Notes: Olaseni tweets himself motivation

IOWA CITY -- Athletes can find motivation on Twitter, with all the haters and such. And athletes can motivate themselves on Twitter.

On Jan. 20, Iowa center Gabe Olaseni did exactly that. The 6-10 London, England, native wrote: "I'm Sick & Tired Of "Having Potential." I Need To Step Up And Do Better For Myself & My Team. I Have Nothing To Loose. Change Starts Now."

That's starting to take root.

In his last four games, Olaseni has been at his best in his two seasons at Iowa. When Nebraska pulled with two on Saturday, Olaseni teamed with forward Melsahn Basabe and sparked a 17-0 run that led Iowa's 74-60 victory over the Huskers. Olaseni's line went four points, three rebounds, three assists and three blocks. This is coming off his seven-block performance against Illinois earlier this week.

You heard the sophomore. He's sick and tired of "having potential."

I'm Sick & Tired Of "Having Potential" I Need To Step Up And Do Better For Myself & My Team. I Have Nothing To Loose. Change Starts Now.January 20, 2013

I'm Sick & Tired Of "Having Potential" I Need To Step Up And Do Better For Myself & My Team. I Have Nothing To Loose. Change Starts Now.

— Abodunrin G Olaseni (@agolaseni)

"People look at me and see the height and the length and athleticism, they expect certain things from me," said Olaseni, whose minutes have gone 19, 17, 19 and 17, which the 4, 7 and 8 before that. "I just realized how I should do more for my team."

All but one rebound of Olaseni's numbers came in the second half. Iowa needed it, too. The Huskers closed a 10-point Iowa lead down to 46-44 with 14:21 left in the second half. Olaseni began the Iowa run with a dunk off a pass from forward Aaron White.

"I don't even want to quote myself as saying I tried to tell people [about Olaseni]," said Basabe, whose 11 points and 13 rebounds helped drive Iowa's charge, which saw 13 of the 17 points scored with leading scorers White and Devyn Marble on the bench. "He's still only showing you glimpses, as well as he's playing. He has so much ability. I'm not going to talk him up, I'm just going to keep letting him show you."

For now, Olaseni is answering his toughest tweet.

"I was just speaking to the masses, really," Olaseni said with a smile. "I put myself out there, as well. If I didn't [improve], people would've gone negative on it. It was a risk I took, I'm just glad I'm playing pretty well right now."

Practice pays off

Nearly two hours before Saturday's tip-off, freshman center Adam Woodbury was out with a manager practicing his 10- to 12-foot jumper.

A little more than two hours later, the 7-1 center had 12 points -- a Big Ten high for him -- on 6-for-6 shooting. And yes, four of his six baskets were 10- to 12-foot jump shots.

"If I'm hitting that, they have to respect my range and that opens things up for the guys inside," Woodbury said. "It makes me more versatile. If I'm hitting that, I'm feeling pretty good about my shot and it's probably going to be a pretty good night."

The space in the lane is exactly what happened, even with 314-pound center Andre Almeida taking up quite a bit of floor. Iowa's front court tormented undermanned Nebraska with 20 of 25 from the floor.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery pointed to the fact his team assisted on 21 of 28 field goals.

"[The front court] they were right in the middle of that," McCaffery said. "It's not only that they were making baskets, they were feeding each other. I think that's an example of how far we've come."

Woodbury smiled when asked about coming out and taking pregame so early. The 10-footer is an important part of his game.

"It's something I've been working on everyday," he said. "It definitely is a lost art. Sometimes a four-man can stretch out a defense, but not too many centers do that. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense if you can do that."

Clemmons time

Freshman guard Anthony Clemmons has had a nondescript couple of weeks. That's kind of what you expect from a freshman guard in the Big Ten.

So his performance against Nebraska on Saturday was a bit of a cleanse. Clemmons scored eight of his 11 points in the second half to help Iowa's surge to the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament. The 11 points were the most for Clemmons since Jan. 6 at Michigan when he had 12. His 23 minutes were his most since 29 against Wisconsin on Jan. 19.

"Everyday I come out on the court, I just want to play ball, just release everything in my mind that doesn't have anything to do with ball," Clemmons said. "I went through a slump, and I'm back."

Just in time, too. Fellow freshman guard Mike Gesell has been out with a stress reaction in his right foot. He's cleared, but he hasn't played since Iowa's loss at Nebraska two weeks ago. Iowa will open the Big Ten tourney next Thursday at 8 p.m.

"I think Clemmons is a very confident person, just his nature," McCaffery said. "He made a really big and-1 in the game where they made the run back at us. His point guard ability, his playmaking was really critical in this stretch, especially without Mike."

I'm Sick & Tired Of "Having Potential" I Need To Step Up And Do Better For Myself & My Team. I Have Nothing To Loose. Change Starts Now.January 20, 2013

I'm Sick & Tired Of "Having Potential" I Need To Step Up And Do Better For Myself & My Team. I Have Nothing To Loose. Change Starts Now.

— Abodunrin G Olaseni (@agolaseni)