The Iowa Hawkeyes have continued to ride the high of an Elite 8 into a strong start to the offseason. Ben McCollum minimized defections, addressed areas of need, and still have potentially more to go as the pages turn to the 2026-27 season.
A key factor with McCollum is the growth that can happen from year 1 to year 2 within the program. We saw that with guys like Kael Combs, Cam Manyawu, and Isaia Howard. While all three had modest stat lines, they rarely looked out of place despite the uptick in competition which speaks 1) to McCollum’s eye for talent and development and 2) the increased comfortability the guys had within the system.
Iowa did not have the growing pain of establishing a culture, as 6 former Bulldogs came to Iowa City to help set the tone in terms of what is expected under McCollum day-to-day, game-to-game. That showed on the court as Combs picked his spots in taking advantage of the attention Bennett Stirtz drew, most notably in the first round win over Clemson. Manyawu was a pest defensively despite being undersized (a hallmark of McCollum’s basketball) and a good short roll passer. Howard is just an MMA fighter who masquerades as a basketball player. Love it.
KenPom clocked Iowa’s continuity at 2.2% (Cooper Koch’s minutes throughout the first 10 games of 2024-25) but the reality is Iowa was closer to 50% with all the Drake guys who came over. That would have put them in the top 25 given the movement which happens in the age of the portal.
With 10 guys back, Iowa is returning 54% of their minutes. And this does not even include Trey Thompson, the highly touted freshman who spent a year in the incubator after reclassifying into the class of 2025.
The main loss, of course, is March Hero Alvaro Folgueiras. Dude is hella talented but it often felt like he and McCollum were at odds throughout the season. The talk of “winning plays” and “moodiness not working in his system” were critiques of the Spaniard. He was a net positive, no doubt, and takes some cherished memories with him so the leaving feels like the rare ending on a high note. Heck, he still got a bag with Thompson shilling some Iowa City area fro-yo after he committed to Louisville.
And his departure opened up the opportunity for Iowa to …
Oh boy… this Andrew McKeever guy… is HUGE. 7’3”, 285 lbs. That’s an inch & 30 pounds on Illinois’ Ivisic brothers. He easily clears as the biggest Hawkeye of all time and has a surprisingly adept ability around the basket:
Classic highlight reel as you get a sense of his size and ability (there’s a floater and some adept passing) but then realize he averaged just 8 points and WCC-leading 9 boards last season in 23 minutes/game. He didn’t even average a block/game though some of that may be misleading since there’s no telling how many shots he affected.
The bet on him is a bit like what McCollum chased with Folgueiras last year – a guy who can jump a level and improve in efficiency within the system. He shot just 50% from two, which would put him behind every returning Hawkeye. He’s already used up his redshirt so how much more can he improve athletically? And he’s only started 10 games, all at the front end of St. Mary’s season.
The other portal addition is Illinois State guard, Ty’Reek Coleman. He averaged 10 points and 1.7 assists in his freshman year so he’s got 3 remaining. He shows crazy ability to get into the lane and was a 41% shooter from 3.
Just really impressive ability to get into the rim and finish. Like McKeever, he did not start all that much at Illinois State (12 games in 33) but has room to grow. In Tachman’s write up on him, Coleman’s high school coach was highly complimentary of him (as you would expect) and peeled back the curtain on his character & work ethic. Seems like he is very much cut from the same cloth as McCollum.
With Coleman’s addition, the direction on next year’s squad becomes apparent: fill the gap Stirtz left with improvement everywhere. Bringing in guys with runway does not make them someone who is immediately necessary with all that’s coming back. They don’t overlap with Iowa’s incoming freshman who can go crazy on the wing. And it leaves Iowa in a spot where they can…
With 14 of 15 roster spots accounted for, the 15th appears to be Tavion Banks’ if he’s granted an additional year of eligibility. There’s no telling when that decision will be made but his return may offer McCollum even more ability to flex the depth on the wing by redshirting either Jaidyn Coons or Ethan Harris.
If Banks isn’t back. There’s really no telling what McCollum would do with the extra spot. But at this point, it doesn’t seem like they need it.