Iowa football, men’s basketball both say its biggest weakness being properly addressed
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – You know the dog days of summer are now upon us when rumors and reports surface that the Iowa football team is improving on offense and that the Iowa men’s basketball team is improving on defense.
Players from both teams have helped to fuel those rumors by recently telling the media that those two trouble spots are being addressed, and that in both cases, there is reason to be optimistic.
Several members of the Iowa men’s basketball team met with the media on Monday, and they all talked about the progress being made on defense, saying that defense is being emphasized this summer, including some changes in how Iowa defends under Fran McCaffery.
The hiring of Tim Lester as the new offensive coordinator for the Iowa football team has helped to reenergize the much-maligned offense, according to the players.
Lester is using more pre-snap motion and movement, and according to the Iowa defensive players, it’s working to create confusion on their side.
All-Big Ten linebacker Jay Higgins said it took him almost the entire spring practice schedule to finally get a handle on the method to Lester’s motion madness.
This all sounds fresh and exciting and whether you choose to buy into the hype is up to you.
A cynic would say that it’s just offseason talk from players that are pushing a public relations narrative, while an optimist would embrace the message.
As for myself, I’m sort of in the middle.
In football, it’s hard to envision Iowa being any worse on offense than it was in each of the past two seasons, but it’s also hard to envision Iowa making significant gains in just a matter of months.
In basketball, Iowa is sometimes hurt by its frenetic pace because it leads to more possessions on both ends of the court.
The faster a team plays and the more it shoots on offense means the more it will have to play defense on the other end.
One thing that stands out with the current Iowa men’s basketball team is its athleticism, especially on the frontline where sophomore forwards Owen Freeman and Ladji Dembele and freshmen forwards Chris Tadjo and Cooper Koch all bring different skill sets.
Each is athletic in his own way and athleticism is one of the key parts to playing well on defense, along with size, effort and being connected.
Neither team got where it wanted to be last season as the Iowa football team lost to Michigan 31-0 in the Big Ten Championship game and then fell to Tennessee 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl. Obviously, the offense failed to show in both games.
The Iowa men’s basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020 Covid year when the tournament was canceled.
“We didn’t get where we wanted to, but just having that chip on our shoulder and returning to where we want to be at and just knowing that we can win games with the people in this gym right now,” said Iowa junior guard Josh Dix.
Defensive shortcomings is perhaps the biggest reason Iowa didn’t get where it wanted to be last season in men’s basketball, and without question the offensive woes kept football from being elite.
So, it makes sense that defense is being emphasized by the Iowa men’s basketball team this summer because that is clearly the biggest weakness under Fran McCaffery, and always has been.
For Kirk Ferentz, it’s just the opposite in that rarely has his offense been better than his defense dating back to 1999.
The gap that now separates the Iowa defense from the Iowa offense has become unacceptable.
To just be average on offense in football, and on defense in men’s basketball could have a dramatic impact because its reasonable to think that the Iowa football team will be rock-solid again on defense where nine starters return, and that the Iowa men’s basketball team will be productive on offense because it always is under Fran McCaffery.
But it’s also important to remember that summer narratives don’t always turn into fall and winter realities.
Time and performance will tell.