Hawkeye men ready for the grind

IOWA CITY — For the next six weeks, there's little time for the Iowa's men's basketball team to relax and reflect upon their performances. The Hawkeyes are in their regular-season groove, and until a slight break for semester finals, it's all about game action.

No. 25 Iowa (1-0) faces North Dakota State (0-1) on Monday as part of the 2K Classic. The Hawkeyes then travel to New York City for games against Texas and either California or Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. In all, Iowa plays 11 games over four weeks, including four games in eight days.

But for the players, the quick turnaround is a chance to prepare for the grind of a long season.

'It's nothing new for me or any of the guys that have been here a couple of years,' Iowa senior Aaron White said after Friday's 90-56 win against Hampton. 'That will definitely be different for the younger guys.

'It's just about taking care of your body at this time, don't go overboard. You've got to get home, get your rest. It's not a job, because we're college students, but you've got to treat it like a job. Really take care of yourself, eat the right foods, get the right amount of fluids. Just be ready to go.'

The Hawkeyes dominated Hampton on the boards 48-32, shot nearly 53 percent in the first half (compared to Hampton's 29 percent) and forced 17 turnovers. Ten different Iowa players saw at least 14 minutes of action.

Junior guard Anthony Clemmons rates as Iowa's best on-ball defender, but it was his offense that turned heads on Friday night. Clemmons recorded his first start since his freshman year and scored 12 points. He grabbed five rebounds, added an assist and a steal with no turnovers in 20 minutes.

'I think that's the beauty of his game,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'He doesn't drive into packs of people and take crazy 3s. He shoots open 3s. He shoots a little floater. And he scores in transition. Other than that, he guards his man and moves it on and gives you a level of toughness that I think every team needs and certainly our team needs him to be that way.'

'I really don't think about being in the starting lineup or coming off the bench,' Clemmons said. 'I've been in both positions, so whatever I can do to make the team better. I trust McCaffery on his decision and what he thinks is best for our team at the moment.'

North Dakota State suffered an 85-50 beatdown at Texas on Friday. The Bison qualified for the NCAA tournament last year and upset Oklahoma to advance to the third round. In the Oklahoma win, point guard Lawrence Alexander, a 2012-13 second-team all-Summit League selection, paced the Bison to that upset with 28 points, including a 3-pointer to send the game in overtime. He averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last year.

Against the Longhorns, Alexander put up 16 points, including four 3-pointers.

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