Iowa notes: Gesell health, May finale, attendance

Iowa guard Mike Gesell has missed the last three games with a right foot "stress reaction" and will not play Saturday against his native state Nebraska. But Gesell still has a chance to play in next week's Big Ten Tournament.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said he's "guarded ... because there's no guarantee" that Gesell will be able to play in the tournament. Gesell is out of a walking boot and won't require a second MRI, McCaffery said.

"He's riding the bike without the boot," McCaffery said. "Over the course of the weekend he'll start running and he'll start shooting. These are all steps.

"If at any point in time he felt a lot of pain, that would be problematic, and that would mean that he probably wouldn't play. It's baby steps. If he's OK today, we'll do it tomorrow a little more, a little more, a little more, then he'll play next week. There's really no way of knowing until we get to next week."

Gesell started Iowa's first 27 games before his condition worsened.

The Iowa-Nebraska game officially is sold out, the fourth this season for Iowa. The final regular-season attendance average is 13,248, the best since the 2001-02 season. It's also the first time since 2002-03 that Iowa averages more than 13,000 fans a game.

"I said this from day one: they recognize good basketball," McCaffery said. "They know what this league is. They know it's arguably the best it's been in 30 years. That's saying a lot when you think about how great this league has been over the last 30 years."

Iowa also has sold out games against Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota. Iowa sold more than 15,000 tickets to games against Northwestern and Iowa State and exceeded 14,000 against Illinois and Texas-Pan American.

Senior Eric May's career has witnessed both the depths and heights that few Iowa players have experienced. The Hawkeyes finished 10-22 during May's freshman season, the most losses in school history. Iowa coach Todd Lickliter was fired and McCaffery then took over.

In May's first two seasons Iowa won 21 total games and eight in the Big Ten. Entering Saturday's season finale, Iowa has 19 wins and eight in Big Ten play this year. The Hawkeyes earned an NIT berth last year and have an outside shot at an NCAA tournament bid.

Going through the journey has made the experience rewarding, May said.

"I knew what I was getting myself into," May said. "It wasn't where the program needed to be. I was excited to be a part of that turnaround. That's what I said from day one, what I want to be a part of. Being recruited, that's what I felt.

"I love Iowa, to be a part of this and see it growing and getting better, and we're raising the expectation, raising the bar every year is huge. That's why I got into this."

McCaffery said he never had to sell May on his style or personality. May just came in and worked.

"He's one of the easiest guys I've ever had to coach," McCaffery said. "Just comes every day ready to go. I mean, I can't imagine a better person to have as an employee in your company, on your team, whatever that team is. You want Eric May on that team."

McCaffery's comments humbled May.

"It means a lot," he said. "I have a lot of respect for coach and to hear him talk highly of me it definitely means a lot. He's made this experience a lot of fun for me, just the energy and how much he brings to the table every day.

May will start Saturday, his 72nd of his Iowa career. He's scored 811 points and averages 6.5 points for his career. He's also known as the team's best dunker and said his best was either against Coppin State on Dec. 22 or Jan. 19 against Wisconsin. He added that he first started dunking as an eighth grader.

Although he's thought about his final regular-season game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, May doesn't know how he'll react.

"Right now, I don't think it's hit me quite yet," May said. "I think it's going to hit me a lot bigger tomorrow. I'm just really excited about what we've been through and where we can take this team. Emotion, not just for senior night, but for what this means for us postseason."

Here's part of Fran McCaffery's Q&A about May:

Q.  How about Eric making his last regular-season game here?

COACH McCAFFERY:  For him, in light of how incredible he's been for us, it would be great for him to be on a team that accomplished things and know that he was a captain of that team, an integral part of that team's success.  It's something he could remember for the rest of his life.

Q.  Does the way he's played this year speak to how dinged up he was last year?

COACH McCAFFERY:  I don't know that.  I would say this:  I think what you're seeing is a player who committed himself to the game of basketball and became a true student of the game.

Now, granted, he's physically healthy.  That's a big part of anyone's success.  But I would say when we got here, he was still trying to figure it out.  Is he a 3, is he a 2, is a rebounder, a driver, a shooter, a scorer, a defender?  He's just trying to help our team win games.  A lot more pressure on him.  We didn't have a lot of weapons.

What he's done is he's watched a lot of tape and he's worked hard in practice and he's put extra time in.  He's had the opportunity to play in games and excel or struggle.  But in the process he's figured it out and has gotten better.

What you're seeing is a guy who used to be pretty good but would make mistakes.  Now he doesn't make mistakes.  Now he's really good.  That's I think been the transformation for him.  He's always given us effort.  He's always been a winning, unselfish person.

But his effectiveness I think is a result of what he's been able to figure out over the last couple years and make himself a terrific player.

Q.  Was there a specific moment that you can recall where you noticed that light coming on for him?

COACH McCAFFERY:  I thought it was last year in the pre-season, he was spectacular.  He and Gatens were head and shoulders ahead of everybody else.  Maybe it was his inability to be healthy that precluded him from maybe being what he could have been last year.  It took a little longer.

But after going through that, you could clearly see it this summer and fall.  I mean, he was terrific.  Everybody had kind of written him off.  But every day his numbers were such that we might have to think about starting him, we were thinking about bringing him off the bench.  He seemed to excel in that capacity.  He welcomed that challenge, knowing he was going to play fairly substantial amounts.  Might be starter's minutes, it might not be depending on what happened.  As the season progressed, pretty much playing starter's minutes, whether he started or not.

I'm happy for him.  I think it's a great example for the other guys to watch somebody continue to persevere through injury and some other obstacles to become what he's become.

 Q.  You've coached a lot of players.  Is he one of the best athletes you've ever coached?

COACH McCAFFERY:  He is.  You have a lot of guys with athletic power, but they all can't guard small ones and big ones.  They're usually one or the other.  He has a sense of what's required to guard that particular individual.  It gives me the opportunity to put him on the individual I need to put him on.

His understanding of when to give it up, how to give it up, his turnover numbers, I keep talking about them in regard to Eric, because he could always shoot.  He was always a pretty good percentage shooter.  But now he's feeding the post, giving it up on the break, driving and kicking.  He's recognizing when there's nothing there and moving it on.  He's impacting the game defensively.  He's impacting the game in terms of energy level.  He's also substantially more vocal because he recognizes that he has a lot more to say and a lot more knowledge to impart on the younger guys.

As a result of his improved play, he's got that much more credibility when it comes to when he opens his mouth.

Q.  Is it the ultimate sign of respect that people will say next year this team could use Eric May?

COACH McCAFFERY:  Yeah, there's no question that people are going to say, They have a lot back, but they lose a guy that was really, really special.  That's why we want this to go on as long as possible for him.

Q.  With a guy like that who had to make the tough transition, he's your last holdover, was it a tough sell to get him going here?

COACH McCAFFERY:  No, it was never an issue.  That side of it was never an issue.  He just kept working.  He's one of the easiest guys I've ever had to coach.  Just comes every day ready to go.

I mean, I can't imagine a better person to have as an employee in your company, on your team, whatever that team is.  You want Eric May on that team.