Iowa Basketball: Ten Questions Heading Into the Off-Season
By Dylan Burn
Behind Peter Jok, who could emerge as a scoring option for the Hawkeyes next year?
Kenny: I look for Dom Uhl to take a big step forward next season. He was a little inconsistent this season but did show flashes of potential. He will likely be at the small forward position and has a similar size to Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff, who were very successful in that same role. Obivously, Jok is the go-to guy, but I like Uhl to step up.
Derek: The raw numbers would suggest junior Dom Uhl, as he led the current roster of Hawkeyes in scoring in 2015-16 with six points per game. Senior Dale Jones wasn’t far behind him at 5.5 points per game, but the problem is that neither player occupied the number of minutes that a major scorer would last season.
They both had a solid shooting percentage; Uhl at 41.6 and Jones at 40. The issue with those numbers is a very small sample, however. Uhl only attempted 169 shots last season and Jones a meager 30. My first bet would be redshirt sophomore Nicholas Baer.
In nearly three fewer minutes per game than Uhl, he attempted just five fewer shots and shot almost 50 percent from the field. Additionally, we saw in the NCAA tournament game against national champion Villanova how he can take over a game.
Dylan: He came on strong to end the season and proved that he has the ability to score, but was still a little raw. It’s Christian Williams for me. He has great length for a point guard and could create a lot of problems for defenses, especially if he can take his game down low.
He’ll likely have at least two inches on opposing point guards, if not more, so if he can take his game to the next level and develop a game on the block, a long with his slash and score mentality he could be a real nice surprise.
Next: Possible Starting Five?