Most Improved Player - 2015-2016 Season

[WinOneThisCentury]

Dom Uhl is my pick. He already shoots it much better than AW did his freshman year. He has great handles, and can slash when guarded with a big man. If he gets stronger going to the hole, and finishes well...he's going to be a handful. He needs to be more consistent from the outside and get stronger, but his upside is huge. You know Uthoff is going to draw the best defensive forward from the other team, so Uhl's going to get his chances to put up points. I think he comes through with flying colors. He game is so versatile...he just needs things to slow down a bit for him and to gain confidence. The tool set is there...now execute and know you can do it.

To me, his development may be the difference between us being a bubble team, and being a 6-7 seed in the tourney.

 

[LASBUR]

Very true, I think a big jump by Jok would be huge too

 

[docholihawk]

I expect a big jump from Uhl this year and he will be a team leader in his junior year.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I'm going with a less obvious choice...Gesell. Below are his 2014-15 stats...only listed the areas where I expect obvious improvement.

7.4 PPG
40.8 FG%
68.9 FT%
26.7 3P%

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

I'm going with a less obvious choice...Gesell. Below are his 2014-15 stats...only listed the areas where I expect obvious improvement.

7.4 PPG
40.8 FG%
68.9 FT%
26.7 3P%

Unfortunately his numbers have been trending down since his freshman year, would love to see that get reversed but just don't see it happening at this point.

 

[1hawkeye1]

I wish it would be Woodbury. Unfortunately I think he has already peaked.

I would vote Uhl.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Uhl was my first choice with Jok a close second. We saw real progress with both players during the season and I'm hoping/expecting both to take big leaps forward next year.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Top 2 that must improve for the team to challenge for an NCAA bid ...
#1) Woodbury: He's got to mentally prepare to play like a 5. Toughen up and attack the basket. His year-year improvement, to date, has been modest (soph - 5.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg; jr - 6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and it's time to meet his potential and consistently produce. We all know he is not and will not be a dominant post but he must produce closer to the Michigan / Maryland 2-game stretch (11 & 7, 16 & 5) than his usual avg.
This team needs him to go to 10 & 7, every night, or it'll allow teams to play 4 on 5 and cheat to the perimeter, which simply can not happen.

#2) Gesell: Priority for him is to continue to settle down and be smart on a permanent basis. He matured a little bit by finally realizing he has no business driving without the intent to kick. However, he still slipped back into this habit, occasionally. None of that, ever, next year.
That means he's got to get a shot to a respectable level for a guard. Soph he was 37.5% / 31.5%; junior he was 40.8% / 26.7%. He's gotta go 43% / 33%, minimum.

As for the rest of the team. I merely hope no one has a significant drop off. After Uthoff, there's enough interchangable players to not have to rely on huge improvements by any single one but merely competence by any single one on any given night.
The mere subtraction of Oglesby and the disproportionate minutes to productivity, will immediately yield improvement on the perimeter shooting because Fran will be more inclined to not lock into the myth and play the hot shooter. He will do this not only game to game but within games as he will have many options amoungst Jok, Clemmons and all the Frosh.

 

[ibahawkeye]

I think it would be best for the team if Mike was the most improved but as already noted... his trends are not promising.

I'm going with Jok. I've said it before but his progress reminds me of Marble. You can see the flashes... now it's just a matter of consistency.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Unfortunately his numbers have been trending down since his freshman year, would love to see that get reversed but just don't see it happening at this point.

This is true but he played hurt each of the last 2 seasons...more so as a sophomore. And senior year is the last go around... I'm not willing to bet money on this...just have a hunch.

 

[Benddontbreak]

Scott Dochterman mentioned that an NBA scout attended an Iowa practice this season and said Uhl had the highest upside on the team. It’s all going to come down to turning experience into confidence for him.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

Scott Dochterman mentioned that an NBA scout attended an Iowa practice this season and said Uhl had the highest upside on the team. It’s all going to come down to turning experience into confidence for him.

Uhl has potential to be a special player before he is done. He is pretty polished for a freshman. It will be fun to see what he can do next year.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Scott Dochterman mentioned that an NBA scout attended an Iowa practice this season and said Uhl had the highest upside on the team. It’s all going to come down to turning experience into confidence for him.

I think Uhl has all of the tools and is going to be a star...may have to wait until his junior year to shine his brightest. I also think there are some outstanding freshmen coming in next year. I hope all of the freshmen are patient and understand that their playing time as freshmen will be limited in many cases. But things will be much different as sophomores. Hopefully Uhl can help them understand as he went through the same thing.

 

[RosemaryChknHwk]

Dom Uhl is my pick. He already shoots it much better than AW did his freshman year. He has great handles, and can slash when guarded with a big man. If he gets stronger going to the hole, and finishes well...he's going to be a handful. He needs to be more consistent from the outside and get stronger, but his upside is huge. You know Uthoff is going to draw the best defensive forward from the other team, so Uhl's going to get his chances to put up points. I think he comes through with flying colors. He game is so versatile...he just needs things to slow down a bit for him and to gain confidence. The tool set is there...now execute and know you can do it.

To me, his development may be the difference between us being a bubble team, and being a 6-7 seed in the tourney.

I don't know much about basketball but I'm pretty good at math.

White shot 57% from the floor, 28% from 3, and 70% from the line his freshman year. Uhl shot 36%, 19%, and 52% respectively.

It's kind of hard to take the rest of this post seriously.

 

[Knight78]

I don't know much about basketball but I'm pretty good at math.

White shot 57% from the floor, 28% from 3, and 70% from the line his freshman year. Uhl shot 36%, 19%, and 52% respectively.

It's kind of hard to take the rest of this post seriously.

White also played major minutes because we NEEDED him to; White averaged 23 minutes a game his freshman year. Major minutes allow a player to get into the flow of a game. Uhl didn't get near the minutes that White got as a freshman; Uhl averaged 10 minutes a game his freshman year. Less minutes = less likely to get into the flow of the game = poorer shooting stats.

 

[RosemaryChknHwk]

Ok, I lied, I do know a lot about basketball. The though that Uhl was even close to as good a shooter as White as a freshman (let alone superior as the OP would have us believe) is asinine. It's absolutely moronic. It isn't debatable.

 

[Tierney]

Scott Dochterman mentioned that an NBA scout attended an Iowa practice this season and said Uhl had the highest upside on the team. It’s all going to come down to turning experience into confidence for him.

That sounds pretty good. I hope he makes a great leap forward this year. Experience and fifteen or twenty pounds would make a lot of difference. My pick for the most improved player is going to be Woodbury. Last year they started to try and feed the post. Woodbury will be a year older and stronger with the weights. Its going to be the last year for Woodbury and I think your going to see a more complete player. My second choice would be Gesell. He looked like a different player the second half of the season last year. I have my doubts he will be a great three point shooter, but he is crafty and experienced. Clemmons will be experienced, but it sounds like it will be hard for him to crack the starting line up. You never know what is going to happen. Hopefully, they will have a year without injuries. They are going to have some guys that know what they are doing.

 

[RocknRollface]

Scott Dochterman mentioned that an NBA scout attended an Iowa practice this season and said Uhl had the highest upside on the team. It’s all going to come down to turning experience into confidence for him.

Ive been saying that for awhile.

Hes by far the best pro prospect Fran has brought in.

 

[RocknRollface]

Ok, I lied, I do know a lot about basketball. The though that Uhl was even close to as good a shooter as White as a freshman (let alone superior as the OP would have us believe) is asinine. It's absolutely moronic. It isn't debatable.

Like the other poster already mentioned sample size greatly effects the results.

Uhls outside shot looks better than Whites. It's a pretty decent bet that he will shoot a better percentage from 3 from here on out.

That being said, there's no reason to compare them. Very different players.

 

[NEIChawk]

I also feel Dom will elevate his game....he has a nice touch, good looking shot, and he'e not afraid to take it inside, and this year he will get those minutes this, and we'll really see what he is to the program...we've seen flashes, and, I believe, most of us feel he has game, I just wish he hits the weights....dude is skinny...