Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Breakout candidate from each team for 2020-21 season

By Trevor Sinodhinos

MADISON, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 01: D'Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at the Kohl Center on February 01, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 01: D'Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at the Kohl Center on February 01, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – FEBRUARY 10: Jack Nunge #2 of the Iowa Hawkeyes (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – FEBRUARY 10: Jack Nunge #2 of the Iowa Hawkeyes (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Iowa: Jack Nunge

Identifying a breakout star that will emerge for Iowa Basketball in the 2020-21 season is tricky enough, choosing a player who averaged six points in five games before tearing an ACL is even trickier. The 2019-20 season was supposed to be the 6’11 forward’s breakout season. After optioning to redshirt the 2018-19 season in order to develop as a player as well as physically, Jack Nunge was sidetracked again.

The Luka Garza decision is also a factor and will affect any and everybody associated with Iowa Basketball. Garza,  the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer and rebounder has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, but most expect him to return for his final season, which would be a boon for Nunge.

With Garza back and occupying the majority of the attention, Nunge at 6’11 will have room to operate in the positionless offense that coach Fran McCaffrey has been developing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With Garza’s return, all five Hawkeye starters will be returning, but four of them are under 6’6, which makes defending easier when there is no variation in size on the court.

The good news is, Nunge’s injury occurred in November, and ACL tears typically take six to nine months to come back from. One could only hope that ACL surgery rehab is an essential service and Nunge did not lose any more time.

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