By Jordan Hansen
It’s Peter Jok’s turn to lead the Iowa basketball team.
As the lone returning starter and the team’s only four-year senior on the roster, the sweet-shooting guard fills all the boxes.
He has head coach Fran McCaffery’s trust. He has made some dumb mistakes (those two moped incidents), but he has matured, and it shows. He’s a much better all-around player than he was two years ago.
But most importantly, he has his teammates’ trust and knows that there’s going to be a lot of pressure put on him this season.
“It’s my team now,” Jok said on July 14, after his Week 3 Prime Time game. “Coach is going to put me in position to show what all I can do.”
And oh, is there a lot Jok can do.
Last season, he became more than just a player with a gorgeous shooting stroke. He showcased his athleticism, his driving ability, and even some potential on defense.
Jok has spent a good portion of this summer working on individual defense, as well as his switches — both things he has struggled with in the past. He increased his steal rate last year (though that is not necessarily a good barometer of defensive ability) and bumped up his rebounding average.
No longer is Jok just a 3-point shooter (though it’s more than fair to say it is his greatest skill) and Iowa will require a lot from him. Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa’s leading scorer last year, is gone, as are main ball-handers Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons. Not to mention post-presence Adam Woodbury.
All of those players contributed significantly on offense, and while Jok did a lot last year (he was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.1 points per game) it won’t come as a surprise if he has to carry Iowa in some games.
That said, in order for the Hawkeyes to make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row, he will need to bring along the rest of the team.
“I try to lead by example,” Jok said. “They’ve been great listening to me, watching what I do, following me.”
He has just one Iowa player on his Prime Time roster — incoming freshman Cordell Pemsl — but the eight hours allowed per week of team activities are also allowing the team to adjust to Jok as its new leader.
That said, playing in Prime Time helps build those relationships.
“He takes care of the ball and looks for me,” Pemsl said. “It’s nice to have a senior on your team to be under their wing and learn a little bit.”
Jok is doing all this while fighting toe and shoulder injuries, which only adds to the toughness and leadership mystique.
If he can put all of this together and have another good year, Iowa won’t be his last stop as a basketball player. Jok utilized a new NCAA rule that allowed prospective pro basketball players to dip their toes into the NBA waters.
Jok worked out for just one team (the New Orleans Pelicans) before getting injured, but he’ll have the Nike Basketball Academy next week to help prove his stuff.
Regardless, Iowa is in for an interesting year. This team will look very different from seasons past with a whole host of young faces making up the roster.
But Jok will be its leader, and he has all the confidence in the world.
“We’re going to be a different team, run different plays,” Jok said. “We’re going to have a great year.”
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