Iowa Basketball: Jordan Bohannon's Success Just Glimpse Of What's To Come
Jordan Bohannon is having one of the best freshman seasons in Iowa basketball history, but it’s just a glimpse of his future with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa basketball freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon is having a record-breaking season. In just 24 games, Bohannon already has Iowa’s freshman three-point record with 54 made threes and counting, and has a chance at breaking Jeff Horner‘s freshman assist record of 140.
Bohannon would need to average just 3.9 assists per game for the rest of the season if the Hawkeyes don’t make the NCAA Tournament and lose in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. That shouldn’t be a problem as he’s averaging 4.5 assists per game this season and 4.4 assists per game in conference play.
To put in perspective the type of season Bohannon is having, the only other freshman in the nation with at least 50 made threes and 100 assists is possible first overall pick Lonzo Ball. The reigning Mr. Basketball in Iowa is having himself a freshman campaign for the ages, yet it’s not even close to how good he can be.
Bohannon’s season has come as somewhat of a shock. Sure, many expected him to be in the rotation, but he wasn’t supposed to win the starting point guard job after six games over sophomore point guard Christian Williams. Not to mention taking away the freshman spotlight from Tyler Cook, who many regarded as Fran McCaffery‘s best recruit ever before the season.
Although, Jordan Bohannon, the undersized 6’1″, 182 pound point guard, has found a way to master the hardest position on the court. His averages of 9.4 points, 4.5 assists and 0.8 steals per game don’t do justice to his impact this season.
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As a freshman, he’s been one of Iowa’s only consistent ball-handler this season and emerged as one of the best three-point shooters on a team that has the Big Ten three-point percentage leader in Brady Ellingson and one of the best three-point shooters in the nation in Peter Jok. Also, he plays the second most minutes per game behind Jok, not to mention playing 30-plus minutes 11 times in 18 starts because of Williams’ poor play.
Despite his stellar play, seemingly endless range and basketball IQ that very few freshmen in the nation possess, Bohannon is still far from the point guard he can become, which is a good thing. His expectations changed from being a good, consistent point guard in the future to possibly emerging as one of the best in Iowa history when it’s all said in done.
It might seem like a lofty goal and one that shouldn’t be placed on a freshman point guard that didn’t even begin the season as a starter, but Bohannon is already one of the better point guards in the Big Ten with clear weaknesses in his game that can be fixed.
Bohannon ranks fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game at 4.5 and is one of five players with at least 100 assists. Although, turnovers and decision-making have been problems for him at times this season.
He has taken care of the ball significantly better in conference play, though. His turnovers per game are down from 2.4 to 1.8 and he is averaging just 2.4 turnovers per 40 minutes in conference play compared to 3.7 in non-conference play. Plus, he has three zero-turnover games in Big Ten play compared to none in non-conference play.
Still, out of the top 10 assists per game leaders in the Big Ten, Bohannon ranks just sixth in turnovers per 40 minutes this season. Plus, in comparison to former Iowa point guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons, Bohannon is already averaging more turnovers per game than they did — neither topped 2.0 per game in a single season.
Although, Bohannon’s shot selection is what keeps him from scoring in double-figures every game. He has reached double-figures points in five of the past seven games, but 9.4 points per game is still fairly low for someone who will crush the previous freshman three-point record.
Of course, a big reason Bohannon set the record is because he has more than double the three-point attempts than anyone else on Iowa other than Peter Jok. Therefore, despite shooting a mediocre 38 percent from three this season, he still ranks eighth in the conference in threes made.
Bohannon has great range, can shoot off-the-dribble or catch-and-shoot. It’s what makes him such a dangerous three-point shooter, but it’s also his Achilles heel at times. Because of his range, Bohannon has a tendency to force shots instead of running more offense and looking to set up his teammates.
When he’s shooting well from three, like in Iowa’s past two games against Nebraska and Rutgers when he shot 9-of-13 from three, it’s easy not to complain about his shot selection. Although, Bohannon also has stretches where he can’t make anything, such as when he shot 5-of-18 from three in Iowa’s first four conference games.
Similar to Peter Jok, Bohannon is a streaky shooter. It comes with the territory of having an offensive game revolving around making threes, but it also is telling of how often Bohannon forces shots to try to get into a rhythm.
While many think shooting your way out of slumps works, there’s also a difference between shooting your way out of slumps and taking ill-advised shots just to see if they fall. There are times when Iowa needs him and Jok to shoot long threes to try to spark the offense, but other times Bohannon extends his range a little too far.
While it hurts Iowa’s offense at times and has led to Bohannon going through ups-and-downs this season, it’s also telling of how good of a three-point shooter he can become. Shooting above 40 percent from three is a legitimate possibility in coming seasons.
Teams will start to put more on-ball pressure on Bohannon, though, especially next season after Peter Jok graduates. He will have to learn to create open looks for himself, as well as for his teammates without turning it over.
Arguably the biggest adjustment Bohannon will need to make going forward is learning to attack the basket and finishing around the rim, as it is not even part of Bohannon’s offensive arsenal right now.
70.2 percent of his shots come from behind the arc this season and 72.9 percent during conference play. While Bohannon doesn’t have the best size to absorb contact or finish in the lane, it limits his offensive game and leads to some of his poor shot selections.
Being able to get to the basket will keep teams honest on defense, so they won’t be as willing to play up on him to try to stop his three-point shot. He doesn’t need to make acrobatic moves like Lonzo Ball in the lane, but Iowa will need someone who can attack the basket when Jok is gone. Besides, he can always pass it to Tyler Cook in the lane for a potential monstrous dunk.
Bohannon’s offensive game works so well this season because teams focus on stopping Jok or Cook and Cordell Pemsl down low. Although, when he’s Iowa’s top backcourt offensive weapon next season, teams hone in on stopping him and forcing him to beat them another way.
There are few freshman point guards in the nation playing better than Jordan Bohannon right now. Although, the ones who are probably won’t stick around for more than one or two years. Barring a huge surprise, Bohannon will be a four-year player at Iowa and has a chance to break all sorts of records.
He’s having a surprisingly very good freshman campaign in 2016-17. The scary thing is his offensive arsenal is not even close to what it will be in a couple of years.