In State Recruit Updates

[Auger]

So far this season the Iowa in state recruits have seen more ups then downs and are starting their seasons off nicely. I will start with the SR's.

Jordan Bohannon - So far this season Jordan has had 4 pretty solid to great games and a couple games where he was just off bad. In losses to Waukee and Tarton, MN he was just 11-37 from the field and 5 - 20 from 3. He has shot the ball well in his other games though. He has been more of a shooting guard for Linn-Mar and not a point. So I wouldnt expect much from him next year at Iowa.

Cordell Pemsl - Cordell looks like he has healed nicely. He is shooting the ball well from the field (65%) and rebounding at a high level (9.6). He is struggling from the FT line and has had some trouble with TO's. If Cook and Kriener come in ready to play at the 4 and 5 I wouldnt be surprised to see Pemsl redshirt to iron out some kinks and to spread out the forwards over two classes.

Ryan Kriener - Kriener in my eyes looks like the most ready from film that ive seen and from what ive heard so far this year. He has a big body that will be needed to replace Woody and he uses it well. He is shooting the ball well and uses his body to grab rebounds. He needs to polish his offense more but next year Iowa will need a big guy that can push around people in the paint and get rebounds. So far he is avg 21.2ppg 10.5rpg and is shooting 62% from the field.

Conor McCaffrey - Conor has had an up and down year so far. His asst to turnover numbers are good but from what I hear from a buddy that coaches Conor looks more like combo guard then a point guard at the HS level and more like a shooting guard at the college level. His shot has been hot and cold so far this year as he is shooting 43% from the field and just 28% from 3. Hopefully Conor can iron out the kinks.

Joe Wieskamp - Joe looks like Iowa's best recruit right now. He is only a SO but ive heard he is up to 6'6" this year. Joe isnt a point guard but he can act as one and is a very solid combo guard. He is shooting the ball well all over the court and has shown he can get to the rim. He doesnt have a passer's mentality as he is a scorer. So far he is averaging 20.4ppg and 8.2rpg while shooting 50% from the field and 45% from 3. He is a very aggresive rebounder. My buddy that coaches in Iowa said Joe looks like a guy that is developing into a Sam Dekker type player.

Iowa has some talented In-State kids coming in over the next couple years to go with a very talented out of state guy in Cook. However Fran really badly needs to find a PG in order to bring out the best in these guys and lead the offense. Bohannon doesnt look like a B1G PG and his shooting struggles happen when he is matched up against a quality opponent and he struggles at creating his own shot. He is a very smooth shooter when someone can open things up for him. Conor is the same thing a solid ball handler but avg at all other PG skill sets when projecting into college. Conor also struggles at times to find his shot when he is on ball. Combo guard is his best position.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Thanks for the update/input. Love what Im hearing on Weiskamp. Like it or not, I think Conner is our point. With the right players surrounding him, I think it will work out.

 

[nu2u]

Nice update Auger. There seems to be a big split of opinion regarding Jordan Bohannon and his prospect as a B10 PG.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

I know IC West has lot of good players on their squad but how has Patrick McCaffery done so far playing as a freshman?

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I would tamper the enthusiasm on Kriener.
Friends and family that have seen him in person be overmatched against a kid from western Christian.
Slow afoot.
His game will need to improve significantly to be B1G ready.

 

[seer_hawk]

So far this season the Iowa in state recruits have seen more ups then downs and are starting their seasons off nicely. I will start with the SR's.

Jordan Bohannon - So far this season Jordan has had 4 pretty solid to great games and a couple games where he was just off bad. In losses to Waukee and Tarton, MN he was just 11-37 from the field and 5 - 20 from 3. He has shot the ball well in his other games though. He has been more of a shooting guard for Linn-Mar and not a point. So I wouldnt expect much from him next year at Iowa.

Cordell Pemsl - Cordell looks like he has healed nicely. He is shooting the ball well from the field (65%) and rebounding at a high level (9.6). He is struggling from the FT line and has had some trouble with TO's. If Cook and Kriener come in ready to play at the 4 and 5 I wouldnt be surprised to see Pemsl redshirt to iron out some kinks and to spread out the forwards over two classes.

Ryan Kriener - Kriener in my eyes looks like the most ready from film that ive seen and from what ive heard so far this year. He has a big body that will be needed to replace Woody and he uses it well. He is shooting the ball well and uses his body to grab rebounds. He needs to polish his offense more but next year Iowa will need a big guy that can push around people in the paint and get rebounds. So far he is avg 21.2ppg 10.5rpg and is shooting 62% from the field.

Conor McCaffrey - Conor has had an up and down year so far. His asst to turnover numbers are good but from what I hear from a buddy that coaches Conor looks more like combo guard then a point guard at the HS level and more like a shooting guard at the college level. His shot has been hot and cold so far this year as he is shooting 43% from the field and just 28% from 3. Hopefully Conor can iron out the kinks.

Joe Wieskamp - Joe looks like Iowa's best recruit right now. He is only a SO but ive heard he is up to 6'6" this year. Joe isnt a point guard but he can act as one and is a very solid combo guard. He is shooting the ball well all over the court and has shown he can get to the rim. He doesnt have a passer's mentality as he is a scorer. So far he is averaging 20.4ppg and 8.2rpg while shooting 50% from the field and 45% from 3. He is a very aggresive rebounder. My buddy that coaches in Iowa said Joe looks like a guy that is developing into a Sam Dekker type player.

Iowa has some talented In-State kids coming in over the next couple years to go with a very talented out of state guy in Cook. However Fran really badly needs to find a PG in order to bring out the best in these guys and lead the offense. Bohannon doesnt look like a B1G PG and his shooting struggles happen when he is matched up against a quality opponent and he struggles at creating his own shot. He is a very smooth shooter when someone can open things up for him. Conor is the same thing a solid ball handler but avg at all other PG skill sets when projecting into college. Conor also struggles at times to find his shot when he is on ball. Combo guard is his best position.

The season is young so well see how it plays out. I haven't spent much time looking at individual games, but overall Bohannon is shooting 47.3% from 3, which isn't bad at all. It looks like all our Iowa recruits play on successful teams, and I believe that extends to Cook's team as well. Other than the McCaffery boys our Iowa recruits are all averaging 20+ points per game, which hasn't always been the case for Fran recruits (i.e. Basabe and Woody).

 

[Drew003]

We really need to recruit guys that can get their own shot. I don't dislike any of our incoming recruits individually, but I question whether we have enough diversity in skill set. We have a lot of high-skill, cerebral players, with maybe limited athleticism and isolation skills. When OSU, MSU, and others start playing aggressive on-ball defense and attack the backboard with high-end athleticism, I'm afraid it will stifle us.

It doesn't help that this 6 man freshman recruiting class is still a complete question mark after an entire non-conference season. We can't project that any one of them to be even an average Big 10 starter next year at this point.

 

[RocknRollface]

We really need to recruit guys that can get their own shot. I don't dislike any of our incoming recruits individually, but I question whether we have enough diversity in skill set. We have a lot of high-skill, cerebral players, with maybe limited athleticism and isolation skills. When OSU, MSU, and others start playing aggressive on-ball defense and attack the backboard with high-end athleticism, I'm afraid it will stifle us.

It doesn't help that this 6 man freshman recruiting class is still a complete question mark after an entire non-conference season. We can't project that any one of them to be even an average Big 10 starter next year at this point.

Wieskamp is pretty athletic, especially for a sophomore and has very good scoring skills. Hell be the best recruit to come out of Iowa since Barnes.

Also there is allot of athleticism in the current freshman class, especially the ones redshirting.

Just because they are not playing doesn't mean much. Fran loves upperclassmen, remember he played Zach McCabe over Uthoff for an entire year.

 

[chaneccooms]

Slow afoot.

Nope.

 

[hawkeye_fan321]

Thanks for the updates Auger. Here are a few more stats not included above.

Bohannon: averaging 23.3 points per game.
- Shooting 45.2% from the field, 47.3% from three, and 90.9% from the line.
- He leads the team in defensive rebounding with 29.
- 12 assists to 4 turnovers.

Pemsl: shooting 67.6% from the field.

Patrick McCaffrey: averaging 5 points per game and shooting 48% from the field.
- Leads the team in blocks with 11 total.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By request <a href="https://twitter.com/JWieskamp21">@JWieskamp21</a> <a href="https://t.co/Hl8fHhh7Qg">pic.twitter.com/Hl8fHhh7Qg</a></p>&mdash; Brandon Welsch (@MuskieBball) <a href="">December 21, 2015</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wali Parks &amp; Devontae Lane w/14 each in IC West&#39;s 63-49 win, while freshman Patrick McCaffery added 8 and this dunk! <a href="https://t.co/BkllwSVGpR">pic.twitter.com/BkllwSVGpR</a></p>&mdash; Iowa Barnstormers (@IA_Barnstormers) <a href="">December 19, 2015</a></blockquote>

 

[HerkyHopeful]

Anyone expecting anything from kreiner next year are in LA LA land.

I don't see how conor can stick as a college pg. Fran needs to land an explosive playmaker at the position if he wants Iowa to improve.its not going to end well with bohanon, his son, and a raw Christian Williams.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Nice summary, although everyone has different opinions. I think these kids will add a lot of talent and stability to the Iowa program. They are all solid kids who appear to be hard- working. Sure, I wish Kriener's team would play better competition, but that's not his fault. I think he's eventually going to be a good one, maybe just not right out of the chute. Pemsl is probably the best passer of all the big guys, and has lots of moves around the basket but the reason he has a turnover or two a game is because he often brings the ball up the court, and he won't be doing that at Iowa. Bohannon has always lived and died by the three. Linn- Mar missed the state tourney last year because of ice cold shooting. He is a good little gutty player, though, and a winner. I tried to watch Cook when he's on TV (twice that I know of) , but he just hasn't had the playing minutes this year because of injury and fouls.

 

[91hawki]

We need a Washburn type PG, perhaps the kid from Iowa city west

 

[Hawk_82]

Just because they are not playing doesn't mean much. Fran loves upperclassmen, remember he played Zach McCabe over Uthoff for an entire year.

For all the things McCabe did wrong, he did bring a toughness and an attitude to the team. He did not fear anyone and he would fight for the ball. Uthoff does not bring any of those things to the table even now. I would beat that McCabe would make this team a lot better if he was playing for Iowa today.

PS. McCabe did drive me crazy at times as well.

 

[Quintana]

Anyone expecting anything from kreiner next year are in LA LA land.

well thank god we have Kriener and not this Kreiner guy... whew!

 

[HerkyHopeful]

well thank god we have Kriener and not this Kreiner guy... whew!

Kreiner
Kreiner
Kreiner

Couldn't care less if It's misspelled. Ryan probably couldn't care less either if message board posters don't get it right.

Or maybe I should write 'could care less' so you have another posting opportunity...

 

[HerkyHopeful]

We need a Washburn type PG, perhaps the kid from Iowa city west

And to Frans credit, he tried. He's tried on a lot of these pgs but he needs to close the deal on one

 

[millhawk]

Heard Connor's aau coaches on a podcast. According to them and they have seen tons of players from around the country. Connor is a point guard and a high level one. These guys are good coaches with a lot of experience. I'll listen to them.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Heard Connor's aau coaches on a podcast. According to them and they have seen tons of players from around the country. Connor is a point guard and a high level one. These guys are good coaches with a lot of experience. I'll listen to them.

C'mon, AAU coaches certainly can't hold a candle to guys who sit on a couch eating potato chips and watching lots of basketball games and then become experts on the Internet!

 

[Tiggerhawk]

C'mon, AAU coaches certainly can't hold a candle to guys who sit on a couch eating potato chips and watching lots of basketball games and then become experts on the Internet!

Yeh, while all the time spilling beer on mom's couch ignoring her pleas for ten years now to get a job, get a life, get rid of the beer gut, get a new address.

 

[DanL53]

Yeh, while all the time spilling beer on mom's couch ignoring her pleas for ten years now to get a job, get a life, get rid of the beer gut, get a new address.

Yet losing all the money he makes selling blood by making dumb college basketball bets with bookies. The same bookie where he gets his inside info on Iowa recruits yet it hasn't dawned on him yet that he is being lied to, but that's ok because in a couple short weeks a couple guys are coming to break his kneecaps.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Saw a great quote from an AAU coach the other day 'the kid who plays for us? No chance at the next level, not nearly as athletic as he needs to be and makes bad decisions with the ball' anybody else see this one? Think they used it on their website for potential recruits.

AAU coaches are primarily about their kids and getting the next set of kids. Probably not as objective as they could be when evaluating their team.

 

[buttermypancakes]

For all the things McCabe did wrong, he did bring a toughness and an attitude to the team. He did not fear anyone and he would fight for the ball. Uthoff does not bring any of those things to the table even now. I would beat that McCabe would make this team a lot better if he was playing for Iowa today.

PS. McCabe did drive me crazy at times as well.

How would he make this team better? He was the main reason for Iowa's collapse that year. One of Fran's biggest blunders was not letting Uthoff play through his initial struggles because even he mentioned how dominant he was in practice. I didn't see a lot of basketball toughness out of Mccabe. He consistently got beat on the defensive end and struggled to rebound. I would take a freshman Wagner over a senior Mccabe because at least Wagner has toughness that shows on the floor and knows his role and wouldn't throw up brick after brick.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Wieskamp is pretty athletic, especially for a sophomore and has very good scoring skills. Hell be the best recruit to come out of Iowa since Barnes.

Also there is allot of athleticism in the current freshman class, especially the ones redshirting.

Just because they are not playing doesn't mean much. Fran loves upperclassmen, remember he played Zach McCabe over Uthoff for an entire year.

I think Uthoff was 6'9" 125 lbs that year

 

[buttermypancakes]

I think Uthoff was 6'9" 125 lbs that year

Uthoff was essentially a junior physically that year and was listed at 208. He played at 210 last year.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Uthoff was essentially a junior physically that year and was listed at 208. He played at 210 last year.

LOL, I was being fascious.....that being said if you think 6'9" with a listed weight of 208 is essentially a junior physically (specifically in the big ten) well IDK what to say....that being said Uthoff is a remarkable player, however; his biggest knock is his physique

 

[buttermypancakes]

LOL, I was being fascious.....that being said if you think 6'9" with a listed weight of 208 is essentially a junior physically (specifically in the big ten) well IDK what to say....that being said Uthoff is a remarkable player, however; his biggest knock is his physique

He has a great physique for basketball. You probably think Kevin Durant doesn't have a great physique because he can't lift 185 lbs. Uthoff sat out a year at Wiscy then a year at Iowa so yes he was essentially a junior that year.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

He has a great physique for basketball. You probably think Kevin Durant doesn't have a great physique because he can't lift 185 lbs. Uthoff sat out a year at Wiscy then a year at Iowa so yes he was essentially a junior that year.

yes he was a Junior age wise, but he is still not a junior physically even to this day. I think KD is a great basketball player but I think his physique can be a big weakness for him....I also think Uthoff is a terrific player but I think he has much to improve in the strength department.....every player has weakness even MJ decided he should bulk up a bit after getting beat up and beaten by the Pistons on a yearly basis....he got stronger and so did his team....I am not saying they need to LBJ's, but adding some strength would be nice

 

[revkev73]

At least with Mc Cabe...you knew where the game was headed...not many broken dreams...boom.

 

[kufan_22]

I would tamper the enthusiasm on Kriener.
Friends and family that have seen him in person be overmatched against a kid from western Christian.
Slow afoot.
His game will need to improve significantly to be B1G ready.

Listen, Western Christian doubled and sometimes triple teamed Kreiner in that game. Kreiner didnt even guard the big kid from Western who hit his first 3 shots from down town. Kreiner is a lot of things but slow a foot for a 6'10" kid is not one of them. That western game has more to do with coaching (Westerns = good Spirit Lake = not good) then it has to do with Kreiners ability.

With that said I would not expect Kreiner to come in and be a force in the paint against Big 10 competition in year 1. He is not a bruiser and IMO sometimes plays soft. He has all the tools to be great but it will take time.

For player comparisons in Northwest Ia I compare Kreiner to Jared Holman who played at ISU. Kreiner is probably a little bit more mobile and a little more versatile but Holman was stronger and more of a bruiser. Holman had a good career and I expect the same from Kreiner.

 

[CanadaHawk]

Nope.

Thanks for the link to Kriener highlights Chane. The one from this summer clearly shows the outside shooting that probably put him over the top as far as an offer. I doubt his HS coach encourages that from his center during the season. There is also some nice passing out of the post, shotblocking, and post moves. I don't know if we'll see much of him as a frosh as Cook, Uhl, Jones, Baer look to be the rotation up front as of now. But he'll probably get a few minutes as a post backup by default.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Not talking about anybody in particular, but highlight films are just that-- only the good moves/outcomes are shown. I've seen incredible highlight films on the internet, and the kid can't even start half the time for his high school team! Google David Iwowari (an Iowa high school basketball player on Pemsl's team), look at his highlight video, and then look up his stats for Dubuque Wahlert on Quik Stats. It will blow your mind. (For those who don't want to bother, the video shows a game (Elite 100 All-Star Camp) in which he has about twenty slam dunks and 20 blocks, and he averages 2.0 points a game in actuality as a part-time starter on Pemsl's team.) Maybe somebody can link it. It's the Courtside video, and click on the underlined courtsidefilms.com/news_articles of Iwowari at the Elite 100 camp. This video is absolutely incredible. His third season living in Dubuque as an exchange student, and he's just learning how to play the game-- and yeah, Fran has seen him play. At least you can see what Pemsl has to go up against every day at practice.

 

[HawkLogic]

Not talking about anybody in particular, but highlight films are just that-- only the good moves/outcomes are shown. I've seen incredible highlight films on the internet, and the kid can't even start half the time for his high school team! Google David Iwowari (an Iowa high school basketball player on Pemsl's team), look at his highlight video, and then look up his stats for Dubuque Wahlert on Quik Stats. It will blow your mind. (For those who don't want to bother, the video shows a game (Elite 100 All-Star Camp) in which he has about twenty slam dunks and 20 blocks, and he averages 2.0 points a game in actuality as a part-time starter on Pemsl's team.) Maybe somebody can link it. It's the Courtside video, and click on the underlined courtsidefilms.com/news_articles of Iwowari at the Elite 100 camp. This video is absolutely incredible. His third season living in Dubuque as an exchange student, and he's just learning how to play the game-- and yeah, Fran has seen him play. At least you can see what Pemsl has to go up against every day at practice.

my highlight video would have shown a truthful portrayal of my abilities. Can't go left, not tall enough, lacks athleticism, high B-ball IQ.

I think the highlight vehicle can show some things. LIke with Woody, you probably would have noticed he can't dunk with ease, which is a red flag. This Kriener kid--maybe he will be a gem.

 

[Ronman]

Woodbury will be gone next year, so let's all try to get as many shots at him as possible until he is gone.

 

[maxstabs13]

Jordan Bohannan's best comparison is Ben Brust or throw back to early 00's Ryan Hogan... He can be a decent scorer in the B10, but he is set to be a role player. He will have to become good and be comfortable with an off the bench role in college.

Joe Weiskamp started the season off really rough actually. His first few games he wasn't shooting the ball well at all. He hasn't proven to be overly impressive against stiff competition other than Dav Central and he is taller than anyone they have to offer defensively. As a result he ended it with 25 points 14 rebounds and 8 blocks.

Against Washington, Dav North, and Burlington he put up some solid numbers but the competition wasn't the greatest. North would be the best among those three teams. They have guys quick enough to guard him, but he still holds a height advantage and North has really struggled rebounding this year so he had a big game on the boards.

His progress will be best evaluated against PV, Bettendorf, North Scott, and Xavier.

 

[CoachRickVice]

Wieskamp is pretty athletic, especially for a sophomore and has very good scoring skills. Hell be the best recruit to come out of Iowa since Barnes.

Probably the best since Paige in 2012, not Barnes in 2010.

 

[perryhawk]

Listen, Western Christian doubled and sometimes triple teamed Kreiner in that game. Kreiner didnt even guard the big kid from Western who hit his first 3 shots from down town. Kreiner is a lot of things but slow a foot for a 6'10" kid is not one of them. That western game has more to do with coaching (Westerns = good Spirit Lake = not good) then it has to do with Kreiners ability.

With that said I would not expect Kreiner to come in and be a force in the paint against Big 10 competition in year 1. He is not a bruiser and IMO sometimes plays soft. He has all the tools to be great but it will take time.

For player comparisons in Northwest Ia I compare Kreiner to Jared Holman who played at ISU. Kreiner is probably a little bit more mobile and a little more versatile but Holman was stronger and more of a bruiser. Holman had a good career and I expect the same from Kreiner.

I would agree with the initial OP on the topic of Kreiner being a little bit of a project......as far as the slow feet, I don't agree. Now, I admit to only having watched 1 game/video, but I would say that his mobility is an asset. He has good lateral quickness and can get up and down the floor.

So, I agree with this second post/response to the OP.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

Can Fran do better? That is the question in my mind and I don't know the answer. On one hand, I am suspect of these kids that play in obscure conferences and face no competition. On the other, some of these kids can play and get overlooked because they are off the beaten path. I am fine with a kid needing a couple years to develop / figure it out, but if there isn't a foundation of athletic tools there, I struggle to connect with what Fran sees.

 

[CoachRickVice]

Can Fran do better? That is the question in my mind and I don't know the answer. On one hand, I am suspect of these kids that play in obscure conferences and face no competition. On the other, some of these kids can play and get overlooked because they are off the beaten path. I am fine with a kid needing a couple years to develop / figure it out, but if there isn't a foundation of athletic tools there, I struggle to connect with what Fran sees.

I'd say so far Fran has done just fine. Cook is by far his best commit so far, and that comes after an NCAA tournament victory. Fran's having success, and Woody is really the only recruit I've been disappointed in and I think that's just because MY own expectations were too high. Random question, what kids have Fran signed that play in "Obscure conferences and face no competition"? Kriener? His high school doesn't play much, but the dude plays on Martin Brothers. I assure you when Martin Brothers won the national title this summer in Louisville that Kriener was going up against top competition.

 

[CanadaHawk]

The thing about Iowa is if you're going to significantly recruit instate, that's going to mean some small school recruits. Some of those will disappoint. But it also means you're going to find some surprises because they weren't tested all the time in their regular seasons. An example might be Baer.