Season in Review, Part III -- Seniors Cap Careers

Seniors Cyrus Tate and J.R. Angle played out their final days as Hawkeyes this season. Neither made a particularly big impact upon the Iowa program. Tate’s career was simply solid, while Angle wallowed on the bench for much of his time in Iowa City.

Here’s a recap of their Hawkeye basketball careers.

Cyrus Tate

Year-By-Year Statistics:
06/07: 31 games, 19.5 mpg, 4.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 46.2 fg%
07/08: 31 games, 22.1 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 66.7 fg%
08/09: 23 games, 22.0 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 66.7 fg%

Former head coach Steve Alford nabbed Tate from Northeast Community College in Nebraska as part of the recruiting class of 2006. Tate got lots of immediate playing time, appearing in all 31 games. Tate was up and down as a sophomore when he averaged 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds. His play was frustrating most of the time and ok at its best. Iowa went 17-14 overall and 9-7 in the conference.

Todd Lickliter’s hiring in 2007 coincided with a vastly improved Tate. As a junior, Tate increased his production significantly with only a slight increase in minutes. At times Tate proved dominant. During the Big Ten season he posted 10.6 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, Tate had little help in a rebuilding season. Iowa struggled to 13-19 overall and 6-12 in Big Ten play.

This past season, Tate was robbed by an ankle injury. It forced him to miss nine games and limited his performance in several others. There were times when Tate exhibited the same effectiveness he showed the year before. Had he not been injured he likely would’ve been near double-figures in points per game and added a couple more wins to Iowa’s final 15-17 record. Tate had become an important player. His absence proved his value.

Commentary: Tate gave Iowa consistent effort and a pretty good inside presence in Lickliter’s first two seasons. He was not the type of player a program builds around, but a steady role player that any team could put to good use. Tate’s career was a success considering the mediocre start he got off to. He was part of just 45 wins in his three seasons at Iowa, but it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t get the chance to play with much quality around him.

J.R. Angle

Year-By-Year Statistics:
04/05: 11 games, 2.3 mpg, 0.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg
05/06: Redshirted
06/07: 28 games, 7.4 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 47.2 fg%
07/08: 18 games, 12.0 mpg, 3.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 34.1 3pt%
08/09: 6 games, 2.2 mpg, 0.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg

Would you believe rivals.com ranked Angle the 136th best player in the class of 2004? It’s true. Even accomplished Tennessee-bound guard Chris Lofton ranked behind Angle. As did current Missouri star DeMarre Carroll. Thus, Angle’s arrival at Iowa was regarded as a coup for Alford. He finally used his Indiana influence by snatching Angle. “J.R. Angle has the potential to be an impact player, especially on the offensive end,” said rivals.com.

Things obviously didn’t work out as planned. Angle played a total of 460 minutes in his entire career, never averaging more than 12 minutes per game in any season. After averaging 27.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as a high school senior, Alford expected the Franklin, Ind., native to play a heavy role.

It didn’t happen and, as a senior, Angle became an afterthought. He scored just three points this past season and his season-high in minutes was four. Angle’s career proves the problems with recruiting rankings. It creates pressure for highly-rated high school athletes to perform in college. If they go bust, like Angle, they get roundly scrutinized.

Commentary: Angle’s career was a disappointment. He clearly did not have the necessary athleticism to play in a conference like the Big Ten. Some careful scouting should have revealed this back in high school to both Alford and recruiting services alike. Angle possessed just one skill--he could shoot the 3. Lickliter and his staff came to realize these things early on. It’s a shame Angle didn’t go to a mid major where his deficiencies would have been less evident.