Sports, Wednesday, May 13th

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Bohannon, Nunge Granted Hardship Waivers:

University of Iowa senior guard Jordan Bohannon and sophomore forward Jack Nunge’s hardship waiver petitions have been approved by the Big Ten Conference.

Freshman forward Patrick McCaffery’s hardship waiver is still under review.

Bohannon (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) played in 10 games in 2019-20 before undergoing season-ending hip (left) surgery in December; he had the same procedure successfully performed on his right hip last May. Bohannon averaged 8.8 points and 3.3 assists per game in the 10 games, helping Iowa record seven victories, including wins over Iowa State, No. 12 Texas Tech, Minnesota, and Syracuse.

The Marion, Iowa, native holds the Iowa record with 284 career 3-pointers made, breaking the school record in three seasons. He enters his final season as a Hawkeye with career totals of 1,310 points, 504, assists, 250 rebounds, and 82 steals.

Nunge (6-foot-11, 245 pounds) suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of his right knee versus Cal Pol on Nov. 24. After redshirting his second year of eligibility (2018-19), Nunge saw action in only five games prior to the injury.

He started all five contests, averaging six points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Nunge was named Academic All-Big Ten on Monday, the second time in as many years that the accounting major has earned the academic recognition.

Bohannon and Nunge are the third and fourth Hawkeyes in three years to receive hardship waivers. (Connor McCaffery in 2018; Cordell Pemsl in 2019).

Iowa’s Lawrence Named Indoor Track Athlete of the Year:

University of Iowa sophomore Wayne Lawrence has been named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.

Lawrence is the first Hawkeye in school history to earn the honor.

Lawrence had a record-breaking indoor season, clinching three gold medals at the conference meet to lead Iowa to a second place finish in the team race, its highest placing since 1963.

On March 4, Lawrence was named the top track Athlete of the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Iowa Doubles Up, Tausauga Wins Female Track Athlete of the Year:

University of Iowa senior Laulauga Tausaga has been named Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.

Tausaga is the first Hawkeye in school history to earn the honor.

After earning gold at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the weight throw, Tausaga was named B1G Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships. She also earned Indoor Midwest Regional Female Field Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year.

In the 2020 indoor season, she earned B1G Women’s Field Event Athlete of the Week twice. Tausaga broke her own school record in the shot put (17.96m) at the Meyo Invite on Feb. 7.

She contributed a total of 18 points at the Big Ten Indoor Championships placing first in the weigh throw and second in the shot put.

Tausaga is the fifth Hawkeye this season to earn conference player of the year honors, along with Kathleen Doyle, Luka Garza, Spencer Lee, and Wayne Lawrence.

NBA To Restart Season?

Participants on an NBA Board of Governors call Tuesday felt increasingly optimistic on a return to play this season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarski reports.

Several owners and high-ranking team officials were on the call and were encouraged on the league’s plan to minimize health risks upon the proposed resumption.

The league has had several positive conversations with the Players Association as well, who have stated their desire to eventually resume the halted season.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told those on the call, according to Wojnarski that if one positive test would “shut us down, we probably shouldn’t go down this path.”

The major question for both MLB and NBA officials is how many positive tests would be too many? The league is already planning for a standardized coronavirus test among all 30 teams upon a restart.

The league is also floating a campus environment with the league concentrating its players at one central bubble either Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort or Las Vegas.

22 of the NBA’s 30 teams will have their facilities legally reopened by next Monday.