Exhibition Game Is A Good Day For Bohannon

Iowa senior guard is battling to return from offseason hip surgery.

Stephen Mally/hawkeyesports.com

He’s hit a lot of 3-pointers in his career.

The one, the only one, he made early in Monday’s exhibition game, gave Jordan Bohannon a different emotion.

Bohannon was credited with 14 minutes, 40 seconds of playing time in the box score of Iowa’s 96-58 win over Lindsey Wilson College at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

They were big minutes for a senior who is fighting to return from offseason hip surgery.

“It’s been a long process the last five or six months,” Bohannon said. “It’s been quite the grind to get back.

“Emotionally and physically, it’s probably the most I’ve had to deal with the last five months. I’ve never had an injury like this before.”

1H 7:56 | Iowa 33, LWC 10

Bohannon with the triple for Iowa's fourth three-pointer of the game. #Hawkeyes | @JordanBo_3 pic.twitter.com/9zS8RfqsW0

— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 5, 2019

Bohannon’s surgery was in late May, and the estimated return time was 5-6 months.

Bohannon has good days and bad days, coach Fran McCaffery said last week.

This was a good day.

Two days ago, it wasn’t.

“It was one of those days where I couldn’t really get moving, couldn’t get into a rhythm,” Bohannon said. “That’s kind of the first day in a while that it’s been acting up like that. I know once I get going, it’s OK.

“It just pops up. Obviously my hip isn’t 100 percent yet, there isn’t a lot of stability. I’m not surprised. I’m going to have days like that. You have to take it for what it’s worth.”

Bohannon didn’t start — it was just an exhibition game, so it won’t count against his streak of 96 consecutive starts. He started the game on an exercise bike in the tunnel, staying loose until McCaffery motioned for him to check into the game at the 13:48 mark.

“It’s been a long time since I came off the bench, in any sport, really,” Bohannon said.

That shot, the one make, came with 8:47 left in the first half. Bohannon, alone on the right wing, snapped the net from just behind the 3-point arc.

“I actually kind of got goosebumps there,” Bohannon said.

It was a long distance from last season, when he joked about having “ice in his veins” after his game-winner against Northwestern.

Bohannon had two assists, a steal, and a rebound to go with his three points.

“I thought he was pretty good tonight,” McCaffery said. “I thought his passing was tremendous. He made that three right off the bat. We’re just going to go slow with him.”

That has been the key for Bohannon. He’s had to remain patient, but he admitted to the frustration.

“Very frustrating, especially after the last five months,” Bohannon said about his “bad days.” “I want to be on the floor. So it really sucked the last six months being on the sideline. I worked all of this way back, and then I have a day like a couple of days ago where I can’t do anything again. So it’s really frustrating.

"Again, I know I’m a little early on the schedule, on the timeline. I have to realize that, and stay optimistic.”

Bohannon can play in 30 percent of Iowa’s games, but all in the first half of the season, before he can decide to end his season and apply for a medical redshirt.

“It’s really day by day,” he said.

That was punctuated when asked if he was going to play in Friday’s season opener.

“We’ll see,” Bohannon said. “Whatever Coach needs me to play, I’m willing to do whatever.”

For Bohannon, this was a good day.