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Dominique Uhl
Bio: Freshman, 6'8, 195 lbs. (Frankfurt, Germany)
Last season: N/A
What we saw last season: N/A
What we need to see this season: Uhl is one of two freshmen Iowa added in its 2014 class, but unlike Brady Ellingson, a redshirt doesn't seem to be in the cards for Uhl. Trey Dickerson might be the most exciting addition to this Iowa team (because who doesn't love speed?), but Uhl shouldn't be overlooked. The departures of Zach McCabe and Melsahn basabe upfront leave a big hole for Iowa to fill this year (last year alone they combined for per game averages of 34 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and that hole won't be filled entirely by increased workloads for Iowa's returning frontcourt players Aaron White, Gabe Olaseni, Adam Woodbury, and Jarrod Uthoff (not a "pure" frontcourt player by any means, but we'll list him there anyway since he'll see minutes there). Enter: Dom Uhl. Fran certainly seems to be a fan:
The 6-foot-9 Uhl could have a White-like rookie season.
"All he needs is an opportunity, and he's going to get that opportunity," McCaffery said. "He'll have a chance to play through some of his mistakes and get comfortable, because I'm going to play him. We need him to play. He deserves to play."
A White-like rookie season is probably a stretch in terms of production (as a freshman White averaged 11.1 ppg on 50% FG shooting and led the team with 5.7 rpg), but it's certainly not hard to see a lot of White's game in Uhl.
Uhl is gonna run the floor, he's gonna be a force on the glass, and he's gonna throw down a lot of dunks. Sounds like a solid freshman campaign to me. We should probably start working on our nicknames right now. (We can do better than "The Dominator," right?)
Best case scenario: Uhl really is Aaron White 2.0 and he unleashes a blitzkrieg of devastating dunks on Big Ten defenders, while becoming an absolute menace on the glass and a solid defender. He becomes the linchpin of Iowa's second unit and makes the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Most likely scenario: Uhl provides a credible White impression off the bench and becomes a solid member of Iowa's rotation, averaging around 6 ppg and 4 rpg in 10-12 minutes of work each night.
One request: We'd love to see Uhl throw down a dunk on Georges Niang's big, goofy-looking face. Just sayin'.