The Breakdown: Joe Wieskamp
Joe Wieskamp was looking forward to Iowa's postseason.
The sophomore guard was the Hawkeyes' second-leading scorer at 14 points per game this season. He was a third-team All-Big Ten selection after ranking ninth in the conference in scoring.
But Wieskamp was looking forward to the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments as a way to break out of the shooting slump that hit him at the end of the season.
Wieskamp made just 14 of his last 53 shots in the final six games, including three of his last 21 three-point attempts.
Wieskamp was subjected to more physical defense down the final stretch of the regular season, and before the Hawkeyes headed to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis he acknowledged he would have to be better at fighting through the holds and shoves.
“It’s tough sometimes, for sure,” Wieskamp said. “You’ve just got to keep grinding through it. I think we can even do a better job of creating that separation ourselves, whether it be setting up cuts, different things like that. That can create some open looks for us.
“You obviously can see it — they’re up in our spaces. That’s just the way the Big Ten is, that’s the way teams are playing us. We’re going to have to deal with that.”
He never got the chance. The Big Ten Tournament, and then the NCAA Tournament, were canceled because of concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, so Wieskamp never got to play another game.
But the slump didn't overshadow another strong season for Wieskamp, a constant in Iowa's starting lineup — he has started all 66 of the Hawkeyes' games in his two seasons. He averaged 32.5 minutes per game this season.
Wieskamp scored in double figures in 24 games, and had three double-doubles. His ability to drive to the basket was a perfect complement to his outside shooting, making him a difficult player to defend.
Best game — Wieskamp scored a career-high 30 points in Iowa's win over Nebraska on Feb. 8. He was 10-of-15 from the field, bouncing back from a loss to the Huskers earlier in the season, when he went 1-of-10 in three-pointers.
Notes — He ended the season with a streak of 22 consecutive made free throws. ... Wieskamp had a string of 13 consecutive double-digit scoring games from Dec. 9-Feb. 2. ... He was second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game.
