Payton Sandfort Growing in Iowa Program

Hawkeye Sophomore Adds Inch During Offseason

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Payton Sandfort grew an inch in the offseason.

Which surprised the Iowa sophomore.

“I didn’t expect that,” he said on Wednesday. “I haven’t grown in the last couple of years, but I’ll take it.”

Sandfort is listed at 6-foot-7 on Iowa’s roster, but he said it’s closer to 6-7 ½ or 6-7 ¾.

That little growth spurt means that Sandfort becomes an even more versatile piece for the Hawkeyes.

Which is why this summer is about Sandfort learning three different positions — either at the 2, 3 or 4 spots.

“I’m just trying to get on the floor any way I can,” said Sandfort, which is what he was trying to do last season.

The different positions means he has to get comfortable playing different types of players.

“I think it starts on the defensive end, being quicker and being able to guard varying positions,” Sandfort said.

Sandfort averaged 5 points and 1.9 rebounds last season, but had seven games in which he scored in double figures. Those numbers should improve with more playing time this season.

Sandfort’s playing time was a roller coaster through the early portion of the season, which is common for a freshman trying to fit in an experienced rotation.

Sandfort had eight games of double-digit minutes during the nonconference season, but in the early weeks of Big Ten play, those numbers dwindled.

Sandfort played just eight minutes in a three-game stretch in early January — just one minute each in games against Maryland and Indiana. There were two games in conference play in which he didn’t play at all.

“The beginning of Big Ten play, I really wasn’t contributing a whole lot, playing a whole lot,” Sandfort said. “But I kept working.”

That work eventually gave him more minutes. Sandfort had a five-game stretch in late January and early February in which he averaged almost 13 minutes per game.

He was most comfortable by the end of the season, and he played a big role in Iowa’s run to the Big Ten tournament championship.

Sandfort had 13 points in Iowa’s win over Northwestern in the tournament opener. He played 8 ½ minutes in the quarterfinal against Rutgers, and almost seven minutes in the win over Indiana in the semifinals.

Sandfort then had 10 points in the championship game win over Purdue on a day in which he was perfect from the field — 4-of-4 overall and 2-of-2 in 3-pointers.

“I think I kind of established myself in that lineup,” Sandfort said.

That momentum, he said, is going to carry over.

“(Last season) was a real up-and-down experience,” Sandfort said. “I thought I grew a lot as a player, but more importantly, as a person. You have to go through a lot of trouble to get to where you want to be. I was really proud of myself for how I handled a lot of adversity. I really got rolling at the end of the year, and I’ll take that into next year.”

He’ll also take that little spurt of height.

Sandfort was asked if he was done growing, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I thought I was already,” he said.