Iowa basketball: Five new faces will join Hawks roster next season
By Andrew Wade
Joe Toussaint
Toussaint, the diminutive point guard from New York, will join the Iowa basketball team for next season, but it remains to be seen if Fran McCaffery plans to use him or redshirt him for a season.
He’s optimistically listed at 6’0” and 165 pounds, but he is more realistically 5’11”, which would make him the shortest player on the Iowa basketball roster.
If Connor McCaffery does return (which is likely at this point), there wouldn’t be much of a spot for him currently on the roster. With a redshirt season and Jordan Bohannon graduating after next year, he will most definitely be in line for key minutes the following year.
That being said, one of the biggest weaknesses of the Iowa basketball team’s offense is the lack of a dynamic playmaker running the point. Bohannon is a heck of a shooter, but not as much of a driver. McCaffery meanwhile didn’t show much shooting touch and did not scare any defenses with his ability to drive into the lane. Could Toussaint’s potential and athleticism be enough to key minutes in a loaded rotation next year?
If the below is true, it’s quite possible.
I’m at the McDonald’s All American Game this week in Atlanta. One of the players stopped me in my Iowa basketball hoodie in the lobby and said “you’re getting my boy Joe, you’re gonna love what he’s going to do for you”
— Cody Hills (@ByCodyHills) March 24, 2019
Right now, I’m saying to myself God I hope so.
The above may seem dramatic, but I couldn’t agree more. Iowa needs a dynamic playmaker that can create space by driving into the lane and kicking it out. Until then, Fran’s squad will continue to struggle against more athletic programs.