Working Out & Practice videos. Trey Thompson has arrived on campus

[HawkInDenver]

It seems a little strange that there hasn't been as much chatter about the potential starting lineup as there usually would be. I think it's because almost all these guys are new, and none of us have really seen these guys in action. It's actually a bit jarring to see the graphic above, and see all five potential starters wearing something other than a Hawkeye uniform.

With that said, I think the projection above might very well be correct. I could also see Howard or Koch taking Banks' spot.

It's been said that McCollum prefers short rotations, sometimes with only 7 or 8 guys playing, but I expect to see a larger rotation next year, with Stirtz, Hausen, Banks, Folgueiras, Manyawu, Combs, Howard, Koch, Jirak, and Thompson all seeing action. That's 10 guys. I don't know who you leave out. You could even see Sage getting time, which would give you 11. To be clear, I'm not expecting an 11-man rotation; it's just hard for me to see who gets left on the bench -- each guy brings something to the table.

I agree, I could see most of the guys getting minutes. The guys least likely to get meaningful minutes would seem to be Matteoni and McCollum.
We will need some depth to keep guys fresh and to stay our of foul trouble in the B1G so I can easily see a 10 or 11 man rotation.
I guess it all depends on how well each player understands the offense, plays selflessly, and shows consistent defensive effort.

 

[HawkInDenver]

For a freshman big man, he's got a pretty good offensive game, from ALL 3 LEVELS.

Given his size and athleticism for a big guy I see him getting minutes. Centers tend to have the most foul trouble so we will need depth here.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Really impressed with how well Ben put this roster together. I'm excited to see them play!

 

[TrojanHawkeye]

Given his size and athleticism for a big guy I see him getting minutes. Centers tend to have the most foul trouble so we will need depth here.

and Fran didn't want him

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[eyesofhawk]

Really impressed with how well Ben put this roster together. I'm excited to see them play!

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

 

[Max Rebo]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

 

[TrojanHawkeye]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

Assumption being they weren't welcomed back? IDK. I think he inherited almost nothing.

There are 7 guards according to the official roster, and one G/F. Only 1 center and it's a freshman. That seems like it might be a gap.

He has 4 freshman, 2 RS freshman, 2 sophs, 3 juniors and 3 seniors. And he had to recruit all of them, even Coop.

Nearly everyone was hoping for a clean slate, a fresh start. Well, we got one.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

Jesus

 

[HMB Trumpet]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

Agreed that the Hawks probably could use another guard and also a true center, but why do you assume that Ben made missteps regarding the guys who retained eligibility? Ben specifically mentioned three by name that he wanted to stay (Dix, Pryce, and Koch). Freeman was leaving regardless. Harding could have stayed if here were willing to be PG2 behind Stirtz, but apparently he wasn't. Freeman leaving likely was a key factor, too. The Hawks won't miss Traore, Dembele, Tadjo, or Mulvey.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Assumption being they weren't welcomed back? IDK. I think he inherited almost nothing.

There are 7 guards according to the official roster, and one G/F. Only 1 center and it's a freshman. That seems like it might be a gap.

He has 4 freshman, 2 RS freshman, 2 sophs, 3 juniors and 3 seniors. And he had to recruit all of them, even Coop.

Nearly everyone was hoping for a clean slate, a fresh start. Well, we got one.

There’s actually quite a bit pointing to a strong possibility that only a few were welcomed back.

Ben inherited "almost nothing"? Well again, nobody from an entire roster of players had transferred before Ben got to Iowa.

It's fair to say Freeman was probably gone regardless. Especially considering Dix's family situation, there's certainly a reasonable chance that he was gone as well. But I just don't buy that every scholarship player, other than Koch, chose to leave on his own.

Those players didn't seem to find better situations. Iowa wasn't a more attractive option to even one of the incoming freshmen? That's hard to believe. As for the guys who had already been playing for the Hawks, it's also very hard to believe that not one of them wanted to stay. And the team played far too hard and connected at the end of last season to have indicated them all having been checked out at that time.

7 guards:
Stirtz
Combs
Hausen
Sage
Howard
McCollum
N. Koch

McCollum and N. Koch are walk-ons.

Many teams would list Sage and Howard as forwards.

Hausen is a classic shooter.

Stirtz and Combs are the PG's. Absolutely cannot afford either of them to get hurt.

Furthermore, even as a well-coached team defense, it's going to be a constant challenge to keep the waves of quickness in the big ten from getting downhill.

Combs is the player closest to possessing true guard quickness defensively. Stirtz maxes out his quickness, size, intelligence, positioning, technique, competitiveness, to get the job done defensively. Banks, the G/F, is the player next closest to possessing true guard quickness defensively.

There is good length on the wing. And good defense versatility throughout the roster. And again, the defense will be a well-coached unit.

But there's clearly room for another ball handler with lateral defensives quicks. And Ben agreed, when it appeared Willamson was aquired.

Never understood why a clean slate was necessary

 

[eyesofhawk]

Agreed that the Hawks probably could use another guard and also a true center, but why do you assume that Ben made missteps regarding the guys who retained eligibility? Ben specifically mentioned three by name that he wanted to stay (Dix, Pryce, and Koch). Freeman was leaving regardless. Harding could have stayed if here were willing to be PG2 behind Stirtz, but apparently he wasn't. Freeman leaving likely was a key factor, too. The Hawks won't miss Traore, Dembele, Tadjo, or Mulvey.

Not necessarily missteps with those players.

But the roster appears at least a guard short. That didn't appear to be what was desired by Ben, so something must not have gone as planned.

It did not appear most guys were welcomed back. If all those doors were shut and Iowa ended up without a full roster, that just doesn't make sense to me.

Traore wasn't necessarily the guard type I was looking for. But he, without question, makes this roster better. He could at least guard most 2-guards. And his defensive versatility and athletiscm could certainly have been used.

A guy like Lewis or Johnson-Arigu would also be welcomed. All of these guys are better than an empty roster spot.

I would also prefer Dembele to an empty roster spot. Actually, that can be said for everyone

 

[Franisdaman]

I think right now you can pencil in 4 starters; after that, who knows....

There are 3 seniors on the 14 person roster (13 on scholarship).

6'4 G Bennett Stirtz (SR)
6'4 G Brendan Hausen (SR)
6'9 F Alvaro Folgueiras (JR)
6'8 F Cam Manyawu (JR)

6'7 G/F Tavion Banks (SR)
6'8 F Trey Thompson (FR)
6'8 F Cooper Koch (RS FR)
6'9 F Joey Matteoni (RS FR)
6'11 C Trevin Jirak (FR)

6'4 G Kael Combs (JR)
6'5 G Isaia Howard (SO)

6'7 G Tate Sage (FR)
6'2 G Peyton McCollum (FR)

6'2 G Jacob Koch (SO)

 

[HawksRule73]

I think right now you can pencil in 4 starters; after that, who knows....

There are 3 seniors on the 14 person roster (13 on scholarship).

6'4 G Bennett Stirtz (SR)
6'4 G Brendan Hausen (SR)
6'9 F Alvaro Folgueiras (JR)
6'8 F Cam Manyawu (JR)

6'7 G/F Tavion Banks (SR)
6'8 F Trey Thompson (FR)
6'8 F Cooper Koch (RS FR)
6'9 F Joey Matteoni (RS FR)
6'11 C Trevin Jirak (FR)

6'4 G Kael Combs (JR)
6'5 G Isaia Howard (SO)

6'7 G Tate Sage (FR)
6'2 G Peyton McCollum (FR)

6'2 G Jacob Koch (SO)

I think that 5th guy depends on how Ben wants to play.

I think Banks has thrived as a 6th man off the bench, so I think he stays there.

In my mind, that means either Cooper starts at the 4 in order to have more 3 pt shooting on the floor and Cam plays the 5 or Jirak starts at the 5 in order to have more defensive presence and rebounding and Cam plays the 4.

 

[Pharcyded]

I think that 5th guy depends on how Ben wants to play.

I think Banks has thrived as a 6th man off the bench, so I think he stays there.

In my mind, that means either Cooper starts at the 4 in order to have more 3 pt shooting on the floor and Cam plays the 5 or Jirak starts at the 5 in order to have more defensive presence and rebounding and Cam plays the 4.

Perhaps, but what I've heard of Banks is that he's an athletic freak and now has a shot to go along with his stellar defense. I think he gets the nod as a starter.

 

[Franisdaman]

I think that 5th guy depends on how Ben wants to play.

I think Banks has thrived as a 6th man off the bench, so I think he stays there.

In my mind, that means either Cooper starts at the 4 in order to have more 3 pt shooting on the floor and Cam plays the 5 or Jirak starts at the 5 in order to have more defensive presence and rebounding and Cam plays the 4.

Perhaps, but what I've heard of Banks is that he's an athletic freak and now has a shot to go along with his stellar defense. I think he gets the nod as a starter.

I am excited to see how our "big 3" (Stirtz, Hausen and Folgueiras) come out of the gates....

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

Very happy to have Ben. I think he'll do very well, and believe the state of Iowa blessed to have him.

That being said, I can't agree with your assessment of the roster construction, considering it appears at least a guard short.

I don't understand how that can happen when essentially a full roster was inherited. I questioned, from the start, why it appeared that most of that roster was not welcomed back. It seems the staff may have taken a misstep somewhere along the way in the roster construction

??????????? A full roster "was inherited"? What does that even mean? Koch and one walk on stayed. Thats it out of 13 guys. Ben made an effort to keep Dix and Price I believe. They said no thanks. Who else on last years roster was worth worrying about? Especially guards? Kingsbury, who should never have been on scholarship at Iowa? As for "a guard short", Frans roster was short guards the last several years, so this is an major upgrade.

 

[Pharcyded]

I am excited to see how our "big 3" (Stirtz, Hausen and Folgueiras) come out of the gates....

I loved Fran's offense and was a supporter but I'm excited to see what a BM coached team does all around, especially on defense. It will be nice that other teams will have to work for it against Iowa's D.

 

[eyesofhawk]

??????????? A full roster "was inherited"? What does that even mean? Koch and one walk on stayed. Thats it out of 13 guys. Ben made an effort to keep Dix and Price I believe. They said no thanks. Who else on last years roster was worth worrying about? Especially guards? Kingsbury, who should never have been on scholarship at Iowa? As for "a guard short", Frans roster was short guards the last several years, so this is an major upgrade.

Responses to most of this can be found in posts #55/56.

This isn't a Ben vs Fran thing. It's a Ben vs Ben thing.

I'm quite confident that I'll be praising Ben in heaps over the next several years. But I'm not going to praise a roster build that hasn't even filled out the scholarships.

No, the roster is not a "major upgrade" over the rosters of the last several years. Not sure if that's exactly what you meant to say. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from last year's roster. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from the players that were here (including incoming class) when Ben was hired.

To me, the latter is the most relevant comparison, as it involves the work and decisions put into this roster build.

Again, it's fair to assume a couple of those guys might have left, regardless of Ben's efforts. But again, everyone that left did it on Ben's watch. Given that we don't have all of the inside information, and for the sake of simplicity, I'll include all of the players (including Freeman, Dix, etc.) in that roster comparison.

And when doing so, the rosters are found to be about as close in overall strength as you can get.

A "major roster upgrade" just isn't accurate.
That narrative has basically just been a case of media and fans doing what they do. And the team success' of both Iowa and Drake have been way overvalued in the evaluations of the players as individuals

 

[Slim45]

There’s actually quite a bit pointing to a strong possibility that only a few were welcomed back.

Ben inherited "almost nothing"? Well again, nobody from an entire roster of players had transferred before Ben got to Iowa.

It's fair to say Freeman was probably gone regardless. Especially considering Dix's family situation, there's certainly a reasonable chance that he was gone as well. But I just don't buy that every scholarship player, other than Koch, chose to leave on his own.

Those players didn't seem to find better situations. Iowa wasn't a more attractive option to even one of the incoming freshmen? That's hard to believe. As for the guys who had already been playing for the Hawks, it's also very hard to believe that not one of them wanted to stay. And the team played far too hard and connected at the end of last season to have indicated them all having been checked out at that time.

7 guards:
Stirtz
Combs
Hausen
Sage
Howard
McCollum
N. Koch

McCollum and N. Koch are walk-ons.

Many teams would list Sage and Howard as forwards.

Hausen is a classic shooter.

Stirtz and Combs are the PG's. Absolutely cannot afford either of them to get hurt.

Furthermore, even as a well-coached team defense, it's going to be a constant challenge to keep the waves of quickness in the big ten from getting downhill.

Combs is the player closest to possessing true guard quickness defensively. Stirtz maxes out his quickness, size, intelligence, positioning, technique, competitiveness, to get the job done defensively. Banks, the G/F, is the player next closest to possessing true guard quickness defensively.

There is good length on the wing. And good defense versatility throughout the roster. And again, the defense will be a well-coached unit.

But there's clearly room for another ball handler with lateral defensives quicks. And Ben agreed, when it appeared Willamson was aquired.

Never understood why a clean slate was necessary

Does it even cross your mind as to why that is?

 

[eyesofhawk]

Does it even cross your mind as to why that is?

Yes.

And it wasn’t solely for the reason you are implying

 

[HawksRule73]

Responses to most of this can be found in posts #55/56.

This isn't a Ben vs Fran thing. It's a Ben vs Ben thing.

I'm quite confident that I'll be praising Ben in heaps over the next several years. But I'm not going to praise a roster build that hasn't even filled out the scholarships.

No, the roster is not a "major upgrade" over the rosters of the last several years. Not sure if that's exactly what you meant to say. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from last year's roster. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from the players that were here (including incoming class) when Ben was hired.

To me, the latter is the most relevant comparison, as it involves the work and decisions put into this roster build.

Again, it's fair to assume a couple of those guys might have left, regardless of Ben's efforts. But again, everyone that left did it on Ben's watch. Given that we don't have all of the inside information, and for the sake of simplicity, I'll include all of the players (including Freeman, Dix, etc.) in that roster comparison.

And when doing so, the rosters are found to be about as close in overall strength as you can get.

A "major roster upgrade" just isn't accurate.
That narrative has basically just been a case of media and fans doing what they do. And the team success' of both Iowa and Drake have been way overvalued in the evaluations of the players as individuals

I'm sorry, but this year's roster is miles better than last year's roster.

We have infinitely more athleticism on this year's roster than last year's and it's not even close.

We have a legitimate national player of the year candidate on this year's roster.

We have bigger, stronger guys at every position compared to last year, which should translate into not being one of the worst rebounding teams in the country.

I'm sorry, but the facts don't support your argument.

 

[Slim45]

Yes.

And it wasn’t solely for the reason you are implying

 

[SA_Hawk]

The Locked on Hawkeyes pod mentioned a possible roster addition from a player that was just granted an additional year of eligibility?

 

[eyesofhawk]

I'm sorry, but this year's roster is miles better than last year's roster.

We have infinitely more athleticism on this year's roster than last year's and it's not even close.

We have a legitimate national player of the year candidate on this year's roster.

We have bigger, stronger guys at every position compared to last year, which should translate into not being one of the worst rebounding teams in the country.

I'm sorry, but the facts don't support your argument.

I didn't compare last year's roster to this year's

 

[Pharcyded]

The Locked on Hawkeyes pod mentioned a possible roster addition from a player that was just granted an additional year of eligibility?

Thewell by chance? I'd take him back for another year.

 

[HawksRule73]

I didn't compare last year's roster to this year's

You literally said, “The rosters are found to be about as close in overall strength as you can get.” when comparing last year’s roster to this year’s.

And that’s just patently untrue.

 

[eyesofhawk]

You literally said, “The rosters are found to be about as close in overall strength as you can get.” when comparing last year’s roster to this year’s.

And that’s just patently untrue.

Nope.

What you are attributing to my post history is patently untrue.

I compared this season's roster to the roster (including incoming class) that was in place at the time of Ben's hire (all the players that "departed" + Koch).

Again, those two rosters are strikingly even

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Hawksfor3]

The "Banks" of Iowa. Love it. Inspiration for sure.

 

[83Hawk]

I'm sorry, but this year's roster is miles better than last year's roster.

We have infinitely more athleticism on this year's roster than last year's and it's not even close.

We have a legitimate national player of the year candidate on this year's roster.

We have bigger, stronger guys at every position compared to last year, which should translate into not being one of the worst rebounding teams in the country.

I'm sorry, but the facts don't support your argument.

I believe this year’s roster, overall, is better than last year. At 7-13 in conference and 17-16 overall, the team was underwhelming at best.

With the upgrade in talent and significant upgrade in the head coach (in my opinion), I expect the Hawks to have a better record, and be more competitive. But it’s all speculation at this point. Nobody “knows” for sure how things will shake out. We’ll find out soon enough.

While I look forward to the season every year, I am even more excited for this season. I think Ben will do very, very well at Iowa.

 

[Palmerhawk]

The Locked on Hawkeyes pod mentioned a possible roster addition from a player that was just granted an additional year of eligibility?

Does this rumor have legs?
If drew thelwell was back I would feel very good with our roster...backup pg is needed to take pressure off of stirtz.

 

[2212hawk2]

Does this rumor have legs?
If drew thelwell was back I would feel very good with our roster...backup pg is needed to take pressure off of stirtz.

Kind of doubt it would be Drew. He has already signed a contract with a pro team in France.

Who knows anymore though.

 

[HMB Trumpet]

Thewell by chance? I'd take him back for another year.

Do we know for sure if this player was a Hawk? If so, then Thelwell would be a great addition. Brauns would be another guy who could help. They need another PG and a center.

 

[HMB Trumpet]

Responses to most of this can be found in posts #55/56.

This isn't a Ben vs Fran thing. It's a Ben vs Ben thing.

I'm quite confident that I'll be praising Ben in heaps over the next several years. But I'm not going to praise a roster build that hasn't even filled out the scholarships.

No, the roster is not a "major upgrade" over the rosters of the last several years. Not sure if that's exactly what you meant to say. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from last year's roster. Maybe you meant it's a major upgrade from the players that were here (including incoming class) when Ben was hired.

To me, the latter is the most relevant comparison, as it involves the work and decisions put into this roster build.

Again, it's fair to assume a couple of those guys might have left, regardless of Ben's efforts. But again, everyone that left did it on Ben's watch. Given that we don't have all of the inside information, and for the sake of simplicity, I'll include all of the players (including Freeman, Dix, etc.) in that roster comparison.

And when doing so, the rosters are found to be about as close in overall strength as you can get.

A "major roster upgrade" just isn't accurate.
That narrative has basically just been a case of media and fans doing what they do. And the team success' of both Iowa and Drake have been way overvalued in the evaluations of the players as individuals

You can make the argument for overall roster strength being similar, but it matters where the particular strengths are. The Hawks got a major upgrade at PG.

 

[Hawksfor3]

The Locked on Hawkeyes pod mentioned a possible roster addition from a player that was just granted an additional year of eligibility?

Former Iowa Men's Basketball player Drew Thelwell is headed to France

The Iowa Men's Basketball program is continuing its rebuild following a disastrous 2024-2025 season. In Fran McCaffery's final season at the helm of the Hawkeye

dearoldgold.com