year and shot 1% better than the previous season. One number that is somewhat interesting is you would have figured that Iowa was a better three point shooting squad this season, but it was basically a wash, 37.9% this year and 37.5% last year. The Hawkeyes did make 31 more three pointers this year, while shooting 72 more than the previous season, so from that perspective, they were more effective from beyond the arch.
Offense certainly wasn’t Iowa’s issue this year. Iowa’s 80.5 points per game was 31st in college basketball. Even more impressive was the Hawkeyes were 4th in total number of assists this year, with 602 and 5th in all of college basketball in assists per game, 17.7. Of course, on the negative side, Iowa was 258th in the country in turnovers per game with 13.7.
An area where Iowa could use some improvement was shooting. The Hawkeyes shot 45.5% from the field overall and ranks 117th in the country. It’s not bad, but certainly could use a little improvement to get into the top 100. Iowa’s two point field goal percentage, 49.9%, ranks 161st in the nation and that needs to get better. The other troubling number that needs to get better is 68.8% from the charity stripe. That’s 223rd in the country and a reminder, their leading foul shooter, Peter Jok, who shot 91.1% this season, will be gone. Take out Jok’s free throw numbers this year and Iowa shot 62.2% from the foul line, which would have been 344 out of 347 D1 programs.
The defensive side of the ball is perhaps the area where Iowa will need to show the greatest amount of growth. The Hawkeyes gave up 78 points per game, which ranks 301st in the country this year. For comparisons sake, the previous year, Iowa allowed 69 points per game, which was 108th in the country. Iowa was also 303rd in total rebounds allowed, which is another area where they need to improve. A pretty amazing number is that the Hawkeyes had three more rebounds than their opponents this year. An area where Hawkeye fans would like to see improvement is defending the three point shot. Iowa was 232nd in the nation this year in three point field goal percentage against and allowed 289 made three pointers, which is 327th. Again, an area that has been a problem and needs to improve.
While some of those numbers are concerning, the future remains bright simply because the young players will improve and get better next year.
As mentioned earlier, the Hawkeyes return Bohannon, Cook, and Pemsl, who had outstanding freshmen campaigns. Bohannon and Cook were named to the Big Ten’s All Freshman team and the Hawkeyes were the only school to have a pair of representatives on the squad. Throw in 6th man of the year in the Big Ten, Nicholas Baer, who averaged 7.3 points per game and led the Hawkeyes in blocks (43) and steals (48), and you have a pretty good foundation for success.
Isaiah Moss stared 28 games this past season and averaged 6.5 points per game in his first year playing for the Hawkeyes. Moss had some big games and halves where he carried Iowa’s offense. The next step for him will be to develop more consistency. He should have the biggest benefit in terms of minutes with Jok moving on.
Ahmad Wagner moved into the starting lineup later in the year and averaged 4.8 points per game. Brady Ellingson emerged a bit more this season, averaging 4.4 points per game, but he did fade somewhat down the stretch. Dom Uhl kind of treaded water this year, averaging 3.5 points per game. Uhl still has plenty of upside, but heading into his senior year, it’s going to be now or never. Ryan Kriener really didn’t get much of an opportunity early in the year, but Fran McCaffery went to him more as the year progressed and he did a nice job, averaging 3.1 points per game. Kriener showed a strong midrange game and the arrow is pointing up for the big man in the future. After starting the season as Iowa’s point guard, Christian Williams lost his confidence and in the process, lost his minutes, averaging just 2.5 point per game. Wrapping up the returning players is freshman Maishe Dailey, who probably should have redshirted, but opted to play this year. His opportunities were very limited, playing in just 12 game and most of them were early in the year.
Fran McCaffery will be adding three players to his roster next fall. Leading the class is four star forward Luka Garza. The 6-foot-10 post prospect has a bigger frame and a mature game. While not an above the rim player, he is effective around the basket and can step out and shoot from three point land. This season he averaged 24.5 points and 13 rebounds per game. Three star forward Jack Nunge will give the Hawkeyes a Jarrod Uthoff type forward next season. Nunge stands 6-foot-11 and is more of a face up type player who can shoot very well from the three point arch. This season he averaged 22.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game in his senior year. Iowa also adds McCaffery’s son, Connor, who is a four star guard prospect. This season he led Iowa City West to a 4A state title, averaging 19.6 points per game.
It will be interesting how McCaffery handles this very deep and talented team next year. By the end of this season, 11 players were generally playing in each game. Now, some were limited minutes, but working in 11 players is difficult. Iowa will be losing just one player who saw significant minutes and the three incoming players may merit receiving minutes.
It will also be a frontcourt heavy roster with Cook, Pemsl, Wagner, Uhl, Kriener, Garza, and Nunge all vying for minutes at the power forward/center position. There may be room for four or five of these players to get minutes in each game, so a couple of players are going to be left out of the mix. There may be a possibly that Uhl or even Nunge could swing down and play wing forward in some of the lineups, but they will also be competing with Baer for minutes there.
Coming off a record setting freshman year there’s no question that Bohannon is the starting point guard, but the other guard spot is pretty wide open. Moss may move to shooting guard next year or perhaps Ellingson could be in the mix. When Jok was out due to a back injury, Ellingson saw more minutes and played well. Dailey could be in the mix at the two or the three spot and if Iowa wants to go really big, perhaps we may see Nicholas Baer at the two guard. Probably a stretch, but something to consider. Williams and McCaffery will via for backup point guard minutes and there could be a chance that with his length that Williams could see minutes at the two or three spot at times.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this team develops. One benefit that they have is Iowa will be taking an overseas trip to Europe in August and the incoming players will be playing with the team. That will give the coaching staff a look at various lineups and also ten practices leading up to the trip.
Given what we saw this year and with the infusion of more talent to the roster, the expectation is that next year the Hawkeyes will be part of the NCAA Tournament. Anything short of that would have to be considered a disappointment.
Tom Kakert | Editor
Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook are the two building blocks for the future.
In the end, the Iowa basketball team was what most of us thought they would be in the 2016-17 season.
Realistically, many felt that the Hawkeyes could be a potential NCAA Tournament bubble team that very well might end up in the NIT. There was also a feeling that with so many new pieces, Iowa would be prone to really good and really rough moments and they had that too.
Iowa’s season and their run in the NIT came to a close on Sunday evening with an overtime loss to TCU. While it may have played out like many of us thought it would, I think it’s fair to say that it was also better than expected.
There were some great wins at Maryland and Wisconsin, at home against Purdue, Michigan, and Iowa State, plus a four game win streak to end the regular season. Iowa was 3-1 against schools still alive in the NCAA Tournament. There were also a head scratching loss to Omaha, some gut-wrenching overtime defeats at Nebraska and Minnesota, and head scratching performances against Northwestern, Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, and twice against Illinois.
While the Hawkeyes will lose Peter Jok and his 19.9 points per game, this season showed that Iowa’s group of freshmen were even better than expected and the future of the program is certainly looks bright.
Jordan Bohannon finished the year on fire, concluding with a 25 point and 13 assist effort on Sunday. He posted a double-double in the final three games of the season and is believed to be the first Iowa player to have at least ten points and ten assists in three straight games.
Tyler Cook was second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 55% from the floor. One amazing stat, Cook ended the year making 18 straight field goal attempts. Fellow frosh Cordell Pemsl, averaged 8.9 points per game and led the Big Ten, making 61.4% of his shots during the season.
Before we dive too far into the future, what went right this season for the Hawkeyes?
Iowa scored three points per game more than last year and shot 1% better than the previous season. One number that is somewhat interesting is you would have figured that Iowa was a better three point shooting squad this season, but it was basically a wash, 37.9% this year and 37.5% last year. The Hawkeyes did make 31 more three pointers this year, while shooting 72 more than the previous season, so from that perspective, they were more effective from beyond the arch.
Offense certainly wasn’t Iowa’s issue this year. Iowa’s 80.5 points per game was 31st in college basketball. Even more impressive was the Hawkeyes were 4th in total number of assists this year, with 602 and 5th in all of college basketball in assists per game, 17.7. Of course, on the negative side, Iowa was 258th in the country in turnovers per game with 13.7.
An area where Iowa could use some improvement was shooting. The Hawkeyes shot 45.5% from the field overall and ranks 117th in the country. It’s not bad, but certainly could use a little improvement to get into the top 100. Iowa’s two point field goal percentage, 49.9%, ranks 161st in the nation and that needs to get better. The other troubling number that needs to get better is 68.8% from the charity stripe. That’s 223rd in the country and a reminder, their leading foul shooter, Peter Jok, who shot 91.1% this season, will be gone. Take out Jok’s free throw numbers this year and Iowa shot 62.2% from the foul line, which would have been 344 out of 347 D1 programs.
The defensive side of the ball is perhaps the area where Iowa will need to show the greatest amount of growth. The Hawkeyes gave up 78 points per game, which ranks 301st in the country this year. For comparisons sake, the previous year, Iowa allowed 69 points per game, which was 108th in the country. Iowa was also 303rd in total rebounds allowed, which is another area where they need to improve. A pretty amazing number is that the Hawkeyes had three more rebounds than their opponents this year. An area where Hawkeye fans would like to see improvement is defending the three point shot. Iowa was 232nd in the nation this year in three point field goal percentage against and allowed 289 made three pointers, which is 327th. Again, an area that has been a problem and needs to improve.
While some of those numbers are concerning, the future remains bright simply because the young players will improve and get better next year.
As mentioned earlier, the Hawkeyes return Bohannon, Cook, and Pemsl, who had outstanding freshmen campaigns. Bohannon and Cook were named to the Big Ten’s All Freshman team and the Hawkeyes were the only school to have a pair of representatives on the squad. Throw in 6th man of the year in the Big Ten, Nicholas Baer, who averaged 7.3 points per game and led the Hawkeyes in blocks (43) and steals (48), and you have a pretty good foundation for success.
Isaiah Moss stared 28 games this past season and averaged 6.5 points per game in his first year playing for the Hawkeyes. Moss had some big games and halves where he carried Iowa’s offense. The next step for him will be to develop more consistency. He should have the biggest benefit in terms of minutes with Jok moving on.
Ahmad Wagner moved into the starting lineup later in the year and averaged 4.8 points per game. Brady Ellingson emerged a bit more this season, averaging 4.4 points per game, but he did fade somewhat down the stretch. Dom Uhl kind of treaded water this year, averaging 3.5 points per game. Uhl still has plenty of upside, but heading into his senior year, it’s going to be now or never. Ryan Kriener really didn’t get much of an opportunity early in the year, but Fran McCaffery went to him more as the year progressed and he did a nice job, averaging 3.1 points per game. Kriener showed a strong midrange game and the arrow is pointing up for the big man in the future. After starting the season as Iowa’s point guard, Christian Williams lost his confidence and in the process, lost his minutes, averaging just 2.5 point per game. Wrapping up the returning players is freshman Maishe Dailey, who probably should have redshirted, but opted to play this year. His opportunities were very limited, playing in just 12 game and most of them were early in the year.
Fran McCaffery will be adding three players to his roster next fall. Leading the class is four star forward Luka Garza. The 6-foot-10 post prospect has a bigger frame and a mature game. While not an above the rim player, he is effective around the basket and can step out and shoot from three point land. This season he averaged 24.5 points and 13 rebounds per game. Three star forward Jack Nunge will give the Hawkeyes a Jarrod Uthoff type forward next season. Nunge stands 6-foot-11 and is more of a face up type player who can shoot very well from the three point arch. This season he averaged 22.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game in his senior year. Iowa also adds McCaffery’s son, Connor, who is a four star guard prospect. This season he led Iowa City West to a 4A state title, averaging 19.6 points per game.
It will be interesting how McCaffery handles this very deep and talented team next year. By the end of this season, 11 players were generally playing in each game. Now, some were limited minutes, but working in 11 players is difficult. Iowa will be losing just one player who saw significant minutes and the three incoming players may merit receiving minutes.
It will also be a frontcourt heavy roster with Cook, Pemsl, Wagner, Uhl, Kriener, Garza, and Nunge all vying for minutes at the power forward/center position. There may be room for four or five of these players to get minutes in each game, so a couple of players are going to be left out of the mix. There may be a possibly that Uhl or even Nunge could swing down and play wing forward in some of the lineups, but they will also be competing with Baer for minutes there.
Coming off a record setting freshman year there’s no question that Bohannon is the starting point guard, but the other guard spot is pretty wide open. Moss may move to shooting guard next year or perhaps Ellingson could be in the mix. When Jok was out due to a back injury, Ellingson saw more minutes and played well. Dailey could be in the mix at the two or the three spot and if Iowa wants to go really big, perhaps we may see Nicholas Baer at the two guard. Probably a stretch, but something to consider. Williams and McCaffery will via for backup point guard minutes and there could be a chance that with his length that Williams could see minutes at the two or three spot at times.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this team develops. One benefit that they have is Iowa will be taking an overseas trip to Europe in August and the incoming players will be playing with the team. That will give the coaching staff a look at various lineups and also ten practices leading up to the trip.
Given what we saw this year and with the infusion of more talent to the roster, the expectation is that next year the Hawkeyes will be part of the NCAA Tournament. Anything short of that would have to be considered a disappointment.
