Former Muscatine basketball star, Joe Wieskamp, has taken college basketball by storm, leading the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA tournament.
The Muscatine grad was a star for the Muskies throughout his high school career. He was on varsity as a freshman, dominating Iowa high school basketball all four years.
His senior season was nothing short of magical. He averaged 33.5 points and 13.5 rebounds his senior season, earning him Iowa’s Mr. Basketball of 2018. He ended his career as Iowa’s 4A class’ leading scorer with 2,376 career points.
Now, he’s on the big screen, lighting it up for fans across the entire country as an Iowa Hawkeye.
Wieskamp shares insight as to why he chose to go to the University of Iowa. “I chose to go to Iowa because of the relationships I had with the coaching staff, always wanting to be a Hawkeye, and the fact it is close to home,” Wieskamp said.
During his college freshman campaign, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game with a 49.8 shooting percentage.
On top of racking up solid stats, he has made some incredible shots that will be remembered by Iowa fans for years to come.
Against Rutgers, Iowa was down by a point with 3.3 seconds left in the game. Wieskamp caught the inbound pass and hoisted up a shot. It banked off the glass and went in to give Iowa the win.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Iowa and Cincinnati were locked in a tight game. Wieskamp hit a three in crunch-time, sparking a ten point scoring streak in the last minute forty-five seconds of the game. He finished the game with 19 points.
Wieskamp talked about how the experience of playing in the NCAA tournament this year will help him in his future in the sport and life. “Playing in the NCAA tournament my freshman year was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot throughout the season. I grew a lot as a person and a player which I know will make me that much better moving forward in life.”