Last year the depth of the Hawkeyes’ basketball team was one of it’s best strengths. This year is no different, especially in the backcourt.
Head coach Fran McCaffery addressed the media Thursday for the annual Iowa Hoops Media Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, receiving questions regarding the potential players who could start at shooting guard.
“I would say it’s an open spot,” McCaffery said. “I think you can look at it two ways. Obviously Josh and Pete would be the logical place to start.”
According to McCaffery, both players have established themselves nicely. Last season, Josh Oglesby was named the team’s Most Improved Player and shot 40 percent from 3-point range as a junior. Peter Jok, in his freshman season, saw time sporadically through the year, shooting 40 percent from the field and contributing 10 points in the NCAA tournament game against Tennessee.
The players all seem to view the situation the same way, saying that they don’t care who starts as long as the team performs to the fullest potential. In McCaffery’s system, players are being rotated in and out constantly, so starting does not necessarily translate into playing time.
“It doesn’t matter to us,” said Oglesby. “Pete and I are obviously going to be playing a lot. Whomever has the hot hand is going to be playing that night.”
However, the starting spot is not entirely up to the performances of Jok and Oglesby. With the edition of JUCO point guard Trey Dickerson, there is now conversation circulating around whether junior Mike Gesell will remain in the point guard role or get moved over to the number two spot.
McCaffery stated that at this time, Gesell is the starting point guard, but that could change before the season opener. He also noted that junior point guard Anthony Clemmons is flying under the radar and is in position for a good number of minutes.
“It really is an open opportunity for any one of those guys,” McCaffery concluded.
The players are content with the unknown. The most important facet for them is that they are ready to play and win games.
“Whoever he (McCaffery) chooses to start, we’ll just go with it,” Jok said. “It doesn’t really matter as long as we go out there and do our best.”
