Ben McCollum brings record of success to Iowa as he takes another step up on the coaching ladder

Iowa (17-16, 7-13 Big Ten)

The Hawkeyes are turning to Ben McCollum to energize a program that had faded the past two years under all-time wins leader Fran McCaffery. McCollum was one of the biggest stories in college basketball last season. He moved up from Division II Northwest Missouri State to lead Drake to a school-record 31 wins, Missouri Valley regular-season and tournament championships and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Players to watch

NBA draft prospect Bennett Stirtz, among five players and two recruits who followed McCollum from Drake, blossomed into the nation’s premier mid-major player last season. He was the first MVC player to record 600 points (673), 200 assists (200) and 70 steals (72) in a season. … Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen provides much-needed power-conference experience. He started all 33 games for the Wildcats, averaged 10.9 points and is a reliable 3-point threat. … Alvaro Folgueiras was Horizon League player of the year at Robert Morris after averaging 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Departures and arrivals

Of 14 players who played for Iowa last season, only two are back, unrelated reserves Cooper and Jacob Koch. … In addition to Stirtz, Hausen and Folgueiras, MVC Sixth Man of the Year Tavion Banks (Drake) will be counted on after he shot 52% from the field and averaged 10.1 points and 5 rebounds per game. … The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Cam Manyawu and the 6-10, 230-pound Folgueiras are the beefiest players for a team that will be challenged physically. Manyawu averaged 7.1 points and team-leading 5.3 rebounds for Drake.

Top games

The opener is at home against Robert Morris on Nov. 4. The Hawkeyes go to the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, California, to play Mississippi on Nov. 25 and Grand Canyon or Utah on Nov. 26. The Big Ten opener is at No. 22 Michigan State on Dec. 2, and the annual CyHawk Game is at Iowa State on Dec. 11. The Hawkeyes play No. 1 Purdue twice, on the road Jan. 14 and at home Feb. 14.

Facts and figures

McCollum’s Drake team had the longest average possession length last season at 21.9 seconds, according to KenPom. He said Iowa will have the ability to speed things up, but don’t look for the Hawkeyes to get up and down the court like McCaffery’s teams did in their heyday. … McCollum has not addressed whether he will take disciplinary action against Banks, who was charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct following an alleged bar fight Oct. 15. … As of Monday, a total of 7,908 season tickets have been sold. That’s nearly a 10% bump from the 7,204 sold last year, when average attendance dipped to 9,161 per game.

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