By Blake Dowson

[email protected]

Not much is known about what starting lineup Iowa men’s basketball head coach Fran McCaffery will trot out tonight against Regis University.

After losing four starters from last year’s squad, it’s not exactly easy to predict who will get some time after the ball is tipped.

It’s not like it really matters, though. McCaffery has said on numerous occasions this fall that he has a rotation of about 13 or 14 guys who can play legitimate minutes, and those who start won’t necessarily hog the minutes.

Although there’s no Jarrod Uthoff to score the ball anymore, McCaffery says he feels like this year’s team is the deepest he’s ever had at Iowa. That means something.

For one, it eases the pain of losing Uthoff and the other three senior stalwarts from last season when you bring in a top-40 recruit in Tyler Cook, who McCaffery and the rest of the team say can rebound, run, shoot, dribble, sell popcorn, and wipe the floors when someone slips.

He will be the main attraction tonight for the fans in attendance.

“I’m going to give everything I have,” Cook said at the team’s media day. “One thing I really can control is my effort. So [the fans] are going to see that from the first second to the final horn.”

While exhibition games such as tonight’s are a good opportunity for fans to see the shiny objects in the system, including Peter Jok and Cook, they are really about ironing out some sort of rotation that gets narrowed down to around 10 guys.

Certain guys are shoo-ins for playing time. Jok, Cook, Dale Jones, Nicholas Baer, Dom Uhl, Ahmad Wagner, Christian Williams — you know these names, you will see them play.

That leaves two or three open spots up for grabs.

Isaiah Moss, a redshirt freshman, will certainly get a long look during tonight’s contest. Moss lit up the scoring column this summer during the Prime Time League and has continued that into the fall in practice.

Jordan Bohannon, a true freshman from Marion, may find himself in the starting point-guard position, McCaffery said. It’s his or Williams’ spot, and the two have duked it out in practice quite a bit.

“We can each score it in different ways,” Williams said. “I can get to the rim more … Jordan kind of goes behind the arc.”

That leaves minutes at the forward position up for grabs. A couple freshmen, Cordell Pemsl and Ryan Kriener, seem to be the leading candidates.

Both are Iowa preps, and both bring different skills.

Pemsl is more of a bruiser in the low post who shows some flashy moves on the block.

Kriener can stretch defenses to the 3-point line, which McCaffery has to love.

Regardless of who plays a lot of minutes against Regis and who gets the bulk of the minutes this season, the team will look different.

There is only one player shorter than 6-4 who will get playing time, and no one taller than 6-9. It’s going to be fast, it’s going to be frantic, and it’s going to be fun to watch.

“It’s super exciting,” Cook said. “It wasn’t [fun] trying to get into shape, but it’s really exciting. We have a super long and athletic team. So watching us run and get a bucket in three seconds, five seconds, it’s ridiculous. So the biggest thing for us is getting in shape and getting used to it.”