J Uthoff

[Zstatman]

There were a bunch of ex Hawks at OU back then, all had played with Bobby Stoops; his brother, Chuck Long, George Kittle's dad, and Jonathan Hayes. I'll bet Jonathan knew George Kittle growing up and he found his way to Iowa City.

But you can't fault Jaxson for going to Texas, they had another one and done that turned out pretty well, Kevin Durant.

And, I'd guess Jonathan will make it to some Pels games and JU and he will talk some Hawkeye sports.

 

[Fryowa]

Those non-guaranteed with deadlines have got JU before, let's hope not this time.

Here's the official roster for hte Pelicans, it seems like he's in a pretty good situation. He'll battle Brandon Ingram and Zion for a starting spot, OK, maybe not but I don't see why he can't be in the mix for some minutes.

He'll have Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe getting him the ball.

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Uthoff and Cook both got waived on Dec 19th and no one has picked them up for G-League duty.

I kinda had a hard time believing either of those two guys would stick for that kind of money.

Their career clock is ticking on Euro ball, probably time to hop on a plane and start making some moolah.

 

[JG10Hawk]

I think the G League is currently in flux. They are trying to figure out some sort of shortened season in a bubble and it's been reported that several of the teams plan on opting out of playing this season even once logistics are figured out. That would also help explain why Baer decided to join the Iowa staff as a grad assistant a few weeks back.

 

[Zstatman]

Saw this blurb:

On December 5, 2020, Uthoff signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.[31] He was waived at the end of training camp on December 19, 2020.

On January 11, 2021, the Pelicans' G League affiliate Erie BayHawks announced that they had acquired Uthoff's returning player's rights from the Memphis Hustle in exchange for a 2021 draft pick. The draft was held that same day, and Memphis used the pick to acquire Baylor forward Freddie Gillespie. The BayHawks are one of 18 teams who plan to play the 2021 G League season in a "bubble" at Walt Disney World, beginning in February.[32]

NBA career statistics​

 

[Zstatman]

For those able and interested, the Erie BayHawks and Jarrod Uthoff open the G League bubble season on NBA TV today, Wed, at 2 PM central time against the Salt Lake City Stars.

I would be very surprised if JU doesn't start.

 

[Zstatman]

JU did start and had a good game as Erie won 117-98. He played 25 minutes and was one of seven in double figures scoring 14 points on 5-10 shooting, 4-7 from 3 with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

There were lots of guys with different amounts of NBA experience. One guy, Malcolm Miller, for Utah won a ring with Toronto 2 years ago.

 

[Zstatman]

In JUs 2nd game he had 16 points on 6-8 shooting, 3-4 from deep, 10 boards, and 3 steals in a win.

Not bad

 

[Northside Hawk]

Can't understand why he's not in the association?? Maybe the "R" word?

More like the "D" word.

Can he play any of it without racking up copious amounts of fouls?

The NBA is one elite club. Its history is absolutely littered with talented players who don't make it for any number of reasons.

 

[Zstatman]

After averaging a double-double for the season and making 1st team all G League last year, the NBA knows who he is.

I wonder if you can make a career of just playing in the G League?

 

[Luftgekuehlt67]

The NBA is unreal. Obviously, I'm a big Iowa fan, but I also watch every Nuggets game.

If you don't follow closely, you can't even imagine the depth in the NBA. The word "elite" barely scratches the surface.

NBA teams carry 15 players. It varies from team to team, but you can make it simple and say it pretty much breaks into thirds:

1-5: Starters
6-10: Backups
11-15: Practice squad

Your "practice squad" is really only going to get on the court in garbage time or in extreme "situational" scenarios (hands team, length team, etc).

The Nuggets have the 2020 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (Zeke Nnaji) as a "practice squad" player. He's played well in garbage time and shows signs that he may be working his way up in the rotation, but the point still stands - when you have, every single draft class, talent like that flowing into the game, it makes things very tough. Teams would rather put resources (travel expenses, coaching time, contract money, etc) into a 20 year old like Zeke Nnaji is going to turn into a rotation guy in a couple years rather than spend a roster spot on a known quantity like Uthoff who, at least per NBA scouts (apparently), is unlikely to develop into a rotation quality player.

I'm sure it's very hard to swallow and I feel for the guy - I loved watching him play at Iowa - but the reality is Uthoff is probably plenty good enough to make all sorts of team's "practice squad" but, from the perspective of those "in the know", his upside is well-understood to be below "rotation quality".

 

[Fryowa]

The NBA is unreal. Obviously, I'm a big Iowa fan, but I also watch every Nuggets game.

If you don't follow closely, you can't even imagine the depth in the NBA. The word "elite" barely scratches the surface.

NBA teams carry 15 players. It varies from team to team, but you can make it simple and say it pretty much breaks into thirds:

1-5: Starters
6-10: Backups
11-15: Practice squad

Your "practice squad" is really only going to get on the court in garbage time or in extreme "situational" scenarios (hands team, length team, etc).

The Nuggets have the 2020 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (Zeke Nnaji) as a "practice squad" player. He's played well in garbage time and shows signs that he may be working his way up in the rotation, but the point still stands - when you have, every single draft class, talent like that flowing into the game, it makes things very tough. Teams would rather put resources (travel expenses, coaching time, contract money, etc) into a 20 year old like Zeke Nnaji is going to turn into a rotation guy in a couple years rather than spend a roster spot on a known quantity like Uthoff who, at least per NBA scouts (apparently), is unlikely to develop into a rotation quality player.

I'm sure it's very hard to swallow and I feel for the guy - I loved watching him play at Iowa - but the reality is Uthoff is probably plenty good enough to make all sorts of team's "practice squad" but, from the perspective of those "in the know", his upside is well-understood to be below "rotation quality".

This.

How anyone can think a guy like Uthoff or Cook will make the NBA is beyond ridiculous. The gap between college and NBA might as well be from here to Pluto. And then you have folks thinking Wieskamp is gonna go...

Even a guy like Garza, who is tearing up the B1G will likely be a Euro League guy like Aaron White (nothing wrong with that, btw...). To make it in the NBA in today's game you have to be either an absolute beast of a physical specimen, or you have to be an out-of-your-mind shooter like a Reddick or Kyle Korver journeyman type guy. Garza is my favorite Hawkeye hooper from the last 20 years, but he's not either one of those things.

I think it's just a matter of people not comprehending how huge the skill gap is in certain sports. People assume if a guy is dominant in college he'll be a pro player at the highest level. The NBA is made up mostly of guys who played one or maybe two years of college ball before leaving (and that's only because they had to), or Eastern bloc Euro guys who trained full time since they were 8 years old. When it comes to football, NCAA is absolutely the pinnacle of the sport before pro ball, but that's really the only sport where that happens. Maybe people see the stars of college football being the stars of NFL ball and transfer that in their minds to basketball and baseball...I don't know.

Baseball is no different. There were a lot of Hawkeye fans I knew who assumed we were going to see Jake Adams (best hitter in the Big Ten his senior year by quite a always) on TV someday, but he couldn't make it out of A ball, let alone get to AA and there's a whole 'nother level to go after that. And to make it worse, even if you do get to AAA there's a less than 1% chance of getting on a MLB roster. It's just a whole different area code in terms of talent required and folks don't understand it.

 

[Knight78]

This.

How anyone can think a guy like Uthoff or Cook will make the NBA is beyond ridiculous. The gap between college and NBA might as well be from here to Pluto. And then you have folks thinking Wieskamp is gonna go...

Even a guy like Garza, who is tearing up the B1G will likely be a Euro League guy like Aaron White (nothing wrong with that, btw...). To make it in the NBA in today's game you have to be either an absolute beast of a physical specimen, or you have to be an out-of-your-mind shooter like a Reddick or Kyle Korver journeyman type guy. Garza is my favorite Hawkeye hooper from the last 20 years, but he's not either one of those things.

I think it's just a matter of people not comprehending how huge the skill gap is in certain sports. People assume if a guy is dominant in college he'll be a pro player at the highest level. The NBA is made up mostly of guys who played one or maybe two years of college ball before leaving (and that's only because they had to), or Eastern bloc Euro guys who trained full time since they were 8 years old. When it comes to football, NCAA is absolutely the pinnacle of the sport before pro ball, but that's really the only sport where that happens. Maybe people see the stars of college football being the stars of NFL ball and transfer that in their minds to basketball and baseball...I don't know.

Baseball is no different. There were a lot of Hawkeye fans I knew who assumed we were going to see Jake Adams on TV someday, but he couldn't make it out of A ball, let alone get to AA and there's a whole 'nother level to go after that. And to make it worse, even if you do get to AAA there's a less than 1% chance of getting on a MLB roster. It's just a whole different area code in terms of talent required and folks don't understand it.

The other fact that most people just don't get is hitters and the difference between using a metal bat and a wood bat. The ball just doesn't jump off the wood bat like it does the metal bat. Plus, if you get an inside pitch with a metal bat you can muscle a hit into the outfield and have a couple of stinging hands; with a wood bat you end up looking at the bat in your hands being turned into a toothpick and a weak grounder to the pitcher.

 

[Ian Pike Hammer]

This.

How anyone can think a guy like Uthoff or Cook will make the NBA is beyond ridiculous. The gap between college and NBA might as well be from here to Pluto. And then you have folks thinking Wieskamp is gonna go...

Even a guy like Garza, who is tearing up the B1G will likely be a Euro League guy like Aaron White (nothing wrong with that, btw...). To make it in the NBA in today's game you have to be either an absolute beast of a physical specimen, or you have to be an out-of-your-mind shooter like a Reddick or Kyle Korver journeyman type guy. Garza is my favorite Hawkeye hooper from the last 20 years, but he's not either one of those things.

I think it's just a matter of people not comprehending how huge the skill gap is in certain sports. People assume if a guy is dominant in college he'll be a pro player at the highest level. The NBA is made up mostly of guys who played one or maybe two years of college ball before leaving (and that's only because they had to), or Eastern bloc Euro guys who trained full time since they were 8 years old. When it comes to football, NCAA is absolutely the pinnacle of the sport before pro ball, but that's really the only sport where that happens. Maybe people see the stars of college football being the stars of NFL ball and transfer that in their minds to basketball and baseball...I don't know.

Baseball is no different. There were a lot of Hawkeye fans I knew who assumed we were going to see Jake Adams (best hitter in the Big Ten his senior year by quite a always) on TV someday, but he couldn't make it out of A ball, let alone get to AA and there's a whole 'nother level to go after that. And to make it worse, even if you do get to AAA there's a less than 1% chance of getting on a MLB roster. It's just a whole different area code in terms of talent required and folks don't understand it.

I've maintained for decades that there's enough quality talent for 2 NBA's