Iowa Hawkeyes
2014-2015 Overall Rank: #22
Conference Rank: #5 Big Ten
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Until February 22nd, Iowa had just six losses on the year. And none of them were bad losses whatsoever. But things quickly fell apart in late February and March. The Hawkeyes lost five of their last six regular season games. And it got worse in the Big Ten Tournament when the Hawkeyes fell to Northwester in their first game. Despite the awful finish to the season, Coach Fran McCaffery did have 20 wins and did earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament, albeit the First Four. The Hawkeyes kept with their losing ways in Dayton, falling 78-65 to Tennessee.
2013-14 Record: 20-13, 9-9
2013-14 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Fran McCaffery
Coach Record: 74-63 at Iowa, 325-240 overall
Who’s Out:
The high scoring Hawkeyes will have to get along without top scorer Roy Devyn Marble. The 6-6 wing could score from anywhere on the floor and averaged 17.0 points per game. He added 3.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Melsahn Basabe, a 6-7 forward, was a regular starter during his senior season, but averaged just 17.8 minutes per game. They were a productive 17.8 minutes though. Zach McCabe was an experienced forward who could stretch the defense with his outside shooting.
Who’s In:
Trey Dickerson has the skills to make a big impact right away. The 6-1 guard spent one season at Williston State College in North Dakota and averaged 19.8 points and 5.7 assists. He is a great shooter and has the ability to play off of the ball too. If he lives up to his potential, Dickerson will spend plenty of time at both guard spots. Sharp shooter Brady Ellingson and small forward Nicholas Baer will look to add depth on the wings. Power forward Dom Uhl is an interesting prospect. The 6-8, 185 pound forward has some work to do, but he is a great athlete who plays like a guard.
Who to Watch:
Aaron White will take over the leading scorer duties. He will also be the new leader of the team. The 6-9 forward is still working on his shooting touch, but he has proven that he can score in other ways. But if that shot does start falling this season, White will be impossible to stop. Adam Woodbury has been starting ever since he stepped foot on campus at Iowa and he will join White in the starting frontcourt. Woodbury is not a big time scorer, but he is solid on both ends of the floor. The frontcourt has plenty of depth with Gabriel Olaseni and Jarrod Uthoff. Both are capable of starting and each actually played more minutes than Woodbury last season. Olaseni had some very productive outings, including four double-doubles. The 6-10 center also led the squad with 1.3 blocks per game. Uthoff is a good defender too and will be the new top stretch forward now that McCabe is gone.
Final Projection:
The frontcourt is in great shape and the backcourt should not be too far behind. Mike Gesell will be the new leader of the perimeter. The junior is a steady floor leader and a great defender, but now the Hawkeyes will need him to score more too. Josh Oglesby knocked down 40.3 percent of his three-point attempts last season and Iowa missed him during the first dozen games of the year when he was out with a broken foot. The hopes are even high for sophomore wing Peter Jok. He showed plenty of potential despite averaging less than ten minutes per game. Anthony Clemmons will have to battle it out with the newcomers for minutes, but on a team that wants to get up and down the floor, too much depth is never a problem. Getting past the debacle at the end of last season and finding some way to knock down more three-pointers will be extremely important for this group. If that happens, Iowa will be back in the NCAA Tournament and will not have to worry about playing their way into the Round of 64.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA Tournament
Projected Starting Five:
Mike Gesell, Junior, Guard, 7.8 points per game
Trey Dickerson, Sophomore, Guard, DNP last season
Josh Oglesby, Senior, Guard, 6.6 points per game
Aaron White, Senior, Forward, 12.8 points per game
Adam Woodbury, Junior, Center, 5.7 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 81.5 (9th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.3 (184, 11)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.3 (65, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.5 (76, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.8 (210, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (139, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.5 (47, 5)
Rebound Margin: 7.0 (11, 2)
Assists Per Game: 16.1 (11, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.2 (73, 7)
Madness 2015 NBA Draft Rankings:
#62 Aaron White
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