Iowa Basketball: Frontcourt Becoming Crowded With Young Talent

Iowa basketball has a lot of young talent, but it has caused a logjam in their frontcourt

Tyler Cook and a lot of uncertainty surrounded Iowa basketball‘s frontcourt heading into the season. Then Cook missed time with a finger injury and other players in Iowa’s frontcourt started to emerge.

Cordell Pemsl scored 18-plus points in each of his first three starts and cemented himself in the starting lineup. Over time, sophomore Ahmad Wagner did the same with his solid 49.2 percent shooting from the field, athleticism and defensive effort.

Therefore, Cook came off the bench in his first game back before taking Wagner’s spot. Nonetheless, the Hawkeyes finally had options in the frontcourt, however Iowa might have too many options now.

Along with Cook and Pemsl, Wagner still sees time off the bench and scored a career-high 12 points against Maryland, Nicholas Baer has emerged as Iowa’s most versatile and important weapon off the bench and Dom Uhl, even though he’s currently sidelined with a thumb injury, still sees consistent playing time despite his inconsistent play on both ends.

Plus, freshman forward Ryan Kriener has started looking like a rotation player since taking over Uhl’s role in the past three games. In 13.3 minutes per game, he’s averaged eight points and 3.3 rebounds. It led to him being the first player off the bench for Iowa against Maryland, which is telling of the trust Fran McCaffery has in him.

That said, Uhl is going to return soon. If not on Wednesday against Illinois, he should be healthy enough to play on Saturday against Ohio State.

Either way, Iowa has too many options in their frontcourt. Six players for three spots, not to mention Peter Jok playing small forward at times, will lead to even more inconsistent playing time for a young frontcourt that needs playing time to develop.

Considering Uhl has been mediocre at best this season, outside of his 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks against Rutgers, it would make sense for him to fall out of the rotation. Besides, before his outburst against Rutgers, he averaged just 10 minutes per game in the prior three games, and that was without Kriener’s recent play.

His struggles have carried over from last season and it’s hard to justify playing him over a freshman whose play has earned him playing time. It’s not to say Kriener should see 16.4 minutes per game like Uhl is averaging this season, but McCaffery has to develop a consistent rotation and a six man rotation is too big.

In the past three games, Tyler Cook is the only player in the frontcourt to play 20-plus minutes in more than one game. Although, even Cook’s minutes have been scattered at 33, 29 and 20 minutes in each of the past three games.

That said, it doesn’t compare to the fluctuation Baer and Pemsl see on the court. Baer went from 25-plus minutes in five straight game to more than 20 minutes in just one of the past three games. Pemsl notched 30-plus minutes in three straight games but 20 or fewer in the past three.

Keep in mind the only game Uhl, Wagner and Kriener all played in was against Purdue when Pemsl and Baer saw 20 and 19 minutes, respectively. It shows how the frontcourt depth minimizes key players’ roles and also the fluctuation Iowa’s frontcourt has without Uhl.

Playing the hot hand like Wagner against Maryland when he had 12 points and six rebounds or Kriener against Northwestern when he scored 14 points makes sense, but there aren’t enough minutes for everyone to see playing time every game.

For as good as Cook and Pemsl have been this year, they’re only freshmen and benefit from consistent minutes rather than worrying if they’ll see 15 minutes or 30 minutes, or if they’ll be pulled because of a couple of missed shots or poor plays. It can lead to young players looking over their shoulder and playing tense instead of letting the game come to them.

In fact, during Big Ten play, in games Pemsl and Cook play at least 30 minutes in, Pemsl shoots 2.0 percent better from the field and Cook shoots 9.8 better from the field compared to when they play fewer than 30 minutes. It’s telling of the rhythm they’re able to get in when kept in the game for long stretches.

Along with Cook and Pemsl needing playing time to develop, Nicholas Baer is one of Iowa’s best players and should have starter minutes off the bench. He leads the team in steals, blocks, tied with Jok in rebounding and is the top bench scorer on the team. Also, he’s only a sophomore so it’s important that he builds chemistry with Iowa’s young team, as well.