BIG TEN TEAM PREVIEW #3 IOWA HAWKEYES

After 15 seasons as the head coach, Iowa dismissed Fran McCaffery at the conclusion of last season. Iowa was coming off a 17-16 season, and they also hadn't made the tournament in back-to-back seasons. The replacement was one of the biggest names in last season's coaching carousel, Ben McCollum. He was only at Drake for one season, but Drake went 31-4 and won an NCAA tournament game. McCollum brought over five players from his team last season along with him to Iowa.

Projected Lineup:

G. Bennett Stirtz (Drake transfer)

G Brendan Hausen (Kansas State transfer)

F Tavion Banks (Drake transfer)

F Cam Manyawu (Drake transfer)

F Alvaro Folgueiras (Robert Morris transfer)

It'll be a starting lineup made up entirely of transfers for Iowa next season. At the point guard spot next season, head coach Ben McCollum brought over 6-foot-2 Bennett Stirtz from his Drake squad last season. Stirtz was one of the top transfers available in the portal and should be one of the best players in the conference next season. He averaged 19.6 points and 5.7 assists last year, winning player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference. The two other players from Drake that should be in the starting lineup next season are 6-foot-7 forward Tavion Banks and 6-foot-8 forward Cam Manyawu. Banks was Drake's third leading scorer last season with 10.4 points. Manyawu was the team's fifth leading scorer last season with 7.1 points, but he also led the team in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per contest. 6-foot-5 shooting guard Isaia Howard and 6-foot-4 point guard Kael Combs also followed McCollum from Drake to Iowa. Both should get minutes off the bench again this season.

Iowa also landed two other transfers that didn't come from Drake. 6-foot-9 RMU transfer Alvaro Folgueiras was a very heavily recruited forward in the portal. He'll be Iowa's best player in their frontcourt next season. Folgueiras averaged 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds last year, and he won the player of the year in the Horizon conference. The other non-Drake transfer that Iowa landed in the portal was 6-foot-4 Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen. Hausen is on his third school in four years now, as he spent his first two seasons at Villanova. Last year for K-State, Hausen started in all 33 of his games and averaged 10.9 points, shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range. Iowa does have one key returner from last season's squad. 6-foot-8 forward Cooper Koch only appeared in 10 games due to injury during his freshman season, but he was the #86 overall recruit by 247Sports in the 2024 class.

Head coach Ben McCollum did very well in the portal, and Iowa should be immediately competitive in the Big Ten conference. Bennett Stirtz is one of the best point guards in the entire country, and Alvaro Folgueiras could be one of the best forwards in the Big Ten conference. With that being said, I don't think the rest of their roster is super impressive. Stirtz and Folgueiras alone should be enough to at least make them competitive, though.

Prediction: 11th in Big Ten