Iowa Basketball: Players see National Championship as realistic

The Iowa basketball team has lofty expectations, and the general consensus among players is that winning a national championship is realistic this coming season.

The hype for Iowa basketball has reached an all-time high, and for good reason. The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Top 25 and have the second-best odds to win a national title in 2020-21. The Hawkeyes, 20-11 last season, hadn’t been ranked in the preseason AP top 25 since 2006.

“Everyone agreed and everyone said we wanted a national championship. The goals are a Big Ten Championship and a national championship,” said guard C.J. Fredrick last week. “We aren’t going to settle for anything less and we aren’t going to work for anything less.”

Fredrick, a redshirt sophomore, led the Big Ten in 3-point percentage last season (46.1). He made 25 starts and figures to take another step forward this season.

Of course, the headliner for Fran McCaffrey’s squad is center Luka Garza, the Big Ten’s preseason Player of the Year and consensus All-American. The senior big man returned to Iowa after contemplating whether he wanted to enter the NBA Draft this past spring. Garza averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season.

“If you ask me, we deserve to be No. 1,” said senior guard Jordan Bohannon. “I don’t think there’s anyone in the Big Ten or the Power Five that has the talent and experience that we have coming back.”

Bohannon, Iowa’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, returns after redshirting last season due to a hip injury. He appeared in 10 games, but was still able to use a medical redshirt to save another year of eligibility.

“We’re scheduling the No. 1 ranked team in the country preseason, and we’re going to play them on CBS,” said coach Fran McCaffery last Monday during the team’s media day. “That’s why you come to Iowa, because you want that competition and you want that challenge.”

The Hawkeyes are scheduled to play No. 1 ranked Gonzaga in a top-5 showdown on Dec. 19. The game will take place on a neutral court in Sioux Falls, SD, and will be televised at 11:00 am CT on CBS.

Iowa’s starting five to open the season figures to be Bohannon, Fredrick, Joe Wieskamp, Connor McCaffery and Garza. Jack Nunge and Joe Toussaint also have past starting experience.

“I think we have enough weapons offensively. I think we have enough depth to keep fresh bodies on the floor defensively. I think we have enough size,” McCaffery later stated. “I think, most importantly, we have enough 3-point shooters, because you can’t have enough of those, especially the way the game is being played today, and especially the way we play.”

Iowa basketball does not have an official schedule yet, despite the season being one week away. The official start of the 2020-21 college basketball season is set to begin on Nov. 25.

But that’s not stopping the Hawkeyes from preparing just as hard.

“You know what, we’re going to show up and play, and we’re going to be ready to play whoever shows up to play against us, and if the game gets canceled then we’ll prepare to play the next game,” McCaffery joked.

“It’s going to be a goofy year – it is. But we have a good basketball team. We have really good players. We have character on this team. I really like our team.”