Big men were high on the priority list for Iowa entering the offseason, and on Monday the Hawkeyes landed a key target -- Valparaiso's Ben Krikke.
Krikke, listed at 6'9", 235 lb, is a Canadian-born F/C who has led the Beacons in scoring for the last three years, including a MVC-best 19.4 points per game last season. As a graduate transfer, Krikke has one year of eligibility remaining.
In addition to his 19.4 ppg last season, Krikke also posted career-best numbers in rebounding (5.9 per game) and assists (2.1 per game). Those numbers earned Krikke first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, the third consecutive season he's earned All-MVC honors (he was also named to the third team in 2020-21 and 2021-22).
Valparaiso used Krikke heavily last season (25.9% of possessions), but he was able to improve his efficiency numbers as well. Krikke shot 59.1% on 2-point attempts, part of an 56.6% effective field goal percentage.
He's also a very good free throw shooter, making 79.7% free throws last season (on 143 attempts), which was in line with a career average around 80% as well. That's a very positive sign for an Iowa offense that relies on getting to the free throw line often.
Offensively, Krikke is a high IQ player and a very good scorer. He's strong in transition and does a lot of his damage around the basket and in the paint. He relies on good positioning in the paint to score a lot of his buckets, though he's also a very capable pick-and-roll player.
He's not likely to stretch the floor too much -- he was just 16/59 (27%) from 3-point range last season, in line with his career average of 27% from deep. Krikke also is not a great rebounder for his size, nor is he the strongest interior defender. Those are areas where Iowa will no doubt look to help him improve this offseason.
With Filip Rebraca graduating, Kris Murray departing for the NBA Draft, and Josh Ogundele entering the transfer portal, Iowa was in significant need for contributors at the F/C positions in 2023-24. Krikke could be the second former Missouri Valley Conference big man to join Iowa this offseason, as Belmont big man Even Brauns is also expected to transfer to Iowa.
Even with those additions, Iowa may still look to add at least one more big through the transfer portal. Iowa has at least one (and possibly two, pending the status of Brauns) scholarship remaining for the 2023-24 season. Krikke joins Riley Mulvey and incoming freshmen Ladji Dembele and Owen Freeman as known frontcourt options for the Hawkeyes next season.
