Peter Jok scoring points at a rare pace for a Hawkeye
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Peter Jok is shooting his way into select company.
The 6-foot-6 senior is scoring points at a rate that few Iowa basketball players have matched before.
Jok had a typical day at the office on Saturday as he led Iowa (6-5) with 21 points in a 69-46 victory over Northern Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Jok started slowly on offense, making just one basket in the first 12 minutes. But he still had scored a team-high 12 points by halftime.
"In the first ten minutes, they did a great job defending me," Jok said of Northern Iowa. "They doubled me at the top or when I came off a ball screen or posted up. It gave the other guys a chance to step up, which they did.
"And then once I saw the opportunity I took it. And that's when I was cooking."
Saturday's game marked the 55th time in Jok’s career that he has scored in double figures and the 18th time that he has scored at least 20 points in a game.
Jok has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, including at least 20 points in seven games.
He scored 238 points through the first 10 games, which are the most points by a Hawkeye through 10 games in 46 years.
His 42-point performance in a loss to Memphis on Nov. 26 were the most points by a Hawkeye since Bruce King scored 42 against Pittsburgh in 1976.
The list of superlatives and statistical milestones could go on and on in Jok’s case.
He currently ranks fourth in the nation in scoring with a 23.5 point per-game average heading into Tuesday’s game against North Dakota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. No other Big Ten player is within five points of Jok’s per-game average.
There was a concern early on that this team could be reduced to Peter and the afterthoughts on offense, but that isn’t the case anymore.
The emergence of freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon as a perimeter scoring threat has benefited Jok perhaps more than any other player.
Opponents have to respect Bohannon from behind the 3-point arc, which helps to create space for Jok on the perimeter. Jok didn’t have that luxury in his first three seasons, mostly because former point guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons were below average 3-point shooters.
Jok also has expanded his offensive game to where he is no longer just a stationary jump shooter. He can score off the dribble, in traffic or on penetration.
But now the question is, can Jok keep up this scoring pace against Big Ten opponents who are more familiar with his tendencies?
Former Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff flirted with averaging 20 points per game last season before cooling off down the stretch against Big Ten competiton. Uthoff finished with an 18.9 per-game scoring average.
Jok's supporting cast will have to do its part on offense in order to make it harder for defenses to double and triple-team him.
Freshman forward Cordell Pemsl has emerged as an inside scoring threat and is making shots at an incredible rate, converting on 46-of-60 field-goal attempts so far this season.
Fellow freshman forward Tyler Cook also should return from a broken finger by the Big Ten opener at Purdue on Dec. 28, or maybe sooner. He was averaging 13.7 points per game when he was injured in late November.
A season that just a few weeks ago looked bleak is now on the upswing, thanks largely to Jok’s scoring ability.
The West Des Moines Valley graduate is on pace to be the first Iowa player since Adam Haluska in 2007 to average at least 20 points per game for a season.
Jok became the 46th Iowa player to score 1,000 career points earlier this season. The 45 players who did it before him combined to average at least 20 points in a season just 12 times, led by John Johnson’s 27.9 per-game average as a member of Ralph Miller’s six-pack in 1970.
The 20-point club
Former Hawkeyes who averaged at least 20 points per game for a season
John Johnson, 1969-70, 27.9
Fred Brown, 1970-71, 27.6
Charles Darling, 1951-52, 25.5
Sam Williams, 1967-68, 25.3
Don Nelson, 1961-62, 23.8
Don Nelson, 1960-61, 23.7
Sam Williams, 1966-67, 22.6
Dave Gunther, 1958-59, 21.9
Bruce King, 1976-77, 21.0
Roy Marble, 1988-89, 20.5
Adam Huluska, 2006-07, 20.5
Andre Woolridge, 1996-97, 20.2