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Most players would get frustrated after having to redshirt for 2 straight years, but Jarrod Uthoff has made the most of this tough situation. Off the court, he worked hard enough to graduate with a degree in economics last May and was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District 1st Team. On the court, he was named to the 2015 All-Big Ten 3rd Team and has already established himself as 1 of the best rebounders/shot-blockers in the entire conference. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jarrod about making 2 NCAA tourneys in a row and how often he checks the team’s schedule.
You began your college career at Wisconsin: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you pick Iowa? The main reason was the style of play. I was not a good fit in the Wisconsin system, but I got to see how Iowa played and I liked it.
You play for Coach Fran McCaffery: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He allows us the freedom on offense to do what we do.
In the 2014 NCAA tourney you scored 6 PTS in an OT loss to Tennessee: how close did you come to winning the game in regulation, and what happened in OT (your team was outscored 14-1)? I do not really know: it was just 1 of those things where the tide turned in overtime.
Last February you scored a career-high 25 PTS (5-11 3PM) in a 5-PT OT loss at Northwestern: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Not necessarily: I have had some other games where I was making every shot, but I was not in a pure zone that night.
You finished the year by leading the team with 54 3PM: what is your secret for making shots from behind the arc? It is all about practice and confidence.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney you scored 20 PTS (10-19 FG) in a loss to Gonzaga: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? Gonzaga played as well as they could have so we learned that we need to bring our best every night to beat teams like that.
You have twice been named Academic All-Big 10: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I do all of my homework and go to all of my classes. It does not take a whole lot to get a 3.0 GPA: you just have to be diligent about it and be good at time management.
You lost 2 of your top-3 scorers from last year (Aaron White/Gabe Olaseni): how will you try to replace all of that offense? Offense will not be a problem for us.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Marquette/Dayton/Florida State/Iowa State: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I have not even looked at our schedule because I like to take it 1 game at a time. During the season I do not normally know who our next opponent is until we finish the previous game.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Every year we have the goal of winning a Big 10 title: anything less than that is accepting failure.