Iowa MBB notes: White to the 4, Jok moves forward

IOWA CITY - Iowa forward Aaron White still carries a lanky frame but the senior has added around 12 pounds of muscle to give him a little more of a chiseled look.

White, who stands 6-foot-9, will need it this year. He returns to his primary position of power forward this year, a move he's excited to make. With veterans Zach McCabe and Melsahn Basabe playing the four last year, White opened games at the small forward position all of last year and about half of his sophomore season. Now with McCabe and Basabe playing professionally overseas, White will slide back to the four.

'There's something about the four with the mismatch,” White said. 'I think I'm big enough to guard and play down low. Once I get outside, I drive by guys, I drive and kick, backdoor cut, and that's the strength of my game. I'm really comfortable at the four.

'I'm not big on positions and neither is Coach (Fran McCaffery); it's just a different place on the floor in our offense. The three runs to the corner, whereas the four runs to the front of the rim and is more in the paint. I'm more comfortable on those spots at the four rather than at the three. I'm looking forward to finishing out my career at that position. I think it will help our team a lot.”

White (12.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg) has earned back-to-back third-team all-Big Ten honors. He was the only player nationally shoot better than 55 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line. He was the only Big Ten player to average 13 points and seven rebounds in conference play.

White ranks 18th in Iowa scoring with 1,301 career points. He's one of only four Iowa players (Roy Marble, Ronnie Lester, Jess Settles) to reach 1,300 points before their senior seasons. If White meets his annual average of 433 points, he'll move into fourth all-time. If he matches his sophomore total of 488 points, White will rank second. He's also led Iowa in rebounding for three consecutive years. No player has led Iowa for four seasons.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In the wake of Iowa's 79-74 loss to Wisconsin, McCaffery shut down his players' Twitter accounts after negative exchange between some fans and McCabe. The ban expired after last season, and the players remain active on Twitter.

During the summer, Iowa held a training seminar on social media. McCaffery said it was well-received by his players.

'You get to a point in my chair, the simple thing is no Twitter, no Facebook, none of this stuff,” McCaffery said. 'Is that realistic? I mean, that's just sort of how young people communicate. That's how they live their lives. So I think it's better to educate and allow them the flexibility but ultimately you have to trust them.

'Now, if we have another issue, then I'll shut it down. I did it last year, I'll do it again. But I think from that point forward our guys have done a really professional job of what they say that ultimately becomes available to anybody that wants to see it.”

JOK RETURNS

In mid-September, Iowa sophomore guard Peter Jok spent four days in the Johnson County Jail after a plea deal for driving while revoked. Jok was arrested for drunken driving in April and was caught driving a moped while on probation.

'It was part of my consequences,” Jok said. 'I had to deal with them. I feel like I did what I had to do, and it's in my past now. I'm focused on my present and future.”

Jok was suspended from the team, but was reinstated the first week of classes. He said he remained close with his teammates throughout the suspension.

'They had my back,” Jok said. 'They knew what I was going through. They were always there for me, they were always texting me. I was always hanging out with them. One thing I didn't do was be on the court playing with them. They had my back no matter what.”

McCaffery told The Gazette in August - and reiterated to media last week - that Jok is 'good to go.”

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