Iowa's Matt Gatens to play more freely without thumb cover

IOWA CITY - Six weeks after his left hand was surgically repaired for a torn tendon, Iowa junior Matt Gatens will play basketball without a pad covering his thumb.

"It's been feeling pretty good lately," Gatens said. "It's just taking off that pad and not having that bulge and restriction on there will definitely help out and hopefully let me shoot the ball a little better"

With an uncomfortable pad on his left, non-shooting thumb, Gatens has struggled from the floor and his numbers are down from his career averages. He entered the season shooting nearly 40 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range. He's now shooting 33 percent overall and 21.4 percent from 3-point range. Gatens, a 6-foot-5 Iowa City native, averages 9.5 points a game. 

He did get into a groove against Iowa State last week. He drilled his first four shots - including three 3-pointers - in the first half.

"I don't want to make excuses, but it's something I've had to get used to and alter," Gatens said. "But hopefully I'll get back to what I was shooting before it happened.

"It used to just be so natural to catch and shoot, and I didn't have to think about it. It's all breaking it down: making sure I catch it then shoot it. It kind of changes your rhythm but it's something I had to deal with and if that's the worst that happens, I'll be all right."

Gatens will wear a protective wrap on the hand for Iowa's next two games before removing it for the Hawkeyes' Big Ten opener Dec. 29 at home against Illinois.