The Prime Time League gives the Iowa basketball players a chance to stay active over the summer and get some meaningful live-action reps. With that said, the league is designed to be competitive — and by rule each team is only allowed two Hawkeye players.
Kevin Sanders’ Team
Gabe Olaseni was awarded the honor of being the first draft pick, and he will play for Sanders. At 6-10, Olaseni will be among the tallest participants in the league, and he will certainly cause some difficulty for other teams at the rim. Olaseni will be joined by Josh Oglesby. The 6-5 guard shot better than 40 percent from behind the arc last season, and Hawkeye fans hope he is among the top shooters in the league, as well as the Big Ten. Olaseni and Oglesby will be joined by Northern Iowa’s Paul Jesperson and Ankeny standout-turned-Panther Ted Friedman.
Dan Ahrens’ Team
Promising junior swingman Jarrod Uthoff will show off his continued development for Ahrens. The lanky 6-9 forward shot 43 percent from beyond the arc last season, and he will also prove that his 50 percent overall shooting was not a fluke. Uthoff projects to be a versatile scorer for the Hawkeyes, and he will be exciting to watch. Incoming recruit Brady Elllingson will play with Uthoff, as Iowa fans will get an early look at another shooter. Former Iowa City West star and current Panther Jeremy Morgan will join Uthoff on the wing and be reunited with former Trojan Dondre Alexander.
Ron Nove’s Team
Nove drafted Iowa’s leading returning scorer in Aaron White, who will try to demonstrate that he could be among the top players in the Big Ten in his upcoming senior season. White was also the team’s leading rebounder, and it will be interesting to see how he operates in the paint and if he will try to do some damage from the perimeter as well. Williston State transfer Trey Dickerson will be White’s point guard, and Hawkeye fans should be excited to get a look at 247sports.com’s top-ranked junior-college point guard. They will be joined by Panthers Deon Mitchell and Marvin Singleton.
Ray Swetalla’s Team
Iowa’s returning starting point guard, Mike Gesell, will play for Swetalla, and he will try to show Iowa fans that he is well. Struggling with lingering injuries through last season, he shot only 38 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point land. Gesell still managed a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, and his coach believes he will be a quality lead guard. Swetalla and Gesell will get the first look at6-8 freshman Dominique Uhl, who will provide length and athleticism at forward.
Kevin Lehman’s Team
Lehman will give fans a chance to see promising sophomore guard Peter Jok after a year of development under Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. Once among the top recruits at his age, Jok played sparingly last season but showed glimpses of talent, notably when he scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in Iowa’s NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee in March. Jok will play alongside Hawkeye Okey Ukah, as well as UNI’s Seth Tuttle and Wes Washpun.
Randy Larson’s Team
Junior Adam Woodbury should stick out like a sunflower in a potato garden for Larson’s team — the 7-1 junior is easily the league’s tallest participant. Fans hope to see improved strength from the Hawkeyes’ starting center; he averaged only 4 rebounds per game and scarcely more than one block every other game. Woodbury will be joined by junior Anthony Clemmons, and Clemmons hopes to show that he can provide a spark as a guard off the bench. In limited minutes, Clemmons shot 51 percent from the field last season.