Tag: Ben McCollum

The new era of Iowa Men’s Basketball begins

It’s been a long time since Iowa basketball pulled my attention from the NFL Draft but here we are, it’s actually an exciting new era, the Ben McCollum era. It couldn’t be any more different than the old era.  This is going to feel like I’m ragging on Fran McCaffery, and while I don’t mean to disparage the guy and his accomplishments, I’m going to speak the truth. Fran’s act had grown tiresome.  The prickly attitude doesn’t play well when you don’t win.  The refusal to even acknowledge your shortcomings was ridiculous.  Sorry, but when you’re getting your ass kicked by Wisconsin because they are drilling open threes the entire first half and at halftime you talk about your offense needs to be better, it’s inexcusable.

Iowa’s in a better place now than they were a few weeks ago, and the roster is barely half full.  Ben McCollum isn’t just a young, smart coach with a bright future, he’s a guy who actually wants to be at Iowa.  McCollum is genuinely excited to be the head coach of the Hawkeyes.  By the end of his tenure, Fran felt like he was tolerating the job.  McCollum is excited and enthusiastic about engaging Hawkeye fans and building up the program.  Fran seemed disinterested and annoyed that he wasn’t appreciated enough.  I appreciate what he did to pull Iowa out of the sinkhole the Lickliter era was, but I don’t think he ever appreciated that he got 15 years at a school without ever getting past the first round of the tournament.  That’s no something most programs would tolerate.  It was a toxic marriage at the end and it’s amazing but not at all surprising how good it feels to move on. 

That good feeling isn’t just about being done with the old era, as a matter of fact, it’s mostly about the new era.  Ben McCollum is genuine, in all ways.  He’s genuinely excited to be the coach at Iowa.  He appreciates what it means to be the head coach at Iowa.  He’s embracing the past because he grew up with it, and trying to build the future because he genuinely wants the Iowa Hawkeyes to be great.  Go watch the video of him walking into Carver Hawkeye for his introductory press conference.  He gets out of an SUV with his family and is greeted by a tunnel of cheerleaders and students and he’s jumping up and down, he’s high fiving people, and he’s getting pumped up.  Now image that scene with Fran…yeah, even my imagination isn’t that good.  When a guy takes the Iowa job and he’s name checking Mon’ter Glasper, Val Barnes, and Wade Lookingbill in his introductory press conference, that’s a guy who’s a real Iowa guy.  Fran embraced Chris Street, that’s great, but that’s like Kirk Ferentz embracing Nile Kinnick.  It’s the easy lay-up.  Kirk Ferentz loves to talk about guys he coached at Iowa as an assistant in the 80’s, and it’s not even the guys everyone has heard of.  McCollum clearly grew up going to Iowa Hawkeye basketball camps and loving the Hawkeyes.  McCollum has a history with the program and his appreciation of it is going to be the thing that gets Iowa basketball fans to embrace the program again.  Well, that and actually advancing past the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

Now for a look at how things are going so far.  Let’s start with the staff.  McCollum has filled most of his staff with guys he had at Drake.  Josh Sash, Bryston Williams, and Connor Wheeler have all been announced as assistants following McCollum from Drake.  Xavier Kurth is the fourth assistant from Drake who is supposed to be coming but it hasn’t been formally announced.  The last addition to the staff is Luke Barnwell who is coming from Texas Tech.  Barnwell has a reputation as an excellent coach and an elite recruiter.  If my memory serves me the last elite recruiter Iowa had on staff was…George Raveling.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been some good recruiters since the mid 80’s here at Iowa, but it’s really been a while.  This staff seems like really good group.  Sash has head coaching experience at the JUCO level, Williams was an NBA assistant, and Barnwell is very well connected and did a great job at Texas Tech.  Wheeler and Kurth are guys well connected to McCollum and understand what he needs from his team.  A coaching staff who will embrace coaching both sides of the ball will be a nice experience.  

Now let’s get to the most important part of this so far, the roster.  For starters, well there are no starters or really anyone else left from last year’s Hawkeyes who played much at all. The only returning player is Cooper Koch.  He played some to start the year then he had a medical situation and had to sit out and missed almost the whole year.  He’s a Hawkeye legacy and that seems to mean something to him so he’s sticking around to get the McCollum era off to a good start and restart his own Hawkeye journey.  He’s a good player who had tough freshman experience.  So far, other than Koch, McCollum has five transfers from Drake committed and one incoming freshman who just signed with the Hawkeyes. Let’s take a look at the group.

Drake Transfers

PG Bennett Stirtz – SR

Stirtz was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year during his one season at Drake and then he immediately announced he was transferring to Iowa when McCollum got the job.  He had to have passed up a boatload of money to come to Iowa because Iowa can’t compete with the big boys when it comes to basketball NIL money. Stirtz would have been one of the most highly sought after players in the portal but his loyalty to McCollum trumped it.  McCollum’s coaching puts Stirtz in the best position to be the best point guard he can be and he understands the value in that, that’s maturity and leadership you can’t teach.  He’s going to be one of the best point guards Iowa has had in 25 years, it’s too bad he only has one year of eligibility. 

PF Cam Manyuwa – JR

Manyuwa is 6’8 220 lbs. power forward who has the size and athleticism to compete in the Big Ten.  He’s a rebounder and defender who needs to refine his offensive game but for now, he can just do the things he’s good at.  Iowa wasn’t great on the boards last season and Manyuwa will make sure that’s not the case this season.  Really looking forward to seeing the growth in his game the next couple of years. He’s starting at either PF or C depending on if the Hawkeyes get a true center who can start.

SF Tavion Banks – Unknown class

Banks is a 6’7 wing who won Sixth Man of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference last season and that was with him playing some power forward.  He’s built like a wing but he’s not afraid to mix it up.  He may not have the size to be a power forward in the Big Ten but I’m not going to be the one to tell him that.  He will definitely play a ton and he might be the odds-on favorite to be the starting SF for Hawkeyes, assuming he can beat out Cooper Koch and the Hawkeyes don’t get some major SF transfer.  I put his class as unknown because he transferred to Drake from a JUCO and who knows what that means for eligibility right now with NCAA.  He can stay as long as he likes as far as I’m concerned. 

G Kael Combs – JR

Combs was also a one-year transfer to Drake and he was a solid backup combo guard.  He’s 6’4 190 lbs. so he’s got good size and is solid but unspectacular athlete.  He plays tough defense and he knows how to play in McCollum’s system.  He’s a good depth piece at Iowa, he knows the system, and he should help set the foundation for the future.    

SG Isai Howard – SO

Howard is a 6’5 shooting guard who showed a lot of promise as freshman at Drake last season.  He definitely has a Big Ten build and as he develops his game, he can be a very nice building block of the future for McCollum and the Hawkeyes. 

The Returner

SF Cooper Koch – RS Fr

The Lone Survivor of the Fran McCaffrey era is the son of JR Koch. Cooper had a rough first year but he should get a medical redshirt, meaning he still has four years of eligibility.  He was a 4-star recruit and he has plenty of game.  He’s 6’8 215 lbs. small forward who will compete to be a starter.  If he can pick up McCollum’s system and style of play, the sky is the limit for Koch.  It’s possible he and Tavion Banks compete for the starting SF spot, or they could play in tandem with them sort both being combo forward players.  I still have high hopes for his future with Iowa basketball. 

The Commit

C Trevin Jirak – FR

The 6’11 center from West Des Moines Valley switched his commitment from UNI to Iowa just this week.  He’s a big kid, he’s a good passer, and he should fit McCollum’s system quite well.  It would be a lot to ask him to be the starting center for a Big Ten team his freshman year so Iowa still needs a true center in the portal but this is a nice building block for the future.  He should be able to give Iowa some minutes as a backup center this year too. 

The Silent Commit

G/F Tate Sage – FR

Sage is a 6’7 G/F who hasn’t officially announced his commitment to Iowa but it seems he is committed.  He’s from Oklahoma and was originally committed to McCollum at Drake but when McCollum took the Iowa job, Sage de-committed from Drake.  I’m not a mathematician but I can add 2+2.  He’s a good-sized wing with some shooting ability and would seem to be a great fit for McCollum’s Hawkeyes. 

The Guys the Hawkeyes are Recruiting

SG Brendan Hausen – SR

Hausen is a 6’4 shooting guard who hit 39% of his threes last year at Kansas St.  Oh, and the 3-pt line is just a suggestion to him, he has no problem bombing away from way outside, he’s a logo 3 type of guy.  He would be a really nice starting SG next to Stirtz and could take some of the scoring load off Stirtz since this team currently isn’t stacked with scorers.  Something tells me his style of play would be a hit in Carver Hawkeye, we love a logo 3.  

PG Wes Enis – JR

He’s a Div. II point guard out of Lincoln Memorial University, yeah, I don’t know where that is either.  What I can tell you is he’s 6’2 and is apparently an elite defender.  McCollum recruited him when he was at Northwest Missouri St. and if he thinks he’s the type of point guard he could use, I’m not going to doubt it.  He would be a nice pickup as a guy who could play behind Stirtz for a year, learn the system, and then be ready to take over the point guard duties. 

G Nyk Lewis – Fr

Lewis is 4-star guard from the DC area who was previously committed to Xavier.  When Sean Miller left Xavier for Texas, Lewis reopened his recruiting.  He’s taking a visit to Iowa and if Iowa gets him, he’ll be the best high school point guard recruit the Hawkeyes have gotten since, I don’t even know.  This kid is aggressive to the basket and plays tough defense.  He needs to work on his jump shot but he wouldn’t have to be the starter right away.  He could learn a lot from Stirtz and McCollum has been known to fix a shooter before. 

PG Honor Huff – SR

Huff is the smallest of the guards at 5’10 and he’s probably more combo guard than pure point guard.  He’s also probably more of a natural scorer than he is a playmaker for others.  He would be an excellent addition if he came to Iowa to be the sixth man, microwave scorer off the bench.  I find it hard to believe he would do that right now.  He’s going to be a senior and I doubt he wants to transfer to be a backup at Iowa.  If Iowa doesn’t get Hausen, he could be the backcourt partner to Stirtz but he’s pretty small to be a Big Ten shooting guard, and Stirtz is going to be the point guard.  Would love to have him but this one feels like a tough sell.

C Alvaro Folgueiras – JR

He’s 6’9 center transfer from Robert Morris and it may be a pipe dream to get him but he’s giving Iowa a chance.  He could be very sought after with the way he developed this last season.  He made major strides with his game and there’s more development to come.  At 6’9 215 lbs. he’s got a good frame and he moves well. He would fit quite nicely on the Hawkeyes where he could team down low with Manyuwa and give Jirak the time he needs to develop. 

C Duke Brennan – SR

This is the guy with real Big Ten big man size, he’s 6’10 249 lbs. but he’s not a stiff or a plodder.  He can move his feet and he would be a great add to this roster.  It’s probably one of the other between him and Folgueiras since they might be redundant but I’m good with Iowa taking both.  Brennan can bang with the big guys in the Big Ten but Folgueiras has an extra year of eligibility.

Final Analysis

This likely isn’t the end of the guys we will hear about as transfer portal or high school recruits, that is unless we get the vast majority of them.  If Iowa gets Hausen, Lewis, and then either Huff or Enis, and then gets Brennan or Folgueiras then that’s a best case scenario.  I think they get Hausen, Lewis and one of the centers (I hope one of these centers at this point).  If they do, I could see a starting lineup of PG Bennett Stirtz, SG Brendan Hausen, SF Cooper Koch (or Tavion Banks, whoever wins the job), PF Cam Manyuwa, and then either Brennan or Folgueiras at center. Give me a backup group of Kael Combs, Isai Howard, and Nyk Lewis at guard, Tate Gage, and the loser of the starting SF job (Koch or Banks), and then Trevin Jirak at center and you have the makings of a solid team.  Iowa would probably still look for some big man depth but it doesn’t need a starter, just a nice depth piece.  Banks and Koch can moonlight as power forwards and Manyuwa can play center when needed. With that roster and McCollum’s coaching, Iowa would be a much-improved team next season. 

The New Era of Hawkeye Basketball

A new coach brings renewed excitement.

Iowa fired head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffrey after 15 years in Iowa City and all I can say is, it was time.  I have been out on Iowa men’s hoops for a few years already and judging by attendance at Carver for the games, many of you are right there with me.  When you can’t get a team that has Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, and the Murry twins out of the first round of the NCAA tournament, you’re done.  Iowa was never going to have more talent than that team under Fran and he was unwilling to change his coaching.  It’s entertaining to watch your team go out and score 80-85 points a game, unless your team routinely gives up 90 and gets beat.  Fran made his bed when he refused to even acknowledge the team needed to play defense.  But hey, I’m done talking about Fran, lets get to the fun part.  Who’s next? 

I’m going to list some guys here and give you a little idea of why they may be on the list, why they may get the job, why they may not get the job and what I think.  To be clear, the job is almost certainly Darian DeVries’ if he wants it. The current West Virginia coach has ties to the state, ties to Iowa, and is a really good coach.  Ben McCollum from Drake is almost certainly the back up to DeVries if something goes wrong and I can’t see him turning it down.  I’m good with either of these two simply because they aren’t Fran and I’ve been ready to move on for a while. I’ll list some others I think Iowa should check on but probably won’t.   

It’s his job, he just has to say Yes

Darian DeVries – West Virginia Head Coach

DeVries is from Aplington, IA and is the brother of former Hawkeye football legend Jared DeVries.  While Darian played his college ball at UNI, they are a Hawkeye family and it has been widely reported the Iowa job is his dream job.  He was a long-time assistant to Greg McDermott at Creighton and then had a great six year run at Drake that got him the West Virginia coaching job. 

Why he’s the right guy:

West Virginia hasn’t had the best year but they are a likely NCAA tournament team and he pulled that off with his best player, his son Tucker, missing the season with an injury. Instead, he turned a different transfer player, Javon Small, into an All-Conference player at guard.  Iowa is going to lose guys in the transfer portal and they need a coach who can recruit the portal to replace those losses.  DeVries did it last year at West Virginia and he would likely bring Tucker with him as he should get a medical redshirt season for this year.  One place Fran McCaffrey often had trouble in recruiting was getting elite guards to come to Iowa.  DeVries just proven he can get a guy and make him an All-Conference player in a very good basketball conference.

Why he might not happen:

Iowa has been lagging behind in NIL money for the basketball program.  Beth Goetz has to be able to show DeVries that Iowa donors are going to support the NIL program because he has NIL support at West Virginia and NIL is far more important in college basketball than any other sport, including football.  The biggest thing going for Goetz is that Fran had been losing fan support before NIL even was a thing and she can hopefully sell the fan base and donors on the excitement of a new coach and a new direction.  To me NIL is the only thing standing between Iowa and DeVries, he’s a smart coach who understands how important it is to being successful in college basketball and he may not come to Iowa if they can’t deliver.

The Guy on deck if DeVries doesn’t happen

Ben McCollum – Drake Head Coach

McCollum is also an Iowa native, born in Iowa City and graduated high school in Storm Lake.  He was a ridiculously successful Division II head coach at Northwest Missouri State winning 4 National Championships.  With all his success he was able to wait to take a coaching job he wanted and took the Drake job this last year.  All he did in his first year was go 30-3 and win the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles. 

Why he’s the right guy:

This guy just wins.  Once he got things rolling at Northwest Missouri State, he was a juggernaut.  He knows how to coach a team and win.  He’s young, ambitious, and wants to be great.  He’s from Iowa so this could be a destination job for him and he proved his loyalty staying at his own alma mater for so long even though he had other opportunities to move up.  His energy and enthusiasm would play well with an Iowa fanbase that had grown tired of McCaffrey and he might be the polar opposite of McCaffrey when it comes to his personality.  McCaffrey was always a bit curmudgeonly and could be a bit surly. McCollum is much more engaging and personable. That is going to be a major part of the turnaround at Iowa because the next coach has to win back the fan base. 

Why it might not happen:

The question with McCollum comes from two things, he’s only been a Div. I head coach for a year.  He was really successful this season but a lot of that was due to him bringing in his best players from Northwest Missouri State.  It’s not a reach to think the best players from the best Div. II program could step up into the Missouri Valley Conference, be coached by the same coach, run the same system and be great there.  It’s a different ballgame when you’re talking about stepping into the Big Ten.  Can McCollum get the type of athletes and players to compete at this level?  That’s a big question. 

The other issue might be his style of play.  Drake did the same thing Northwest Missouri State did which was slow the pace, play great defense, and grind out wins.  It’s not the most exciting brand of basketball.  I’m not someone who thinks this will matter as much to the fans, if the team is winning.  If the team struggles at all, McCollum will immediately be compared to Todd Lickliter and no one wants that.  One place this could be a problem is in recruiting the type of basketball players it takes to compete in the Big 10.  I think this is a lesser issue but it’s still something to consider.   

The Guy Iowa should seriously consider but won’t  

Will Wade – McNeese State Head Coach

Why Iowa should give him a look:

I’ll get right to it with Wade, this guy just wins wherever he goes.  He won at Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, and now at McNeese St.  He just really knows how to coach and he can recruit to his style too.  He’s still only 42 and he’s been a successful head coach at various levels of Div. I including in the SEC at LSU.  By the time you read this, he may be the head coach at NC State. 

Why Iowa won’t do it:

First, by the time you read this, he may be the head coach at NC State.  Second, Will Wade got fired at LSU when he got caught up in the recruiting scandal where the FBI had wiretaps of some coaches talking to various go-betweens with recruits about money they were going to be paid.  This was just as NIL was starting to happen but the rules were still against it.  LSU fired him to save face because the NCAA accused him of fraud and bribery.  Three years later what he did would be called negotiating with an agent about an NIL payment.  It’s a bit of a gray area right now but when the House settlement takes effect over this next summer, this will just be called contract negotiations.  The NCAA is such a joke.  Beth, go hire Will Wade!

Guys I could get behind if they get the job for some reason

Niko Medved – Colorado State Head Coach

Why Iowa will look at him:

Medved is the third guy on this list to coach at Drake.  He was only there one season before he left for Colorado State and DeVries took over the Bulldogs. He did well enough that season to get the promotion to Colorado State and he’s been pretty solid there.  He’s mostly coached in the Midwest and he’s originally from Minneapolis.

Why it won’t be him:

He went to college at the University of Minnesota and was an assistant there for a short time and Minnesota just fired their head coach Ben Johnson.  Unless Iowa seriously outbids the Gophers for Medved because they strike out on other candidates, he’s going to be Minnesota’s head coach next year. 

Chris Collins – Northwestern Head Coach

Why him?

Collins has been at Northwestern for a decade and he may have maxed out what that program could be.  He took them to an NCAA tournament, something they had never done.  He’s a Chicago guy after growing up there when his dad Doug Collins was coaching the Bulls.  He’s well respected in the Chicago area and it would be awesome if Iowa could get some Chicagoland recruits to consider the Hawkeyes from time to time.  He is only 50 years old so if he wants to make a change, now would be the time. 

Why if won’t be him:

Rarely do coaches move from one conference team to another, although that may change as conferences keep growing and excluding coaches from your own conference might really limit your choices.  He is probably higher on Beth Goetz’s list than I have him but I’m not sure she gets this far down the list. 

Ryan Odom – VCU Head Coach

Why him?

He’s a little outside the box since he’s more of an east coast guy but he can coach some ball.  VCU just won the Atlantic 10 title in his second year.  He has the pedigree, his father was a long-time college coach Dave Odom who had a lot of success at Wake Forest.  Ryan was also the head coach at UMBC when they were a 16 seed in the NCAA tournament a few years ago and beat #1 seed Virginia.  The irony now is that he is the leading candidate to take over Virginia this off season after Tony Bennett, the National Championship winning former coach, left before the season because he was over coaching college basketball. 

Why it won’t be him:

He’s almost certainly going to just take the Virginia job, he knows the area really well.  Geographic knowledge helps when it comes to recruiting and Odom is well known and respected in the area.  If Beth has time, he’s worth a call.

The Dark Horse Candidate

Alan Huss – High Point Head Coach

Why him?

He’s a rising name in college basketball at a school no one knows.  He has a very tangential connection to Iowa but more so he’s connected to the Midwest area.  He’s originally from Kansas and played basketball at Creighton under Dana Altman.  He also later retuned to Creighton and was an assistant under Greg McDermott.  Before that is where his very loose Iowa connection comes in.  He was an assistant coach at New Mexico under Craig Neal who was an assistant at Iowa and New Mexico under Steve Alford.  How’s that for six degrees of separation. 

Why if won’t be him:

He’s been a head coach for two years at High Point.  This would take a serious leap of faith on the part of Beth Goetz and she would be putting her job on the line with this hire. 

This would be Iowa really settling for a guy just because he’s not Fran

Chris Jans – Mississippi St. Head Coach

Why him?

Mostly because he’s a Loras College graduate and an Iowa native.  He’s been pretty successful at Miss St. and that makes him a guy with success at the highest level of college coaching in the SEC.  If Iowa gets this far down the list, he’s not the worst choice.

Why it won’t be him:

In 2015 he was fired as head coach at Bowling Green after an incident in a bar where he was seen making “lewd and inappropriate behavior” towards some women at a campus bar.  It’s been ten years and he’s had two head coaching jobs without incident since then so maybe it shouldn’t be disqualifying, but for Iowa, it probably is.

Steve Forbes – Wake Forest Head Coach

Why him?

He’s a native of Lone Tree, IA and has had some success as a college head coach at places like East Tennessee State and a little at Wake Forest.  Mostly he’s been a high-level assistant under some good head coaches like Bruce Pearl and Gregg Marshall. 

Why it won’t be him:

If he was from some small town in any of the 49 other states, he wouldn’t be mentioned for the job.  I’m sure Iowa would be a dream job for him, I can’t imagine he’s high on Beth Goetz list and if Iowa hires Steve Forbes, people may rethink the firing Fran McCaffrey.   

The NBA guys that aren’t real candidates:

Nick Nurse, Nate Bjorkgren, and Ryan Bowen

All three of three of these guys are Iowa natives so I am required by law to include them. And I’ve literally received texts or messages asking about each of them from different people. 

-Nick Nurse hasn’t coached in college since the mid-90s except for the four days he was a Greg McDermott assistant at Iowa St. before McDermott left for Creighton, didn’t take Nurse with him and the new Iowa State coach then didn’t retain him.  He’s coached in Europe, the NBA G-League and been an assistant and now a two-time head coach in the NBA. He won an NBA title as coach of the Raptors and is currently the coach of the 76ers.  He’s likely going to get fired after this season as Philadelphia has been awful this year and someone has to take the blame.  He’s 57 years old and something tells me he’s not taking the Iowa job. 

-Nate Bjorkgren has been a long-time assistant coach in the NBA and he’s from Storm Lake, IA.  Weird that two coaches on this list have ties to Storm Lake.  He was Nurse’s assistant in Toronto when they won the NBA title together. He has never coached in college so this would be a strange move.  He had a one-year stint as an NBA head coach with the Indiana Pacers and it did not end well so he’s the longest of longshots. 

-Ryan Bowen would be the most likely of these three as he is not only an Iowa native but was also a really good player for the Hawkeyes before his nine year NBA career.  His coaching experience is mostly as an assistant with Mike Malone in both Sacramento and Denver.  He was an assistant with the Nuggets when they won the NBA title a couple of years ago. He did spend one year as the video coordinator for Fran McCaffrey at Iowa between stints as an assistant in the NBA. He’s worth a call for Beth Goetz if for some reason DeVries, McCollum, and a couple of others turn down the job. 

Should I throw in the obligatory BJ Armstrong mention?  One of the most famous and recognizable Hawkeyes of the past 40 years and he played with Michael Jordan in the NBA.  Sorry, people but BJ is 57 years old and has never coached.  He’s not starting now, let it go.