Ten games into the season, the Iowa men’s basketball team sits at 7-3. Basketball writers Ian Murphy and Kyle Mann discuss three aspects of the team.
Iowa’s shooting offsets its frontcourt weakness
Mann, Buy: I was as skeptical as anybody coming into the season when I looked at Iowa’s frontcourt depth, but so far, I have to buy Iowa’s shooting.
After finishing 11th in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting in 2014-15, the Hawkeyes sit third and are shooting slightly more than 40 percent, a benchmark would be a magnificent strength if it holds over the course of the season. Furthermore, many of Iowa’s key players hover around that mark individually, and leading scorer Jarrod Uthoff is at a ridiculous 51 percent.
The defenses they face will improve once Big Ten play hits, but for now, Iowa’s shooting has proven to be its calling card.
Murphy, Sell: We’ve seen what happens whens Iowa’s shooters go cold, and it isn’t pretty. The most glaring example was the Hawkeyes’ blown lead at Iowa State.
The sample size is small, and Iowa State, with the exception of Michigan State and Maryland, is arguably the best team the Hawkeyes will play this season, but the way the Cy-Hawk game panned out doesn’t bode well for the Hawkeyes.
As good as the shooters have been statistically, they can’t get cold at the wrong time.
Uthoff is good enough to carry Iowa in the Big Ten
Mann, Sell: Uthoff has shown that he is exactly as good of a shooter as Hawkeye fans could have hoped, if not more so. After a 20-point half against Western Illinois and a 30-point half against Iowa State, it is clear that Uthoff can carry an offense (and a defense) for stretches.
With that said, I’m afraid that I have to sell this. Uthoff, as is, is a superbly gifted scorer who makes seemingly any open shot he takes. The problem is that given his unassuming demeanor, Uthoff’s unselfishness at times functions as a detriment (See: Iowa State).
I don’t doubt whether Uthoff can grow as a go-to player as the season progresses, but what we’ve seen so far only indicates that he will put Iowa in a position to win but not necessarily close it.
Murphy, Buy: The Big Ten is as star-studded a conference as ever, and Iowa’s solar system orbits around Uthoff.
He’s the leading scorer, the go-to man for the last-second game winner, and he drives the Hawkeye offense even though it doesn’t run straight through him. Iowa is a team loaded with veteran experience, but it’s Uthoff’s team this season.
He doesn’t have to be the guy to put a dagger in a team, but he can be. There’s no one head coach Fran McCaffery would like to take the shot more than Uthoff. Just as Aaron White and Devyn Marble before him, as Uthoff goes, so will Iowa. All signs point to Iowa going far.
Iowa’s depth is adequate to maintain its up-tempo offense
Mann, Buy: With Uthoff’s tendency to defer, and the bevy of shooters around him, the Hawkeyes’ depth and ability to stay fresh will be essential. In that regard, I do believe that there are enough players on this team to succeed.
The loss of Dale Jones hurt an weak frontcourt, but Dom Uhl and Ahmad Wagner have shown the ability to make up for that loss in their own ways. Furthermore, the experienced guard play of Mike Gesell, Anthony Clemmons, and Peter Jok should provide enough rotation to keep each one fresh and productive.
Woodbury, bottom line, is a 7-footer who can run the floor, and along with Nick Baer and Brady Ellingson, McCaffery doesn’t have many players who would be viewed as a liability on the floor. In the end, McCaffery has a solid rotation that should continue to improve as the year moves on.
Murphy, Sell: It’s a long season. Thirty-plus games will wear on anyone, especially in the Big Ten season, in which basketball gives way to basketbrawl. While there are able bodies on the bench for the Hawkeyes, most of them have yet to make a big impact.
Baer and Ellingson have had their moments this season, but they’ve yet to have breakout games. McCaffery tends to shorten his bench in close games, trusting his veterans down the stretch rather than giving the game to the newcomers.