Analyzing the 2023-24 Iowa Men's Roster

Hawkeye Hoops Mixing Returners, Transfers, Freshmen

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Six players will be tipping off their Iowa Basketball careers next month when the team reconvenes for summer workouts. With a pair of transfer portal additions and four true freshmen wrapping up high school, a Hawkeye roster review and how the pieces fit seems in order. 

Let's start at the top. Most successful teams around here need consistent production from veterans. These dudes know the lay of the land and what it takes to win at this level. 

Patrick McCaffery, Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort are the core trio. That follows Connor McCaffery, Filip Rebraca and Kris Murray last season, and Connor McCaffery, Jordan Bohannon and Keegan Murray a year before that. You'll find that winning formula throughout the Fran McCaffery era of 12 years. 

Getting there has shifted during the last few years. The presence of the transfer portal and NIL has changed how rosters are built. We can't quantify how Iowa's resources compare with the competition. Safe to say it's not on Kansas' level. 

Once again, the Hawkeyes will be leaning on players developed in their system to lead. Perhaps one of them will emerge as a first-team all-Big Ten performer like the program has produced in eight of Fran McCaffery's 12 seasons. 

Perkins (6-4, 205) has flashed all-conference upside. The senior ranked third on the '22-23 Iowa squad in scoring (12.3 PPG) and rebounding (4.1 RPG), and finished second in assists (2.8 APG). He reached double figures in scoring during 20 of 32 games, a percentage that needs to rise this winter. 

Iowa won two in a row before dropping its final three contests last season. In the victories, which came against Michigan State and Indiana, Perkins averaged 23.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists. In the setbacks, he posted 10.0 points, 5.0 boards and 1.0 assists. 

The Hawkeyes would benefit if Patrick McCaffery (6-9, 210) finds consistency when healthy. The ability is present for a versatile forward who averaged 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 27 games (14 starts) last winter. It comes down to him playing within the flow of the game and making good decisions. 

Sandfort (6-7, 215) was named the Big Ten's sixth man of the year after averaging 10.3 points and 4.1 rebounds last year. He played 20.7 minutes a game off of the bench, a number expected to rise in '23-24. 

The Waukee (IA) High graduate is known as a shooter but is capable of contributing in other areas, including rebounding, passing and defense. Like Perkins and Patrick McCaffery, consistently contributing even when his shot isn't falling makes the Hawkeyes better. 

Josh Dix and Dasonte Bowen are returning for their second seasons and opportunity exists for increased roles. Bowen (6-2, 174) is competing for the starting point guard spot. Dix (6-5, 192) could see minutes on and off the ball, as he did a year ago. 

Bowen averaged 12.7 minutes through the first 15 games in which he appeared. He averaged just 3.6 in the last 11 contests in which he played. It did look like the game slowed down for him a bit late in the campaign. 

A second chance to run the show is there for Bowen with last year's starting point guard, Ahron Ulis, transferring to Nebraska. Bowen will compete with incoming freshman Brock Harding at point with Dix and Perkins also capable of running the one. Walk-on Amarion Nimmers is pursuing minutes at lead guard as well. 

As he usually does, Fran McCaffery has a roster of multi-positional players at his disposal. The ability to mix and match opens the door for plenty of possibilities. 

In addition to Perkins, Dix, Patrick McCaffery and Payton Sandfort on the wing, Iowa welcomes freshman Pryce Sandfort, Payton's younger brother. 

The Iowa Print Sports Writers Association named Pryce Sandfort Iowa's Mr. Basketball for '22-23 after he averaged 24.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He canned 90 of 211 (42.7 percent) of his three-point attempts. 

The younger Sandfort certainly is capable of carving out a nice role on this Iowa squad from the wing position. That's also the case with his classmates, Owen Freeman and Ladji Dembele, in the front court. 

The latter two will compete for minutes with third-year forward Riley Mulvey (6-11, 245), and incoming transfers Ben Krikke (6-9, 220) and Even Brauns (6-9, 240). 

Guys in that quintet are competing for minutes at the four and five. Brauns is the only one listed as a center on the team's official roster. Again, we know McCaffery recruits versatility and shuffles lineups. 

I see Perkins, Patrick McCaffery and Payton Sandfort starting as we sit here in mid-May. That's not going out on a limb. My other two starters right now would be Bowen and Krikke with Dix as the sixth man. 

After that, it gets interesting. Brauns' college seasoning and effectiveness in doing the little things give him an inside track on being in the rotation. That puts us at seven. 

Mulvey is entering Year 3 in college after spending just three years in high school. He holds an experience edge on Freeman, but the youngster is talented and skilled. It will difficult finding minutes for both. 

Nimmers and Carter Kingsbury are walk-ons who could be on scholarships at a different school. Fran McCaffery has an open scholarship to use if something pops in the transfer portal. 

The '23-24 Hawkeyes have enough talent on the roster for a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. It would be five in a row had the event not been canceled by Covid in '20. Five consecutive bids is the program record ('79-'83). 

Keep the streak alive will be a matter of how the pieces work together. It's the charge of the veterans and coaches to guide this group in a program with a solid foundation.