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Iowa Basketball: Five Hawkeyes to Watch in NCAA Tournament

By Dylan Burn

Mar 10, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes coach Fran McDaffery coaches on the sidelines against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Illinois defeats Iowa 68-66. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes coach Fran McDaffery coaches on the sidelines against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Illinois defeats Iowa 68-66. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 17, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Anthony Clemmons (5) drives to the basket past Penn State Nittany Lions guard Isaiah Washington (21) during the second half at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions won 79-75. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Anthony Clemmons (5) drives to the basket past Penn State Nittany Lions guard Isaiah Washington (21) during the second half at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions won 79-75. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 – Anthony Clemmons

Many speculated that Clemmons wasn’t going to be a Hawkeye after his sophomore season.  He really struggled, and Iowa was bringing in the number one junior college point guard in the nation, Trey Dickerson.  I will admit that I thought Clemmons was for sure transferring, but he proved me wrong.

He buckled down and has become a really nice player for the Iowa Hawkeyes.  He’s become so important that, when he isn’t playing well, Iowa doesn’t seem to either.  He really struggled in Iowa’s second round loss in the Big Ten Tournament as he didn’t score, was 0-for-8 from the field, and he turned it over four times.

This isn’t the Anthony Clemmons we’re used to seeing.

However, it isn’t like we haven’t seen him play at a high level.  He scored a combined 26 points in the two games prior to the conference tournament loss to the Fighting Illini.

He is Iowa’s best on-ball defender and has the ability to get to the rim.  We have seen him struggle with free throws late in games, which can’t happen in the tournament.

He averages 9 points and 3.6 assists per game averaging nearly 30 minutes played.  Clemmons is going to have to contribute on the offensive end for Iowa to make any kind of noise in late March.  We’ve seen what happens when nobody outside of Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok score the basketball, and it isn’t pretty.

Next: Number Three

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