[ad_1]
Iowa goalie Isaiah Moss scored eight points in a 74-53 loss to the Wolverines.
Chad Leistikow, Hawk Central
With the news that Isaiah Moss I go from Iowa's basketball program, but many more thoughts are going well than usual on a Thursday night in May.
Let's see some of them …
If you count, it's the departure of four players. Fran McCafferyProgram since the defeat of the NCAA tournament in the second round against Tennessee. And only one of them – senior Nicholas Baer via graduation – was 100% expected.
Isaiah Moss leaves the Iowa program with 906 career points and 96 starts in three seasons. (Photo: Jeffrey Becker, USA TODAY Sports)
The other three were all juniors. Between the top scorer Tyler Cook (at full speed towards a professional career), Maishe Dailey (transferring to Akron) and Moss plus Baer, the Hawkeyes lose 42% of their 23-12 minute field time.
Suddenly, Iowa has more than 10 stock players, which means three open scholarships.
Do the math and it all comes down to … McCaffery needs to evolve aggressively in the graduate transfer market. He never took one over nine years at Iowa. I do not suggest that he should panic and take three; but if he could shut up one, especially in the hinterland, it would be wise.
By the way, it's five total departures if you count the move of the assistant coach Andrew Francis in California. And I consider this a significant loss.
With so much attrition, should fans worry about a systemic problem with the program?
I will give a two-part answer.
No to the first part, which is the biggest part. McCaffery has an excellent track record in player retention. This is a year in which three types left early for different reasons.
Cook was widely expected because his eyes had been on the NBA for over a year. Dailey was understandable because he wanted to have the chance to play his final year closer to home. And Moss … well, that leads to the second part of the answer.
Which is yes.
Although McCaffery was forced to reduce his rotation in the past year due to injuries, he still left Moss (and others) on the witness stand for extremely long periods. A three-year-old starter who shot 39.1% of the 3-point distance for his career had to be frustrated to be left on the bench during tough times.
There are good intentions to spread the minutes, but the best players should always play the most minutes – and the most important minutes. And Moss was one of the top five players in Iowa.
The Hawkeyes will miss Moss the most in his ability to create his own attack.
I've always thought that it should have been a more widely used asset when the stopwatch has turned off. Moss's ability to space the ground will be difficult to replace.
Come down D.J. Harvey.
The 6-foot-6 wing leaving Notre Dame was in Iowa City on Thursday night to take a critical look at the Hawkeyes. According to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, he should choose between Iowa and Vanderbilt. Harvey was the country's No. 49 candidate in high school in the 2017 promotion, according to 247Sports. He averaged 10.7 points per game in second year at South Bend.
Although Harvey has to stay away for a year, Iowa certainly has a lot of room. It would be a welcome boost off season.
Joe Wieskamp (10), goalkeeper of the Iowa Hawkeyes, is looking to dribble the pitch defended by Tennessee striker Zach Kent (33) in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena. (Photo: Rick Osentoski / USA TODAY Sports)
By the way, if Joe Wieskamp then decide to become a pro, so … we may all want to disconnect from social media for at least a week. he is test the waters of the NBA, in case you forgot.
But suppose he comes back for his second year.
So what about the 2019-20 season?
As mentioned, the number of scholarships is low. The same is true for Iowa's margin of error.
The big three becomes Jordan Bohannon, Wieskamp and Luka Garza.
He is the leader, the winger and the great man. If any of them leave or suffer a serious setback … it could be a long year.
Do not forget that if Bohannon had not been incredibly hot for four games (against Indiana twice, against Penn State and against Northwestern), the Hawkeyes would have been 6-14 in the Big Ten instead of 10-10. He must be 100% frenetic so that Iowa can play a second trip to the NCAA tournament.
The Big Three will have to wear the Hawkeyes. In good health, the trio should engulf at least 100 of Iowa's 200 minutes per game. (Yes, that's an average of 33.3% each – but it's more than feasible, and probably necessary.)
A starting formation of Bohannon (at 1), CJ Fredrick (at 2), Wieskamp (3), Ryan Kriener or Jack Nunge or Cordell Pemsl (4) and Garza (5) still seem so beautiful to me.
I heard good things about Fredrick, a sharp-edged 6-3 guard who dreaded wisely. His appearance in practice might be another reason why Moss dispersed.
And it's easy to forget Pemsl (who should hear about his medical appeal-red shirt) and Nunge, in particular, who gained up to 250 pounds on his 6-11 mount.
Add the above seven to the backup guardian Connor McCaffery and maybe 8-10 minutes a game of incoming first year guard Joe Touissant, and Iowa would still have a decent top nine – and maintain the ability to leave Patrick McCaffery take a red season to strengthen your strength.
All of these losses could benefit Kriener the most. I've always liked the Power Forward 6-9 game, but it's never really had an opportunity to play behind Cook and the others.
It's now his chance.
In general, the minutes are there to be taken.
Chad Leistikow, columnist for Hawkeyes, has been covering sports for 24 years with the Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.
Fran McCaffery reacts to an 83-77 overtime loss to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Chad Leistikow, Hawk Central
[ad_2]
Source link