Iowa City, IA- Iowa guard Bryce Cartwright passes to forward Melsahn Basabe (1) against Penn State in the Hawkeyes' 77-64 victory over the Nittany Lions at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, February 4, 2012. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)
By Ben Schuff
benjamin-schuff@uiowa.edu
About 10 days ago, Bryce Cartwright asked Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery what he needed to do to play more. The senior guard had played 17, 16, and 19 minutes in Iowa’s three previous games in mid-January after being the starting point guard at the beginning of the season.
The second-year head coach was frank.
“I said, ‘I am not going to put you in the starting lineup, I am not going to play you the kind of minutes you want until you commit to stopping your man,’ ” McCaffery said of their meeting. “And in making good decisions, and pushing the ball in the break — and doing it consistently and effectively with great effort.”
Since that meeting, Cartwright has been performing how McCaffery wants him to. Such performances include the one Cartwright put forth against the Nittany Lions on Saturday. The 6-1 guard scored 17 points, grabbed a career-high 7 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists to only 1 turnover.
More importantly, Cartwright ran the fast break how McCaffery wanted during his team-high 34 minutes on the court. He found a streaking Aaron White on Iowa’s fourth possession of the game with an alley-oop pass from half court to give the Hawkeyes a 6-2 lead.
“This is the best game I’ve seen him have this year by far,” White said.
Cartwright made his third consecutive start on Saturday after leaving the starting lineup in early December because of a hamstring injury. He missed Iowa’s game at Northern Iowa on Dec. 6, and came off the bench through much of January.
Between the injury and some lackluster performances, Cartwright struggled through large portions of the season. McCaffery said after the Penn State game there was a “very brief” period earlier this year when he thought Cartwright wasn’t going to get back to the level of play the Compton, Calif. native displayed on Saturday. Cartwright gave a glimpse of that level of play in Iowa’s upset over then-No. 11 Wisconsin on Dec. 31, but then faded back into ineffectiveness for a few contests.
“In the beginning [of the season], we were just trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He had a multitude of things that were effecting his energy level, it effected his concentration. He wasn’t himself,” McCaffery said. “I could yell at him, but he wasn’t physically ready to do it.”
Against Penn State, Cartwright showed the kind of ability Iowa has been expecting. It was his most complete game since being re-inserted into the starting line up, but what pleased McCaffery the most was Cartwright’s rebounding.
“That was the most impressive thing about Bryce Cartwright’s line,” McCaffery said. “You know who their leading rebounder is? [Guard Tim] Frazier. So our point guard had to get in there and mix it up today, and he did.”
Cartwright said he feels more comfortable on the court when he starts, as opposed to coming off the bench.
If that’s the situation he wants to find himself in, more performances like the one he put together against Penn State will be needed.
“[Cartwright] can affect the game,” McCaffery said. “Some guys can’t do it. He can. He’s doing it.”
UPDATE Sunday, 12:02 a.m.
