By Adam Hensley
Contrary to popular belief, exhibition games aren’t “meaningless.”
The Iowa men’s basketball team clobbered Regis on Nov. 4, winning 95-73.
The exhibition victory doesn’t count toward the Hawkeyes’ regular-season wins and losses; however, the game served as an indicator for where the program stands.
Tyler Cook will have a major role this season.
Cook, a freshman from St. Louis, drew arguably the biggest applause as the PA announcer called his name in the starting lineup moments before tip-off.
It was a sign of things to come.
“I thought he was terrific,” head coach Fran McCaffery said. “He was a presence on both ends of the floor. I thought he really fit into what we were trying to do.”
During his 26 minutes on the court, Cook scored 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, snagged 3 steals, and blocked one shot.
“There were things I did well, and things I could have done better at,” Cook said. “Just continue[ing] to try to get myself open. I wasn’t used to being in the role I am now — I need to be active offensively.”
For the first time in what seems like a while, the Hawkeyes finally have a big man who’s looking to dunk the ball whenever he touches it.
Cook possesses the athletic ability, which he demonstrated by dazzling the crowd with an array of dunks in the pregame warm-ups.
The next step, McCaffery said, is to get him more involved.
“We’ll go to him more,” he said. “I want to see our guys recognize [him]. He had 9 shots and 7 free throws — those numbers should be doubled.”
So, for those fans who are dying to see Cook get the ball more, Christmas just came early.
Sophomore Christian Williams got the start at the point, but the position isn’t solidified.
Williams, who played decent minutes down stretch of last season, started.
In his first start as a Hawkeye, Williams finished with 11 points and 5 assists — all without turning the ball over once — in 23 minutes of play.
Jordan Bohannon, a freshman, played 20 minutes, scoring 8 points and recording 2 assists.
McCaffery rotated the two in and out of the game, and at times played them alongside each other.
When asked if Williams took that final step in attaining the coveted starting point-guard role, McCaffery said, “Probably.”
“I thought Jordan was terrific in the first half,” he said. “He came off the bench, scored 7 quick ones, pushed it hard. We need both of those guys. Christian goes 11 and 5 [assists] with 0 turnovers, [that’s] a pretty good night.”
Williams, who stands at 6-5, has a larger frame than the 6-0 Bohannon, and showed his ability to finish in the lane, going coast-to-coast on fast breaks.
On the other hand, Bohannon is a better shooter, especially from deep.
“[He’s] not going to be 1-for-5 very often for 3,” McCaffery said.
Peter Jok took another step to being the leader of this team.
Jok, who enters his senior season on the Preseason All-Big Ten team, caught fire behind the 3-point line, drilling 5-of-7 shots from downtown.
His biggest impact came during a time-out.
Iowa struggled on defense in the second half, conceding 42 points to Regis in the 20-minute span. A defensive letdown led to a Hawk time-out, during which McCaffery ripped into his players and called for change.
The coach stepped away to cool down for a moment, and Jok jumped up to address the team.
“[Friday’s] game was a wake-up call,” Jok said. “Coach got into [the team]. I tried to tell them in a different way, because sometimes they’ll listen to the player instead of the coach.”