IOWA CITY -- Following the departures of Ben Krikke and Patrick McCaffery, plus the addition of a highly-coveted transfer and a Rivals150 freshman over the offseason, Iowa's frontcourt is set to look vastly different in 2024.

Though Owen Freeman will remain the anchor at center, there are definite questions about who will start and hold down the majority of the minutes at the four. The versatility of Fran McCaffery's group allows for a host of possible lineups and for the contenders to play a variety of positions.

"All the guys that are competing for playing time there, they're all really good, and they're all different," McCaffery said on Tuesday afternoon. "Ladji (Dembele), Cooper (Koch), Seydou (Traore). But, again, all three of them, they're not four men. ... Ladji maybe more four, five. Coop and Seydou, maybe three, four. I would be comfortable playing Seydou in the back court. Same thing with Coop. Somebody is going to start there, but there are going to be a lot of different guys there."

Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball, and recruiting coverage. Sign up with Hawkeye Beacon here.

As McCaffery said, each of the trio of Dembele, Koch and Traore will bring different things to the table when they're on the court for the Hawkeyes. Let's take a look at each, what they could bring, and what they and their teammates are saying about the competition.

The only returning member from last season is Dembele, in his second year with the squad. During his freshman campaign with the Hawkeyes, the Mali, Africa native contributed in the frontcourt, averaging 2.2 points and two rebounds per game.

He's likely to see much more time on the floor in 2024.

"We saw what he could do last year," sophomore point guard Brock Harding said. "He's physical, rebounds and can guard multiple positions."

"Ladji is just huge, and a really good rebounder," Payton Sandfort added. "He's got tree trunks for legs. He shoots it well, has a great skillset and is an unbelievable screener."

More of a power forward/center combo as opposed to the other two, Dembele said the team's speed doesn't change when he shared the court with fellow big man, Owen Freeman.

"Owen and I, we kind of understand how we play with each other," Dembele said. "Because we started last year on the same spot. And it's kind of easy, because every time he get a rebound, I run. Every time I get a rebound, he runs. So, like, whoever is down there first, got to play inside. And we just kind of rotate, we interchange, so it's not, like, anything crazy or hard."

The freshman and newest of the three to college basketball is Cooper Koch, a former four-star prospect and one of the best shooters in his recruiting class. A legacy and son of former Iowa hooper JR Koch, expectations are high for the No. 118 player in the class of 2024.

"A lot of times when guys are great shooters, that's what they're called. He's a shooter," McCaffery said. "I remember I went to see him out west, and he had eight threes in a row, that kind of thing. You remember, he is 6'8", so he can score inside. He does offensive rebound. He can post up. So he is a three-level scorer."

It sounds as though his ability to shoot the rock will be his calling card and the reason he's able to get on the floor early as he adjusts to the college game.

"Cooper really stretches the floor," Sandfort said. "He gets it off quick, and he's able to play in the motion. He screens well, and does a lot of things."

Sandfort provides the model that Koch wants to follow in his early days at Iowa.

"I'm definitely just trying to learn from him as much as possible," Koch said. "I know he's come in, kind of tried to mentor me and take me under his wing, so being able to learn from him and try to build into the player he is has definitely helped."

Returning from an injury and subsequent surgery this summer, Koch is now back at 100%.

"He has done amazingly well coming back from that," McCaffery added. "I was blown away that he was able to maintain the intensity level that he has from the minute he came back. He was out for six weeks. Six weeks and one day he was sprinting the floor and competing."

One of the two transfers the Hawkeyes brought in this offseason, Traore is coming in from Manhattan University. A bit of a tweener, Traore could play positions 2-4 and defend positions 1-5.

"Seydou does it all," Sandfort said. "He's a really good player. He knows his role, and has been better in the motion than I anticipated at this point. That's been really impressive. He's more than capable of playing multiple positions."

"Being from the Bronx, he's hard-nosed," Harding added. "He can get a bucket whenever you need it. Bringing that aspect to the game -- that's really fun to see."

A scorer and rebounder that nearly averaged a double-double (11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game) for the Jaspers last season, Traore is hoping to bring that to his new team for the 2024-25 season.

"I'd bring a variety of different things to the four spot," he aid. "Being able to rebound at a high level, being able to score at all three levels."

He noted that moving up a level to the Big Ten and having an offseason in Iowa City has taken his development further as well.

"I spent tons of hours in the gym, just improving on my jump shot, my pace of the game, different things," he said. "Being the dog is just naturally in me, but just improving on the jump shot, the little things, sharpening on my game and staying consistent, I feel like I did a great job as well.

Possibly the most athletic player on the team, Traore adds an element the team didn't have in the front court last season.

"There are going to be more alley-oops this year," Harding said. "When you've got a guy like Sey, you can throw it up and he'll go get it."