Illinois had a guy announce he was entering the transfer portal 10 minutes after his team was bounced from the dance. Players unhappy with their situations have likely been planning their exit strategies for months. So now that Iowa's season has come to an unceremonious conclusion, losing 3 in a row to some really poor teams, which players are most likely to seek opportunities elsewhere? Here they are in order of most likely to leave.
1. Ogundele (75% likelihood of transfer). Josh is the most likely to announce his transfer. He already tried once, last year, but when not a single suiter came calling, he crawled back to Iowa with his tail between his legs and promised Fran he'd work hard to get in better shape. A year later, Ogundele played in just a hand full of games (which is shocking considering he plays a position of need) and showed little to no improvement over last year. My guess is, Fran sits down with the kid, wishes him luck, and sends him off to a school like Drake that can utilize his size.
2. Bowen (33% likelihood of transfer). Came in with a good amount of hype (and confidence) as a top 20 point guard recruit. While he played quite a bit early on, he saw his minutes dramatically diminish in favor of Fran's son, who started playing more and more. With 18 year olds, ego is everything and I don't think Fran handled Bowen's playing time well at all. There was about a 10 game stretch where Bowen didn't even leave the bench (even though he finished the season 2nd on the team in shooting %), despite some wide margin wins and losses in that time. Look for Bowen to seek out a fresh start, as he's likely not happy with his treatment this year.
3. Perkins (25% likelihood of transfer). There was just something about Perkins' demeanor this year that led me to believe he's unhappy at Iowa. With his occasional flashes of brilliance, he may try to parlay that into some NIL money at a school in need of a scorer. His game reminds me a lot of Isaiah Moss, who had a 32 point game as a freshmen (but only averaged 6 points per game), declared for the NBA as a sophomore before coming back, then transferred to Kansas for his senior year.
4. Mulvey (10% likelihood of transfer). Mulvey actually agreed to give up his senior year of high school basketball to come straight to Iowa because Fran told him he'd get immediate playing time. Instead, Mulvey played about 5 minutes his entire freshmen year and a year of eligibility was burned for nothing. During the offseason, Mulvey was expected to bulk up and greatly improve his game. Unfortunately, a second year of eligibility went by and he never played a meaningful minute (he only played 50 minutes total). If Mulvey resents skipping a year of high school where he could have been the star of his team in favor of being the 12th man off Iowa's bench, or if he resents his lack of playing time his sophomore year, I think he could transfer to a Missouri Valley school and be an instant starter.
1. Ogundele (75% likelihood of transfer). Josh is the most likely to announce his transfer. He already tried once, last year, but when not a single suiter came calling, he crawled back to Iowa with his tail between his legs and promised Fran he'd work hard to get in better shape. A year later, Ogundele played in just a hand full of games (which is shocking considering he plays a position of need) and showed little to no improvement over last year. My guess is, Fran sits down with the kid, wishes him luck, and sends him off to a school like Drake that can utilize his size.
2. Bowen (33% likelihood of transfer). Came in with a good amount of hype (and confidence) as a top 20 point guard recruit. While he played quite a bit early on, he saw his minutes dramatically diminish in favor of Fran's son, who started playing more and more. With 18 year olds, ego is everything and I don't think Fran handled Bowen's playing time well at all. There was about a 10 game stretch where Bowen didn't even leave the bench (even though he finished the season 2nd on the team in shooting %), despite some wide margin wins and losses in that time. Look for Bowen to seek out a fresh start, as he's likely not happy with his treatment this year.
3. Perkins (25% likelihood of transfer). There was just something about Perkins' demeanor this year that led me to believe he's unhappy at Iowa. With his occasional flashes of brilliance, he may try to parlay that into some NIL money at a school in need of a scorer. His game reminds me a lot of Isaiah Moss, who had a 32 point game as a freshmen (but only averaged 6 points per game), declared for the NBA as a sophomore before coming back, then transferred to Kansas for his senior year.
4. Mulvey (10% likelihood of transfer). Mulvey actually agreed to give up his senior year of high school basketball to come straight to Iowa because Fran told him he'd get immediate playing time. Instead, Mulvey played about 5 minutes his entire freshmen year and a year of eligibility was burned for nothing. During the offseason, Mulvey was expected to bulk up and greatly improve his game. Unfortunately, a second year of eligibility went by and he never played a meaningful minute (he only played 50 minutes total). If Mulvey resents skipping a year of high school where he could have been the star of his team in favor of being the 12th man off Iowa's bench, or if he resents his lack of playing time his sophomore year, I think he could transfer to a Missouri Valley school and be an instant starter.
Last edited:
