Big Ten Basketball Preseason Preview: #8 Iowa

This year looks to be another year of growth for Iowa.  In Fran McCaffery’s third season at the helm the Hawkeyes should look better than last year’s squad, who made it to the NIT.  I don’t think they have the talent in place yet to compete at the top half of the Big Ten, but they will not be a pushover to anybody.

Their biggest loss form last year is Matt Gatens, their top scorer and shooter of last year.  Gatens led the fast paced offense of McCaffery, and that will be tough to replace.  Also, point guard Bryce Cartwright graduated.  With a coach trying to finish his transition and achieve stability for the program these losses are tough, but not the end of the world for Iowa.

They do return some good upperclassmen that will be large factors this year.  Senior guard Eric May should play a large role and get many minutes in a young back-court.

A trio of juniors will be big pieces of this team.  The most prominent of these players is 6-6 wing Roy Devyn Marble.  He averaged nearly 12 points a game last season and will be the man to takeover the scoring load from the departed Gatens.  Whether or not Marble can transition to the number one guy is a big question.  There is a lot more pressure that comes with being the go-to-guy than being a secondary scorer.  If Marble can step up that will help legitimize Iowa, and keep them in games with the Big Ten elite. Another important junior is sharpshooter Zach McCabe, who averaged nearly 8 points last year.  Finally, Melsahn Basabe will look for a bounce back junior campaign.  He was on the All- Big Ten Freshman team two years ago, but took a step back last season.  If he can regain his freshman form Iowa will have a double-double machine, who can also be one of the best shot blockers in the conference.

Next, Iowa also adds some notable freshmen.  They added the Gatorade Player of the Year from Nebraska, in point guard Mike Gesell.  Gesell could get some minutes early on and likely develop a larger role as the season moves on.  To go along with the point guard, Iowa also adds a 7-1 center, Adam Woodbury.  Woodbury is known for his strong offensive game, but will need to muscle up.  He might not have an immediate impact, but has great potential down the road.

Projection

This Iowa team has a mix of promising youth and veterans taking on new roles.  McCaffery’s team should improve this year, but whether or not they can compete with the top half of the Big Ten is a question with an answer that I am not sure of.  They should be fun to watch at times, especially if Marble can step up and the freshmen have an impact.  However if things don’t fall in to place Iowa will have a tough time scoring without Gatens and as a  result struggle. They also have a very easy non conference record, followed by a murderers row to start conference play.  It will be tough to bounce back form a bad conference start for this evolving team.   Best case scenario Iowa could be a fringe bubble team, more likely though, they will return to the NIT. Big Ten Record Prediction: 7-11