Playing forward ‘a transition’ but fits Olaseni

IOWA CITY - Center Gabe Olaseni has increased his playing time by nearly six minutes in each of his first three seasons at Iowa. For Olaseni to make a similar stride this year, his extra minutes likely will come at a different position.

Iowa power forwards Melsahn Basabe and Zach McCabe both graduated, and senior Aaron White will slide from small forward to power forward this season. Junior Jarrod Uthoff, who saw time at both spots last year, will start at small forward.

Although White will average close to 30 minutes, that still leaves around 10 minutes a game Iowa needs to fill. Freshman Dominique Uhl might see some time there, but when it comes to experience, Olaseni is ready to plug that gap when White needs a breather.

'I think he's going to have to,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'He's really good running the five-man, but his jump shot has improved, I think, to the point where if you play him facing the basket on the baseline, at the free-throw line, and you throw him the ball and you don't respect him, he can make that shot. He's a much better passer than he was saying when he was a freshman. So you have (Adam) Woodbury and Olaseni in there together, they're both capable passers, willing passers, and they can both run.”

Olaseni, who stands 6-foot-10, averaged 16.7 minutes, 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds a game last year. He was one of only four players nationally with at least 160 rebounds to post more than half on the offensive end.

It was a near-even split at center last year with Olaseni sharing time with the 7-1 Woodbury, who started every game. Woodbury averaged 16.9 minutes, scored 5.7 points a game and grabbed 3.9 rebounds. They provided a strong combination at center and their diverse skill sets created challenges for their opponents.

'Woodbury is a really good defensive player,” Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky said. 'He's bigger than me and he's stronger. So it's kind of a change of pace when they switch it up and put in the athletic guy (Olaseni), who's catching alley oops.”

Iowa still will rotate Woodbury and Olaseni at center, but it's likely they'll line up side-by-side a few possessions a game. Olaseni has worked on his ball handling and midrange game starting this spring to gear up for the position change.

'It's definitely a transition, obviously, but I definitely feel like I can guard fours,” Olaseni said. 'I just have to prove to Coach that I can space the floor enough and work well with Woody. I feel as though our high-low has been good and our rebounding and our zone has been good so far.”

For many teams, playing a pair of centers at the same time limit your fast break. That's not the case with Iowa, especially with Olaseni. Despite his height and position, Olaseni is one of the team's fastest players. Few post players in the country finish at the rim better than Olaseni. He's also one of the Big Ten's top shot blockers, ranking ninth and first among reserves.

'I think a lot of times when you have a running team, you're hesitant to go with the twin towers because they slow you down,” McCaffery said. 'I don't think by playing those two guys together we'll be slowed down.”

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