Freshman forward Ryan Kriener has earned a spot in Iowa’s rotation
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa’s game at Northwestern this past Sunday was not a total loss despite the 35-point thrashing.
Freshman forward Ryan Kriener made sure of that.
The 6-foot-9 Spirit Lake native was the one bright spot in a game in which Iowa barely was competitive for any stretch. Kriener came off the bench for the second consecutive game and made a significant impact, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
Combine that with Kriener’s performance in the 83-78 victory over Purdue in the previous game in which he scored six points and grabbed two rebounds in just eight minutes of action, and it seems apparent that Iowa has added a player to its rotation.
“He’s just tremendous,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said after the 89-54 loss to Northwestern. “So I’m really pleased with him, and obviously, he’s going to get a lot more playing time.”
We also can assume that Kriener is now part of Maryland’s scouting report in preparation for Thursday’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
If not, he should be because Kriener’s ability to make shots from as far as 3-point range makes him a weapon.
“My shooting has kind of taken off a little bit from when I first got here as a high school kid since I’ve really worked on it,” Kriener said after the Northwestern loss. “After the high school season I really worked on it a lot because I knew I was going to come in here and have to play (power forward) a little bit more.
“So I pride myself in that, and it’s good to see the hard work pay off.”
As good as fellow freshman forward Tyler Cook is at dunking and scoring near the basket, he has struggled to make medium-range jumpers, while Kriener has made that look easy.
With Kriener now in the rotation, his presence gives Iowa a different dimension on the frontline. His ability to make jump shots can stretch defenses, giving Cook and fellow freshman forward Cordell Pemsl more room to maneuver near the basket.
It’s hard to remember an Iowa player coming virtually out of nowhere to play a significant role on offense in back-to-back Big Ten games.
Former forward David Palmer scored 19 and 21 points in back-to-back Big Ten games in 2009, but then barely played again under head coach Todd Lickliter, who had no explanation for why Palmer disappeared.
Palmer then transferred after the season, one of many player defections during Lickliter’s hapless three-year run.
McCaffery isn’t like Lickliter for many reasons, including that McCaffery doesn’t play mind games with his players.
If a player has earned the right to contribute in games, McCaffery will use that player.
Kriener has clearly earned that right.
That doesn’t mean it is smooth sailing from this point on for Kriener. He almost certainly will struggle at times because that is life for a freshman in the Big Ten.
But a team never can have enough reliable scorers.
Kriener was slowed by an undisclosed illness this past summer that limited his development after arriving on campus. But he kept working and progressing until proving to McCaffery in practice that he desereved a shot.
"In the beginning, he was a freshman trying to figure it out and then as practices continued and we've played some games, he's got it all figured out," McCaffery said.
This Iowa team still is trying to find itself with so many freshmen playing significant minutes.
Senior star Peter Jok can only do so much offensively. He needs others to step up and make big shots at pivotal times.
Kriener appears more than capable of filling that role.
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