How biking through Paris in the middle of the night helped Iowa men's basketball bond
Tyler Tachman
Des Moines Register
Oct 2, 2023
IOWA CITY — In the interest of explaining how this rebuilt, reloaded Iowa men’s basketball team is coming together, it’s important to know about riding bikes through Paris in the wee hours of the night.
Leading up to the foreign tour, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery expected the Hawkeyes’ trip to provide bonding opportunities. Perhaps not specifically that his players would be riding bikes through dark Paris streets. But generally speaking, he knew the trip would be a chance to build chemistry.
The trip was timely. This Iowa men’s basketball team looks vastly different than it did last season. The Hawkeyes lost their top two rebounders and scorers from last season, Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca. The former was a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft. On top of that, Iowa saw the departures of rotation players such as Ahron Ulis and Connor McCaffery, plus Josh Ogundele, who played a more limited role.
That meant there has been a considerable amount of turnover heading into the 2023-24 season. The Hawkeyes have brought in six new scholarship players, four of whom are freshmen and two of whom are transfers.
That’s why that foreign tour was important. The Hawkeyes went overseas to Europe in August, playing in Paris, Valencia and Barcelona. The Hawkeyes took care of business on the court, winning three games by a combined 109 points, a positive sign early in their development.
But bonding off the court was meaningful, as well.
That included renting bikes late at night. Iowa teammates rode through the streets of Paris and even made their way to the iconic Eiffel Tower.
“You kinda have to be careful with roads,” Iowa freshman Pryce Sandfort said at Iowa men’s basketball media day Monday. “Like they have a little section, the big cities do, where the bikes go, so we had to stay in there and not run into each other.”
Said freshman Owen Freeman: “We were running the streets of Paris. It was awesome.”
Biking will not make jump shots go in. Nor will it ensure that Iowa makes the NCAA tournament. But it does speak to the fundamental idea that this is a new team trying to grow together. From a national perspective, Iowa is not drawing much hype from pundits entering the season. If Iowa wants to exceed those expectations, developing familiarity on and off the court is part of the battle.
“The trip to Europe helps,” Freeman said. “Just being able to connect with those guys. Just being able to build those relationships early. And they’ve grown ever since. I feel like we have a good connection throughout the team.”
Ben Krikke believes he can make the jump to the Big Ten
Of all the newcomers, Ben Krikke could very well have the biggest impact for Iowa this season.
Krikke comes to Iowa with credentials. He led the Missouri Valley Conference last season at 19.4 points per game. That made him a coveted player when he jumped into the transfer portal after playing four seasons at Valparaiso.
Iowa assistant coach Matt Gatens was already familiar with Krikke’s game, having previously spent time on Drake's coaching staff. The Bulldogs are a Missouri Valley rival.
“We kinda bonded and came out on a visit,” Krikke said of his relationship with Gatens. “I really enjoyed everything — from the style of play to just the culture. So it’s a no-brainer for me.”
For all that Krikke accomplished at Valparaiso, there’s an understandable discourse about whether he can make the jump to the Big Ten. This conference, often defined by physicality, is a different beast than the Missouri Valley. Krikke believes he can make the jump.
“My perspective on it: Basketball is basketball,” Krikke said. “It’s still the college game. The experiences, I feel like, translate. Being in some good games. Very competitive games. Obviously, having four years of experience under my belt. I feel like that translates.”
Iowa needs him to emerge as a key cog in a remade frontcourt. The losses of Murray and Rebraca are significant. Not only were they Iowa’s best frontcourt players, but also Iowa’s best players, period. Krikke will shoulder some of that lost production. It would be a help if Belmont transfer Even Brauns, along with freshmen Owen Freeman and Ladji Dembele, could pitch in, too.
Iowa’s front line, much like its team as a whole, will look different than last season. Krikke’s skill set might actually strike somewhat of a balance between Rebraca, who did most of his damage near the rim, and Murray, who could really spread the floor.
Krikke described his game as versatile. “I feel like I have a perimeter game. I can take it off the bounce from the perimeter. And back-to-the-basket game, as well. And can get buckets down there on switches and things. And then I can also shoot the midrange pretty well, face up.”
Iowa leaning on core veterans
In spite of all of the new faces in the program, there are some holdovers. Among that group are Tony Perkins, Patrick McCaffery and Payton Sandfort.
That trio brings experience.
Sandfort is entering his third season with the program, Perkins his fourth, McCaffery his fifth. Not only that but they are also Iowa's three most productive returners.
Perkins, Sandfort and McCaffery were 3-5 in points per game last season, in that order. With a roster filled with so much uncertainty heading into this season, Iowa needs to be able to lean on them.
There is also an intangible side to things. Iowa had the luxury of featuring great leaders the last few seasons — from Luka Garza to Jordan Bohannon to the Murray brothers to Connor McCaffery. Most recently, the departed leaders were Kris Murray and Connor McCaffery, meaning a void needs filling.
“Who’s gonna do that this year?” Fran McCaffery said. “It’s gonna be Tony, Payton and Patrick.”
“At the end of the day, it just comes down to just treating people how you want to be treated,” Patrick McCaffery said. “Just be fair to everybody. Look out for the guys off the floor, too. If you need a ride, hit me up. Whatever. Just always be there for them. Let them know that you got them regardless of anything that goes on.”
Fran McCaffery expects freshmen to make an impact
Because there is an adjustment from the high school game to college, it’s probably best not to make sweeping conclusions before games begin. That being said, Fran McCaffery seems encouraged by what he has seen so far from the four scholarship freshmen: Brock Harding, Owen Freeman, Pryce Sandfort and Ladji Dembele.
“Any given year, depending on what we had, all four of those guys I would feel comfortable starting as freshmen because of their feel for the game and their body and their talent level,” Fran McCaffery said. “So I think they all deserve to play. They all will play.”
Each of them brings something different to the equation.
* Harding is an undersized but extremely quick guard that plays with moxie.
* Sandfort has the frame of a modern wing and can stretch the floor.
* Freeman is listed as 6-foot-10 with the potential to be a monster on the glass.
* Dembele is already physically ready for the Big Ten.
If Perkins, McCaffery, Sandfort and Krikke can be Iowa’s core, then the Hawkeyes need some wildcards to fill the gaps. That could be from some of the freshman class. It could also come from sophomores Dasonte Bowen and Josh Dix.
Freeman is a clear candidate to do that. For an Iowa team that was undersized last season, he possesses a skill of need for Iowa. He combined for 31 rebounds in the first two games of the foreign tour.
“Being bigger than everybody else at a young age, that’s kinda something that people rely on you for,” Freeman said. “So just being able to carry that over and work at it, as you get older and as you grow, just becoming more aggressive. I realize that’s something that we need.”
To explaining how this new-look Iowa team is coming together, it’s important to know about a bike ride through Paris in the wee hours of the night.
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