Iowa appears to have found its next point guard
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Somewhat lost in the great handshake controversy and the chippy play that led up to it on Tuesday is what freshman Jordan Bohannon accomplished during the game.
In case you haven’t noticed, Iowa’s point guard rotation appears to have ended for the time being.
Bohannon played 34 minutes and scored 18 points in Tuesday’s 84-73 victory over North Dakota, while fellow point guard Christian Williams played a season-low six minutes off the bench and didn’t score.
Bohannon has played at least 19 minutes in every game this season and at least 30 minutes in five of the last six games.
The 6-foot former Linn-Mar star hasn’t let learning a new position at a different level effect his ability to make perimeter shots.
Bohannon was mostly a shooting guard in high school who looked to score points more than anything else.
But scoring points is now just part of Bohannon’s responsibility as a point guard, albeit a big part.
He has separated from Williams for lots of reasons, but none probably bigger than Bohannon’s ability to make shots, or more specifically, 3-point shots.
Bohannon is second on the team with 27 3-point baskets, trailing only senior star Peter Jok, who has made 39 treys.
Bohannon’s presence is just what Jok needs in order to create more space on the perimeter.
Sophomore shooting guard Brady Ellingson is also emerging as a scorer. Until recently, Ellingson had been used mostly as just a 3-point shooter in brief appearances off the bench, hoping that he might hit a few shots while Jok or some other starters rested.
Ellingson’s role against North Dakota might be an indication that his role is expanding. He played 18 minutes off the bench and scored 10 points without making a 3-point shot.
Bohannon’s role, on the other hand, has been significant since the season opener.
It’s still too early to say that Bohannon has established himself at the collegiate level, but the signs are certainly encouraging.
Just the fact that he makes shots from long range separates Bohannon from lots of previous Iowa point guards. It also helps to compensate for other weaknesses.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about Bohannon is how well he has handled defensive pressure and the physical play that comes with it.
That was especially true in Tuesday’s victory over North Dakota after which Iowa coach Fran McCaffery refused to shake hands with the opposing players and coaches because he didn’t like how the game ended.
McCaffery didn’t like that Jok was knocked to the floor a few times, or that a North Dakota player tried to steal the ball from Nicholas Baer with just three seconds remaining in a game that had been decided for a while.
McCaffery also didn’t like the physical contact that led to Bohannon being called for a dead-ball technical foul in the closing seconds.
McCaffery has since apologized for refusing to shake hands, but he knows that North Dakota did his team and Bohannon a favor by being physical.
Bohannon now has a glimpse of what life in the Big Ten will be like. Opponents will try to exploit his lack of experience and his slight frame by getting physical.
“I do think that the way they challenged us will help us because they’re big and strong and it was a physical game like we’re going to see in the Big Ten,” McCaffery said. “So it’s good that you play games like that this time of year.”
North Dakota’s guards weren’t just physical, they were big.
Senior point guard Quinton Hooker is built more like a Big Ten safety, which is the position his younger brother Amani Hooker plays for the Iowa football team. Quinton Hooker tested Bohannon in a number of ways with his 6-0, 205-pound frame.
North Dakota guard Corey Baldwin also played rough at times with Bohannon.
The North Dakota guards weren’t dirty, but they certainly pushed it to the limit, which led to Bohannon’s technical.
"We've all been through our fair share of those games and I think we all did a pretty good job of keeping our cool, especially through that technical foul," Bohannon said. "They pressured us in the next possession, but we didn't worry."
You wonder if it’s a pattern with North Dakota, considering two of its players had been ejected from the previous game.
It’s unfortunate that the post-game controversy took away from Jeff Horner’s homecoming as a former Iowa point guard and current North Dakota assistant, but there is nothing either team can do now but move on.
Iowa has won four games in a row and is 7-5 heading into Thursday’s game against Delaware State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The team still is hard to read with so many young players having significant roles and with freshman forward Tyler Cook ready to fit back into the rotation after missing six games with a broken finger.
Cook has received medical clearance and likely will return for the Dec. 28th Big Ten opener at Purdue.
How well can Cook and fellow freshman forward Cordell Pemsl play together is just one of many questions that McCaffery has to address.
Pemsl had started five games in a row until being demoted to the bench after being late for a team meeting. The Dubuque native responded to the punishment by scoring nine points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 24 minutes against North Dakota.
“He’s a great kid,” McCaffery said. “I was not happy because when you’ve got a team that is sort of putting it together, those are the kinds of distractions that you don’t need. He has to understand that.
“There are no academic pressures right now. The semester is over. Nothing else to do but show up for shoot-around and get there on time. He’ll be on time.”
Pemsl made no excuses after the game for being late.
“Obviously, I was in the wrong being late to shoot-around, but I just tried to not let that get to me,” he said. “Obviously, I’m a freshman. I learned from my mistake and I’m not going to do it again.”
Time ultimately will prove if Pemsl has learned his lesson, but there is no question about his ability to play at this level. He has made 50-of-67 field-goal attempts this season, showing poise beyond his years.
Iowa’s freshmen have been perhaps the most pleasant of all the pleasant surprises this season. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Moss has started the last six games and excels at attacking the rim in transition on offense.
But so much of a team’s success falls on the shoulders of its point guard.
That's why the 6-6 Williams has to stay focused and motivated despite playing a lesser role. His time to shine might come again.
Iowa was suspect at point guard when the season started with Mike Gesell and Anthony Gesell having used up their eligibility last season.
And though Bohannon still is very much a work in progress, he isn’t the weakness like some feared would be the case with whoever played point guard for Iowa this season.
Bohannon has three older brothers who played college basketball and his father, former Iowa quarterback Gordy Bohannon, led the Hawkeyes to the 1982 Rose Bowl. The Bohannon family is used to meeting challenges. And so far, Jordan Bohannon has met the challenge of being Iowa’s point guard.