Iowa looks to bounce back in 2008-09
IOWA CITY (AP) — Iowa forward Jarryd Cole has a grand total of six starts and zero double-doubles under his belt.
That didn’t stop second-year coach Todd Lickliter from naming him a captain. And if that doesn’t tell you how young the Hawkeyes will be this season, nothing will.
Cole, a sophomore from Kansas City who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last December, is in many ways the face of Iowa’s program heading into the 2008-09 season.
Cole hasn’t joined senior Cyrus Tate as a captain because of the potential he showed before going down with a knee injury. It’s how Cole responded to adversity that’s impressed Lickliter and his team.
“I think captains emerge,” Lickliter said. “One of the things we got to see is he handled prosperity really well. He was starting. He was doing so with a real team spirit. Then to have it taken away the way it was with the injury and to watch him respond and to hear him say, ’Well, now I’ve got to support my team from the bench,’ it was very obvious that he had the tools to lead.”
Cole, who averaged 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2007-08, opened eyes with a 15-point, nine-rebound performance at Iowa State last December. Lickliter is hoping it won’t take long for the 6-foot-7 power forward to live up to his potential.
That goes for the rest of the Hawkeyes as well.
This much is known about Iowa, which finished 13-19 last season and set a school record for losses. It’s youngsters will have to grow up in a hurry for the Hawkeyes to have a shot at reaching .500 and making noise in the Big Ten.
That starts in the backcourt with sophomore point guard Jeff Peterson and sophomore shooting guard Jake Kelly.
Tony Freeman’s much-publicized transfer to Southern Illinois leaves Peterson as the likely starter heading into Friday night’s opener against Charleston Southern. Peterson notched a dubious stat line for a point guard — he had 92 assists and 94 turnovers in 2007-08 — while adjusting to both the college game and Lickliter’s system.
Kelly showed the ability to knock down 3s, shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc last season, and Justin Johnson’s graduation should allow him to play a much larger role in Iowa’s offense.
Behind Peterson and Kelly are a pair of freshmen; Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker.
Gatens, who grew up in Iowa City and was the state’s Mr. Basketball in 2008, is one of the Hawkeyes’ most highly touted recruits in years. At 6-foot-5 and a solid 215 pounds, Gatens has a college-ready frame and might also play some small forward.
Tucker, a 6-foot-4 Minnetonka, Minn. product, turned in a dazzling performance last Sunday in an exhibition against Wayne State. Tucker poured in 21 points, on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.
Joining Gatens and Tucker as first-year Hawkeyes are freshmen Aaron Fuller, Andrew Brommer and walk-on John Lickliter, the coach’s son, and junior college guards Devan Bawinkel and Jermain Davis.
Expect all of them to at least get a crack at playing time as Lickliter continues to tinker with his rotation and search for players who can make an impact.
“We’ve got guys that we’ve recruited now on our vision, on what we want,” Lickliter said.
Cole and Tate will man the post. Tate, the team’s lone senior starter, came on in Big Ten play last season, with 10.6 points and seven rebounds a game in conference games, and he shot 66.7 percent from the field overall.
After that, it’s a bit of a jumble, with Fuller, Brommer and junior David Palmer all in the mix to provide depth in the frontcourt.
The potential for improvement is there. Cole, Peterson and Kelly form a talented core of sophomores that can grow together, and if Tate can build on his late-season success, the Hawkeyes have the potential to be stronger down low than many expect.
But there are undoubtedly concerns, especially rebounding, and any team that asks a lot from freshmen are bound to experience high and lows. But the veterans now have a year in Lickliter’s system under their belts, and the newcomers don’t know anything but the Lickliter way.
“We know what we can do. And the players, I think we’ve developed a trust,” Lickliter said. “Now it’s more of not what you can do necessarily, but what do you need to do for the benefit of the team.”
Iowa Glance
Eds: With BC-BKC--Iowa-Preview.
Coach: Todd Lickliter (second season, 13-19; 144-80 overall)
Last year’s record: 13-19, 6-12 Big Ten; lost to Michigan 55-47 in first round of Big Ten tournament
Returning starters: F Cyrus Tate, G Jake Kelly
Key subtractions: G Justin Johnson, G Tony Freeman,
Key additions: G Matt Gatens, G Anthony Tucker
Reason to hope: The Hawkeyes now have a year of Lickliter’s system under their belts, and the sophomore trio of Jarryd Cole, Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson are all in position to take major leaps forward and provide the a solid core. Freshmen Gatens and Tucker may be ready to step in immediately and provide scoring — while giving Lickliter a bevy of guards to overcome a lack of depth in the post.
Reason to mope: Iowa doesn’t have anyone who has averaged more than nine points a game, and the Hawkeyes have more newcomers, seven, than returning lettermmen, six. If Cole is slow to come back from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL and the kids don’t progress like Lickliter hopes, it could be another long winter at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Quotable: “We want to play high-percentage basketball and be consistent in our efforts, in what we do. I think if you look at champions, you’ll see that they stay consistent.” — Lickliter.
