Iowa hoops getting mistakes ironed out early

IOWA CITY — No one said it was going to go perfectly right off the bat for the Iowa men's basketball team.

Three weeks into practice for the 2016-17 season, the Hawkeyes' growth as such a young team has seen plenty of good days, but also some bad ones, too. With seven freshmen and just three upper classmen, finding consistency is what Coach Fran McCaffery and his staff wants most right now.

In a way, though, making mistakes right now can be a positive thing. At least that's the way a few of the players view it, anyway. Now is the time when the bulk of the learning gets done, and in many cases, the only way to grow is to learn what not to do.

'Everything we mess up on is a learning experience,' said freshman forward Tyler Cook. '(Coaches) tell us that, with whatever words they choose to use. Messing up has been good for us — especially the freshmen. We've been messing up a lot just because we haven't been here before. But we're taking it; we're learning. Our mistakes have led to everything we know now.'

Each one of the freshmen who've been asked have all said this group has been tight-knit from the outset. There's something to the idea that going through this growth together — all starting out at the same time, from basically the same point — will only build on their closeness.

Bad days happen, and when they do, being able to lean on each other is invaluable. With so much to encounter for the first time, there's only so many things the newcomers can ask the veterans.

Tendencies the Iowa coaches want from them, habits they have to ingrain in their minds, the style of play, dealing with intense criticism — all are facets the Hawkeyes have to make part of everyday life. McCaffery's intense coaching style isn't for every player, but the Hawkeyes have taken to it fine. Jodan Bohannon said, 'it may be a different tone, but you've got to realize what he's trying to say in the bigger picture. I think that really helped (knowing that) coming in.'

Not having to go through it alone means a lot, especially at this stage.

'You've got guys you can relate to. It makes it easier to get through the rough patches. We're all going through it, so we can help each other out through our shared experiences and stuff like that,' Cook said. 'Even (McCaffery) makes it clear, they're trying to make us better. We all understand that. It's nothing we take personally. I think we're good about taking criticism and channeling it into production.'

McCaffery knew way ahead of time dealing with this much turnover was going to come with some bumps in the road.

That consistency he's looking so hard for is something he said Thursday that, 'overall, I've been very pleased with how our guys have performed in that respect,' but that, 'most freshmen are not consistent.' It's a reality he's dealt with for more than 20 years, and one he's comfortable dealing with now.

He said, 'they've been consistent enough, considering they have no experience yet,' and highlighted a few players who have stood out. Cook's scoring has been a daily occurrence. Jordan Bohannon has 'an effective assist-to-turnover' ratio. Cordell Pemsl has come back from a tonsillectomy to be 'really, really good with his skillset' in the post. Ryan Kriener has 'been our leading rebounder since Day 1 in practice, over a three-week period of time.'

Senior guard Peter Jok has watched all that, too, and agreed with his coach in saying the team is trying to find its groove. But Jok, who has been through this before, knows it's not all going to come at once, and that they'd rather be playing their best a few months from now, anyway.

'Some of them, like Jordan and Cordell, they played in a system kind of like it, so they've been adjusting really well, like they've been here for a while,' Jok said. 'We don't want to be playing our best early. We want to be playing our best in February and March. Right now it's all about correcting. We're a young team; we've still got a long ways to go — which is to be expected. We're getting there.'

So yes, mistakes happen every practice these days for the Iowa men's basketball team, and yes, it's a positive to learn from them.

But McCaffery knows they have to go away quickly if the Hawkeyes are going to do anything of note. Freshmen are allowed to be inconsistent, but won't be allowed to make mistakes over and over and still see the floor. With 10-12 guys who can and likely will be a part of the rotation, only those who eliminate mistakes the quickest will see the floor.

There's time to get it right, but not an endless amount.

'You make mistakes, you're going to get beat. The teams are too good on our schedule,' McCaffery said. 'So I'm constantly looking at assist-to-turnover ratio across the board. And we're pretty good in that area. We have some guys who have a little trouble with shot selection. That has to get rectified. We have time. But mistake teams, they get beat. We have to clean that up.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com