The Iowa men’s basketball team is refocusing following the exhibition loss.
By Ian Murphy
Jarrod Uthoff told head coach Fran McCaffery a game like the Nov. 6 debacle won’t happen again.
McCaffery said after the Augustana game the Uthoff had a low energy level, and Uthoff agreed Wednesday, saying he didn’t bring it in a 76-74 loss to the D-2 Vikings.
“Bottom line is he has to be able to come to grips with how did I play and what can I do differently?” McCaffery said. “And he said to me point blank, he said, ‘Coach, that won’t happen again. I wasn’t what I should have been, but I’m going to get it corrected, and you’ll never have that problem again.’ ”
The Hawkeyes can’t afford more games like that, as the regular season starts Friday, and every game will count toward a potential third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
McCaffery also said the rest of his team responded accordingly and noted the exhibition exposed holes the Hawkeyes would otherwise not have seen until a loss in a game that counted.
The takeaway of the game being a learning experience echoed throughout Carver Hawkeye on Wednesday.
“I think this is the time of year, if you’re going to lose one, this is the time to do it,” senior Mike Gesell said. “Augustana is the best team in D-2, and we learned a lot from that game.”
Newcomers, veterans figuring it out
The men’s basketball youth movement is well-documented.
The Hawkeyes have 10 players on the roster who are either new or redshirted last season, and at least a few of them will need to make an immediate impact.
That impact wasn’t apparent against the Vikings; the bench played just 46 combined minutes, but McCaffery said the newcomers are making progress.
He said freshman Andrew Fleming has been impressive recently, and he believes others are close to learning the Hawkeye style.
“I thought [Ahmad] Wagner had it all figured out. Then he got in foul trouble in the first game and didn’t really get in a flow in the second game,” McCaffery said. “And Dale [Jones] was on fire, and we played [redshirt freshman Nicholas] Baer because of the experience of the other team.”
The other player with high expectations is forward Dom Uhl, who played just two minutes against the Vikings. The 6-9 sophomore is not only a forward but the backup to senior center Adam Woodbury.
McCaffery said Uhl is still working on learning the 5 spot and will get more comfortable as the season goes along.
Uthoff, whose build is similar to Uhl, said the sophomore needs to be more aggressive.
“He’s got a heck of a lot of ability, I love him as a player and a person,” Uthoff said. “He’s just got to be more aggressive.”
Reaping the signing-day crop
Iowa signed four preps on Wednesday; with highly touted St. Louis prep Tyler Cook being the top player in the class.
Cook, a 6-7 prospect, is the No. 51 player in the ESPN top 100 and a consensus four-star recruit.
He is also the No. 13 power forward in the 2016 recruiting class. Cook had offers from Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan, and Purdue, among others.
“He can make plays off the dribble, he can shoot the ball, and that’s the kind of player that I envisioned,” McCaffery said. “Somebody who has the flexibility to play in transition and play on the perimeter, play in the post, and affect the game in so many different ways.”
The Hawkeyes also welcomed Linn-Marr prep Jordan Bohannon; at 6-1, Bohannon is the No. 1 player in Iowa and another four-star recruit.
Rounding out the class are Cordell Pemsl and Ryan Kriener, both Iowa preps.