This new climate in college basketball has made it both easier and harder for new head coaches to rebuild their rosters, utilizing transfers and other means. Suffice to say Ben McCollum satisfied and exceeded any and all expectations in his first year in Iowa City last season and we really shouldn’t be surprised. After all, McCollum is a 4-time D2 national champion and was incredible at Drake the year prior.
His first season with the Hawkeyes topped that success, even after an unsteady start to the year. Iowa was just .500 in Big Ten play and settled for 9th in the league, but they showed up when the games mattered most, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight for the first time in almost forty years. McCollum truly hit the right notes with this team and is hoping to continue that success.
Stirtz has moved on
Superstar guard Bennett Stirtz is off to bigger things, Alvaro Folgueiras transferred away, and a few other veteran pieces like Tavion Banks won’t be back either. Even without last season’s top three scorers there’s still a plethora of talent returning for the Hawkeyes. A roster that was pretty deep last season returns plenty of experience and has a few new pieces ready to continue this program’s upward momentum.
We’ll dive directly into the important pieces on this roster, but it’s interesting to note that ten players are coming back from last season, incredible retention after that Elite Eight breakthrough. Still, Iowa has significant holes to fill, as Stirtz himself averaged nearly 20 points per game this season, but McCollum and his staff have done their best to provide those answers.
Projected Starters
Guard – Kael Combs (Senior)
Combs was a bench piece at Wyoming then at Drake before following McCollum to Iowa last offseason. The Missouri native was a full-time starter for the first time, averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 assists per game as a junior. With the changes in this roster, expect even more offense out of Combs moving forward and we’ll see if he can also become a reliable shooter.
Guard – Tate Sage (Sophomore)
As a true freshman last season there weren’t a ton of opportunities for Sage in this backcourt but he still made the most of those chances. He didn’t earn any starts but still played valuable minutes, averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds while making 39% of his 3-pointers. Sage steps into a more significant role in his second collegiate season and we’ll see if he lives up to the expectations this staff has for him.
Forward – Cooper Koch (Junior)
Expectations are also raised for Koch, a former Top 100 prospect who was a bench piece as a freshman before coming into his own under McCollum last season. That sophomore season marked a definite step forward with 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game with decent shooting figures. Koch’s role will be significant again, and it’ll be interesting to see if he’s one of those pieces who takes a major step forward on offense.
Forward – Cam Manyawu (Senior)
Another returning frontcourt starter, Manyawu took the same path as Combs, heading from Wyoming to Drake to Iowa largely as a starting forward. While his best numbers weren’t last season, he was still an effective weapon for this balanced Hawkeyes squad, putting up 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and will have even more responsibility in the paint this year.
Center – Andrew McKeever (Senior)
A significant transfer addition for the Hawkeyes, McKeever heads into the Big Ten after a pair of seasons playing out at Saint Mary’s. The 7-footer was the WCC’s best rebounder last season, averaging 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds a game. Iowa is hoping he can remain a dependable interior piece around the basket while further using his size to affect the game on defense.
Key Reserves
Guard – Ethan Harris (Freshman)
A 4-star prospect originally from Camas, Washington, Harris enters the fray for the Hawkeyes and could be an intriguing versatile weapon for this group. A fringe Top 100 prospect, he’s a hard worker who brings energy and effort and should be a welcomed addition to the frontcourt depth for Iowa even as a true freshman.
Guard – Ty’Reek Coleman (Sophomore)
Year one in college basketball went relatively well for Coleman, who started a handful of games and emerged as a player on the rise at Illinois State. The Aurora native averaged 10.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, making 42% of his 3-pointers albeit with limited chances. He’ll now transition into the Big Ten and become an important weapon in this backcourt, with significant minutes expected for the new sophomore.
Guard/Forward – Jaidyn Coon (Freshman)
While not as highly revered, Coon is a 3-star shooting guard from Storm Lake, Iowa who looks like a great addition into the fold. He’s a versatile athlete who you’ll likely see largely at small forward, with both shot making potential and notable instinct on defense. He’s an above average rebounder, though we’ll see just how his skills come across with his opportunities this year.
Guard – Isaia Howard (Junior)
Yet another player who followed McCollum here from Drake, Howard has been a reserve for the first two seasons of his career but is looking to make a bigger impact heading into year three. Last year in his first season in Iowa he averaged 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds but was a notable part of that deep rotation for the Hawkeyes and will likely play a similar role.
Forward – Trey Thompson (Sophomore)
Thompson is a former 4-star recruit and intriguing frontcourt prospect, though this’ll be the first time we see him on the college basketball court. He redshirted last season, giving him a year to watch, learn, and grow in this system. Thompson projects as a formidable shooter and rebounder who chose the Hawkeyes over several power conference teams and now gets his shoot to prove he belongs.
Center – Trevin Jirak (Sophomore)
We didn’t see a lot of Jirak as a true freshman, but he has the opportunity to be a major part of the frontcourt depth into his second season. The 6-11 center saw time in half of Iowa’s games, putting up 3.4 points and 0.9 rebounds with limited opportunities. Now with a full year under his belt, he seems a bit more built and relaxed and has a real chance to be McKeever’s backup on a more regular basis.
Schedule Outlook
A pair of home games greets the Hawkeyes to open the season but then things get a little bit trickier with three straight challenging games. They’ll play against Virginia Tech in Sioux City on November 10th and then see Creighton in Des Moines just five days later. The first true road test then comes at Xavier on the 20th.
There’s no big holiday tournament for the Hawkeyes, who’ll be at home over the week of Thanksgiving, but the first taste of Big Ten play does them no favors, as they’ll be at Purdue on December 1st. Just over a week later is the yearly Cy-Hawk Series, as they’ll host rival Iowa State on December 10th. The nonconference schedule has a few more mid-major matchups but you cannot ignore a big matchup in Des Moines with Alabama on the 21st.
Big Ten play gets going right after New Year’s and the Hawkeyes actually get three straight at home to ease in. It gets more difficult after that including road trips out west to the LA schools as well as late February trips to defending champion Michigan and Wisconsin. Senior Night will be a winnable affair against Washington before an Elite Eight rematch at Illinois ends the regular season.
Season Outlook
There is a lot of talent on an Iowa squad that might run just as deep as last season’s team, though there’s still a major question mark here. Stirtz was the unquestioned leader and top scorer last season and you just don’t know who’s capable of jumping into that starring role. Then again, can this Iowa team succeed at a high level again without someone playing that role?
The backcourt has a major assignment in replacing both Stirtz and Banks, but we’ve seen that Combs and Sage are both capable and very familiar with this system. Between them and Howard there’s a lot of familiarity and Coleman is a player who could actually play a significant role after transferring into the program, though it’s hard to know just who’s going to emerge as that star scorer.
Getting McKeever to lock down the 5 was a great move by the Iowa staff, but McCollum knows it’s not that simple. There will be a lot depending on Koch and Manyawu, who both have shown themselves more than capable of taking another step forward this season. If everything goes according to plan, Koch might be the most talented player on this entire team.
You’re not going to find Iowa compared to the top teams in the Big Ten this season even after their incredible run last March. It’s not just that they lost Stirtz but that there’s a lot of changes on this depth chart and we don’t know what the overall product will look like. After all, Iowa was only 9th in the Big Ten and could certainly finish around there again, but it’s foolish not to trust McCollum after what he’s already done in a brilliant coaching career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google