ESPN Writer Ranks Hawkeyes Basketball as Top Ten Team Team to Likely 'Make a Leap' in 2013

Yes! Let the hype continue!

The Iowa basketball team for the upcoming season received another endorsement as a potential top flight contender, with ESPN writer Jason King ranking the Hawkeyes among his top 10 teams most likely to improve the greatest in the coming season.

Here's what he said about Iowa, which he ranked at number five:

Count 'Em Down: Teams poised for a leap:  ESPN

5. Iowa: Even though they missed the NCAA tournament, the Hawkeyes still had to feel good about the strides they made last season. Iowa finished 9-9 in the Big Ten, the nation’s toughest conference, and made it to the NIT championship game, where it lost to a deeper, more athletic Baylor squad. Don’t be surprised if 2013-14 is the season when Iowa really turns the corner. Every key player returns from last year’s 25-13 squad. Included in that mix are leading scorers Roy Devyn Marble (15 points) and Aaron White (12.8), who also averaged a team-high 6.2 rebounds. The Hawkeyes also have an excellent -- and, in my opinion, underrated -- coach in Fran McCaffrey, who appears to have this program on an upswing. With Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin all losing a number of key players, I wouldn’t be surprised if Iowa finished as high as third in the Big Ten while earning its first NCAA tournament berth since 2006.