Iowa’s Jok impresses, improves as he matures

IOWA CITY — The eyes of the basketball world were focused on Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff at halftime of last week's game at Iowa State.

Uthoff had 30 points and everyone knew the Cyclones had to slow him down. Iowa junior guard Peter Jok, who had taken just three shots in the first half, knew his opportunity was on its way.

'We all knew they were going to do whatever it takes to stop Jarrod, and I told (Coach Fran McCaffery) that at halftime,' Jok said. 'He was like, 'You need to step up this half.' The coaches told me it was going to be my half, and I came out aggressive.'

When Uthoff saw tighter defense, Jok had his chance. He hit his first four shots of the second half and scored 14 of Iowa's first 16 points to pace the Hawkeyes to a 19-point lead with 15 minutes left. Then, his game dissipated in a haze.

ISU's Naz Mitrou-Long accidentally grazed Jok's eye, which led to the guard falling to the floor. Jok tried to play through the poke, but he had blurred vision for the rest of the game. That proved costly as ISU rallied for an 83-82 win.

'I actually got looked at by the doctor,' Jok said. 'I got scratched in the middle of my eye, and it was blurry the whole time. They told me 24 hours before it healed up, and I took 24 hours and it started feeling better.'

Jok finished with 18 points that day, and he's become more than just a streaky shooter for the Hawkeyes. He's scored at least eight points in every game and notched a career-best 24 in an overtime win against Florida State. He added 20 in a victory at Florida State.

It hasn't always been easy for the Des Moines-area product. He had high accolades entering Iowa but struggled with defense and conditioning. His minutes waned his freshman year with Iowa's deep roster.

'You've got to figure out how to guard people who are really good who are juniors and seniors, and he couldn't do that,' McCaffery said. 'He was getting outplayed in practice, and there's two ways to handle that. You can run and hide and transfer, or you can battle and get better and work at it, and I'm just really impressed with his work ethic and the ability to get better in the weight room and get extra shots up and figure out what he needs to do defensively and cut down on his mistakes.

'I told him his game as a freshman, he had a sloppy game. He would fumble and stumble and run around and just try to shoot jumpers and make that the cure for everything. He needed to become a really good basketball player. I'm really proud of him because you do that when you have character.'

Jok improved dramatically before his sophomore season and he moved into Iowa's starting lineup early on. Jok averaged 7.0 points and 2.6 rebounds a game last year. He's taken another step this season, averaging 13.4 points a game. He hits 37.3 percent from 3-point range, and has made 18 of 21 free throws. His defense has improved as has his stamina. He's shown he can compete consistently at a high level.

'He's always been able to shoot,' Iowa center Adam Woodbury said. 'I played with him throughout high school, and I knew about him in middle school. He's always been a very good player. What he's been able to do over the last couple of years and into the summer has shown me how good he is. He really has. I know I've got a lot of faith in him.'

'I'm way better,' Jok said. 'It's a process, and I'm going to keep working. I feel like I'm way better than when I first got here. I'm just going to keep working hard.'

Jok will have a homecoming of sorts Saturday against Drake. He played at both Des Moines Roosevelt and West Des Moines Valley in high school. He expects several friends and family members to attend their Big Four Classic game, and he's excited about it.

'It's pretty much like playing in front of my hometown,' Jok said.

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