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Iowa Basketball: 5 reasons the Hawkeyes can win a National Title

By Joe Kipp

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes huddles with teammates before a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes huddles with teammates before a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 14: Joe Toussaint #1 of the Iowa Hawkeyes brings the up the court in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on January 14, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 14: Joe Toussaint #1 of the Iowa Hawkeyes brings the up the court in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on January 14, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

4. Depth, depth and more depth

The Hawkeyes have plenty of contributors who can pick up the slack when another key member is having a down game. Iowa returns seven players with starting experience this season, which includes seven upperclassmen.

“We’re much deeper, substantially deeper,” said Fran McCaffery. “We have veteran guys coming back who have produced at this level, but at the same time it won’t change in terms of our ability to share the ball. It’s a very unselfish group.”

The Hawkeyes also welcome in five true freshmen this season: two guards in Ahron Uhlis and Tony Perkins, and three forwards in Keegan Murray, Kris Murray and Josh Ogundele. The Murray twins offer high upside after spending a year at a prep school in Florida post-graduation. Several teammates believe Keegan could be an instant contributor as soon as December.

Iowa’s starting five for the majority of the season figures to be Jordan Bohannon, CJ Fredrick, Joe Wieskamp, Connor McCaffery and Luka Garza. Joe Toussaint and Jack Nunge will be the first two off the bench. Both Toussaint and Nunge have starting experience and offer versatility for coach McCaffery.

“We have a lot of experience on this team. We know what the Big Ten season is like and we know how consistent we’re going to have to be. We know what we have to do,” said Garza.

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