Iowa’s Adam Woodbury: ‘Panic is not part of our vocabulary’

IOWA CITY — In the wake of a tough, four-point loss at Penn State last week, Iowa senior guard Anthony Clemmons suggested to two reporters the team could use a players-only meeting.

On Saturday, the meeting took place. Iowa red-shirt freshman Nicholas Baer discussed it Monday afternoon, which was verboten for Iowa's veterans.

'A couple of guys danced, a couple of guys sang. It was kind of a talent show, honestly,' Iowa senior Adam Woodbury said. 'I got to see some of the guys and see some of their talents and what they could do.'

So who won?

'Obviously Baer because he ratted out on it,' Woodbury said. 'He was the winner of it. We'll be talking to him shortly.'

Is Baer in trouble?

'He just got in trouble by me,' Woodbury said. 'He'll have a little talking-to when we get done here.'

Woodbury's comments were both tongue-in-cheek and slightly serious. Senior Jarrod Uthoff's initial response to a question about the meeting was 'What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.' Then pressed for specifics, Uthoff offered generalities.

'Everything's fine,' Uthoff said. 'We just wanted to get together and talk about some things. We're fine, we're anxious for Wednesday.'

'It was mostly positive,' Iowa sophomore forward Dominique Uhl said.

There is precedent for a players-only meeting. Last year, Iowa's veterans called one after losing in overtime at Northwestern. The Hawkeyes, which were 6-6 in Big Ten play after the loss, cleared the air and won six straight Big Ten games.

This season is much different. No. 8 Iowa (20-6, 11-3 Big Ten) is a half-game from the league lead with the opportunity to claim the Big Ten title outright for the first time since 1970. The Hawkeyes haven't even tied for the league crown since 1979.

But Iowa has lost two of its last three games, including the defeat at Penn State (14-13, 5-9). Iowa held off Minnesota, which was winless in Big Ten play at the time, by four points at home. It was the Hawkeyes' only victory in the three-game span.

The Hawkeyes' final four games are against teams that are at least 9-6 in league play. The next opponent, Wisconsin (17-10, 9-5), has won eight of its last nine. Then there's a trip to Ohio State (18-10, 10-5) followed by a home game against current leader Indiana (22-6, 12-3). Iowa wraps up regular-season play at Michigan (19-9, 9-6).

With a challenging schedule like that, there's potential for Iowa to slide as it did two years ago when it dropped seven of its final eight games. Or, like last year, Iowa could win them all and earn the Big Ten title. Either way, Woodbury said this team mentally is well-positioned going forward.

'We've been in this situation before and panic is not part of our team,' he said. 'Obviously we've been down quite a bit in certain games this season and come back from a lot of deficits. Panic is not part of our vocabulary with this team.'

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