Injured ankle doesn't sideline Iowa's Bryce Cartwright, even in the PTL

NORTH LIBERTY - Bryce Cartwright had every reason to sit out Tuesday night in the Prime Time League, but instead fought through a twisted ankle and played the entire game.

He had nothing to prove to anybody in the gymnasium. After all, it's not like the Iowa senior point guard has to worry about his position this fall. But Cartwright wanted to prove something to himself by competing.

"It's something I have to work on," Cartwright said. "I wanted to play out here just in case during the season I twist my ankle."

Iowa's guard situation might dictate Cartwright play through more than the usual bumps and bruises. The Hawkeyes may have to slide sophomore off-guard Devyn Marble back to the point to give Cartwright a breather in games. But fighting through a twisted ankle in June could help Cartwright figure out his pain threshold should he get another one in January.

Cartwright is preparing to play 40 minutes a game if necessary this season. In 19 Big Ten games (counting the tournament), Cartwright exceeded 30 minutes 16 times. He even notched 42 minutes in an overtime loss to Wisconsin.

"That's what I'm training now for," Cartwright said. "I'm trying to get in better condition. That's what I've been dedicating the summer to along with better percentages offensively."

Cartwright's shooting percentage is a the one area he targets offensively this off-season. He shot 39.3 percent from the floor last year but just 27.5 percent from 3-point range. It's a troubling statistic for Cartwright, who shoots for hours each day trying to correct it.

"I've got to get my percentages up," Cartwright said. "Twenty-four percent from 3-(point range) is unacceptable."

Cartwright began the year as a back-up and eventually led the Big Ten in league assists per game. He joined Andre Woolridge as one of only two Hawkeyes to ever score 10.5 points and dish 5.8 assists a game. He and Woolridge also are the only Iowa players to have eight or more assists in four straight games or produce that many assists over nine games in a season.

Cartwright's also a difficult player to defend, according to Iowa junior Eric May.

"He changes direction really well. He changes speed really well," May said. "That's one thing he does very good. He sees the court."

Based on his numbers, Cartwright does his job by getting his teammates involved. But shooting is one of his two areas of targeted improvement this offseason.

"That and defense," Cartwright said. "I want to get to the next level. I want to be in that top five shooting-wise. I want to be that clutch player I've always been."

Cartwright provided some clutch moments last year, including four first-half buzzer-beating shots and a fifth that nearly counted against Michigan. Cartwright also hit the game-winning shot in a road victory against Indiana.

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery is counting on even more from Cartwright this year.

"The thing for him is he obviously proved he can play with the best players in the country," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said last month. "To lead the Big Ten in assists, that's a pretty incredible statement. What he didn't do was defend to his capability. I've told him that and he knows that and I think part of that is a function of the incredible amount of minutes that we played him. We're going to play fast and he's going to play 34, 35 minutes, that's a lot to ask somebody.

"If you look at who he's going against and the talent they have, for him to become the kind of player that I know he can be - that's one of the elite players in our league - one of the elite players in the country, he's got to play at both ends."

Cartwright had only 28 steals all season last year.

"He can impact the game more defensively," McCaffery said. "The reason he can is because he has great instincts. He understands the game. All the instincts he has on offense, he's got them on defense. He just tends to coast a little bit."

It's been a whirlwind year for Cartwright, who transferred to Iowa from Paris (Texas) Junior College, picking the Hawkeyes over Oregon and Miami (Ohio). Now he's considered one of the league's top point guards and was selected to join teammate Matt Gatens on a select traveling team to Estonia in August.

"From day one I always believed in myself," Cartwright said. "Ever since I grew up I knew if I had the opportunity, I'd try to make the best of it."