Ben McCollum's Job Gets More Challenging as Top Iowa Recruit Decommits

Ben McCollum certainly has his work cut out for him, as another player has decommitted from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Ben McCollum, Iowa's new head men's basketball coach, walks to the podium during his introductory press conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a new coach, as Ben McCollum has taken over after the school fired Fran McCaffery from his post.

However, there is no question that McCollum will have a difficult task at hand building Iowa's roster for the 2025-26 campaign.

Not only have the Hawkeyes lost eight players to the transfer portal, but multiple recruits have now decommitted from the program, with the most recent example being four-star forward Badara Diakite, via Eliot Clough of Rivals.

Diakite is now the third prospect to decommit from Iowa, joining Joshua Lewis and Dezmon Briscoe. This has all occurred since McCaffrey's dismissal.

As a result, McCollum now has zero commits heading into next season, which obviously puts the former Drake Bulldogs coach in a very challenging position.

Diakite was the 122nd-ranked player in his class and the third-best player from his home state of Connecticut. He was an exciting recruit for the Hawkeyes due to the fact that he can space the floor and is viewed as a player who can play multiple positions, but now, Iowa will have to look elsewhere.

The good news is that McCollum has shown a penchant for identifying strong talent, and he has already netted a big get in the transfer portal, as former Drake guard Bennett Stirtz decided to folllow McCollum to Iowa City.

That being said, there is no doubt that McCollum will have a significant test ahead of him this offseason, as he is being tasked with filling out an entire roster following the mass exodus.

Iowa went 17-16 and just 7-13 in Big Ten conference play this past year.

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