Ben McCollum describes his emotions around debut at Iowa

Ben McCollum made his debut earlier this week as the head coach at Iowa. It sounds, though, like he was just happy to have it out of the way.

Following a 101-69 win for Iowa over Robert Morris in his debut with the Hawkeyes, McCollum was asked what emotions he felt in his first game on their sideline. By the end, relief might be a good word for it, considering how much build-up there is for him before games anyway, but especially this one for his first outing inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“You know, not necessarily – I think, during the day, it’s like, I call it the game day misery. I mean, you’re just miserable on game day because you’re like, overthinking a bunch of things. And then, you kind of get like a fight or flight response, you know, before games. You get the tension and the nerves and stuff like that. You know, generally, I don’t have the flight response, so then it’s a fight response and so then it’s just time to fight. Let’s go,” McCollum said. “And, I just like it. I love competition. It’s what I like. Those half-second decisions, or second decisions? That’s what I’m good at. As our administration knows very well, if it’s a long-term decision, sometimes it takes me a little time.”

Asked again about it, McCollum did say that it’s probably more significant than even he realizes for himself, namely having been born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake. It’s also now important to have it out of the way for his family, too, with the McCollums having moved twice amidst his coaching changes the past two seasons from Northwest Missouri State, to Drake, and now to Iowa.

“You know, I think it is special. I probably don’t process that enough. I think, sometimes, if you process is too much, I think you can get complacent or kind of a sense of arrival that we just want to avoid. And so, it’s just trying to really build this thing into something special,” McCollum said. “You know, I think the coolest part, because it’s really hard because we moved twice with my family. It’s really hard on your wife. It’s really hard on your kids. And so, to kind of get to that game was good for them, you know. I mean, good for my son, Peyton, my son, Tate, my daughter, Grace, and obviously my wife, Michelle, because they do a lot of sacrificing. So, that’s probably the most special part of the moment is like, you know, they get to be a part of that, and it’s cool, it’s arrived. And now, you know, it’s on.”

As for the game, Iowa was balanced and incredibly efficient in the 32-point win over Robert Morris. The Hawkeyes shot 61.7% overall from the field, having assists on 21 of their 29 made shots, and 46.7% (7-15) from three as a team on offense, with six players scoring in double-figures led by Bennett Stirtz with a line of 19 points (6-10 FG, 2-5 3PT), six assists, and four steals.

Again, this was just game one of this tenure under McCollum. Iowa has more to do from there, starting with game two on Friday night, but with this setting the baseline for what he thinks the Hawkeyes should be.

“That’s what Iowa Basketball needs to be,” McCollum said. “Obviously, we’re still going to be a work in progress. We’ve got a long ways to go.”