| Hawk central
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – There are a ton of layers to unpack from Iowa’s 89-67 defeat in Maryland on Thursday night.
There was the victorious return of Luka Garza. Connor McCaffery’s notable return. There was Jordan Bohannon’s revived love for the Terrapins’ house.
But let’s start with what happened two hours before the Hawkeyes improved to 10-2 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten Conference game.
Players, coaches and even referees knelt before the striker in a brief but powerful moment.
“Taking a knee” became a way to protest police violence and raise awareness of racism in America, and the alarming events of Wednesday in Washington, DC – where a crowd of protesters stormed the United States Capitol in largely unimpeded by law enforcement – there were players at the Iowa-Maryland Game, taking place just 25 kilometers away, wanting to send their own message.
See how it happened. Maryland veteran Darryl Morsell had sent a text message to Iowa veteran Jordan Bohannon about the idea, and Bohannon published it for Hawkeye players. They agreed to join the Terrapins to kneel just before the 19:01 EST complaint.
“I thought it was really powerful and important,” said Bohannon later.
Iowa’s 11th grade coach Fran McCaffery is outspoken when it comes to issues of social justice. He called Wednesday’s events “reprehensible”, but expressed confidence that change is coming.
“After a while, you get tired of kneeling and you get tired of talking about it. What happened yesterday simply cannot happen in our country, ”said McCaffery. “One of the things we always talk about is that at least we (need to) talk. And the conversation has to turn into action. Fortunately, more and more people are recognizing the changes that must occur. We all want this to happen faster. But it will happen. It will happen. “
Connor McCaffery sends a message to opponents: Get away from me at your own risk.
Some of Iowa’s opponents – including Maryland on Thursday – decided to leave McCaffery intentionally open behind the 3-point line, where he entered on Thursday as a 20% sniper.
Well, the junior of the fourth year said after having his best statistical line of the season: six points, five rebounds, a career record of 10 assists, zero turnovers.
“They were disrespecting me a lot,” said McCaffery. “When they’re out of me like that, I really like it. That’s why I made 10 assists and no laps. I don’t think it’s a big game plan, to be honest with you. I can make the perfect pass. I just wait until the guys are in a perfect position, so I just carry people around. If they’re going to follow that game plan, all I’m going to do is carry people around. “
Garza also agrees with this. He is often the recipient of McCaffery’s entry in the post. The two were plotting Wednesday night at their hotel about how they could take advantage of Maryland’s defense.
“He’s the best post-entry passer I’ve ever played with,” said Garza. “It makes the job easier for me. He’s patient, he waits for me (to work open). “
The fact that McCaffery played was a surprise. He was questionable after spraining his ankle early against Rutgers on Saturday. But after three days of rest, he was able to practice on Wednesday and played 26 effective minutes on Thursday. He even reached the season record by two points out of 3; the first started a torrid 20-0 streak in Iowa in the first half.
“It was great to have him out there,” said Fran McCaffery. “I am so proud of him.”
It was a good night to be a McCaffery. This was also Patrick McCaffery’s best game against a significant opponent: 10 points from 4-in-6 shots, three rebounds and a lot of activity. In six previous games against Big Ten, North Carolina and Gonzaga … McCaffery had scored a total of 14 points. He’s ascending.
There’s something about Maryland and Bohannon …
Until Thursday, Bohannon was the only Hawkeye who won in Maryland. When he was a real freshman in February 2017, the Marion native rained on eight points every 3 out of 10 attempts in a surprising 83-69 victory at the Xfinity Center. A year later, he discreetly scored 5 out of 10 out of 3 in a 91-73 defeat that was remembered for Fran McCaffery’s expulsion in the second half.
But he hadn’t thrown a ball here in exactly three years. Iowa did not play in Maryland in 2019 and was out after hip surgery for the 2020 game. I realized during the pre-game that Bohannon was lining up in the “M” in the middle of the court and shooting 3s effortlessly … and hitting on them. He clearly feels comfortable here.
Bohannon hit 6 of 9 attempts in the 3-point range on Thursday – bringing his career accuracy here to an incredible 19 to 29 (65.5%) – to 18 points. Five of his 3s came in the second half. His aim helped dispel any hope of a rally in Maryland.
“I wasn’t getting a lot of looks in the first half,” said Bohannon. “My guys kept telling me to open and they are going to find me. I had a few 3s of transition and then I started running in the second half. “
Some other notes on Bohannon’s hot shots. He’s now 15 out of 23 out of 3 in three games since he got rid of the shooting sleeve on his right arm before the Northwestern game. And Iowa is 7-0 in games where it hits several 3s.
If Bohannon happens to return to a sixth year in Iowa, Maryland, it is better to hope that he is not the host of the Hawkeyes in 2022.
Although Garza’s return home did not go according to plan, he did win.
Garza planned to reunite with his family who live in northern Virginia – father, mother and sister – but Wednesday’s events forced curfews in the region. This meant that Garza couldn’t hug her mother for the first time in a long time.
Still, said Garza, this was secondary to his primary mission in visiting his hometown region. He was here to win. The 2017 Washington, DC, Gatorade Player of the Year ended with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists on Thursday. So many different Hawkeyes were contributing on Thursday that Garza’s services were not needed late. He did not play the final 6:17 am, after Iowa’s lead increased to 78-52.
Garza lost here as a freshman and junior. Not as a veteran. And it meant a lot to him, considering that Maryland never recruited him.
“It took me three tries,” said Garza. “… I’m excited to finally be able to finish here and bring one home to DMV.”
Do not worry about the distribution of minutes; the results are evident.
Even after the victory, I heard from fans who were upset that Keegan Murray (12 points, five rebounds, 20:46 playing time) was not on the court more often. I understand the feeling – Murray contributes in a number of ways when he is there and was the best of the team over 30 – but I don’t understand complaining after a 22 point win on the road.
Here’s the deal: McCaffery sat with CJ Fredrick and Joe Wieskamp for most of the first half after an uninspiring defense. To start the second half, he intentionally let the riders run longer than usual. No. 1, they were cooler. No. 2, it didn’t hurt to reassure them that they are still among the top catalysts for this top-10 team with high hopes. After Fredrick helped a Bohannon 3 and Wieskamp stormed in for a dunk, Iowa’s lead was 66-41 with 11:50 to the end.
We know that Fredrick and Wieskamp are fantastic players. We were also reassured on Thursday that there are a lot of bench backups. All of this is good news for the Hawkeyes going forward.
A farewell thought from College Park …
After consecutive victories on a solid road, Iowa manages four of the next five at home. And you better believe that the Hawkeyes will be closed for Sunday’s 1:30 pm meeting with Minnesota. The Gophers are the only team in the Big Ten to beat them, a 102-95 decision in overtime on December 25, when Iowa lost a seven-point lead in the final 37 seconds of regulation.
“This is definitely a game that we scored on the calendar,” said Bohannon. “… We thought we had them at home and let them escape. We have a lot of energy going into this game. We need to keep fighting if we want to have the season we want. “
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow covered sports for 26 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.