NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Iowa of last decade

1. Keegan Murray – Iowa

After high school in Cedar Rapids and prep school in Florida, Murray found his way back to Iowa to join the Hawkeyes in 2020. A 6’8 forward, he was a valued piece for coach Fran McCaffery in his freshman season, but he really came into his own as a sophomore this past year.

After a meager freshman campaign, he joined the starting lineup as a sophomore and put on a clinic on a regular basis. Murray averaged 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game, helping lead the Hawkeyes to 26 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance. He had a 27-point, 21-rebound game early in the year, scoring a career-high 37 points in a win over Nebraska, and helped lead Iowa to a Big Ten Tournament title with a run of great performances.

Murray really exploded onto the scene and was named a First Team All-American. He led the entire nation in points and field goals, ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in blocks and steals, and won the prestigious Karl Malone Award as the nation’s best power forward. Murray was also Big Ten Tournament MVP and parlayed all of this college success, getting drafted with the 4th pick in the NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.

We’ve now completed our dive into the best college basketball players from the state of Iowa over the last ten years; do you think we nailed the list or was there someone out of place?