Last Year
The Frantrum finally got shot into the sun, and replacing him was Northwest Missouri State legend and Drake rental Ben McCollum. His first season in the B1G was up and down, as they finished a very even 10-10 in the conference. That was good for a nine seed in the tourney, then it was all up as they upset Florida and took out Nebraska before being sent packing by the Illini in the Elite Eight.
Happy Trails
- Bennett Stirtz, who played nearly all the minutes, got drafted 16th overall and is playing for the Thunder
- NCAA darling Alvaro Folgueiras portaled to Louisville
- Tavion Banks appears to be in fifth year eligibility purgatory
- Brendan Hausen ran out of eligibility
Starters
- PG Kael Combs, 6'4'' Senior: It's unclear to me who will take over for Stirtz at the point. Combs frequently played next to him and was generally efficient scoring, though he did turn the ball over a bit. Still, this is Year Three under McCollum as he joined him at Drake, so he is in line for minutes somewhere.
- SG Tate Sage, 6'7'' Sophomore: Sage was part of the rotation as a freshman and could really shoot - nearly 60% from 2 and 40% from three. So he is also in line to play this year and a backcourt of him and Combs has a lot of length.
- SF Cooper Koch, 6'8'' Junior: The top returnee in minutes is Koch, a Fran recruit who blossomed last season as someone who could make shots, as he shot over 40% from three. That is a theme for this team.
- PF Cam Manyawu, 6'9'' Senior: A fellow McCollum follower from Drake, Manyawu played a lot of center last year and might do that again if McCollum opts for four shooters on the court. Manyawu was undersized but effective around the basket, so we'll see if he can play next to McKeever. He's hasn't attempted a three since he was a freshman at Wyoming, so don't expect that.
- C Andrew McKeever, 7'3'' Senior: A big portal addition both in size and effectiveness, McKeever was brought over from St. Mary's to give Iowa what they were missing last season, which is a giant man around the basket. McKeever was very effective rebounding, too, but like Manyawu doesn't shoot outside.
Bench
- SG Isaia Howard, 6'5'' Junior: Howard is a fellow McCollum follow from Drake, and he's gotten on the court mostly through his defense. He only shot 28% from three last season.
- PG Ty'Reek Coleman, 6'2'' Sophomore: Iowa's other portal addition, Coleman comes over from Illinois State, where he was a deadeye shooter as a freshman (41% from three). If he can handle the B1G, he may start and should get on the court when Iowa wants all the shooters.
- C Trevin Jirak, 6'11'' Sophomore: Jirak didn't play much last season but took 18 three pointers, so if he develops you could see him coming in as a stretch 4 or 5. Plus his name is fun to say.
- PF Trey Thompson, 6'8'' Sophomore: I swear there are like four or five basketball Trey Thompsons. This one was a well regarded recruit but redshirted last year, so he remains all potential.
- Two freshmen in four star guards Ethan Harris and Jaidyn Coon
Outlook
MaximumSam: Bennett Stirtz dominated the minutes and dominated the possessions for Iowa last year and for Drake before that. So it's a bit tricky to make predictions for what Iowa looks like after losing him. That said, McCollum has won a hell of a lot of games without him, he returns a bunch of guys, and this team should be pretty tough defensively and have a lot of shooters. So I'm not betting they finish in the bottom half of the conference.
glass: Anyone wondering if Ben McCollum can win without Bennett Stirtz simply needs to be reminded that McCollum went 269-35 and won 4 National Titles during the 9 seasons before Stirtz showed up in Maryville, Missouri. The Hawkeyes will be fine. Torvik says 18-14 (9-11), but I would shade them closer to 20-12.
Grizz: A completely different team, still holdovers but no longer Bennett Stirtz completely dictating play on the offensive end. Antonio Folguieras' departure is one of the stranger losses I have seen to a team--his heroics in the tournament are indelible, but so were his disappearances during the season and particularly during the Elite 8 loss to Illinois. Cooper Koch, Tate Sage and Isaia Howard are important returning pieces and now we have a true big in Andrew McKeever. How they will all gel, nobody knows. But there will be more guys on the floor who can handle the ball, more deep shooters on the floor, and the ball will not always run through one guy. One thing we do know is that McCollum has a pretty good track record of making it work. This year is largely unknown but highly anticipated.
BoilerUp89: McCollum is a great coach but I'm expecting a small step back from the Hawkeyes this season. Stirtz was so much of their offense. I'm hoping the world's slowest offense disappears but it does tend to minimize talent gaps so I think it's here to stay another here.
Koch is going to be a really good player but now needs to become Batman instead of Robin.
