By Adam Hensley
Hawkeye fans are hungry to avenge last season’s nightmarish season finale, and that opportunity to start over comes today.
Iowa will tip off its regular season against Kennesaw State at 8:35 p.m. today in Carver-Hawkeye.
This season features new faces and bigger roles for familiar players.
Senior Peter Jok, the lone returning starter from last year, caught fire from beyond the arc in Iowa’s 95-73 exhibition win against Regis.
The senior scored 28 points in 28 minutes of action. After the game, he stated that his takeaways all came on defense, which the team needed to focus on.
“We had a spurt where we were really focused on defense [in the first half],” Jok said. “The second half, it was 42-40, our defensive intensity in the second half wasn’t like what we did in the first half. [Defensive consistency] is what we need. We can score, but how we’re going to win games this year is by defense.”
During Wednesday’s media availability, head coach Fran McCaffery echoed those comments.
“I wasn’t really pleased with the consistency of anything, to be honest with you,” he said. “And it’s kind of been the trend since June. We look good some days; we look just OK some days. Individually, there’s days when guys are absolutely spectacular, and then there’s days when they go missing. That’s not uncommon for a young team.”
Many credit the inconsistencies on defense — and at times on offense — as chemistry issues. Sophomores Christian Williams and Nicholas Baer, junior Dom Uhl, and freshman Tyler Cook made up the starting lineup in Iowa’s exhibition game, along with Jok.
Freshmen Jordan Bohannon and Cordell Pemsl both played significant minutes (14-plus) in the game as well.
With the various freshmen and inexperienced returnees gaining more playing time, McCaffery views the first few games of the season (including Regis) to help shake things out and solidify areas of improvement.
“This will be our first game, so I expect us to play well,” he said. “I think the tangible improvement will be moving forward from there because what’s happened so far, we’ve had practice, we’ve had exhibition game, scrimmage … this is different. This is, see what these guys do in games and who can perform well when the lights come on. Then from there the tangible improvement area will come into effect, in my opinion.”
One player in particular, Cook, drew massive attention from fans.
In his first action in a Hawkeye uniform, the St. Louis native scored 15 points, posted 6 rebounds, and recorded 3 steals (as well as 1 block).
Following the game, McCaffery said Cook’s play was “terrific,” and he praised his presence both on offense and defense.
McCaffery also indicated the Cook’s shot totals will increase, as he said he wants the freshman’s 9 field goal attempts to double.
Kennesaw State comes to Iowa City off the heels of a 60-58 victory against Georgia Southwestern. Aubrey Williams, who scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in only 23 minutes, will be one of the guys to keep an eye on.