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NCAA Basketball: Analyzing 5 early contenders for transfer forward Grant Nelson

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 8, 2022; Sioux Falls, SD, USA; North Dakota State Bison forward Grant Nelson (4) drives against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Alex Arians (34) in the second half at Denny Sanford Premier Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2022; Sioux Falls, SD, USA; North Dakota State Bison forward Grant Nelson (4) drives against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Alex Arians (34) in the second half at Denny Sanford Premier Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza NCAA Basketball Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes have had a good run of quality scorers in the conference. The past two examples as the brothers, Kris and Keegan Murray. And assuming that this past season’s leading scorer goes his current projections, that would be two straight first-round NBA Draft picks coming out of the program.

By the way, that doesn’t even include Luka Garza, the former 2021 National Player of the Year and star of Iowa Basketball, averaging 24.0 ppg in his final two seasons in college. And even before Garza, Coach Fran McCaffery has a nice history of building up quality scorers and having a fairly friendly offensive system.

Iowa brought in a quality forward transfer in Ben Krikke, coming off averaging 19.4 ppg and 5.9 rpg at Valpo. He and Nelson would be interchangeable in the frontcourt so positions wouldn’t matter in this situation. And outside of double-digit guard Tony Perkins, the team doesn’t have many other quality scorers on the roster.

As long as Nelson and Krikke play well with each other, Iowa should be just fine with them. It might not be enough to be a top contender in the Big Ten but certainly good enough to be in the NCAA Tournament picture, something that was in question after losing so much production this offseason.

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