Iowa loses third in a row as Peter Jok continues to struggle
By Pat Harty
Peter Jok has gone from practically carrying the Iowa men’s basketball team on offense to now barely carrying his own weight on either end of the floor.
That was apparent in Wednesday’s 76-64 loss at lowly Illinois as Jok struggled for a third consecutive game, scoring just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field and sometimes wincing in pain when he had to exert himself.
But oddly enough, Jok stayed in the game until the end despite reportedly still suffering from a stiff back and despite the outcome being pretty much decided in the final minutes.
This might seem like the right time for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery to rest his 6-foot-6 senior sharpshooter, but that doesn't appear to be in McCaffery's plan.
McCaffery spoke about Jok on his post-game radio show, but didn't mention anything about Jok's apparent back issue.
Instead, McCaffery talked about ways to help Jok break out of his slump.
"We'll keeping trying to figure out ways whether it's set plays or different type of screening action or post him once in a while becaues he is good post-up plyer and he is a good free throw shooter,' McCaffery said of Jok. "But the most importnat thing we can do is keep driving the ball and keep pushing the ball so we're in the bonus early enough.
"That will help him, too."
Jok had almost a week to rest and recover before facing Illinois, and yet he looked no better than the previous two games against Maryland and Northwestern when he combined to score just 18 points, including a season-low four against the Wildcats.
Jok had no lift on his shot and he struggled to bend and move on defense for the third game in a row. Defense is hardly Jok’s strength when healthy, but when injured, he becomes almost a liability.
Combine Jok’s ineffectiveness with freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon being hampered by the flu and it was a recipe for struggle on Wednesday.
Iowa continued a disturbing pattern of struggling out of the gate, falling behind 10-0 and trailing 40-24 at halftime.
The Hawkeyes trimmed the deficit to nine points in the second half, but couldn’t get any closer, falling to 11-10 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Bohannon only made 1-of-9 field-goal attempts, while redshirt freshman guard Isaiah Moss barely played as McCaffery continues to look for the right combinations in each game.
It’ll be hard to find the right combinations without a healthy Jok because the team depends on him to make the big shots at pivotal times.
Sophomore forwards Ahmad Wagner and Nicholas Baer both provided a spark off the bench in Wednesday’s game by scoring 12 points apiece, while sophomore point guard Christian Williams had success getting to the basket at times, but he only made 1-of-5 free-throw attempts.
Freshman forwards Tyler Cook and Cordell Pemsl flashed at times, but not nearly enough for Iowa to prevail
The Iowa team that defeated Purdue, Michigan and Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena earlier this season has been missing now for three games, largely because its star player is in a serious funk.
Jok's problem appears to be physical, the kind of thing where rest might be the only cure.
But there is no rest for the weary, or so it seems.
If we learned anything from Wednesday's loss besides that Iowa is weak on the road is that Jok's injury isn't serious enough for McCaffery to change anything. And if anybody should know the seriousness of Jok's injury and whether he should rest, it's McCaffery.
This appears to be one of those situations where the star player has to suck it up and tolerate the pain because his supporting cast is sort of lost without him.
Wednesday’s game was the start of a five-game stretch against opponents that began the week with losing records in conference play.
This stretch could go a long way in determining Iowa’s fate this season.
Iowa will face Ohio State at home on Saturday, Rutgers next Tuesday in New Jersey, Nebraska on Feb. 5 at home and Minnesota on Feb. 8 in Minneapolis.
Every game is winnable on paper, although, winning at vastly-improved Minnesota will be a monumental task because Iowa is clearly a better team at home.
Iowa needs Jok in the lineup and playing well in order to have any chance of a successful season.