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For the first time in six years and just the third time in the Fran McCaffery era, the Iowa Hawkeyes had a player drafted in Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
After having a total of six players drafted in the ‘90s, including a pair of first rounders in Acie Earl and Ricky Davis, the Hawkeyes have had just three players selected in the NBA Draft entering 2021 with Aaron White being the most recent in 2015 (though Tyler Cook and Jarrod Uthoff have since signed UDFA deals). On Thursday evening, Joe Wieskamp made it four as he was selected 54th overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
✨ Joe Wieskamp ➡️ @spurs
— Iowa Basketball (@IowaHoops) July 30, 2021
The pride of Muscatine, Iowa, is the 54th Hawkeye drafted in the @NBA.#Hawkeyes | #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/JpUvhw1ETt
Wieskamp becomes the fourth Hawkeye selected in the 2nd round since 2000 and the third under current head coach Fran McCaffery.
The versatile Muscatine native jumped up draft boards during the pre-draft process as he wowed NBA executives with his athleticism. As noted in our NBA Combine recap, Wieskamp tested as an elite athlete in just about every category
Joe Wieskamp: 6’7” with shoes, 6’11” wingspan, 4% body fat, 42 inch max vertical (4th highest), 10.7 second lane shuttle (4th of 55 tested)
Beyond the sheer athleticism, Wieskamp is versatile and can score it. As called out in our player profile ahead of the draft, he had a crazy high adjusted field goal percentage of 60.2% while making an absurd 46.2% of three pointers last season. Those weren’t wide open shots either.
Don't Sleep on Wieskamp
— ShotQuality (@Shot_Quality) July 6, 2021
Joe showed out in the NBA Draft combine and it's easy to see how his game translates to the NBA:
93rd percentile in off the dribble 3PT shooting
90th percentile in C & S 3PT shooting
76th percentile in steal rate
21 Year old w/ 6' 10" wingspan pic.twitter.com/MQhc3bjUJC
Wieskamp leaves Iowa a career 41% shooter from beyond the arc while averaging 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game over three seasons. He averaged 14.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game a season ago as a junior.
In San Antonio, he’ll likely be asked to do much of the same, using his versatility and athleticism to come off the bench and provide immediate scoring either off the dribble or as a spot shooter. He will need to demonstrate improvements on defense, but given his development during his time in Iowa City there’s no doubt he’ll put in the effort to do what it takes.
Congratulations to Joe Wieskamp and the San Antonio Spurs!