By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Brock Harding wasn’t interested in a Christmas break.

The Iowa men’s basketball players got to go home for a few days for the holiday, but Harding was planning to keep a steady workout plan.

Which meant getting up by 7 a.m. each day.

“Typically I don’t like to sleep in too late, because then I kind of wake up angry that I didn’t work out already,” the freshman point guard said after Wednesday’s 103-81 win over UMBC at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It’s a philosophy Harding has always followed.

“I’m angry if I’ve figured out somebody’s working out more than me,” Harding said. “So it’s just kind of hard-wired into me to kind of be the hardest worker on the court.”

It’s been a good start to Harding’s college career. He is averaging 4.7 points per game, but is tied for the team lead with 40 assists and ranks second on the team with 14 steals.

“I feel like every game I come in and bring a lot of energy,” said Harding, who had his first college double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in Wednesday’s game. “You get up on defense, control the game on offense, try to get the game going a little quicker. So coaches have just been stressing to me to do that every single game, and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of that so far this year.”

Harding has shown the type of court vision that Iowa coach Fran McCaffery expected.

“I think it’s more who he is,” McCaffery said. “He is an incredible competitor. He’s got a tremendous mind for the game. And he truly understands what is needed at any given time.”

Harding said he enjoys playing in Iowa’s motion offense.

“So many cutters,” he said. “I mean, that just makes my job so much easier. They know I’ll get them the ball if they cut.

“The guys cutting, I know where they’re going to be and they know where I’m going to give him the ball. So it’s just kind of knowing spots.”

At six feet tall and 160 pounds, Harding may be a bit undersized against more physical guards, but he’s learning how to handle that.

“It’s just kind of each game growing more and more,” Harding said. “Guys are physical. A lot of guys, they’ve been trying to back me down.

“I was a pretty good defender in high school, but it’s a whole different level in college. So it’s learning how to guard on the ball, get rebounds, box out, just adjust to that part of the game.”

“He has a natural ability to lead and he’s always been a point guard,” McCaffery said. “Very confident in himself, very vocal.”

McCaffery wants his players to relax over the break but stay in shape.

“You want them to have some family time, but they got to work out pretty much every day,” he said. “That’s what they need to do — get some shots up, do some running, do some conditioning stuff. And we rely on their professionalism to do that. But I’m not worried about this group.”

There was no need to worry about that, Harding said. And he has found a home running Iowa’s offense.

“I just think we’ve got a really good team and a lot of good players, so if they’re going to keep cutting I’m going to keep getting them the ball and we’re going to have a lot of wins in the next couple of years,” Harding said.

Photo: Iowa’s Brock Harding watches his 3-point shot during Wednesday’s game. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)