A work in progress for Iowa hoops

IOWA CITY — Call it a work in progress for the Iowa men's basketball team.

With a disparity between veterans and newcomers, the Hawkeyes wanted to blend as many of their parts as possible in an exhibition against Division II Sioux Falls Thursday night. Twelve different players competed in the first half and 14 overall in a 99-73 Iowa win.

The final score belies the challenges the Hawkeyes face as they attempt their third consecutive NCAA tournament berth, however. Iowa's starting lineup consists of four seniors and a junior who have played alongside one another for years. But with five freshmen, two red-shirt freshmen and a junior-college transfer, Iowa's on-court chemistry needs work.

'I don't know what to say about it other than it's tough,' said Iowa senior forward Jarrod Uthoff, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. 'It's a learning process for both really the young guys and us. We've got to learn how to bring them along. Each individual is different. Ahmad (Wagner) might respond differently than (Andrew) Fleming to different comments. It's a learning curve, and it's a slow process.'

The cohesion is obvious with Iowa's starting five. Senior point guard Mike Gesell scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished six assists in 26 minutes. Guard Anthony Clemmons was efficient with nine points and six assists in 21 minutes. Guard Peter Jok drilled four 3-pointers and added 18 points. Center Adam Woodbury missed a few inside shots but finished with eight points.

But once Iowa went to its bench. there was some disconnect. Coach Fran McCaffery wanted to see how they gelled together, but he wanted the first unit to excel, too. There's obvious room for growth.

'I'm trying to get all these guys in, yet I'm trying to keep our cohesion together with our first group,' McCaffery said. 'We made a bunch of mistakes early, which I wasn't expecting with our starters, but they got it together, and I thought we spurred it.

'It's the reason you play an exhibition game versus a scrimmage is you can put some guys in gamelike situations and see what they can do, see if they know where to go, see if they know how to line up, see if they understand time and score. The hard thing is you're trying to get them all in. If you put them all in together, it makes it more difficult, clearly.

'But if you only put them in one at a time, two at a time, then you can't get them all in. ..., I said, 'I'm just going to put them in and let them play for a while, and if we give up part of the lead, that's what we're going to need to do because these guys have to get some seasoning and get ready and try to figure it out.''

As expected, the bench's play shined at times and was inconsistent at others. Nicholas Baer, a red-shirt freshman who can play multiple positions, scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds in 12 minutes. Wagner and red-shirt freshman guard Brady Ellingson were the first players off the bench and produced despite combining for two points. Fleming scored eight points and fluctuated between ill-timed shots and aggressive plays.

Early on, Sioux Falls attacked the Hawkeyes, who were in the bonus with 16 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first half. That turned out to be a blessing, Uthoff said.

'I think playing Sioux Falls in this atmosphere was great for us because it was a huge eye-opener,' he said. 'They came out very physical, and we've been struggling with that in practice and that's good for us to get in game terms what that's like.'

Iowa has another exhibition on Nov. 6 against Augustana (S.D.) before opening the season Nov. 13 against Gardner-Webb.

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