Tag: Joe Wieskamp

Michigan State Basketball can’t stop hot-shooting Iowa in 88-58 defeat

Iowa started the game hot and continued to pour it on throughout the game. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for Michigan State.

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Iowa started the game hot and continued to pour it on throughout the game. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for Michigan State. They could not get their shots to fall, and struggled to contain the Hawkeyes shooting in a disappointing 88-58 beating.

It was just a sloppy game as the Spartans were outscored 46-27 in the first half. They couldn’t make their shots and Iowa made the most of the shots they took. Iowa finished the half 16-30 shooting while the Spartans were 11-35 from the field.  The big difference was beyond the arc where the Hawkeyes shot 8-13 while the Spartans were just 2-11 in the first half.

It didn’t get any better in the second half, as the Spartans struggled while the Hawkeyes kept knocking down threes. The Hawkeyes finished the game 13-25 from beyond the arc, while the Spartans were inept and finished a lowly 6-21 from three point range.

Joe Wieskamp lead the way for Iowa with 21 points on 7-13 shooting and 5-7 from three. He also had seven rebounds and three assists. Jack Nunge also added 18 points on 7-11 shooting with 11 rebounds.

The Spartans actually contained Luka Garza who finished with eight points, which is his lowest on the season, on 3-11 shooting. In fact, that’s the first time Garza has scored less than 10 points in a game since November 29, 2019, when he scored nine points in a loss to San Diego State. Unfortunately, they couldn’t contain the rest of the Hawkeyes.

Gabe Brown led the way for the Spartans with 15 points on 6-10 shooting, and 3-5 from three point land. Aaron Henry had 13 points on 5-11 shooting and added four rebounds.

This loss also halts any chances of Michigan State of getting into the tournament through the at-large bid. The Spartans will have to work on preparing for the Big Ten Tournament as that will be their only chance at making the NCAA Tournament for a 23rd straight season in which the tournament has been held.

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2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: How has the NCAA season changed rankings?

Now that the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is underway, we are getting a more clear picture of the top prospects in the upcoming class.

Now that the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is underway, we are getting a more clear picture of the top prospects in the upcoming class.

Former top recruits like Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs have made a great first impression and have confirmed why many already feel they are going to be solid future professionals in the NBA.

Of course, considering the unusual nature of the college basketball season, some players are struggling a bit more than others. The performance on the court will likely stray closer to the mean with a larger sample size as the year continues.

But to get a better sense of where everyone stands right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

We highlighted the prospects who have been the biggest risers since we published our last edition of this exercise.

College basketball standouts who have most drastically improved their draft stock through the early parts of the season include Keon Johnson (Tennessee), James Bouknight (UCONN), Jared Butler (Baylor), Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Day’Ron Sharpe (UNC), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), Marcus Bagley (Arizona State), Moussa Cisse (Memphis), Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Jason Preston (Ohio) and Luka Garza (Iowa).

Below are the rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts:

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Tracking top NCAA prospects who could still declare for 2020 NBA Draft

NCAA prospects have until April 26 to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

NCAA prospects have until next week to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

Two freshmen (Precious Achiuwa and Jahmi’us Ramsey) are widely projected as first-round prospects. Meanwhile, three sophomores (Isaiah Joe, Aaron Henry and Joel Ayayi) typically appear on mock drafts.

Others who are likely Top-100 prospects: Romeo Weems, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Filip Petrusev, Joe Wieskamp, Corey Kispert, Terrence Shannon Omer Yurtseven, Yves Pons, AJ Lawson, Charles Bassey, Anton Watson and Miles McBride.

Below is a list reviewing all of the key players in college basketball who have yet to make a public decision about their NBA futures, even if it is simply just to test the waters so long as they already applied to receive feedback from the Undergraduate Advisory Committee before April 16.

FRESHMEN

Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Precious Achiuwa, Memphis (Big)

Jahmi’us Ramsey, Texas Tech (Guard)

Romeo Weems, DePaul (Forward)

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Big)

Terrence Shannon, Texas Tech (Wing)

Anton Watson, Gonzaga (Forward)

N’Faly Dante, Oregon (Big)

DJ Jeffries, Memphis (Forward)

Lester Quinones, Memphis (Forward)

Spencer Jones, Stanford (Big)

Nah’shon Hyland, VCU (Guard)

James Bouknight, UCONN (Guard)

SOPHOMORES

Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Joe, Arkansas (Guard)

Aaron Henry, Michigan (Wing)

Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga (Guard)

Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga (Big)

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (Wing)

AJ Lawson, South Carolina (Guard)

Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky (Big)

Emmitt Williams, LSU (Forward)

Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State (Guard)

Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (Guard)

Will Richardson, Oregon (Guard)

Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine (Forward)

Quentin Grimes, Houston (Guard)

Aaron Wiggins, Maryland (Guard)

Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (Guard)

Davion Mitchell, Baylor (Guard)

Marcus Bingham, Michigan State (Big)

JUNIORS

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (Wing)

Omer Yurtseven, Georgetown (Big)

Yves Pons, Tennessee (Wing)

Colbey Ross, Pepperdine (Guard)

Oscar da Silva, Stanford (Forward)

Nahziah Carter, Washington Wing)

Dru Smith, Missouri (Guard)

Matt Mitchell, San Diego State (Forward)

Mark Vital, Baylor (Forward)

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You went through the NBA draft process …

You went through the NBA draft process last year. Is that something you’re thinking about doing again? Joe Wieskamp “There’s definitely a lot of unknowns right now with everything going on. I’m still kind of waiting to see how things play out, whether there will be workouts or not or whether there will be a combine. It’s looking doubtful about those things with everything going on. But it’s definitely something I’m interested in and obviously that’s my goal, to play in the NBA one day. I’m just kind of waiting to see what happens.”

Three Iowa players Badger fans need to know

Wisconsin heads to Iowa City to take on the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes. Badger fans should be sure to know these three opposing players.

After getting blown out in its last two road games, Wisconsin (12-8) will look to reverse that trend on Monday evening in Iowa City against No. 19 Iowa (14-5).

To put it mildly, that will not be an easy task.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena has a well-deserved reputation as one of the toughest places to win on the road in the country, and Fran McCaffery’s Hawkeyes are arguably the Big Ten’s hottest team at the moment, having won four straight and eight of their last ten. That stretch includes victories over No. 12 Maryland, No. 19 Michigan, and No. 24 Rutgers, all of which came in Iowa City.

While Iowa was expected to be a solid team this season, I’m not sure anyone thought they would be this good, especially once one of its top players, senior guard Jordan Bohannon, opted to shut down his season after playing in ten games to undergo hip surgery. The loss of Bohannon’s leadership and productivity (career scoring average of 12.3 points per game, 39.8 percent three-point shooter) could have been devastating.

Instead, the Hawkeyes have managed to thrive in his absence, thanks in large part to the emergence of one of his teammates into a full-fledged superstar and a few others stepping up to the plate and taking on larger roles.

With that said, here are three players in Iowa’s rotation who Badger fans should make sure to keep an eye on in this matchup.

Luka Garza – Center

Current stats: 23.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 56.1 FG%, 38.5 3P%

Jan 4, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) shoots the ball over Penn State Nittany Lions forward John Harrar (21) during the first half at The Palestra. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Garza was certainly one of the Big Ten’s better big men throughout his first two years at Iowa, but the 6-11, 260-pounder from Washington D.C. has taken a quantum leap in his third season.

The junior center’s production has absolutely exploded in 2019-20, to the point where he has launched  himself into  the conversation for National Player of the Year honors. Garza leads the Big Ten and ranks No. 5 nationally in scoring average, with the conference’s No. 3 field goal percentage. He also cleans up on the glass, currently sitting second in rebounds per game.

A multi-dimensional offensive threat who dominates the paint and can stretch the floor from beyond the arc, Garza has been straight-up unguardable at times for the Hawkeyes. He has scored in double figures in all but one game, a stretch that has included some jaw-dropping performances: Garza dropped 44 points (17-32 from the floor) in Iowa’s loss to Michigan in December and 34 (13-19) to go along with 12 rebounds in an 89-86 defeat to Penn State earlier this month.

Garza is coming off of another monster outing the last time out against Rutgers in which he racked up 28 points on 11-17 shooting to go along with 13 boards.

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