Iowa basketball: Three freshmen control the 2019 Hawkeyes destiny

Iowa basketball fans aren’t sure what to expect from this year’s team, and neither am I but I do know this team’s success depends on three freshmen.

After the Iowa basketball team’s improbable comeback against Tennessee, I entered the offseason with a renewed sense of faith in this team. At the time, the Hawks would be returning all five starters with sixth-man Nicholas Baer being the lone departure.

I knew there was a shot that Tyler Cook could be headed to the NBA, but I thought we didn’t see enough development for him to feel comfortable declaring (obviously, I was wrong). I also thought we could see Isaiah Moss transfer, but didn’t actually expect it to happen (and to Kansas of all places). And then the final pin drop was the Jordan Bohannon injury announcement. Instead of returning five of the top six, the Iowa basketball team is likely to begin the season with two of its top seven guys.

While not ideal, there is still a lot of talent on this team starting with Joe Wieskamp, who flirted with the NBA last year and was named a preseason All-Big Ten pick. Behind him is smooth big man Luka Garza who has a European big man feel to his game making it difficult for defenses to account for him.

After that though, there’s a lot of mystery. Will Connor McCaffery be comfortable shooting? Can Ryan Kriener step up with more minutes? What does Jack Nunge look like after a redshirt year?

Those are big questions that will have a huge impact on the season, but I personally think this season will live or die by three freshmen: CJ Fredrick, Patrick McCaffery, and Joe Toussaint.

Those three guys hold the keys to the Iowa basketball team’s success this season. Can they step up and play big minutes on big stages? There is certainly a lot to love after seeing all three guys perform well in Monday’s exhibition against Lindsey Wilson.

Fredrick, the starting shooting guard this season, knocked down 4 of 5 three-point attempts and 6 of 7 shots for a cool 18 points. He doesn’t need to be that hot all season, but if the Iowa basketball team can get more game-to-game consistency from Fredrick than they did from Moss, that will be a huge step.

Coming off the bench, Joe Toussaint gives the Iowa basketball team an explosive playmaker at the point guard position that they have been lacking for years. His shooting touch might not be entirely there yet, but he’ll be a guy teams need to worry about off the bench as an energy and hustle guy. Last night in the exhibition, he led the team in rebounds with 7 and dropped 3 assists.

Along with Toussaint off the bench is Patrick McCaffery, a top-100 recruit in this most recent recruiting class, brother of Connor, and son of Fran. He’s got an incredible athletic makeup that makes the Iowa basketball team considerably more versatile on offense and defense when he is on the floor, but can he withstand the rigors of Big Ten basketball?

These are the three guys that hold the keys to the Iowa basketball team’s destiny this season. We know Wieskamp and Garza are going to do well, but if these three can learn and grow quickly, this doesn’t have to be a “rebuild” year. This could be a “right now” year.