Mike Gesell still valuable despite shooting woes
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As he nears the end of his college basketball career, Iowa senior guard Mike Gesell is struggling to make shots.
He has only made five of his last 25 field-goal attempts over the past three games, two of which were losses for Iowa.
Gesell is sort of like the team for which he plays in that both are struggling heading into Sunday’s game against Ohio State at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Both also need each other to help get back on track.
Gesell needs his teammates to do their part, while the team needs Gesell to rediscover his shooting touch in a hurry.
He certainly should have the opportunity to do so, considering Gesell has played at least 30 minutes in 12 of 15 Big Ten games this season, and considering the amount of trust he has earned from Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.
“I think the number one thing is he’s knows that I’m going to stick with him, he’s our guy,” McCaffery said. “And he’s got my full confidence. So even if I jump him, which I did during one of our timeouts, he knows I’m not going to bench him.
“I mean he’s our guy. He’s been terrific. I love him. His shot hasn’t been going in, but his game has been solid. He’s like anybody else, he’s going to give you every ounce of effort and be solid. And if his shot is going in, then he’s going to be an all-league player. But he can still be a guy, even if his shot is not falling that is one of the main reasons we win.”
When saying that he jumped on Gesell, McCaffery was referring to this past Wednesday’s 67-59 loss to Wisconsin when he became upset with Gesell during a timeout in the second half. McCaffery was very animated while making his point, but once he was through venting, it was business as usual.
The 6-foot-1 Gesell will make his 125th career start on Sunday against the Buckeyes. He is one just four Hawkeyes to total at least 1,000 points, 500 assists and a 150 steals in a career. The others are B.J. Armstrong, Dean Oliver and Jeff Horner.
McCaffery explained on a Friday teleconference how Gesell helps Iowa win, even when his shots aren’t falling.
“Because he’s a terrific on-the-ball defender,” McCaffery said. “He’s really smart. He executes our offense. He moves the ball. He doesn’t turn it over. He gets the ball to the rim. He can break the defense down with his quickness and penetration.
“And we all know he can score and we all know that he has a great in-between game. So I think he’ll eventually get that figured out and be effective there. And when he is, we’re a much better team.”
Gesell missed several shots from close range against Wisconsin. He excelled at getting to the basket, but usually failed to finish, making just 2-of-9 field-goal attempts.
“I got great looks, I missed a couple layups, easy buckets that I usually make,” Gesell said. “That’s how it goes sometimes.”
The problem is if it keeps going that way for much longer, the challenge of winning the Big Ten regular-season title will become even more difficult for the Hawkeyes, who have lost three of their last four games.
Iowa, with records of 20-7 overall and 11-4 in the conference, trails Big Ten leader Indiana by one game in the loss column, but the Hawkeyes still control their own destiny if they keep winning.
Iowa will face Indiana on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, barely 48 hours after having played at Ohio State.
Gesell had one of his best games in terms of scoring in the first matchup against Indiana on Feb. 11, scoring 17 points in an 85-78 loss in Bloomington, Ind. It marked one of four times that the South Sioux City, Neb., native has scored in double figures in Big Ten play this season.
Gesell scored a career-high 25 points against Michigan State in the Big Ten opener, leading Iowa to an 83-70 victory on Dec. 29 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, have quietly won 10 games in conference play, but they recently lost a key player in sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate to a season-ending shoulder injury. Tate was averaging 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
“Any time you take a talented guy like that out, it’s going to affect your team,” McCaffery said. “But they have enough depth. It’s not like they’re a five or a six-man team and that really destroys you. They have other personnel.”
Ohio State has six players who average from 12.9 points per game to 6.8 points, led by 6-8 forward Marc Loving.
Three of Iowa’s four Big Ten losses have come on the road, but oddly enough, a trip to Columbus might be beneficial for the Hawkeyes. Iowa has won its last two games at Value City Arena by scores of 71-65 last season and 84-74 in 2014 when the Buckeyes were ranked third nationally.
But each team’s roster also has changed considerably over the past two years.
“I don’t look at it like, `hey, the last two times we went in there, there is something magical about how we play in that building or something brilliant that we did to prepare to play in that building.”