Oct. 24, 2011
- Purchase Iowa Men’s Basketball Tickets
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Take the Hawkeyes With You: Iowa Podcasts
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in the University of Iowa’s Hawk Talk Daily, an e-newsletter that offers a daily look at the Iowa Hawkeyes, delivered free each morning to thousands of fans of the Hawkeyes worldwide.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Josh Oglesby wanted to continue his basketball career at the University of Iowa, but it wasn’t until he returned from a recruiting trip to the southwest that it really hit home.
“I went to Arizona State for an official visit, and when I came home on the plane and my dad picked me up, I told him I wanted to be a Hawkeye,” said Oglesby, a freshman guard from Cedar Rapids. “It feels good to be close (to home).”
Oglesby always envisioned himself one-day suiting up for the Hawkeyes and playing inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Before Fran McCaffery took over as Iowa head coach, he didn’t know if he would get the opportunity.
“It was always a dream to play here, but when (Todd) Lickliter was here, he wasn’t recruiting me,” said Oglesby, the 118th ranked recruit by rivals.com heading into his senior season. “Tubby Smith offered me at Minnesota, and I was extremely close to committing there, but coach McCaffery called and said he had his eye on me. Then when I was in Las Vegas, he offered me a scholarship.”
Oglesby joins the Hawkeyes after averaging 21.2 points and seven rebounds during his senior season at Cedar Rapids Washington High School. The three-year starter was a first team all-state, all-conference and all-area honoree in 2010-11. He was also tabbed as the Class 4A Player of the Year.
Oglesby, one of three scholarship freshmen on the UI roster along with Aaron White and Gabe Olesani, is expected to step in and bolster the team’s 3-point shooting. The sharp-shooter comes in with a long- range mentality after leading the state with 87 3-point field goals in 2010-11.
“You add in the freshmen who give us some versatility and give our team some things it lacks, particularly in the area of shooting,” said McCaffery. “Josh can make shots from the perimeter, and is another post presence.”
McCaffery and the UI coaches have a clear message for Oglesby: if you’re open, shoot the basketball.
“The coaches say when there’s a hand down, you have to shoot it, and I have been,” said Oglesby. “That’s not forcing shots. I got chewed out a couple of weeks ago for not shooting, and kind of learned my lesson.”
Along with preparing for the change in the pace of the game, Oglesby is focusing on staying confident with his shot and playing through misses.
“If I miss my first couple of shots, I put my head down, and I have been learning to not do that,” said Oglesby. “After I miss a couple, I have been learning to say something, keep my head up, and say the next one is going in. I’ve been working on that, and it has helped.”
The Hawkeyes host Northwest Missouri State in an exhibition contest on Nov. 6, beginning 3:30 p.m. (CT). Iowa opens the regular season by hosting Chicago State on Nov. 11.