No. 1 — Jarrod Uthoff
Uthoff is new to the Hawkeye crowd. The 2011 Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduate signed with Wisconsin, but after redshirting for the Badgers in 2012, he announced that he’s decided to transfer to Iowa.
The 6-8 forward won’t be able to receive a scholarship or see any playing time until the 2013-14 season under NCAA rules, so Prime Time is his only chance to perform in front of Hawkeye fans this year.
Uthoff was a high-school superstar at Jefferson, becoming the state’s Mr. Basketball after averaging an state-leading 26.1 points per game.
"He’s very versatile, he’s a very unselfish passer and has a great feel for the game," said head coach and Prime Time Commissioner Randy Larson, who picked Uthoff. "He’s a great 3-point shooter with really good post moves as well, but it was his unselfishness that really stood out to me."
No. 2 — Mike Gesell
The incoming Hawkeye freshman Gesell was a top-100 prospect from South Sioux City, Neb. The point guard averaged 24.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 5 rebounds in his senior year en route to earning his second-straight Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year honor.
The 6-1 player became the Sioux City area and Nebraska Class A and B all-time leading scorer with 2,112 career points.
Gesell is expected to start at point guard for the Hawkeyes next season, but Prime Time will be his first introduction to the Iowa City crowd.
Scout.com listed Gesell’s weaknesses as defense and physical strength but reported that the guard has a strong 3-point shot and natural athletic talent.
No. 3 — Aaron White burst onto the Hawkeye fan radar during his freshman year in 2012, working his way up from sixth man to starting forward. He averaged 11.1 points and a team-leading 5.7 rebounds per game the with Hawkeyes en route to being named ESPN’s 15th-best freshman in the NCAA.
The Strongsville, Ohio native improved toward the send of the season when his point average spiked to16.2 per game for the last five games, when he also shot 68 percent (21-of-31).
White’s high school numbers match up with the first two draft picks — he averaged a double-double in high school with 23.1 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Unlike Uthoff and Gesell, the forward has a year of Big Ten experience behind him, including upset wins over Purdue and Wisconsin and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament.
No. 4 — Devyn Marble finished his sophomore year at Iowa averaging 11.2 points per game and leading the Hawkeyes with 53 steals on the season. The guard/forward ranked fourth in the Big Ten in steals after nabbing 1.5 of them per game. Marble has grabbed 4 steals twice in his career, most recently against Illinois in 2012.
Like White, Marble heated up to his full potential at the end the season. Marble scored 31 points — including 7 3-pointers in 8 attempts — and racked up 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the Hawkeyes’ final game against Oregon in the second round of the NIT in 2012.
Marble has the most experience out of anyone selected in the first round; his 1,624 career minutes in the game nearly double White’s 834. Furthermore, Marble improved tremendously during the 2011 Prime Time season — improving his freshman stats of 5.7 points per game to 11.2 over the year after working hard.