Iowa Basketball: Jordan Bohannon is ready to step up for the Hawkeyes
Iowa basketball finished near the middle of the Big Ten last season, and they will rely on sophomore guard Jordan Bohannon to move up the standings this year.
Each team with a winning record in Big Ten play made the NCAA Tournament last season except Iowa basketball. Michigan, Northwestern, and Michigan State all went 10-8 in conference (the same record as Iowa) and were single-digit seeds in the Big Dance while the Hawkeyes were sent to the NIT. Overall, their resume did not match up to getting an at-large bid, but that still has to hurt a little bit.
Heading into this season, Iowa basketball will surely have a chip on the shoulder. Yet, it will not be easy to have a successful year. Although most of the roster remains intact from a season ago, Peter Jok (19.9 points per game) has graduated and moved on to play professionally. Jok represented 24.7% of the team’s scoring last season and somebody is going to have to score those points this year.
To do so, there will need to be a committee of players who step up throughout the season for the Hawkeyes. In addition to scoring, Jok’s veteran leadership on the court will be sorely missed. To help fill these gaps, it will be up to sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon to increase his production across the board. After a solid freshman campaign, Bohannon could emerge as one of the best players in the conference this season.
As a scorer, Bohannon finished third on the team in 2016-17, averaging 10.9 points per game. A prolific 3-point shooter, Bohannon shot 41.6% from deep this season on 6.3 attempts per game. His 89 total 3-pointers made were 55th in the country.
Inside the arc, however, Bohannon definitely struggled. On two-point shots, Bohannon was just 32.2%. In order for him to improve his scoring output, he will need to become more effective finishing inside the arc. If he can do that, he will open up more opportunities for himself from outside and become a much more versatile threat.
It is more than his scoring and shooting, though, that makes Bohannon a dangerous player. His 175 assists were 38th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten. He averaged 5.1 per game. This playmaking production might take a hit this season as he shoulders more of the scoring burden. He will still be capable of finding the open man when the defense collapses on him inside or closes out too quickly and flies by, though.
Bohannon has very good court vision both in transition and in the halfcourt. With his ability to knock down the transition pull-up three, it is very difficult to guard Iowa basketball in transition as he can hurt you from deep or dump a pass down for an easy bucket.
Lastly, Bohannon will be a leader on this team. He might only be a sophomore, but he spent all of this last season playing nearly 30 minutes per game in Big Ten play. Tyler Cook, the top returning scorer from last season, will also be entering his sophomore year, and there is a vacancy at the “team leader” spot after Jok graduated.
This team is very young and if Bohannon is going to be one of the star players over the next three seasons, he might as well jump into the leadership role on the court as soon as possible.
Heading into the year, Bohannon could average 15+ points and 5+ assists per game for Iowa basketball in 2017-18. Nobody put up that production in the Big Ten a season ago, although Denzel Valentine last did it for Michigan State in 2015-16.
If Bohannon is able to become a solid scorer inside the arc, watch out for his 3-point shot to be even more deadly. In addition, he will start to draw more defenders in the lane, allowing him to kick out to an open perimeter shooter and add to his collection of assists.
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To end last season, Bohannon was red-hot. In Iowa basketball’s last three games, he averaged 22.7 points and 11.3 assists on 55.0% shooting from the field and 59.3% from deep. Here’s to hoping that streak continues into 2017-18. Just a sophomore, Jordan Bohannon has all the skills to become an elite point guard in the Big Ten and he could break out and make Iowa a possible tournament team this season.