Why Iowa hoops will be better this season
The addition of Joe Wieskamp will help the Hawkeyes this season.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
I know what you are thinking, the Iowa basketball team is coming off a bad season and with most of the same players returning, it’s hard to get excited about the upcoming hoops season in Iowa City.
Well, count me in the group that is excited about getting a real look at the Hawkeyes this coming Sunday when they face Guilford College in an exhibition game.
There’s no sugarcoating that last season was a bad one for Iowa basketball. The Hawkeyes finished last year with a 14-19 record and they were an abysmal 4-14 in conference play. It was Iowa’s worst overall and conference record since Fran McCaffery’s first year with the Hawkeyes.
Under McCaffery, Iowa reached their highest points from 2013-16, making a trip to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament and then three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, winning a pair of games. Then in the 2016-17 season, they took a minor step back and finished 19-15 (10-8) and played in the NIT before falling off last season.
Last year, it was about the defense and a total collapse on that end of the floor. While the offense was very good, averaging 79.7 points per game, the defense was awful, allowing 78.7 points per game, the highest of any season in the McCaffery era. It was even worse in conference play where Iowa allowed 83.1 points per game.
According to KenPom.com, Iowa’s offense was really good, with an adjusted efficiency of 116.6, which was 19th in the country. Iowa’s effective field goal percentage was 54.3%, which was 44th in the nation. Both of those are excellent and on par with teams that generally go to the NCAA Tournament.
What wasn’t good was the defense. According to KenPom.com, Iowa’s adjusted defensive efficiency was 108.4, which was 242 in the country. Their effective field goal percentage defense was even worse at 53.1% which was 275th nationally. Iowa allowed 37.6% shooting from three point range, which was 307th in the nation. In Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes allowed opponents to shoot 42.9% from three against them.
With a new season nearly upon us, I’m actually feeling better about this team. For the first time, it’s not based on some hope or hype from what we saw in the Prime Time League.
Here are ten reasons to be bullish about Iowa’s chances show significant improvement in the 2018-19 season.
1. Fran has changed and so could the defense.
Ok, Fran McCaffery isn’t going to change his personality or style of play, but he has come to accept that the defense last season was unacceptable and needed to change. At media day, McCaffery admitted he’s always been an offensive coach and felt that his teams could simply outscore opponents.
This year he’s taken a different approach. McCaffery has spent more time in practice and workouts addressing the defensive end of the floor.
Will it work?
I can’t say it will or it won’t, but I have a hard time believing it won’t be better. At some point the coaching and pride kick in for the Iowa players and they shouldn’t be as bad. I’m not saying they will a great defensive team, but if they can get to average, the record will flip this season.
KenPom.com seems to be a believer in a defensive turnaround. He has his 2019 rankings out and Iowa’s adjusted defensive efficiency at 97.0, which is 81st in the country. If Iowa is inside the Top 100, I think they are an NCAA Tournament team.
2. Iowa’s offense will continue to be good, maybe even better.
Last year, KenPom.com had Iowa 19th in the country in offensive efficiency. This year his preseason ratings have Iowa at 13th in the country.
I think this team is going to average over 80 points a game and that’s why if they can improve a little bit, they will win more games.
3. Joe Wieskamp is going to help this team quite a bit in a lot of areas.
I’ve been fortunate to watch Wieskamp for several years at the high school and AAU level and the 6-foot-6 wing is going to be very productive. Rivals.com had him as the 43rd best player in the country coming out of high school and he’s much more than just a scorer.
Now, he did plenty of scoring. During his high school career, he scored 2,376 points, the most ever in Class 4A in the state of Iowa. He’s a very good three point shooter and the most underrated aspect to his game is he is a very good rebounder.
I expect that Wieskamp ends up starting at the wing forward position this year and I think he ends up making the All Freshmen team in the Big Ten this year.
4. Connor McCaffery is healthy.
Last season was a lost one for the oldest child of the Iowa head coach. It started with a sprained ankle, then a bout with mono, and eventually complications from that ended his season before it really even got started. McCaffery did play in a handful of games and showed some promise.
This year he’s healthy and he’s bigger and stronger. Last year he would have really helped the Hawkeyes coming off the bench to run the offense and this year he will get that chance. Imagine McCaffery in the game with Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp on the wings shooting the basketball with Tyler Cook and Luka Garza on the blocks. I think Connor McCaffery will help this year.
5. Maishe Dailey wants to be a stopper.
If there’s one player that’s probably flying a bit under the radar heading into the season, it’s the junior wing player who had to play point guard last year due to injuries. When he arrived at Iowa as a relatively late signee, he needed to get stronger and he’s done that. Dailey looks visibly bigger in his shoulders and his confidence is growing.
One thing Dailey said at media day is he wants to carve out a role this year as the Hawkeyes defensive stopper. Well, if last year taught us anything it’s that Iowa needs one or more of those and I think he has a chance to become one. His length and athletic ability could create problems and he could guard multiple positions.
6. Ryan Kriener is on the rise.
There was one name that kept coming up at media day when you ask the Iowa players who has made the most improvement since the end of last season. That name was Ryan Kriener.
The junior big man had kind of a lost season last year with a couple of concussions. His role never really became defined most of the year, but he finished on a high note. In the Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan, Kriener scored a team high 14 points in 20 minutes of action. That success seems to have provided a spark and Iowa should have a nice one-two punch in the post with Kriener and Luka Garza.
The addition of Joe Wieskamp will help the Hawkeyes this season.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
I know what you are thinking, the Iowa basketball team is coming off a bad season and with most of the same players returning, it’s hard to get excited about the upcoming hoops season in Iowa City.
Well, count me in the group that is excited about getting a real look at the Hawkeyes this coming Sunday when they face Guilford College in an exhibition game.
There’s no sugarcoating that last season was a bad one for Iowa basketball. The Hawkeyes finished last year with a 14-19 record and they were an abysmal 4-14 in conference play. It was Iowa’s worst overall and conference record since Fran McCaffery’s first year with the Hawkeyes.
Under McCaffery, Iowa reached their highest points from 2013-16, making a trip to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament and then three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, winning a pair of games. Then in the 2016-17 season, they took a minor step back and finished 19-15 (10-8) and played in the NIT before falling off last season.
Last year, it was about the defense and a total collapse on that end of the floor. While the offense was very good, averaging 79.7 points per game, the defense was awful, allowing 78.7 points per game, the highest of any season in the McCaffery era. It was even worse in conference play where Iowa allowed 83.1 points per game.
According to KenPom.com, Iowa’s offense was really good, with an adjusted efficiency of 116.6, which was 19th in the country. Iowa’s effective field goal percentage was 54.3%, which was 44th in the nation. Both of those are excellent and on par with teams that generally go to the NCAA Tournament.
What wasn’t good was the defense. According to KenPom.com, Iowa’s adjusted defensive efficiency was 108.4, which was 242 in the country. Their effective field goal percentage defense was even worse at 53.1% which was 275th nationally. Iowa allowed 37.6% shooting from three point range, which was 307th in the nation. In Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes allowed opponents to shoot 42.9% from three against them.
With a new season nearly upon us, I’m actually feeling better about this team. For the first time, it’s not based on some hope or hype from what we saw in the Prime Time League.
Here are ten reasons to be bullish about Iowa’s chances show significant improvement in the 2018-19 season.
1. Fran has changed and so could the defense.
Ok, Fran McCaffery isn’t going to change his personality or style of play, but he has come to accept that the defense last season was unacceptable and needed to change. At media day, McCaffery admitted he’s always been an offensive coach and felt that his teams could simply outscore opponents.
This year he’s taken a different approach. McCaffery has spent more time in practice and workouts addressing the defensive end of the floor.
Will it work?
I can’t say it will or it won’t, but I have a hard time believing it won’t be better. At some point the coaching and pride kick in for the Iowa players and they shouldn’t be as bad. I’m not saying they will a great defensive team, but if they can get to average, the record will flip this season.
KenPom.com seems to be a believer in a defensive turnaround. He has his 2019 rankings out and Iowa’s adjusted defensive efficiency at 97.0, which is 81st in the country. If Iowa is inside the Top 100, I think they are an NCAA Tournament team.
2. Iowa’s offense will continue to be good, maybe even better.
Last year, KenPom.com had Iowa 19th in the country in offensive efficiency. This year his preseason ratings have Iowa at 13th in the country.
I think this team is going to average over 80 points a game and that’s why if they can improve a little bit, they will win more games.
3. Joe Wieskamp is going to help this team quite a bit in a lot of areas.
I’ve been fortunate to watch Wieskamp for several years at the high school and AAU level and the 6-foot-6 wing is going to be very productive. Rivals.com had him as the 43rd best player in the country coming out of high school and he’s much more than just a scorer.
Now, he did plenty of scoring. During his high school career, he scored 2,376 points, the most ever in Class 4A in the state of Iowa. He’s a very good three point shooter and the most underrated aspect to his game is he is a very good rebounder.
I expect that Wieskamp ends up starting at the wing forward position this year and I think he ends up making the All Freshmen team in the Big Ten this year.
4. Connor McCaffery is healthy.
Last season was a lost one for the oldest child of the Iowa head coach. It started with a sprained ankle, then a bout with mono, and eventually complications from that ended his season before it really even got started. McCaffery did play in a handful of games and showed some promise.
This year he’s healthy and he’s bigger and stronger. Last year he would have really helped the Hawkeyes coming off the bench to run the offense and this year he will get that chance. Imagine McCaffery in the game with Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp on the wings shooting the basketball with Tyler Cook and Luka Garza on the blocks. I think Connor McCaffery will help this year.
5. Maishe Dailey wants to be a stopper.
If there’s one player that’s probably flying a bit under the radar heading into the season, it’s the junior wing player who had to play point guard last year due to injuries. When he arrived at Iowa as a relatively late signee, he needed to get stronger and he’s done that. Dailey looks visibly bigger in his shoulders and his confidence is growing.
One thing Dailey said at media day is he wants to carve out a role this year as the Hawkeyes defensive stopper. Well, if last year taught us anything it’s that Iowa needs one or more of those and I think he has a chance to become one. His length and athletic ability could create problems and he could guard multiple positions.
6. Ryan Kriener is on the rise.
There was one name that kept coming up at media day when you ask the Iowa players who has made the most improvement since the end of last season. That name was Ryan Kriener.
The junior big man had kind of a lost season last year with a couple of concussions. His role never really became defined most of the year, but he finished on a high note. In the Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan, Kriener scored a team high 14 points in 20 minutes of action. That success seems to have provided a spark and Iowa should have a nice one-two punch in the post with Kriener and Luka Garza.
