Jarrod Uthoff was one of the best players to ever play for the Iowa basketball team, but he’s been bouncing around since then. Here’s where he is today.
Cedar Rapids native Jarrod Uthoff had a fantastic, albeit short career with the Iowa basketball team. He led the Hawks to the NCAA Tournament in both his junior and senior season and was an absolute monster his senior year when he averaged 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game.
His unreal stat line and his contribution to the Hawks led to him being named First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Defensive Team, and a Consensus Second Team All-American.
Heading into the NBA Draft, experts projected Uthoff to be selected in the middle of the second round, but the story has it that he told teams to not draft him so he could better position himself with the right opportunity so he went undrafted.
The plan seemed to work initially as Uthoff signed on with the G-League’s Raptors 905, was traded to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and then signed to the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks on a 10-day contract. His first 10-day contract led to another 10-day contract, which led to a 3-year deal with the Mavericks.
Before the 2017-2018 season even began, Uthoff was traded and subsequently cut. His final NBA stat line to this point is 9 games played, 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1 assist per game.
After a year in the G-League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Uthoff headed over to Europe for the 2018-2019 season. In 29 games with Zenit Saint Petersburg in the regular season, Uthoff put up a modest stat line of 6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16 minutes per game of playing time.
What’s next for Uthoff remains to be seen. Much like Peter Jok, he’s obviously got the talent to play in the NBA, but he needs another shot. At 6’9” and with the ability to shoot from behind the arc with consistent success, Uthoff could be a 3 and D small forward, which is a huge asset for teams off the bench. Teams like Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Dallas could use a three-point specialist who can provide a defensive spark.
This summer, he isn’t playing in TBT, the $2 million winner take all tournament so my guess is he will be back in the states working out for another shot in the NBA, which could possibly include a stop in the Las Vegas Summer League.