Joe Wieskamp

IOWA CITY — The uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic made the choice an easy one for University of Iowa sophomore Joe Wieskamp: he’s withdrawing from the NBA Draft.

Wieskamp announced on Saturday that he will bypass the 2020 NBA Draft process and return for his junior year with the Hawkeye men’s basketball team, citing an unpredictable future as the main reason for his early decision.

“I have decided not to put my name in the NBA Draft this year due to the all the unknowns in regards to team workouts and what the process will look like,” Wieskamp said in a statement released by the university. ‘My goal is to play in the NBA and I’m looking forward to that possibility in the future. However, I’m extremely excited for this upcoming season at Iowa! We have the opportunity to do something really special.”

Wieskamp, a Muscatine native and former Iowa Mr. Basketball, was a third-team all-Big Ten selection and a USBWA all-district honoree as a sophomore in 2019-20. He was second on the Hawkeyes averaging 14 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and tied for 13th in the Big Ten Conference with 1.7 3-pointers per game. He led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (.856).

Wieskamp, a 6-foot-6 swingman, has started in all 66 games in his Iowa career, averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.