Iowa Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Hawkeyes
Starters
Even with the Hawkeyes losing a bulk of their core lineup from last season in Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, and CJ Fredrick, they will still be retaining some significant contributors from the 2020-21 roster – some of whom have experience in the starting lineup already, and a few who received substantial playing time off the bench.
Jordan Bohannon saw much of last season at the point guard position, and, with Garza gone, he should bear much of the offensive responsibility for the Hawkeyes in 2021-22. The 6-1, sixth-year sniper averaged just over 10.5 points last year, making just 20 two-pointers the entire season – but ranking within the top 300 nationally in 3P%, shooting 80-205 (39.0%) in 31 games. Bohannon played minimal minutes in a starting role in Iowa’s exhibition against Slippery Rock, logging five points, three assists, and two steals in 17 minutes.
Time will tell what exactly happens with Iowa’s lineup, and the changes that will happen between positions compared to last season. Against Slippery Rock, Joe Toussaint – who played back-up minutes at point guard last year – started, while Connor McCaffery came off the bench despite starting all 31 games last season, having played much of the end of last season at small forward, with supporting minutes behind Fredrick at shooting guard.
If Fran McCaffery does continue to go down this route of this lineup, then Bohannon would be slotted at shooting guard, whereas Toussaint would earn point guard responsibilities. Toussaint started much of his freshman season before being relegated to the bench for the entirety of his sophomore year, averaging 3.7 points and 2.4 assists. The now-junior did show a few flashes last year, despite the limited minutes, including a difference-making 10-points in a six-point win over Michigan State and an impressive 14 points against in a loss to Gonzaga.
In lieu, small forward is also a bit of a conundrum, considering this is where Connor McCaffery played a majority of his minutes at during the tail-end of last year – but his younger brother, Patrick, earned the start against Slippery Rock.
Connor averaged just over 3.2 points last year, but did dish out 3.6 assists per game; the senior was limited in the Hawkeyes’ exhibition, however, going scoreless in 17 minutes. Patrick, meanwhile, was the star for Iowa against Slippery Rock, pouring in an exhibition-high 18 points on 7-9 shooting to go with eight boards – all in 21 minutes of play. Despite averaging fewer points than his brother last year, Patrick was the better shooter of the two in 2020-21, maintaining a 43.8% (60-137) clip to Connor’s 32.4% (33-102).
However, no key is more instrumental to Iowa’s success than the continuing development and potential flourishment of Keegan Murray, who showed flashes of promise last year – including eight double-digit performances, all the while maintaining a top-150 mark in 2PT% (60.7%). Murray‘s production fluctuated, however, particularly during the late stages of the season, with three of his final four games producing offensive ratings below 100, per KenPom. Like Patrick McCaffery, however, Murray was also stellar against Slippery Rock, tallying 17 points (7-10 FG), five boards, and two blocks.
Replacing Garza as the anchor inside is the Hawkeyes’ greatest challenge, undoubtedly – there really is just no one who can realistically give Iowa what Garza did. However, there are decidedly quality options available for the Hawkeyes, and University of North Dakota transfer Filip Rebraca is the ideal choice. A Second-Team All-Summit League honoree last season, Rebraca led the Fighting Hawks in scoring (16.8), rebounding (7.8), and FG% (50.6%), and was solid against Slippery Rock, posting six points and six caroms in 16 minutes.
Again, this is absolutely not the same Iowa core that was highly touted like last year’s starting line-up – but this is, for all intents and purposes, a quality crew that will pose a threat to many of the Big Ten’s top teams. Murray’s ability to become a consistent offensive threat and the implementation of Rebraca will be the two greatest keys to whether Iowa can limit the blow left by Garza’s departure – and whether or not the Hawkeyes will falter rather than flourish.