Iowa Basketball: Peter Jok Season Review

Over the past couple weeks, Dear Old Gold has been providing player reviews for members that played a role on the 2015-16 Iowa Basketball team. Last week we looked at Christian Williams. Now it is time to review Peter Jok.

Peter Jok #14
Junior Guard/Forward
Season stats: 32 GP, 16.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 44% FG

Through his first two seasons in Iowa City, Peter Jok was an inconsistent scorer that could not stay on the floor for long periods of time due mostly to defensive struggles. He performed better in his sophomore season when he was inserted into the starting lineup, but he still came into his junior season with his potential very much up in the air. The Junior from West Des Moines took leaps this year that nobody saw coming and was crucial to the success of the Hawkeyes this past season.

With the losses of key contributors Aaron White and Gabriel Olaseni last season, many fans called on Jok as one of the players that had to improve his play this season. In 2014-15, he shot just 36 percent from the field and 35 percent from three, while averaging just seven points per game.

However, this year he doubled his scoring average and improved his shot drastically, as well. He was always a player that could catch fire, but this season Jok was able to do it more often and for longer stretches.

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He had 11 games of 20+ points this season after having zero such games in his previous two seasons. He had 26 points against Northwestern, including a streak in which he scored 20 of 21 Iowa points during a span in the second half.

He had a similar run against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament. Jok single-handedly brought Iowa back from an 11-point deficit, scoring 17 of 20 Iowa points, turning a 24-13 deficit into a 33-30 lead.

It seemed as though Peter Jok improved as the season went along, which is very encouraging to see. He averaged 18.3 points per game in conference play, after averaging just 12.4 points per game in non-conference play. He also improved defensively from the previous two seasons, though he still has a long way to go if he wants to be considered a good defender.

Rather surprisingly, Jok announced after the season that he intended to test the NBA draft process. He did not hire an agent, however, meaning that he has the ability to return to Iowa for his senior season, which seems likely. While Jok took major steps offensively this season, there is still room for improvement in some areas.

We have already discussed his defense. While he does get steals, he still struggles at staying in front of his man, which is something that will need to improve if he wants to play in the NBA. Another aspect that Jok should improve on is ball handling.

There were times this season where Jok was very shaky handling the ball, especially in traffic. Jok is an excellent free-throw shooter who, with the exception of a couple games this season, did not take advantage of that this season. If he can improve his ball handling, it will allow him to attack the basket more and get to the free-throw line more.

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Assuming he returns to Iowa for his senior season, he will be the go-to-guy for the Hawks next season. I would not be surprised to see him average around 20 points per game next season if he does return. Jok will have a chance to build off a junior season that saw him burst onto the national stage and become one of the best scorers in the Big Ten. Jok gets an A for his final grade this season.

Final Grade: A

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