Why Am I Not More Into This Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Team?

The Iowa Hawkeyes are currently ranked in the top 20 in the polls and have some great wins on their resume. They have three-point shooters, one of the best scoring big men in the entire country and a young point guard who, although flawed, is always exciting to watch.

And yet I just can’t get into this team like I should. Iowa is currently 13-5, and they keep showing flashes that they might be putting all of the pieces together. Luka Garza has been phenomenal. Like, what the hell? I had a friend who thought that Adam Woodbury should have had stats like Garza is putting up, also while leading the nation in blocks. And that’s the beauty of Iowa fans as we always have ridiculous optimism even if it is not at all warranted. But with Garza, he’s simply been incredible, and I feel great any time the ball is in his hands. He’s nearly fulfilling the Woodbury promise.

Along the wings, CJ Fredrick has been a revelation. Like, how did that guy need to redshirt? I’m glad he did, but damn, that guy is all over the place on defense and he has ice in his veins when it comes to making big shots. Alongside him is the guy we thought would be the unstoppable monster of this Iowa team, Joe Wieskamp, who has showed plenty of flashes of brilliance but still disappears during some games where he becomes a non-factor. Still, Wieskamp is a guy I totally believe in, and he has the ability to raise his game when the Hawks need him.

Joe Toussaint is starting at point guard, but he shares plenty of minutes. He’s definitely the most exciting of all of the options as he’s the fastest player I ever remember wearing an Iowa uniform. He’s a little out of control, and the shooting needs work, but he’s a menace on defense, and he just makes this team a lot more fun.

Connor McCaffery is the weakest link in the starting five, and somehow, has played just 23 fewer minutes than Garza this season. He has not quite had the impact of Garza, but he’s a jack-of-all-trades. Nothing he does stands out, but he’s not awful in any way. Still, I feel ill anytime that I see him with the ball in his hands. He’s not my personal cup of tea.

Off the bench, Iowa has Ryan Kriener who seems to make every shot he takes. That’s not too far off as he is making 63% of his shots. Bakari Evelyn started off terrible but has found his groove lately as a grad transfer. And Cordell Pemsl is happy to do the dirty work and provide the muscle if things get out of hand.

So why am I not more into this team? I think being hurt repeatedly by teams of Fran’s past coaching tenure has made it tougher for me to open my heart again. It might just be that I have a kid now, and that makes my previous plan of waking up super early to watch the game way more difficult since he also wakes up super early. But this isn’t the team’s fault. Dominant big men are rare sights, and it’s so much fun to watch. Wieksamp and Fredrick are a blast, and I don’t care if Joe Toussaint isn’t all that great at basketball, he’s so fast that I can’t take my eyes off of him.

I’m all in on the Hawkeyes. In fact, I am so in that I’m even going to stay up and watch the Rutgers game tonight (sees 9 PM tipoff)...okay, well, I’ll do my best to watch the first half.

National Title, here we come! And you heard it here first, from Iowa’s #1 fan, as long as fandom doesn’t interfere with bedtime.