Stoermer sparks Hawkeye run (premium)

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — It isn’t often that a walk-on comes off the bench in just his second career Division-I game and plays a key role in his team’s success.

But that’s exactly what Jordan Stoermer did Tuesday night in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 68-40 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.

He only scored seven points, but it came at a juncture in the game where Iowa needed everything it got from the junior guard. Head coach Fran McCaffery described Stoermer’s performance late in the first half as “spectacular.”

For the Hawkeyes, they feel fortunate to have latched on to the Coralville native and former Kirkwood Community College product.

“He obviously graduated from Kirkwood and wanted to come to Iowa as an engineering student,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “At some point, he was contacted by some other institutions. I think he had some low-level one offers, other people asking him to walk on.

“At that point in time, I spoke to him about making sure he knew that I wanted him on our team.”

McCaffery added that he was determined to get Stoermer some minutes on Tuesday, especially with junior guard Matt Gatens continuing to deal with an injury to his left hand.

Knowing that this opportunity might come, Stoermer knew this was as good a chance as he might have to showcase his talents on the hardwood.

“He told me earlier that he might call my number, and I just got to be on the bench and be aware of what’s going on out there so that way I can pick up where the guys leave off when I come in,” Stoermer said.

The 6-2 guard is jokingly referred to by his teammates as the Iowa version of Ricky Rubio, the Spanish point guard who plays overseas and was the No. 5 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the comparisons to Rubio stem from the contributions that he does provide the team during practice.

Sophomore guard Eric May described Stoermer as playing like a European player as far as his grit and effort are concerned, and like many, saw Stoermer’s play in the first half Tuesday as a much-needed spark for the Hawkeyes en route to a win.

“It was huge,” May said. “Jordan has been a really tough player in practice. He really gets after it, and that was great to see him come in and give us a spark. His two 3s really helped us a lot in the first half.”

While there aren’t any players in particular that Stoermer does try to mold his game after, he fully understands the role he has on the team, knows his strengths, and knows where he can be effective for this Iowa squad.

“I try to stick to my game and what I can do,” Stoermer said. “I’m not overly athletic or overly quick, but I know that I can hit some shots and I can be consistent out there.”