Hawkeyes win, gain experience

IOWA CITY - Among Iowa's missions this young men's basketball season is to help its youth gain experience. Sunday provided Coach Fran McCaffery with that opportunity in a 103-68 win against Coppin State.

Six non-starters played at least 14 points for Iowa (2-0). Guard Brady Ellingson hit seven of his eight shots for 20 points. Forward Dale Jones knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 16. Freshman post Ahmad Wagner mixed it up in 18 minutes but fouled out. Guard Andrew Fleming missed a few shots but grabbed six rebounds.

It was the kind of game that McCaffery needed for his players.

'I think it's critical for any team because when you have young players, you've got to be able to let them get in the game, make a mistake, stay in the game,” McCaffery said. 'If every possession in the game was in the balance, it's hard to do sometimes. You kind of go back to your veterans. Your backup misses a shot, kicks one off his foot, doesn't get back in, it doesn't do anything for his confidence. So (Sunday) we were able to leave those guys in, and a lot of good things happened.”

Senior point guard Mike Gesell helped translate McCaffery's goals to the court. In 19 minutes, Gesell dished a career-high 12 assists. Gesell scored five points, pulled down four rebounds and played only six minutes after halftime. But his steadiness paced the Hawkeyes to a big lead and enabled his younger teammates to play more in the second half.

'As a point guard, I look to really hold the team together and become a glue guy on the court and in practice,” Gesell said. 'Every day I'm trying to push guys, and I'm just really trying to be a vocal leader because our young guys have a lot of talent. You've got to bring that out of them. Different guys are going to step up in different games.”

In two games Gesell has 21 assists.

'He's really pushing it hard,” McCaffery said. 'He's got his head up. He's making real good decisions. You know, when your big guys are running, you want to load them up or they'll stop running. He knows that. He understands that.”

'Aggressive isn't always looking for your shot,” Gesell said. 'I think I'm doing a great of not over-penetrating and when I draw the second defender, just making the easy play and I have so many shooters around me.”

Iowa opened with a bigger lineup when sophomore forward Dom Uhl replaced guard Peter Jok, who sat out with ankle sprain. McCaffery said Jok will be able to play Thursday at Marquette.

Uhl scored 18 points with five rebounds. He was active inside and outside, where he hit three 3-pointers. He also played some at center.

'I'm really proud of him,” McCaffery said. 'The way he's played, the energy level that he's played with, and his ability to make plays off the dribble and also affect the game at the rim with rebounding and his leaping ability and his length. He seems to be playing with a lot of confidence, shooting the ball well, knocks in three threes today.”

With Jok out with an injury and Isaiah Moss redshirting, freshman wing Brandon Hutton was the only player who didn't compete. McCaffery still is weighing his options with Hutton, who told his coach he'd be fine with playing or redshirting.

'I'm being a little careful with that, whether we're going to burn his year or not,” McCaffery said.

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