It’s now October 31st, meaning Halloween is upon us and college basketball is right around the corner. Exhibitions are being played across the nation, used to size up the talent of all 347 Division I college basketball teams in the country before the regular season is in full effect.

In the middle of it all, Iowa City is now teeming with excitement around this year’s Hawkeyes: a team that bolsters youth and emerging talent with the recent graduation of star guard Peter Jok. However, Jok’s absence is not bringing groans of rebuilding, but instead eagerness for what the rest of the team has to offer.

Guard Play Will Come with a Learning Curve

Jordan Bohannon is undoubtedly the starting point guard for the Hawks this year. The sophomore scored a team-high 19 points while assisting four baskets in the exhibition win over William Jewell College. He is by no means a ‘true’ point guard, but his three-point prowess (4-7 in the exhibition) makes him a must-start.

The backup point guard looked to be the inconsistent Christian Williams, but his sudden exit via transfer puts pressure onto head coach Fran McCaffery to fill the void. With the news breaking so close to the season, many believed either Isaiah Moss or Maishe Dailey would be tasked with the backup role. Enter: Connor McCaffery.

The coach’s son is a freshman guard out of Iowa City West High School who was tabbed by many to receive little playing time and potentially redshirt. However, he was a surprise constant in the exhibition, tallying the fourth-most minutes (18) and the second-most assists (3).

A large chunk of his playing time may be attributed to Moss’s ankle tweak which sidelined him for much of the second half, but with McCaffery’s increased role up top, we may see Moss more as a true shooting guard in his attempt to fill Peter Jok’s shoes.

There’s no question that Fran McCaffery will reward Bohannon’s stellar freshman season with a starting role, but the backup slot is still up for grabs. With one home exhibition left (Thurs. Nov. 2 vs Belmont Abbey College), Connor McCaffery, Moss and Dailey will likely see increased minutes to sort out the pecking order for the season.

Freshmen Will Be A Focal Point Once More

Last season, 44.7 percent of Iowa’s offense came from four freshmen: Tyler Cook (12.3), Jordan Bohannon (10.9), Cordell Pemsl (8.9) and Isaiah Moss (6.5). This season, four freshmen enter the fold: forwards Luka Garza and Jack Nunge and guards Connor McCaffery and Austin Ash. Garza (26) and Nunge (17) each received extensive minutes in the exhibition and it certainly paid off with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Both forwards will certainly see the floor more often than the guards, but Connor McCaffery is looking toward more minutes with Christian Williams gone. Ash, a walk-on from Cedar Rapids, was the only Hawkeye to not see the floor versus William Jewell College.

Garza, a true freshman from Washington D.C., is a bruising forward that managed nine rebounds in the contest. He’ll open up space to push Nicholas Baer to his rightful small forward spot. Garnering the most attention of the four recruits, he seems to have cracked the starting lineup already.

Nunge, a true freshman from Newburgh, Indiana, is a versatile swingman that can play all across the floor. He was perfect (3-3) from beyond the arc and notched nine boards in the exhibition. He’ll certainly add a third level of scoring past the traditional forwards and guards on the team.

Why The Hawks Can Compete

Last season, Tyler Cook proved to be the man down low that the Hawks have been seeking since Melsahn Basabe. He’ll help Iowa compete in not only the Big Ten, but in the tournament. Fran McCaffery has one B1G tournament win since taking over in 2010 and losing early in the conference tourney has often kept the team out of March Madness.

This year, though, Iowa has the talent down low to win games consistently in the conference. Wisconsin and Ohio State have traditionally given the team trouble and the tandem of Cook and Garza will look to change that.

Another variable that has held the Hawks back in March is poor point guard play, but Jordan Bohannon was recently named to the 20-player Bob Cousy Point Guard Watchlist, hopefully meaning that the string of poor point play is over. The sophomore will have an increased role as far as scoring goes, but he’ll need to facilitate better than guards in the past in order for the Hawks to advance in March.

The real reason the Hawks can thrive this year is the graduation of Peter Jok. He clearly scored points galore and boosted the team for many different reasons, but teams expected points to pour from Jok all year. Opening opportunities for many other skilled players, especially the newcomers, makes this squad exceptionally scary for Big Ten defenses.

Garza and Nunge add the final layer that the Hawks have been lacking for years and while it’s only Halloween, this team should be plenty spooky by the time March rolls around.

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This time, the series shifted to Iowa City, and it didn’t look like the game was played between the same two teams.

In an instant classic that could change the direction of the Hawkeyes’ season, the lead changed 20 times and every big shot was followed by an even bigger one.

After the first half went back and forth, Purdue took a nine-point lead into halftime after a 6-0 run, but the young Hawkeyes were not fazed. A 5-0 Iowa run started the second half, and the team showed everyone in Carver-Hawkeye Arena that they had matured since the last time they played the Boilermakers.

“When you go through what we went through (at Purdue), you have to learn from it,” said Iowa’s Head Coach Fran McCaffery. “Sometimes you just have to learn what playing on the road in the Big Ten is like, and then you go back to work. You grow, and you figure it out.”

The Hawkeyes did figure it out, and they did it as a team. The team recorded 22 total assists, 11 in each half, and nearly all of them came from their leaders, senior Peter Jok and freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon.

Jok lead this young team once again in scoring with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting, but he also added six rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Bohannon also had a career-high nine assists compared to just one turnover in a team-high 36 minutes.

“My game plan was to come out and try to get everybody else open shots,” said Jok after the game. “The team did a great job of finishing.”

Jok is known for his shooting ability, but his unselfish play in his senior season has aided in the development of the team’s young core. His ability to be a leader by example has led to some high praise from his head coach.

“I thought he was really special tonight,” said McCaffery of Jok’s performance. “He just gets how everything fits, and he’s making it easier for everybody else, which is what you want your senior captain to do.”

Even though Jok put up a game-high 29 points, the game was not won on the perimeter. Instead, Iowa took the challenge of Purdue’s big men and faced it head on.

Purdue has a post presence unlike any other team in the Big Ten with 6’9 Caleb Swanigan and 7’2 Isaac Haas playing down low, but Iowa’s young big men rose to the occasion last night.

Iowa registered 40 points in the paint compared to Purdue’s 20, something that is not easy to do against a team with Purdue’s size. The Hawkeyes also outrebounded the Boilermakers 35 to 28 after allowing 37 boards in West Lafayette.

Freshman forward Tyler Cook was second on the team in points with 16 on 7-of-10 shooting. He also contributed six rebounds and his defense on Swanigan never allowed the B1G Player of the Year candidate to fully settle in and get comfortable.

Off the bench, Nicholas Baer continued to wow everyone with his aggressiveness and gritty play. He grabbed ten rebounds, nine of them in the second half, and blocked a would-be dunk from the 7’2 Haas that brought the crowd at CHA to their feet.

Twice the Hawkeyes forced jump balls with Haas, and twice two big bodies hit the floor hard. In the first half, it was Cordell Pemsl who took Haas to the floor with a takedown Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands would have been proud of. In the second half, Haas was taken to the ground again, this time by Ryan Kriener.

Yes, Ryan Kriener.

The freshman from Spirit Lake was only averaging 4.4 minutes per game and had not checked in to a conference game yet this season, but he played eight impactful minutes late in the game.

Kriener checked in midway through the second half and picked up a quick foul on Haas, but the freshman responded by scoring six of the teams next eight points that helped the Hawkeyes tie the game for the first time in the half.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!” Tyler Cook chanted as the two made their way into their post game media session.

For the second straight game, McCaffery used a player off the bench to spark a rally and give the team a boost when they needed it. First, it was Dom Uhl against Rutgers. On Thursday night, it was Ryan Kriener.

“(He’s) been waiting for a chance, and he’s earned that chance,” McCaffery said of Kriener’s performance. “I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

“When you get your shot you just have to go and make the most it,” said Kriener. “I have a lot of confidence in my ability to score … but I couldn’t do that without my teammates getting me open, so credit to them.”

The Hawkeyes have now played four Big Ten games since their opening night debacle at Mackey Arena, and each game has been decided by single digits. In those games, the Hawkeyes are 3-1, with all three wins at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I’m really proud of our guys and how we were able to compete tonight, said Baer following the upset of Purdue. “It’s something we’re going to have to do moving forward. Every night’s going to be a battle.”

Inexperience is no longer an excuse for this Iowa team, and they never wanted to use it as one in the first place. They’ve been through a lot already in the early going of the Big Ten season, and a signature win like this over a good Boilermakers team might just give them the confidence they need going forward. The “rebuilding year” for the Iowa program may not have to take a whole year if the team keeps playing at this level.

Iowa (11-7 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) travels to Evanston, IL on Sunday January 15^th to take on the Northwestern Wildcats (14-4 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) at 6:30 pm CST on BTN.

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After scoring just six points in the team’s first three Big Ten games, the junior from Frankfurt, Germany came off the bench and scored in double figures for the first time in almost a whole calendar year. His efforts helped push the Hawkeyes past Rutgers by a score of 68-62 on Sunday night as the team improved to 2-2 in conference play.

Each of Uhl’s points carried significant weight and most of them came at very opportune times. His first bucket, a three-pointer at the top of the key, gave the Hawkeyes a 22-20 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half, their first lead since the opening minute. In the second half, he made consecutive free throws to end an Iowa scoring drought that lasted for nearly three minutes. The Hawkeyes outscored the Scarlet Knights 24-11 to close out the game following those free throws.

“He was the man today,” said Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery after the game. “He was the difference in the game without question. I’m so proud of him.”

Uhl’s presence was felt at both ends of the floor today. His free throws sparked a rally and brought some energy back into Carver-Hawkeye Arena that had been absent most of the game, and his five blocked shots prevented the Scarlet Knights from being able to keep pace with the Hawkeyes late in the game.

Before coming to Iowa, Uhl attended Point Pleasant Beach High School in New Jersey, and playing a team from his home state may have been one reason he was able to turn it up a notch today.

“It’s always fun to play a team from Jersey,” Uhl said.

In the team’s double-overtime loss to Nebraska on Thursday, Uhl played just six minutes total and not at all in the second half or either of the overtime periods. His playing time has diminished this season, but his attitude and work ethic have stayed consistent according to McCaffery.

“It would have been really easy for him to get mad at me and make excuses,” McCaffery said. “He just kept working.”

McCaffery said Uhl was at the gym two hours early to get extra shots up before today’s game.

“You just have to stay positive,” Uhl said after Sunday’s game. “Get in the gym, work on your game.”

Even with the struggles Uhl has had this season, he proved today that he can be ready to go when it’s his turn to step up for the team. While he admitted it felt good to finally come out and have a good game, he was more concerned with the team having success.  Both he and freshman Cordell Pemsl spoke postgame on the team’s chemistry and how that has helped them fight through some close games recently.

“Today was my game I guess. Other days it’s somebody else’s game,” Uhl said. “Everybody stays positive and fires each other up.”

The Hawkeyes (10-7 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) play next on Thursday when they host the #20 Purdue Boilermakers (14-3 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) at 8:00 pm. The teams met on December 28^th at Mackey Arena when Purdue beat Iowa 89-67 to open up conference play.

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Despite some bright spots, the struggles continued for Fran McCaffrey and company as they welcomed one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten into Carver-Hawkeye Arena.When all was said and done, the Badgers (18-10, 10-5) escaped Iowa City with a 67-59 win over the Hawkeyes (20-7, 11-4)

This is Wisconsin’s third win against a top ten team this season. The other two came against fourth ranked Michigan State at home back on January 17^th and at second ranked Maryland back on February 14^th.

It is the first time since 1955 that the Badgers have two road wins against a top ten team. Wisconsin now has won nine of their last ten games, and they have another impressive win to add to their resume come Selection Sunday.

For Iowa, the issues that plagued them during their swoon has been the productivity of the bench and their team perimeter defense.

The bench only contributed four points compared to the starters 55. Dom Uhl and Nicholas Baer were the two players for Iowa who played more than five minutes off the bench.

For how good the bench played earlier in the season and extended leads instead of holding on for dear life until the starters got back, this has become a major concern for Fran McCaffery and the Iowa coaching staff.

Three of Iowa’s five starters played over 33 minutes, including 34 minutes from both Adam Woodbury and Anthony Clemmons. Woodbury set a new career-high with 18 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end, to go along with six points.

Peter Jok paced Iowa with 21 points with 17 of those coming in the first half. The starters combined to shoot 16-47 from the field, which is just a shade over 34%. Iowa missed a lot of open layups and had a lot of second and third opportunities on numerous possessions due to an 18-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

Anthony Clemmons and Jarrod Uthoff were the other two Hawkeyes in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively.

“We got good shot attempts,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

“We just got a little hesitant at times. Woody did a nice job of going back and getting us some extra opportunities, and Pete just got tired.”

Iowa had 14 turnovers as a team, which McCaffery said was way too much for his team.

Outside of the first couple minutes, the game was played at Wisconsin’s pace. They like to slow the pace of games down and not let teams get out in transition.

At the end of the day, teams that make timely shots and gets solid, all-around production usually wins their fair share of games. That is the difference between Iowa and Wisconsin right now.

The Hawkeyes now have a few days to prepare for their next game on Sunday afternoon at Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who are coming off an 81-62 loss at home to Michigan State, are 10-6 in the conference and a game and a half behind Iowa in the standings.

“We’ve got a great season going. It’s not time to cave in and throw the towel in. We’ve got more season to play,” Adam Woodbury said.

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The first half was rather uneventful for the Hawks, Jok had a nice breakaway layup and the Hawks were up four at one point but they had an 8-minute stretch without a basket. Aaron White put an end to that with a 2-handed jam with one minute left in the half that gave Iowa a little momentum heading into halftime.

The Gophers went into halftime with a 23-19 lead.

The halftime show was one of the best ones this season. The AcroDunks are a bunch of high flying dunk artists which brought life back into the Hawkeye crowd.

The second half was better than the first half by a far margin. The Hawks regained the lead with 13-minutes left at 31-30. The teams traded baskets until Andre Hollins drained a 3 to put the Gophers up 39-37.

The Gophers had a 10 point lead with two minutes left and Uthoff nailed a 3 to cut the deficit to 7. Then the Hawks applied the all-out full-court press swapping Jok and Clemons for offense/defense.  Pulling within 5 with a minute left.

Jarrod Uthoff had a great leaping steal off an in-bounds play near mid-court and dished it to White for the dunk to make the score 59-56 with 56 seconds left. After fouling Minnesota and Hollins making both free throws to put them up 61-56 with 27 seconds left.

Iowa came back down the floor with a screen for Uthoff to pop a 3. Minnesota committed the cardinal sin of basketball fouling on a three-point shot. Uthoff drained all 3 free-throws to make it 61-59 with 20 seconds left.

Minnesota was fouled immediately and made one of two free-throws keeping it a one possession game at 62-59.

Mike Gesell drove to the hoop with 11 seconds left and ran right into Chris Walker with no foul called, Walker gained possession and iced it for Minnesota 64-59.

At times the Hawks looked gassed and that lead to some costly turnovers (16 total). Another issue was being gun shy shooting the ball. They became focused on execution and movement, Fran said “We were not a master of shooting when open tonight.”

Neither team shot well from beyond the arc tonight, which may have played a factor in Iowa being gun-shy from downtown.

Stat notes

Minnesota

Andre Hollins led all scorers with 20 and Nate Mason added 12 from the bench.

Iowa

Woodbury had 4 points, 3 rebounds along with 2 assists before fouling out.

Off the bench Gabe Olaseni contributed 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Dominque Uhl chipped in with 2 points and 3 rebounds. Anthony Clemons added 5 points, he was also poked in the eye but after review it was unintentional.

Iowa falls to (15-9) overall and (6-5) in the Big Ten. Iowa’s next game is Sunday Feb. 15th, at 2 P.M. @ Northwestern on Big Ten Network It is the first match-up this season between them.

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The Hawkeyes had four guys in double figures tonight, which includes junior Jarrod Uthoff. He scored 13 tonight, on 6-11 from the field and 1-3 from the three-point line. “He (Uthoff) was aggressive, and that’s what I want him to be. He had some pull-up jumpers early, and then he hit the big three and then added a terrific move at the end of the half,” McCaffery said.

At this point, we all know the situation Gabe Olaseni is in, and he continues to play inspired basketball. The senior forward had another double-double tonight with 12 points, and 10 rebounds. Early on Olaseni wasn’t hitting his shots offensively but he found ways to stay involved, and impact the game. “The thing you’ve got to love about him (Gabe), again the shot’s weren’t falling, so he gets six offensive rebounds. He recognizes we need him to go back and get it for us,” McCaffery said.

Perhaps the most surprising star for the Hawkeyes this season showed up again tonight. I’m talking about the 6-8 freshmen out of Frankfurt, Germany, Dom Uhl. He had a career high 11 point and added 6 rebounds to the stat sheet. “I thought he was terrific. I think it starts with him, with his energy level, and he was really active,” McCaffery said. “He was attacking the basket off the dribble, making plays for other people.”

There were a lot of good things that happened tonight for the Hawks. Normally things do when a team wins by 23. But if there was something that didn’t go so well for the Hawkeyes, it was the three-point shooting. Iowa shot a dreadful 16-percent from beyond the arc that came on 3-19 shooting. All McCaffery can tell his guys is, keep shooting. “They were wide open” he said. “I only get upset if they start hunting them and start shooting uncontested trees or ill-advised.”

Iowa moves on to the 13^th ranked Iowa State Cyclones on Friday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, trying to get revenge from last year’s loss, a loss that could have easily turned into a win. “I think the (Iowa State) loss last year stuck with us longer because we had them,” White said. “We’re happy for the opportunity on Friday. We have them at home, it should be fun.”

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Jok, a sophomore guard from West Des Moines, led all Iowa scorers with 16 points on six of nine shooting: two of two from behind the arc.

“Pete’s had the same sprained ankle two different times, so I think that hurt his chances to get that (starting) job,” Head Coach Fran McCaffery said when asked why neither Jok, nor senior Josh Oglesby started along side Mike Gesell at the two guard. “It’s also affected his conditioning, which you could see today, but it’s amazing he’s got 16 (points) in 17 minutes, he’s got that ability.”

This isn’t the first time Jok’s displayed his ability to light it up as he had 10 points on four of five shooting in last year’s NCAA tournament game against Tennessee. He will be a valuable asset to Coach McCaffery this season so long as he can stay on the floor: injury and off the court issues have brought concern over the past year.

However, if he can lead the charge off the bench this season, along with some other newcomers, Iowa will have 10 players who can provide valuable minutes.

Newcomers Dom Uhl, a 6’9″ freshman from Frankfurt, Germany, and sophomore transfer guard Trey Dickerson both showed tremendous upside in their Hawkeye debuts.

Uhl has the look of a freshman with a lot of muscle left to put on and a fairly raw skill set: shooting just two for nine from the field. However, his length, ball handling skills and athletic ability will be more than enough to earn him meaningful minutes as a freshman.

“His handle for a guy who’s 6’9″ is very unique he can go by anybody  he wants whenever he wants to… he sometimes gets to the rim and gets a little jammed up,” McCaffery said. “He’s got a nice touch I think what you’ll see him do is drive and finish with dunks a little more often as he gets older and stronger, and more confident in his game, his jumper needs work but it’s solid enough… he’s going to be a great player no question about it.”

McCaffery clearly has confidence in him, and so should we. Expect a modest freshman campaign from Uhl as he adjusts to the speed of the college game and continues to develop his body. But, he’s got the speed, skill, and desire to develop himself into an elite college basketball player.

Junior college transfer Trey Dickerson also provided some flare coming off the bench in his first ever game for Iowa. Dickerson flies up and down the court. His speed and athleticism are his strength, but don’t rule out this speedster’s ability to stroke it as well as he was two for two on his attempts from beyond the arc. He was three of four on the day with his lone miss on a breakaway where he got caught between a dunk and a layup and the ball got away from him resulting in a missed layup.

“He’s got a gear that most people really don’t have and that will really help our team, plus he can shoot the ball. When you’re fast and can’t shoot they can play you one way; when you’re fast and can shoot now it’s hard to guard that guy,” said McCaffery about Dickerson after the game.

Coach Fran McCaffery has quietly obtained the future of Iowa Hawkeye Men’s basketball with sophomores Jok and Dickerson as well as freshman Dom Uhl. The trio won’t be spotted in the starting line up all too often this season, but all will provide valuable scoring and athleticism off the bench for the Hawkeyes in the 2014-2015 campaign.

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