On Friday, Iowa called an end to the Fran McCaffery era in Iowa City, parting ways with McCaffery after 15 years in charge. Over the course of that decade and a half, we saw many very good and great players suit up in black and gold and lead Iowa to success. 14 different players earned some form of All-Big Ten recognition; five of those players earned All-America honors as well.

Given that impressive history, we thought it would be fun to come up with our best starting five of Iowa players from the McCaffery era at Iowa. We're sticking to a starting five with two guards, two forwards, and a big man -- plus a bonus sixth man off the bench.

It's been a long time since Roy Devyn Marble, the son of Hawkeye legend Roy Marble, suited up in Iowa City, so it's easy to forget just how good -- and how unique -- he was as a Hawkeye. Marble was one of McCaffery's first recruits at Iowa and he improved significantly over the course of his career, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior in 2013 and then leveling up to first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2014.

Marble averaged 17.0 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.2 rpg, and 1.8 spg as a senior and his ability to impact the game in so many ways was what really made him such a standout player. He finished in the top 10 in several career stats at Iowa (including points, assists, and steals) and was, at the time of his graduation, just the second Big Ten player to have 1,675+ points, 375+ assists, 350+ rebounds, and 175+ steals in a career. He did a little bit of everything at Iowa -- and did it all well.

Peter Jok's time at Iowa doesn't always get a lot of love, perhaps because it wasn't the most successful period for Iowa as a team. During Jok's two years as a star for Iowa, 2015-16 and 2016-17, Iowa made the NCAA Tournament (2016) but got blasted by Villanova in the second round and lost in the second round of the NIT (2017). Still, Jok himself was one of the best guards of the McCaffery era.

Jok was a highly-touted recruit before serious injury partially derailed his prep career at West Des Moines Valley, but he became one of the smoothest and most skilled shooters in Iowa history during his career in Iowa City. Jok averaged 16.1 ppg as a junior and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. As a senior, Jok led the Big Ten in scoring with 19.9 ppg and earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition, as well as honorable mention All-America consideration.

Jok was a dead-eye shooter in college, hitting 40.2% (80-of-199) of his 3s as a junior and 38% (84-of-221) of his triples as a senior. Jok showed his 3-point shooting prowess in winning the college 3-point shooting contest after the 2017 season. He was also one of the best three throw shooters in Iowa history, finishing his career as Iowa's all-time leader in career free throw shooting (88.1%) and single-season (91.1%) free throw shooting percentage.

Jordan Bohannon (2017-22)

Choosing between Jok and Bohannon for the other starting guard spot wasn't easy, but ultimately I favored Jok for his All-Big Ten recognition, his improved defense, and the his overall ability as a pure scorer. But Bohannon has a pretty strong case as well -- he's Iowa's all-time leader in assists (709), 3-pointers made (455), and free throw percentage (88.7%) and he's third all-time in scoring (2,035 points).

While Bohannon's pursuit of those records was helped by the fact that he also played an Iowa (and NCAA) record 179 games in Iowa City, the fact is that he broke the assist and 3-pointers made records in four (or fewer) seasons of work. He has more 10+ assist games (8) and points-assists double-doubles (7) than any other player in Iowa history. Not to mention his ice-cold free throw shooting at the end of games or the bevy of clutch game-winning shots he drained over the years.

Joe Wieskamp (2019-21)

After a dazzling high school career in Muscatine, Joe Wieskamp hit the ground running in Iowa City, starting as a freshman and holding that starting spot for all three years that he was at Iowa. Wieskamp was one of the few Hawkeyes who left early for the NBA Draft; had he stayed all four years, there's little doubt that he would rank highly in a lot of Iowa's career statistical categories.

Wieskamp earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2020 after finishing second on the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg) and second-team All-Big Ten consideration in 2021 after again finishing second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). Wieskamp was another lights-out free throw shooter and a sharpshooter from long range, making 46.2% of his threes as a junior in 2020-21.

The only knock on Keegan Murray in terms of making Iowa's all-time starting five for the McCaffery era is longevity -- he spent just two years in Iowa City before heading to the NBA. I don't think longevity matters as much when you're as outstanding as Murray was in those two years -- especially his sophomore year, when he exploded from sixth man to superstar.

After averaging 7.2 ppg and 5.1 rpg as a freshman and key backup, Murray blew up as sophomore, averaging 23.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.9 bpg, and 1.3 spg. He broke the Iowa single-season records for points (822), field goals made (307), and field goals attempted (554). He had five 30+ point games, including one in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to lead Iowa past Indiana.

He earned first-team All-Big Ten and consensus first-team All-America honors, was the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year, and a finalist for multiple national player of the year honors and had a season that was statistically only comparable to Kevin Durant (800+ points, 60+ blocks, 60+ 3-pointers). And then he became Iowa's highest-selected player (4th overall) in the history of the NBA Draft. For having one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of Iowa basketball, he has to be part of this starting five.

Aaron White, like Murray, was a lightly-recruited high school prospect who blossomed into an all-conference caliber player under the tutelage of McCaffery and the Iowa coaching staff. White went from being a promising player as a freshman (earning a spot on the Big Ten's All-Freshman team) to a locked-in starter during this final three years at Iowa, earning third-team All-Big Ten recognition in 2012-13 and 2013-14 before breaking through with first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2014-15.

White shattered school records for free throws made (618) and attempted (800) and at the time he graduated, his 618 free throws were the most by any Big Ten player in 50 years. White was also second all-time in scoring and third in rebounding when his Iowa career ended. On top of his statistical brilliance, White was one of the most crowd-pleasing players during his time at Iowa, a constant threat on lob dunks and fast breaks. Finally, he powered Iowa to its first NCAA Tournament win in 14 years in 2015, scoring 26 points in Iowa's 83-52 first round rout of Davidson.

Jarrod Uthoff (2013-16)

In the pre-transfer portal era, Jarrod Uthoff's decision to move from Wisconsin back to his home-state Hawkeyes proved to be hugely contentious. Uthoff didn't see the court at Iowa until the 2013-14 season -- but he was more than worth the wait. A skilled player with an uncommon combination of length, fluid athleticism, and smooth multi-level scoring ability, Uthoff made an immediate impact at Iowa.

A prototypical modern big, Uthoff had the length and defensive instincts to guard anywhere on the floor, as well as the touch in the paint and from beyond the arc to be a dangerous scorer from any spot. He earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition in 2014-15 (a season in which he was the only Division I player with 50+ 3s, 55+ blocks, and 35+ steals) before earning unanimous first-team All-Big honors as a senior, as well as second- and third-team All-America recognition after averaging 18.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 2.6 bpg.

Kris Murray (2021-23)

Kris Murray, the twin brother of Keegan, spent one more year in Iowa City than his brother, and used that extra year as his own starring showcase. After two seasons on the bench, Kris entered the starting lineup in 2022-23 -- and immediately became a star. He led the team in scoring (20.2 ppg), rebounding (7.9 rpg), blocks (1.2 bpg), and 3-pointers made (66), the only Division I player to post numbers like that.

Murray was named first-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-American for his efforts in 2022-23 and was a finalist for several national player of the year awards. Like Keegan, he left Iowa early for the NBA; also like Keegan, he ended up being a first-round NBA Draft pick as well.

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Luka Garza is, hands down, the biggest lock to be included in this starting five. Garza was not just the best Iowa player of the McCaffery era; he has a very strong case to be the greatest player in the history of the Iowa program, full stop. Arriving as a 4-star prospect, Garza blossomed into one of the best players in the country -- and arguably the greatest in Hawkeye history -- thanks to the coaching he received from McCaffery and his staff, as well as his own indefatigable work ethic.

Garza averaged 12.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg as a freshman before going for 13.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg as a sophomore. 2019-20, Garza's junior year, was when he really took things to another level, though, erupting for 23.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, and 1.8 bpg and then going off for 24.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 1.6 bpg as a senior in 2020-21. Garza ended his career as Iowa's all-time leader in points (2,306), field goals made (870), and field goals attempted (1,594) and is also tied for the most 30-point games (13) and 40-point games (2).

In addition to the stats, Garza's awards haul is incomparable; he was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, two-time national player of the year, a consensus first-team All-American in 2020 and 2021 and a two-time winner of the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year awards. On an individual level, Garza did it all -- and did it better than anyone in the history of Iowa basketball.

Adam Woodbury (2013-16)

With all respect to Filip Rebraca, who earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition in 2023, I think this spot has to go to Adam Woodbury, a resolute presence in the post for Iowa basketball for four years in the early-to-mid '10s. Though he didn't earn a lot of individual accolades -- mainly just an honorable mention All-Big Ten nod in 2016 -- Woodbury was a key figure on teams that made an NIT final and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Iowa posted a defensive efficiency of 34th or better in three of the four seasons Woodbury suited up for Iowa. While he wasn't the only reason for that -- Iowa had some better perimeter defenders at the time, as well as the presence of Jarrod Uthoff, a tremendous athlete with impressive wingpsan and defensive instincts -- his presence as a rim protector and interior defender was vital to the success of those defenses. Woodbury wasn't always a big numbers guy -- though he did average 10+ rebounds in Big Ten play as a senior (the first Iowa player since Reggie Evans to do that) -- but he was a very important presence for some very solid Iowa teams.

And finally, the sixth man for this team:

Nicholas Baer was one of the best stories of the McCaffery era, a walk-on from Bettendorf who became an integral part of the Iowa team and earned a scholarship for his final two years on campus. After averaging 4.8 ppg and 2.6 rpg as a freshman, Baer made himself indispensable as a sophomore, averaging 7.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 spg, and 1.3 bpg en route to being named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

Whatever you needed Nicholas Baer to do, he could do it -- and do it well. Baer led Iowa in blocks and steals as a sophomore and senior (and was second in blocks as a junior, the only thing preventing him from leading Iowa in those categories three straight seasons). At the time he graduated, Baer was the only player in Iowa history with at least 750 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 100 blocks, and 100 three-pointers made in his career. He was a swiss army knife of a player and a key member of those Hawkeye squads.

Gabe Olaseni (2012-15)

Iowa had three players earn Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year honors during the McCaffery era -- Baer (2017), Olaseni (2015), and Payton Sandfort (2023), but few players better embody the spirit of being a sixth man better than Baer or Olaseni. Olaseni started just one game his entire Iowa career -- Senior Day in 2015.

Despite almost never starting, Olaseni scored in double figures 22 times in his Iowa career and had six double-doubles. He improved his scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots numbers every season at Iowa, peaking as a senior with 8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 1.6 bpg. Olaseni was a boon to Iowa's defensive efforts (he had 141 blocks at Iowa, 5th most all-time) and was a constant source of energy off the bench.

Agree with our starting five? Disagree?

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