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Iowa basketball: Where does team go from here with Cordell Pemsl news?

By Andrew Wade

COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 10: Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defends Cordell Pemsl #35 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the game at Value City Arena on February 10, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Iowa 82-64. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 10: Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes defends Cordell Pemsl #35 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the game at Value City Arena on February 10, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Iowa 82-64. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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The Iowa basketball team received more bad news as forward Cordell Pemsl was arrested for OWI Friday morning. Here’s what happens next.

The news is out now that forward Cordell Pemsl was arrested for OWI Friday morning in Iowa City. It’s another blow to an Iowa basketball team that just keeps taking hits left and right.

While not ideal considering Pemsl was in line for big minutes this year after the departure of Tyler Cook, it’s not the end of the world for Fran McCaffery and his Iowa basketball squad.

First off, this is the first offense (that I am aware of) for Pemsl so the punishment is likely to be more lenient than for a repeat offender. My guess is he is suspended for the first quarter of the season, maximum.

In that time, the Iowa basketball team will actually have quite an interesting schedule with five easily winnable games against lower-level teams before taking on Texas Tech and Creighton/San Diego State in the Las Vegas Invitational. After that, they get Syracuse in the ACC Challenge and they open Big Ten play with Michigan.

Those are some pretty important games that the Iowa basketball team could potentially be without Pemsl.

Going forward, this means we likely see a combination of senior Ryan Kriener, true freshman Patrick McCaffery, and redshirt sophomore Jack Nunge. It’s early, but I think we will see Nunge start at the 4 during and likely after the suspension with Kriener getting 15-18 minutes off the bench and McCaffery rotating between the 3 and the 4.

For McCaffery, a big question was whether or not he had the body to withstand Big Ten play right away. Earlier in the summer his dad, Fran McCaffery, made it seem like Patrick was making good progress and would be available. Now with limited backcourt depth, we will almost certainly be seeing the second McCaffery son on the court.

Next. Bye week more effective for Iowa than good opponent. dark

Although this was an incredibly dumb decision by the Dubuque native, it does open up opportunities for the Iowa basketball team to experiment with their lineups a bit early in the season.

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