After a second straight season of missing the NCAA Tournament, Iowa made a coaching change this past offseason by bringing aboard Ben McCollum. After winning four D2 national titles at Northwest Missouri State, he was finally plucked away by Drake and won 30 games in his sole season with the Bulldogs. Now McCollum is taking his show to the Big Ten and hopes to get the Hawkeyes back into competitive shape in this tough league.
Gone are the days of Luka Garza and the Murray brothers and last year’s 12th place finish in the Big Ten was hopefully just a temporary blip for the faithful in Iowa City. With that coaching change it’s not a surprise to see that most of that team entered the portal, including top scorers Josh Dix and Owen Freeman. Those two along with the graduating Payton Sandfort each contributed at least 14 points per game and will be missed, though McCollum has some significant reinforcements.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see that McCollum took five players with him from Drake, including Tavion Banks, Cam Manyawu, and someone else we’ll get to in a bit. The Hawkeyes landed a great guard in Brendan Hausen from Kansas State as well as a real gem in Alvaro Folgueiras, the former Robert Morris forward who was Horizon League Player of the Year. The standout of the class was someone else from that Drake team who actually took the MVC’s top honors.
Bennett Stirtz enters the fold after brilliant work under McCollum both at Northwest Missouri State and with Drake. The 6-4 guard from Liberty, Missouri was an important piece as an underclassman at the D2 level before following McCollum to the Bulldogs. Stirtz showed little issue transitioning to the D1 level, averaging 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists while notching MVC Player of the Year honors and leading Drake to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
As a junior and first-time D1 athlete, Stirtz accomplished almost everything possible and was a phenomenal leader for the Bulldogs. He made just under 40% of his 3-pointers, led the MVC in points, steals, and assists, and proved his athleticism and true value. He becomes the focal point for the Hawkeyes and another outstanding season could have renowned results in the Big Ten. Stirtz showed no fear going from small gyms to the March Madness stage and won’t be overwhelmed playing Big Ten schools in the coming months.
His role is vital not just for his scoring but as Iowa’s new point guard. Stirtz and Hausen created quite the powerful backcourt duo and those two should have the Hawkeyes looking much more competitive in this league than last year’s squad. There may still be some question marks in this rotation but it’s hard not to trust McCollum’s vision with what he’s accomplished in recent years. A lot will depend on if Stirtz can make another push forward now as a Big Ten point guard.