Iowa 2017-2018 Preview: Hawkeyes Look to Replace Peter Jok in the Backcourt

In the weeks leading up to the 2016-’17 college basketball season, BTPowerhouse will be releasing its preview series breaking down each Big Ten team. These will come in a set of series previewing the overall team, the team’s backcourt, wings, and big men, and the team’s schedule. Each post will take a look at its top in-depth and give predictions on the upcoming season.

Today’s edition of the ‘BTPowerhouse Preview Series’ will focus on the backcourt for Iowa. The Hawkeyes will look to sophomore Jordan Bohannon to help replace the loss of Peter Jok.

'BTPowerhouse Preview' - Iowa Backcourt:

• 2016-17 All-Big Ten Qualifiers: Peter Jok (All Big Ten First Team)
• Key Departures: Peter Jok
• Additions: Connor McCaffery
• Top Player: Jordan Bohannon

This season Iowa will look to replace one of the most prolific scorers in the Big Ten last season, Peter Jok. Luckily for Fran McCaffery, he has one of the deepest backcourts in the conference.

The Hawkeyes guards struggled with consistency last season. With the likes of Jordan Bohannon, Isaiah Moss, and Christian Williams returning, Iowa can have a sneaky good backcourt this season.

Starting Rotation

Fran McCaffery will be tasked with distributing minutes between four guards that all have a case of being a starter for the Hawkeyes. The two most likely to get the majority of the minutes are sophomores Jordan Bohannon and Isaiah Moss. Bohannon was one of two Hawkeyes that was named to the All Big Ten Freshman team last season. He will be the second leading returning scorer for Iowa this season after averaging over 10 points a game last year. Bohannon was one of the best three point shooters in the Big Ten making 41% of his shots from deep. As a sophomore he will look to improve his overall field goal percentage where he made just 38% of his shots in 2016-17.

Moss started 28 out of Iowa’s 34 games last season but struggled with consistency. When he was on, Moss could easily be the best player on the court. When he was off, you almost forgot he was in the game. Moss only averaged 6.5 points per game last season but the number should rise in 2017-’18. He will also look to continue to be a threat from outside where he shot 36% from the three-point line last season.

Bench Rotation

With Bohannon and Moss taking over the starter’s minutes, juniors Brady Ellingson and Christian Williams will take the majority of the rotation minutes. Williams will be a player that can come off of the bench and give Bohannon a break or even play along side Bohannon in a two-point guard set. His minutes were limited last season playing behind Bohannon and Jok but will surely increase this year as being the first guy that should come off of the bench for the Hawkeyes.

Ellingson was a player that last season came off of the bench and provided a scoring threat from the three-point line. He led the team last year by making 47% of his shots from deep. His role will most likely remain this same this season.

Overall

The loss of Peter Jok will hurt for Iowa, but can also potentially turn their backcourt into a more rounded group. Iowa tended to lean on Jok in big moments last year. With Bohannon improving as a sophomore and Moss/Williams getting more looks, the Hawkeyes backcourt can turn into a more dangerous group with multiple “go to” weapons.