Hawkeyes’ Clemmons ‘confident and ready’ approaching B1G tourney

IOWA CITY - Anthony Clemmons sat on the bench last season almost detached from his Iowa teammates as they endured a monumental collapse.

The Hawkeyes dropped seven of their final eight games and fell from Big Ten title contender to nearly out of the NCAA tournament. Clemmons totaled 33 minutes and scored just four baskets over that span. He was an afterthought and he wondered about his role.

But instead of transferring or pouting, Clemmons doubled down on his ability to play Big Ten basketball. He spent part of the off-season at home in Lansing, Mich., working out with former high school teammates Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes, along with other former Michigan State players. Clemmons returned to Iowa City midsummer with the same resolve and a new layer of confidence that could reach his potential.

Clemmons, a 6-foot-2 junior, opened the season as a starter for Iowa's first 12 games, then shifted roles into a super-sub. He usually enters games at the first media timeout, and he plays starters' minutes. For the season he averages nearly 20 minutes a game and has been invaluable at both ends of the floor.

His season-long scoring numbers are modest at 4.8 points a game, but Clemmons has established himself as strong on-ball defender. His nickname 'Sapp” - which was acquired as a youth playing football - symbolizes his physical style of play.

'I think Sapp is just taking pride in doing what he needs to do to get us to win and just playing the way he plays,” Iowa guard Josh Oglesby said. 'Obviously last year was a struggle for him and he might not have been getting the minutes he wanted, but I think he's playing great, especially defensively. That's one of the reasons why our defense is so good because him and Mike (Gesell) have been getting up in the point guard and getting into them and disrupting their rhythm to get them in their sets and stuff.”

Clemmons has produced offensively in several ways, especially during Iowa's current six-game winning streak. In the streak's first three wins, Clemmons combined for 14 assists and only two turnovers, while scoring 16 points.

In perhaps his best scoring game this season, Clemmons put up 10 points - all in the second half - to help engineer a 77-63 victory at Indiana. He answered an Indiana 3-pointer with one of his own midway through the second half to boost Iowa's lead to eight points. Clemmons later scored seven points in the final 5 minutes, 26 seconds, including five from the free-throw line.

Spanning Iowa's last seven games, Clemmons has 24 assists and only seven turnovers. Over Iowa's last five games, he has averaged 24 minutes and knocked down 16 of his last 17 free throws. For the season he has 61 assists, 22 steals and only 32 turnovers.

'He's been a scorer when we needed him to be,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'He's made big shots. So I think that has impacted him, and I think it's impacted our team, as well.”

His numbers speak to his consistency, something that was fleeting in his previous two seasons.

'I think that comes with maturity,” Clemmons said. 'I understand the game a lot more, and I understand how valuable possessions are. I know I can't be out of control after I make a steal or just having the ball in my hands at all times. I just have to be under control and keep my players involved.”

Iowa (21-10, 12-6 Big Ten) enters the Big Ten Tournament winning eight of its last 10 games, a reversal from last year's season-ending slump.

'It's really different because I'm a part of our success this year,” he said. 'Not saying I wasn't last year, but my role has become bigger. I'm just confident and ready.”

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