Jordan Bohannon, Jack Nunge have medical hardship waivers approved by Big Ten

In the midst of day after day of bad news in the real world and the sports world, Iowa fans were provided a glimmer of hope and a shining light on Tuesday afternoon, as the Iowa Athletics Department announced that the medical hardship waivers for Jordan Bohannon and Jack Nunge were approved, granting each the ability to play in the 2020-21 season.

Patrick McCaffery’s petition, however, is still under review.

Regardless of Luka Garza’s decision to test the NBA or return to Iowa after a record-breaking season, Iowa returning its all-time leading three point shooter next season could take a talented Iowa squad to the next level.

Nunge brings a lot to the table as well. After tearing his ACL five games into the season, Iowa’s starting lineup was forced into a new rotation and our insight into what Nunge could bring to the lineup — and the season — was cut way too short. However, Nunge has showed a lot of potential in even the limited periods of time we saw him on the court, and he will not only add depth to the lineup at forward, but length and hopefully scoring down the stretch of games that was missing at times for the short bench Hawkeyes.

While this news isn’t unexpected, it’s certainly something to be excited about. You’d have to think that this formal announcement from the Big Ten plays at least a little bit into Garza’s thinking about returning. With so much talent coming back, and a season of unfinished business, why not?

Regardless, we know we’ll have Bohannon in the drivers seat for leadership, Garza or not. And as he showed this year, even with a hurting hip, having Bohannon on the floor results in good things for the Hawks.