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PHOENIX — University of Iowa senior Peter Jok will wear his Hawkeye jersey one final time tonight when the shooting guard competes in the College 3-Point Championships held at Grand Canyon University Arena.
Fans can watch tonight’s competition beginning at 9 p.m. (CT) on ESPN, while also engaging in behind-the-scenes content of Jok in Phoenix on Iowa’s social media platforms (Twitter: @IowaHoops // Instagram: IowaHoops // Facebook: hawkeyehoops).
Joining Jok in the competition will be Bryce Alford (UCLA); Torian Graham (Arizona State), Kris Jenkins (Villanova); Matt Jones (Duke); Naz Mitrou-Long (Iowa State); DeWayne Russell (Grand Canyon); Derrick Walton, Jr. (Michigan). Jok and the other participants arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday. The competitors got shots up at the arena, while also sitting down for pre-production interviews with ESPN.
“It’s a great accomplishment to be selected to participate in this event,” said Jok. “This is a good opportunity for me to have fun and represent the university and program. I’m looking forward to competing.”
ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg praised Jok’s shooting ability.
“(Peter) Jok has been fun to watch,” said Greenberg. “Every time he shoots the ball, you think it’s going in.”
Jok, who turned 23-years old today, is the fifth Hawkeye to be invited to this event and first since 2007. Iowa’s other invitees were Dean Oliver (2001), Luke Recker (2002), Jeff Horner (2006), and Adam Haluska (2007).
Since the Hawkeyes’ last game March 19 against TCU, Jok took a break from basketball to recharge and focus on his studies.
“I’ve been focusing on my classes the last couple weeks so I can graduate in May,” Jok said. “I picked up a basketball for the first time Monday and Tuesday, and got some shots up in preparation for today’s event.”
Jok finished his Hawkeye career fourth in 3-point field goals with 216 made and 15th in career scoring with 1,508 points. Jok etched his name is the Hawkeye 3-point record books making 164 triples the last two seasons (2016-17), which ranks second-best over a two-year span in school history. He is the only Hawkeye to make 80 or more 3-pointers in consecutive seasons.
In addition to his 3-point proficiency, the Big Ten scoring champion will go down as Iowa’s top free throw shooter, making 88.1 percent of his attempts the past four years. He also set the school record and ranks third in Big Ten history in free throw accuracy in season, making 91 percent as a senior.
Jok has always had a shooter’s mentality when it comes to his approach.
“My mentality is that every shot I take, I think it is going in,” Jok said. “You have to have that mindset as a shooter.”
Tonight’s event is on a big stage with it being televised in primetime at the site of Final Four. With that in mind, Jok wants to win, but more importantly wants to have fun.
“The good thing about tonight’s event is that I can gage where I stack up amongst some of the other top 3-point shooters in the country,” said Jok. “But mostly, I want to have fun. I’m going to shoot the ball well and whatever happens, happens.”
