Iowa's Jordan Bohannon will have hip surgery Wednesday, may redshirt next season

IOWA CITY — It appears the Iowa men's basketball team may have another gaping hole to fill for next season.

After three juniors departed the Hawkeyes this spring — Tyler Cook to turning professional and Maishe Dailey and Isaiah Moss to transfers — junior guard Jordan Bohannon announced Tuesday he would undergo hip surgery Wednesday in Iowa City and may redshirt the 2019-20 season because of it.

Big Ten coaches voted Bohannon third-team all-conference last season after he averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 assists.

Bohannon will undergo a hip scope on Wednesday at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. He will be out for an indefinite period of time, and will be reevaluated throughout the summer and fall as he goes through rehab.

He told the Des Moines Register if he isn't ready by the exhibition season he will probably redshirt and play the 2020-21 season. The recovery time from the surgery will be several months.

Bohannon has been plagued by hip problems the last two years. He sat out of practice for much of the preseason last year and skipped Iowa's exhibition game, but returned to start all 35 games.

'This is an unfortunate setback for Jordan, but he will work hard during his rehab and is expected to make a full recovery,' said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery. 'He has the support of his teammates and coaches, and we look forward to having a healthy Jordan back when he is given clearance from our medical staff.'

Linn-Mar High graduate Bohannon has many statistical laurels, including ranking first on Iowa's al-time list in 3-point field goals with 264. He led the Big Ten in free throw percentage the last two seasons.

Were it not for late-game heroics by Bohannon in a pair of February games, Iowa almost surely would not have reached the NCAA Tournament.

He made a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left on Feb. 10 to give the Hawkeyes a 71-70 home win over Northwestern. Bohannon scored 15 points in the last 5:50 of that game.

Three days earlier, he scored 11 points in the game's last 1:31 to help the Hawkeyes hold off Indiana on the road, 77-72.

If Bohannon doesn't play this season, it means the three of the Hawkeyes' top five scorers ­­— Cook, Bohannon and Moss — won't be back on a team that started no seniors last season.

Point guard minutes would presumably be divided among sophomore-to-be Connor McCaffery, incoming freshman Joe Toussaint and perhaps redshirt freshman C.J. Fredrick.

A team that was looking at having multiple seniors among its scholarship players would be down to one in center Ryan Kriener.

Last week, Fran McCaffery said his program is looking at available transfers but wouldn't necessarily add one.

'There's still possible movement to come,' McCaffery said, 'but I feel really good with the 11 guys we have on scholarship. If we didn't do anything, it would be fine. I'm really excited about our group.'

That was last week. If Bohannon is unavailable — it would seem the Hawkeyes would be forced to proceed as if that scenario will become reality — the need for another guard is obvious.

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