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We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Iowa JR SG/SF Joe Wieskamp. He is the all-time leading scorer in Iowa high school history, is the best FT shooter in the Big 10, and has 2 great teammates returning this fall. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Joe about turning 21 and his expectations for this year.
At Muscatine High School you became the all-time leading scorer in Iowa high school history with 2376 PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? It is just about all of the time/preparation I put in, playing a lot of AAU summer ball against more talented players. I try to have an aggressive mindset all of the time.
What made you choose Iowa for college? It is so close to home and my family. I dreamed of playing here and Coach Fran McCaffery did a great job of recruiting me.
What makes Fran such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He trusts his players and knows that we will make mistakes but lets us work through them. He gives us the freedom to do what we are capable of, which plays to our strengths.
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you scored 11 PTS in a 6-PT OT loss to Tennessee: how close did you come to winning the game, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? We were obviously close despite being down by 21 PTS at halftime. We played great in the 2nd half but it definitely hurts that we did not play better in the 1st half.
Last February you scored a career-high 30 PTS/10-15 FG in a win over Nebraska: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? There are definitely points during the season when you feel that every shot will go in. It was 1 of those nights: my teammates were finding me for open scoring opportunities and I was able to capitalize.
You finished the year by leading the conference with 85.6 FT% and made each of your final 22 FTs: what is the key to making FTs? The key is just having confidence: knowing that you have taken that shot a million times and believing that the ball will go in.
In the 2020 Big 10 tourney you were scheduled to play Minnesota before learning that the rest of the postseason was being cancelled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? It was very tough at that moment after working hard to get to that point. I think the NCAA tourney cancellation was even more devastating because every kid dreams of playing in that, but looking back it was probably the best decision to keep everyone safe.
Earlier this year Jordan Bohannon was out due to left hip surgery and Luka Garza was thinking about going pro, but now they are both back on the roster: how crucial will their senior leadership be to your team’s success this year? It is huge for sure. They are extremely good leaders both on and off the court. We have 5 freshman coming in so having that leadership is crucial.
You had a big birthday last month: what was it like to turn 21 during a pandemic?! It was still pretty nice. My girlfriend’s family has a lake house so I got to join all of them there to celebrate: it was not the typical 21st birthday but it was still fun.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The goal is to win the Big 10 regular season/tourney titles and then a national title. We also have smaller goals to check off all throughout the year.