Iowa men’s basketball’s Ladji Dembele’s perfect performance began with a glaring miscue. Coming in off the bench in the Hawkeyes’ game against Iowa State on Thursday for the first time this season, the second-year flashed signs of perhaps why he was demoted in the first place.
Second-year Brock Harding passed Dembele the ball at the left side of the court. After a couple of dribbles, Dembele lost his handle and turned it over right into the hands of Cyclone forward Joshua Jefferson. The home crowd groaned. Head coach Fran McCaffery stuck out his arms in frustration. Dembele’s confidence was put to the test, but McCaffery’s words rang inside his head.
“Before the game that’s what coach told us,” Dembele said. “He said, ‘If you turn the ball over don’t hang your head and just play through it.’ I turned the ball over and said, ‘It better not happen again.”
That turnover proved to be the forward’s lone error on the night in the Hawkeyes’ nine-point loss to the Cyclones. Dembele tied his season-high with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, connecting on a career-high three triples.
“I am really proud of him,” McCaffrey said. “I told him ‘You know, come off the bench and play with confidence. He was getting a little tentative. He didn’t play that way tonight.”
Demebele showed no signs of hesitation when he received the ball two possessions later at the top of the key. His defender yielded room to shoot and the forward let it fly. Splash. The Hawkeye faithful roared in delight and surprise as Dembele drained only his fifth three-pointer of the season and 14th of his career. Jogging back on defense, Dembele couldn’t help but smile.
Later that first half, Dembele nailed a mid-range jumper, followed by another triple. The offensive prowess was a throwback to his prep days at St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey, where he averaged 16 points as a senior. A three-star recruit arriving at Iowa, Dembele averaged 2.2 points and two rebounds in his first season in the Black and Gold.
This season marked Dembele’s first as a routine starter, but over the Hawkeyes’ first nine games, Dembele struggled to produce, averaging 3.9 points and four rebounds while shooting nearly 39 percent from the floor. McCaffery opted to start senior guard Drew Thelwell in Dembele’s place, and the forward took the news in stride.
In a new role as the sixth man Dembele’s mindset never waivered as he knew his efforts were still needed for Iowa to play at a competitive level. Even off the bench Dembele kept the same mindset he would have while starting.
“It’s the same,” Dembele said. “I always try to stay ready for wherever they put me in the game and do the best I can. It really wasn’t a big difference.”
Despite the loss, Dembele’s teammates praised his performance off the bench. Fourth-year Payton Sandfort said that he was happy about the way he was able to play with such confiecnce after the recent struggles.
“I am really proud of Ladji,” Sandfort said. “The way that he’s been bashed and struggling, people have been brutal to him. But he stepped up and played his heart out.”