Who Was The Hawks' Biggest Surprise This Yr?

[iowalaw]

1. Uthoff's 1st team all Big 10 season?
2. Jok's emergence as a big time scorer?
3. Woody leading the Big 10 in rebounds?
4. Baer's emergence out of nowhere?

I would have to say Woody. A lot of us thought Uthoff would be the next Hawk drafted after Marble and White in back to back years. Jok showed glimpses of being a scorer last yr. But Woody's rebounding really impressed me this yr. Honorable mention to Baer, who I hadn't even heard of before the season started.

 

[nu2u]

I think you could throw Clemmons in the mix also even though he has had a few up and down stretches this season.

However, I agree that Woodbury's board dominance wins this category.

 

[MTHawkeyes43]

I will put forth Brady Ellingson as my nominee because I expected more out of this year.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Pete.

Baer is in a different category (Biggest WTF?)

 

[Ree4]

Woody is guy listed that the team would decline the most if he weren't here. He is our MVP IMO

 

[WAHawkeye]

Jok. I agree we saw flashes of his scoring ability last year, but his ability to create & his improvement on defense gets my vote. High ceiling.

 

[perryhawk]

I think Fran predicted Woody was going to do something like that with rebounding. ...I expected Uthoff and Jok to be very good. ...for me it's Christian Williams because I wasn't sure he would play in anything other than mop up duty. Then in these two recent games he's shown a lot of promise.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Got to be Baer. Kid came out of no where to be a solid 7th man off the bench. Jok's numbers increased a lot. I wasn't shocked but I thought it would take another year for him todo what he did in the Big.

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

Jok. Hands down. Didn't see him becoming a 2nd team all B1G player.

 

[hawkeyemike23]

Jok. I had heard last year that Baer was going to push to be in the rotation so wasn't totally shocked with that. Seeing Jok become an All B10 type player was a very pleasant surprise.

 

[hawkeyemark]

Woodbury started taking crap from fans before he ever got on campus so his strong play on the boards as well as defending the post may have come as a surprise to some but not to me as I expected it his senior season. I think Adam could could have had a little different career if Fran had used him differently and ran more of the offense through him and sometimes think about what kind of player he might have become somewhere like Wisconsin.

My surprise seems a toss-up between Baer and Williams. I had read about Baer but didn't know anything about him and missed some of the early non-conference games where he had some really good games. Like another poster I didn't expect to see Williams get any meaningful action and he has made the most of his time on the court. Both he and Baer seem key pieces of the puzzle as we move forward.

 

[SJeagleEye]

Has to be Baer, the rest were relied upon or expected.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Woody's rebounding is the biggest surprise.

 

[icwesthawk]

Baer wins hands down. Woody's ability to stay out of foul trouble is a close 2nd. Starting 2 senior pg's, and struggling with offensive consistency, would be my 3rd.

 

[cruhawk]

1. Uthoff's 1st team all Big 10 season?
2. Jok's emergence as a big time scorer?
3. Woody leading the Big 10 in rebounds?
4. Baer's emergence out of nowhere?

I would have to say Woody. A lot of us thought Uthoff would be the next Hawk drafted after Marble and White in back to back years. Jok showed glimpses of being a scorer last yr. But Woody's rebounding really impressed me this yr. Honorable mention to Baer, who I hadn't even heard of before the season started.

Baer.
The first three weren't a huge surprise.

 

[RockEyeState]

Got to be Baer. Kid came out of no where to be a solid 7th man off the bench. Jok's numbers increased a lot. I wasn't shocked but I thought it would take another year for him todo what he did in the Big.

Without a doubt, it was ST Nicholas Baer. The majority of Hawkeye fans, still don't know who he is, where he came from. His emergence has been a thing of beauty, especially with Dale Jones going down for season.

Heck, I'm not surprised about Jok. He showed flashes the past 2 seasons and was highly recruited guy. Peter has been Outstanding, at times, this year. Really has a high ceiling with how good he can be.

#goHawks

 

[HerkyFan]

In January I would have gone with Uhl. For the entire season though I would go with Woody.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Baer.
The first three weren't a huge surprise.

I would have to disagree regarding Woody. If someone had posted prior to the season that he would lead the B1G in rebounding, they would have been roasted here. Baer is a great story, but I gotta go with AW.

 

[Kinnick4Ever]

Jok, with no offense to Baer (2) and Woody (3). Never imagined him being 2nd team B10 or such a great shooter on a team that really needs 'em.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I would say on the plus for Woodbury the guy has shown incredible toughness & resolve on the glass all season. On the other side, still baffled that he has no post game after 4 years. Not one go to move on the block.

Similar theme for the bench for the first half of the season, but equal disappointment in them the last half of the season. I didn't expect a lot, but I expected more than 0 from Ellingson, Fleming, and Williams (recent games excluded). Wagner's development has been fun to watch as he gains confidence.

 

[Franisdaman]

I will put forth Brady Ellingson as my nominee because I expected more out of this year.

agreed. when was the last time he played? scored?

 

[neidog]

For me the biggest surprise...12 conference wins. I don't like how the season played out, but after the exhibition loss my expectation was not 3rd Place in the conference. This is a good team.

 

[And1Hawk]

I think you can go through each of the typical players and pick out a surprise.

JU -> took game to all-American level
Woody -> rebounding, better shooting & FT%
Jok -> second team All-B1G
Sapp -> better finishing at the rim
MG -> fewer turnovers & more assists
Uhl ->.early 3 pt % and dribble drive ability
Wagner -> undersized 4 & 5 man but produces
Baer -> few mistakes, hit some big time shots at home
CW -> silky smooth, surprise contributor to some

 

[hooper56]

Got to go with Baer. Woody always was a good rebounder but only played 15-20 minutes a game. Now that he gets 30+ he has the better rb stats.

 

[QChawks]

Up thru and including MSU game = Baer

After that point = Jok

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Biggest surprise...a kinder gentler Fran McCaffery. No T's.

 

[NashvilleHawk]

Baer seems to be the obvious answer.

 

[Herkmeister]

The last 6 games were the biggest shock to me.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Uthoff we all knew was really good so no on that one
Jok's scoring is not a surprise, if you didn't know he could score then IDK what to tell you....but his steals were a huge surprise so that is 2nd
Baer hands down, although he faded a bit...but if you would have told me Baer would play significant minutes and we would have a good season I would say you were crazy....but here we are

 

[iowalaw]

I don't think anyone would have guessed that Jarred Uthoff would lead the Big 10 in blocked shots! That honor usually goes to a 6'10 stud center type player. That may be the biggest surprise. That or Jok leading the conference in steals. Or maybe Gessell's lack of stepping up to the next level that we had hoped.

 

[FranklinHawk]

I don't think anyone would have guessed that Jarred Uthoff would lead the Big 10 in blocked shots! That honor usually goes to a 6'10 stud center type player. That may be the biggest surprise. That or Jok leading the conference in steals. Or maybe Gessell's lack of stepping up to the next level that we had hoped.

Damn, you tried your best to make a positive post about the Hawks but at the end of the day you just couldn't quite pull it off...

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

You should post this in a poll cuz it seems really close and all across the board.

 

[cruhawk]

I would have to disagree regarding Woody. If someone had posted prior to the season that he would lead the B1G in rebounding, they would have been roasted here. Baer is a great story, but I gotta go with AW.

AW was expected to do well. He was highly recruited and, really, underperformed given the expectations for most of his time here. What we're seeing this year is what Iowa was expecting all along from him.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Jok was definitely my biggest surprise. Followed by Sapp being our third scorer. I'm also surprised that Mike and Woody didn't average double figures but that's partly a product of the first two.

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

1. Uthoff's 1st team all Big 10 season?
2. Jok's emergence as a big time scorer?
3. Woody leading the Big 10 in rebounds?
4. Baer's emergence out of nowhere?

I would have to say Woody. A lot of us thought Uthoff would be the next Hawk drafted after Marble and White in back to back years. Jok showed glimpses of being a scorer last yr. But Woody's rebounding really impressed me this yr. Honorable mention to Baer, who I hadn't even heard of before the season started.

Hands down it is Baer. Uthoff was expected to step it up, Jok has always had a shot(please develop more game), and Woody has always been a fighter. So, ZERO surprises from these 3. Baer on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise. The guy plays great defense, has superb anticipation. Passes better than most on the team. Shoots in the top 3 from 3pt land. Moves extremely well with, and without, the ball.
AND he is a freshman...

On Iowa!