McCaffery says point guard competition too close to call
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery had plenty to say about his team on Thursday, but he kept most of the juicy stuff to himself.
He told reporters that he has a pretty good idea who his starting lineup would be at the present time, but without being specific, and saying that it could change by the season opener.
McCafferty also didn’t give any hints as to who is winning the competition at point guard between 6-foot-6 sophomore Christian Williams and 6-0 freshman Jordan Bohannon, although, that could be because neither is winning at the present time.
“I don’t think either one is ahead of the other right now,” McCaffery said. “What’s interesting about it is they have been at times, different times one has been ahead of the other.
“But collectively, I think they’re about the same.”
When asked if he had a starting lineup in mind, McCaffery said:
“Yeah, I do. We have a scrimmage game on Sunday. So we’ll see how that goes. I think I have a lineup that I’ll go with. But that could change between now and November eleventh.”
McCaffery was referring to the Nov. 11th season opener against Kennesaw State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That game will be played a week after an exhibition game against Regis University on Nov. 4th at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
It could prove to be a case in which Williams and Bohannon share the point guard position, while also playing together at times because of their different strengths.
“Both brought different things to the position that will benefit our team,” McCaffery said of his two point guards. “They’ve been going at each other. Sometimes, I play them together.
“I look at collective stats over a three-week period of time. Both of their assist, turnovers numbers are really good. Both shoot the ball pretty good. And Jordan has been shooting the ball extremely well. Both have shown some toughness. Both have played some defense. And I’m very confident with either one of them.”
Bohannon was mostly a prolific scorer for Linn-Mar High School, and a force from 3-point range. He now has to expand his game in order to be Iowa’s point guard.
He worked hard on his ball handling during the summer and thinks that competing against Williams on a daily basis is helping in that regard.
“Having both of us competing for that starting spot I think has kind of helped both of our ball handling, just getting up into each other and really being strong with the ball,” said Bohannon, who is the son of former Iowa quarterback Gordy Bohannon.
Williams said he likely would switch to either shooting guard or small forward while playing alongside Bohannon.
“I can get to the basket pretty much anytime that I want,” Williams said. “My mid-range shot has improved even since last year and behind the (3-point) arc has even improved.”
McCaffery is faced with the daunting task of replacing four starters from last season’s team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons under McCaffery, but most of the players who were responsible for that success have since graduated, leaving behind a roster in transition.
All-Big Ten senior guard Peter Jok is Iowa’s only returning starter on a team that has five true freshmen on scholarship, including 6-9, 253-pound forward Tyler Cook.
The St. Louis native is one of the most heralded recruits to sign with Iowa under McCaffery, but Cook said Thursday that the transition to college has been rocky at times.
“The coaches really help us out, not only myself, but the rest of the freshmen as well,” Cook said. “We’ve all hit a slump since we’ve been practicing. We’ve all kind of had some down practices, even like a week or something like that.
“But through everything, we’ve got to make sure we stay focused on what the goal is for our team, and that’s making sure we’re getting better every day.”
Cook said his performance and the team’s overall performance has improved in recent practices.
“Personally, I feel great, especially the last week-and-a-half or two weeks or so,” Cook said. “Practice has been a lot better for me just getting used to the speed of the game and being able to put my game within that and within our schemes as a team. We’re getting a lot tougher. Coach has had to get on us a few times about kind of starting practice slow. But we’ve picked it up and we’re looking a lot better as a team. So I’m excited for it.
“The older guys haven’t had a problem because they’re used to it. But it’s kind of hard getting the freshmen because we’ve got a lot of us into that mode, being able to not only play fast but platy fast and smart at the same time and be able to execute at the same time. So it was a tough transition. But we’re getting it down.”
Part of the transition was getting used to McCaffery’s coaching style and the emotion that comes with it. McCaffery has a tendency to lose his temper, but Cook understands McCaffery’s purpose.
"He makes it clear they’re trying to get us better," Cook said of McCaffery, who is entering his seventh season as the Iowa head coach. "We all understand that. So nothing he tells us we take it personally. I think we’re really good about taking criticism like that and being able to channel that into production.”
Cook appreciates that he isn’t alone as a freshmen, but instead is part of a group of freshmen who are making the transition together.
"You’ve got guys to relate to, other guys that are feeling what you’re feeling," Cook said. "So it makes it a little bit easier to get through those rough patches. We’ve all gone through it and have been able to help each other through our shared experiences.
“So it’s made it a lot easier, not only for myself, but I think the rest of the guys would say the same as well.”
McCaffery went up and down his roster and praised almost every player on the team. He likes his team’s athleticism, versatility and work ethic.
He praised 6-9 freshman forward Ryan Kriener for his rebounding prowess and raved about Cordell Pemsl’s all-round game as a 6-8 freshman forward.
But with seven freshmen on the roster, including redshirt freshman Isaiah Moss and walk-on Riley Till, there will be peaks and valleys in the search for consistency.
“It’s the hardest thing,” McCaffery said. “Most freshmen are not consistent. They are really good some days, pretty good some days and some days they struggle.
“And I would say overall, I’ve been very pleased with how our guys have performed in that respect. They haven’t been perfect. But I don’t expect perfection. They haven’t been real consistent, but they’ve been consistent enough, considering they have no experience yet.”