Men's Basketball Notebook: Hawkeye Walk-Ons Get Chances To Play In Conference Games
Fran McCaffery has always talked up walk-on guard Austin Ash, and the Iowa coach was able to get him some decent playing time last week.
Ash and fellow walk-ons Michael Baer and Nicolas Hobbs got to play in the Hawkeyes' 104-68 loss at Purdue last Wednesday and in Saturday's 96-72 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
Given the competitiveness of the Big Ten, it can be difficult to get walk-ons playing time — Ash has played 13 minutes, 27 seconds in four conference games, Hobbs has played 5:18 in two games and Baer has played 5:51 in two games.
The Hawkeyes were finishing a stretch of five games in 13 days. Getting the regular rotation out of the games when the outcomes were decided helped with rest, McCaffery said.
McCaffery said it was especially good to get time for Ash, who had been dealing with mononucleosis earlier in the season. Ash didn't get to play in Iowa's 93-51 win over Kennesaw State to close the nonconference part of the schedule.
Ash had a 3-pointer in the game against Purdue, then hit two against Nebraska, delighting the sellout crowd. Ash played nine minutes against the Huskers.
"He would have gotten opportunities before, when there were more chances to do that," McCaffery said on his Wednesday teleconference. "He's had a tough break this year. The fact that he came off the bench and hit a couple of shots didn't surprise me — that's what he's capable of doing. And I wish I could have gotten him more minutes earlier, when he was sick."
Hobbs got the first field goal of the season on Saturday. Baer did not score in either game, but had a rebound against Nebraska.
Ignoring the honors
Iowa center Luka Garza's name has been coming up as not only a candidate for Big Ten player of the year, but also in the national player of the year discussion.
Garza, McCaffery said, isn't taking in the accolades.
"He's the same guy. It hasn't affected him at all," McCaffery said. "He's just a grinder, and he keeps working, and he stays locked in. We just keep encouraging him to keep doing what he's been doing. He knows how we feel about him — we're going to run stuff for him, his teammates love him and appreciate him.
"It's pretty much business as usual, to be honest with you."
Garza leads the Big Ten in scoring at 23.1 points per game overall and 26.1 points in conference play. He has nine consecutive Big Ten games of 20 points or more.
No need to say anything
Iowa guard CJ Fredrick was 5-of-15 shooting in the two games last week, including a 2-of-9 game against Nebraska. He was 4-of-12 the week before in a game against Maryland.
It's not something that concerns McCaffery.
Asked if he had talked to Fredrick, McCaffery said, "To be honest with you, I haven't said anything to him."
