Iowa Men's Basketball 2023-24: Frontcourt Breakdown
The 2023-24 season for Iowa men's basketball squad gets underway on Monday, October 30 as they take on DII Quincy in an exhibition contest in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (7 PM CT, BTN+).
Now that we've taken a look at what the Hawks have on offer in the backcourt, let's take a look at Fran McCaffery's frontcourt and what it will bring this season.
What's Gone?
The two players who saw the most minutes for the Hawkeyes last season, Kris Murray (1,010) and Filip Rebraca (1,040) have moved on from the program.
After an outstanding junior year where he put up 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and two assists per game, Murray was taken with the 21st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He made his NBA debut for the Blazers on Wednesday, grabbing a rebound in five minutes of playing time.
After a highly productive senior campaign where he averaged 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, Rebraca signed a professional contract in his come country of Serbia. He now plays for Borac Mozzart of the AdmiralBet ABA League.
In addition to Murray and Rebraca, the Hawkeyes lost Josh Ogundele, a 6'10", 275-pound big who transferred to Middle Tennessee State. An international prospect from London, England, Ogundele never became a big contributor for the Hawkeyes. Over three seasons in Iowa City, he averaged 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds over 38 games.
Payton Sandfort
6'7" -- 215 lbs -- Junior -- Waukee, Iowa
2022-23 Production Per Game: 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists
2022-23 Shooting Percentages: FG 40.4% | 3PT 34.3% | FT 86.4%
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year in the Big Ten and part of the Julius Erving Award Watch List to enter this season, Payton Sandfort has the highest ceiling of Iowa's returning contributors from last season's team.
"He's got a complete skill set that's why we recruited him in the first place," McCaffery said at Iowa basketball media day. "He's always been a great shooter. He was recognized by our league as Sixth Man of the Year. That's an impressive thing to have on your resumé because our league is so good and it's so deep. I think you could look last year and there's probably three or four games that you could argue he won for us almost by himself. That's impressive as well."
"So he's physically in a really good place. Now he's in year three with going through the lifting cycles. So his body is in a good place. I think he's very confident in himself. And we need him to be special this year. I think he expects that himself."
Expected to see a consistent starting role for the first time in his career, Sandfort may be in line for a big season. If one was to look at the current construction of the Iowa roster, Sandfort stands out as the team's potential leading scorer and the most efficient and consistent shooter on the team. Those who left Sandfort off their preseason All-Big Ten teams may be looking foolish by the end of the year.
Patrick McCaffery
6'9" -- 212 lbs -- Redshirt Senior -- Iowa City, Iowa
2022-23 Production Per Game: 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1 assist
2022-23 Shooting Percentages: 40.9 FG % | 3PT 34.3% | 77.1 FT %
Patrick McCaffery returns to Iowa City for this redshirt senior season with a lot of basketball under his belt. Like fellow veterans Tony Perkins and Sandfort, the Hawkeyes will need the middle McCaffery brother to help lead the way this season.
"I've really enjoyed [leading] so far," he said in July. "I talk a little bit more. I'm not going to be the guy that's breaking down every huddle -- that's not really who I am. But I talk a lot in our scrimmages, help set a standard. That's what I'm trying to do."
With the Murrays both gone, he sees more opportunity to score as well.
"We won't have anybody dominating the ball like Keegan and Kris have," Patrick said. "I expect my points and shots to go up. I've been working on a little bit of everything, but I want to be a knock-down shooter from the mid-range and the three."
Patrick will be looked to for a more consistent scoring role in 2023, and will be relied upon defensively with his 6'9" frame and long arms. Over the first three weeks of the season, Patrick averaged 16.2 points per game, but between December 29, 2022 and March 16, 2023, he only scored in double figures once. A redshirt senior, McCaffery will be needed in more ways than just leadership.
Ben Krikke
6'9" -- 245 lbs -- Graduate Student -- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2022-23 Production Per Game: 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists
2022-23 Shooting Percentages: FG 59.2% | 3PT 27.9% | FT 79.6%
A transfer from mid-major Valparaiso, Ben Krikke joins the Hawkeyes after leading the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring last season.
"He's a perfect fit for us," McCaffery said. "And that's why we went so hard at him out of the portal. Clearly, we needed that position with the departure of Kris."
"He's different than Kris, but he's big and physical. He's athletic. He's got an unbelievable motor. He can really score and never stops working. He's very competitive"
Following Krikke's commitment to Iowa, we spoke with Paul Oren, who has been on the Valpo basketball beat for 20 years and is now the owner and writer at TheVictoryBell.com. Oren gave us insight as to how the Edmonton, Alberta, native would fit in Iowa City.
"Ben Krikke is a phenomenal player that will now get the opportunity to play around other phenomenal players, and that could just ratchet his game up even higher," Oren said. "He could be a huge piece for Iowa's chances in the Big Ten and in the [NCAA] Tournament."
Though he is new to the team and to the Big Ten, Krikke may well be the engine that makes the Iowa offense go in 2023-24. Sandfort, Perkins, and Patrick McCaffery may be the most seasoned Hawkeyes, but the addition of a big with the college basketball experience and scoring expertise of Krikke could be the key cog in the Iowa offense this season.
Chances are he won't lead the Hawks in rebounding this season, but his impact on the movement and scoring of the ball offensively will be very substantial.
Even Brauns
6'9" -- 245 lbs -- Senior -- Iowa City, Iowa
2022-23 Production Per Game: 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.4 blocks
2022-23 Shooting Percentages: FG 58% | 3PT 0% | FT 68.9%
Like Krikke, Even Brauns also joins Iowa as a transfer from the Missouri Valley. He spent the first three years of his college basketball career at Belmont after playing his prep career at Iowa City West. He and Patrick McCaffery were teammates at West.
"[Patrick] was really happy for me," Brauns said in an exclusive interview following his decision to transfer. "He was a big reason why I transferred in the first place. He and I have talked throughout all of the seasons we've been in college. We shared a lot of the same problems and hardships. We're going to be roommates here, too."
"He's a great guy to have on our team," Patrick said in June. "He's still so athletic. Like, he puts his armpits in the rim when he dunks. He's a very smart player, too. He initiated a lot of their offense at Belmont. He's always going to play within himself and do the right thing."
Though Brauns hails from the same conference as Krikke, he'll bring a different skill set to the program. After the departure of Rebraca, Brauns will be looked to as a physical presence in the paint that will get rebounds and be a lob threat offensively. He'll set screens, get put-backs, get things started in transition, while also serving as an athletic rim protector on defense.
Owen Freeman
6'10" -- 230 lbs -- Freshman -- Moline, Illinois
Owen Freeman joins the program after spending his final prep season as teammates with fellow Iowa freshman, Brock Harding, in Moline, Illinois. He averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game as a senior, and McCaffery sees him as a contributor right away in Iowa City.
"Owen, he's going to be an impact player for us," he said. "A really good rebounder, physical. He's starting to figure it out."
He should make an immediate impact on the boards for the Hawkeyes while he continues to develop as an offensive asset.
"Owen is already 235 and he's pretty bouncy," McCaffery added "And right now he's just trying to figure out where to go in the offense. And I just keep trying to tell him to trust his talent, just move without the ball and don't be afraid to shoot. His shot looks pretty good. He didn't shoot it as much in high school from the perimeter as I think he should have. He's worked on that and he's making perimeter shots, too.
Though each of the four incoming freshman are expected to contribute in 2023, Freeman may be the top performer of the group. Between his existing connection with Harding, his ability to rebound, and a growing capacity to shoot the ball, Freeman has the potential to fit into a variety of lineups for the Hawkeyes.
Ladji Dembele
6'8" -- 250 lbs -- Freshman -- Newark, New Jersey
Another freshman that will contribute right away on the glass is Ladji Dembele, a former four-star recruit.
"He has been a phenomenally impressive rebounder every day since he got here which is what we need from that position," McCaffery said this summer. "I think that's what we expected, but most freshman don't come in and consistently rebound the way he has. It's there, we thought it was there, but everyday he's up over ten rebounds at practice."
The consistent, high-level rebounding is the first thing that jumps out, though he's more versatile than McCaffery had anticipated.
"Ladji, he's been impressive since he got here," he said. "I think my biggest challenge so far with him has been to get him to be more aggressive both physically in terms of posting up but more aggressive as a scorer because what he has done, he's been a physical defender and he's been a phenomenal rebounder, but he can score. And he can pass the ball. He moves the ball. He doesn't fight the game. He understands the game and makes plays and is a guy who comes from a very successful high school program that also had really good players."
As McCaffery and the Iowa staff do their best to bring out other facets of Dembele's game, the first-year forward will serve the team beast on the boards. Still learning as a defender and as an offensive threat, Dembele may be the freshman we see grow the most as an all-around basketball player this season.
Pryce Sandfort
6'6" -- 205 lbs -- Freshman -- Waukee, Iowa
Younger brother of Payton, Pryce Sandfort joins the program as a freshman this season.
"Pryce, we all know what he is," McCaffery said. "He can really shoot it but he's also incredibly versatile."
With that versatility, he said that coming in he had believed he had a chance to play right away, and it's looking like that's a real possibility.
"[Playing as a freshman] was obviously the goal," he said. "I just want to help this team any way I can. I have confidence in myself and the other freshmen. I figured we'd get the chance to help this team."
Like his older brother, Pryce's impact on the team this season will start and end with his ability to shoot the ball. During his senior year -- when he was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Iow a-- he made 90 threes while shooting 42.9% from deep at Waukee Northwest.
Riley Mulvey
6'11" -- 245 lbs -- Junior -- Rotterdam, New York
2022-23 Production Per Game: 0.9 points, 0.9 rebounds
2022-23 Shooting Percentages: FG 50% | 3PT 0% | FT 50%
Riley Mulvey is the tallest player on the Iowa roster once again this season, standing at 6'11", and 245-pounds. Though he is the largest in stature, he's likely to see the fewest minutes of anyone listed in the front court, as the Hawkeyes are much deeper in the post going into 2023 than they have been the last two years.
Even with Rebraca playing such a heavy amount of minutes last season and Ogundele barely seeing the floor, Mulvey played just 49 total minutes. Unless Mulvey has taken a big step forward during the offseason, he may not play many more minutes than that in 2023-24.