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We continue our 2016-17 season preview interview series with Iowa SO PF Ahmad Wagner. He only scored 83 PTS as a freshman but that was not a reflection of his scoring ability: rather, it is hard to get your hands on the ball when 4 of your team’s top-5 scorers are seniors. Fortunately his high school career was about a lot more than scoring baskets in America: he played basketball in Italy for 1 year, he helped lead his high school football team to the state title game as a wide receiver, and he even ran the anchor leg on the 4×100 relay team that placed fourth at the state track meet. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ahmad about the rollercoaster that was conference play and winning an NCAA tourney game at the buzzer.
In high school you were a 1st-team all-state WR and ran the anchor leg on the 4×100 relay team that placed 4th at the state track meet: which sport are you best at, and which sport do you enjoy the most? I played a lot of sports growing up but I enjoy basketball the most.
You play for Coach Fran McCaffery: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? I have only played for him 1 year so far but I have already learned a lot and keep learning more and more each day. I appreciate him a lot.
You played in 32 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? Coach told me what I needed to do to come in and play right away: rebound, defend, and be a team player. I kept improving and kept getting more minutes, which allowed me to have a positive impact on the game.
Last year your team started 10-1 in conference play before losing 5 of your final 7 regular season games: what was the biggest reason for the turnaround? I cannot pinpoint 1 thing but we have recently talked about trying to get the fire back. At the start of the year we were the hunter but by the end of the year we were the hunted.
In the 2016 Big 10 tourney you played 6 minutes in a 2-PT loss to Illinois: how on earth did the Illini overcome an 11-PT deficit in the final 3 minutes? They played hard and were a good team. The fact is that we lost that 1, so it is on us.
Take me through the 2016 NCAA tourney:
You scored 2 PTS and Adam Woodbury made a put-back at the buzzer in a 2-PT OT win over Temple: what was your reaction like after you saw the ball go through the hoop? I was ecstatic. If you watch the video you can see our whole team jumping for joy! It was amazing and we were all happy for Adam, who is a great guy.
You scored 2 PTS in a loss to eventual champion Villanova: what did you learn from that loss that you think can help you this year? We need to start every game hard and come out ready to attack. I think we started that game drowsy/methodical and fell into a hole that we could not dig ourselves out of.
You shot 68 FG%: what is the key to being a great shooter? I try to take efficient shots that I know I am capable of making. I stuck to what I was good at and did not take a lot of risky shots.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Seton Hall/Virginia/Notre Dame/Iowa State: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I cannot pick 1 game in particular but each opponent will be difficult. Coach likes to schedule high-quality competition during the non-conference schedule to help prepare us for conference play.
4 of your top-5 scorers last year were seniors (Jarrod Uthoff/Anthony Clemmons/Mike Gesell/Adam Woodbury): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense? I think a lot of people will step up for us on both ends of the floor. We have some tremendous freshmen so I think that we will surprise a lot of people.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our team goal is always to win the Big 10 title and make the tourney. I will try to become more versatile, guard more positions on the court, carry more of the offensive load, and help the team as much as possible.