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SI: Way-to-early 2022-23 Preseason Rankings.

ObeseMuffins

HR MVP
Jan 7, 2007
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19. Iowa​

Yes, Keegan Murray is almost assuredly off to the NBA. But much of the Hawkeyes’ core that won the Big Ten tournament returns. Keegan’s twin brother, Kris, could be in for a breakout third season in Iowa City after showing flashes of brilliance in Keegan’s shadow this season, and Tony Perkins blossomed late into a promising piece who can play either guard spot. Fran McCaffery’s teams are always excellent on the offensive end and have finished .500 or better in the Big Ten in nine of the last 10 years. March issues aside, this team should be in the mix in the top half of the league yet again.
 
I could see #19 with one or two good portal transfers coming in. But we lost three guys that were starters for most of the season and to this point don't really have replacements for most of them.
JBo may be partially replaced by Sandfort on the shooting side but not as much on the ball handling side.
Joe T could be replaced by Bowen, but don't expect a ton out of a freshman PG in the Big Ten.
Keegan could be replaced by Kris, but then we don't have anyone to replace Kris as 6th man.

We also need another PF/C to come in as a backup to help us out with minutes and fouls when we go against the other monsters in the Big Ten now that Josh O is gone.

As it stands right now we will be a team with one natural PG that is a freshman, another that has been a backup not playing many minutes in Ulis, plus Tony P who isn't a PG. That doesn't bode well in the college game.


--Edited as I forgot about Ulis.
 
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I could see #19 with one or two good portal transfers coming in. But we lost three guys that were starters for most of the season and to this point don't really have replacements for most of them.
JBo may be partially replaced by Sandfort on the shooting side but not as much on the ball handling side.
Joe T could be replaced by Bowen, but don't expect a ton out of a freshman PG in the Big Ten.
Keegan could be replaced by Kris, but then we don't have anyone to replace Kris as 6th man.

We also need another PF/C to come in as a backup to help us out with minutes and fouls when we go against the other monsters in the Big Ten now that Josh O is gone.

As it stands right now we will be a team with one natural PG that is a freshman, plus Tony P who isn't a PG. That doesn't bode well in the college game.
What was your prognostication after everything we lost the previous year?
I’m optimistic, I think we’ve got some great pieces to work with.
 
I could see #19 with one or two good portal transfers coming in. But we lost three guys that were starters for most of the season and to this point don't really have replacements for most of them.
JBo may be partially replaced by Sandfort on the shooting side but not as much on the ball handling side.
Joe T could be replaced by Bowen, but don't expect a ton out of a freshman PG in the Big Ten.
Keegan could be replaced by Kris, but then we don't have anyone to replace Kris as 6th man.

We also need another PF/C to come in as a backup to help us out with minutes and fouls when we go against the other monsters in the Big Ten now that Josh O is gone.

As it stands right now we will be a team with one natural PG that is a freshman, plus Tony P who isn't a PG. That doesn't bode well in the college game.
Ulis and Bowen at the point and both Connor and Tony P. can distribute as well. We do need another big.
 
What was your prognostication after everything we lost the previous year?
I’m optimistic, I think we’ve got some great pieces to work with.
I just realized that I forgot about Ulis. So I should amend my above statement to say that we have two PGs, one freshman and one with no starting experience.


To your question, coming into this past season, losing CJ and Nunge didn't hurt that much since they were injured seemingly most of the time the previous season. We lost Garza who was a great player, but was a negative on defense and he was replaced by a transfer in Rebraca who isn't even remotely as good but at least is serviceable. We lost Joe W early, which sucked, but we had a somewhat similar player in Sandfort coming in as a true freshman to provide some spot minutes as a shooter.

What we knew we had was a backup in Keegan that was being talked about as an early entry draft pick. And his brother that could be close to as good as him. Those guys would help to fill the void of Joe W and Garza, we just didn't know how good they would be. Plus we knew we had JBo back to help with the shooting losses from CJ and Joe W leaving early. On top of that, a lot of people loved Joe T at PG and we were told he was being handed the keys while we had Ulis and JBo to help out when needed. I was not expecting a Top 25 team, nor was I expecting an NCAA appearance with our roster. And this team wasn't a Top 25 team until they starting hitting their stride in February.

What we know about next year is that we have Sandfort as the only pure shooter. We have Kris as a pretty good shooter/slasher. We have Pat and Tony as streaky shooters and decent ball handlers. Rebraca is a serviceable postman again. Ulis as an ok PG. Mulvey as a young center with potential. And some freshmen guards coming in, one coming back from a major injury. Plus maybe Connor comes back, but he's not a game changer. That team does not scream preseason Top 25 to me. If we pull in a good transfer or two, then maybe we can talk.
 
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I'm pretty optimistic about next year, much much more so than last year. Perkins, Pmac, Kris and Sandfort are all positioned to improve a lot and have great years. Rebracca is consistent. I think Sandfort is going to be a scorer and more than make up for Jbo's 3 point shooting. He will likely provide the spark we need off the bench. I think the freshmen will contribute and if Ullis isn't up to it at the point then Bowen will be. Connor gives us depth and leadership. If Fran hits a homerun in the portal then we could be a top 10 team.
 
We have a lot of good pieces right now. Dasonte is going to be good. 3 starters return.

1: Bowen/Ulis
2: Tony/Payton
3. Patrick/Payton
4. Kris
5. Filip (he started every game last season)

Then you have Connor, Riley and hopefully Josh Dix coming off the bench.

Fran said he WILL get a 5 out of the portal. The problem? All of the good ones out there have other schools after them as well. But Fran has playing time to offer. If you get a quality 5 you could then have FIlip coming off the bench and you can let Mulvey develop another year. Then you have 6'10 center Owen Freeman arriving in 2023.

Chad Leistikow has reported that Fran might pocket the remaining 2 scholarships because Fran & company are really attacking the 2023 class. Owen Freeman has already committed; there's a really good chance Pryce Sandfort joins the Hawks as well.


Current 2022-2023 Roster (10 currently on scholarship; 3 Scholarships Available):


2026 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players


6'3" PG Dasonte Bowen

6'5" SG Josh Dix


2025 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players

6'7" F Payton Sandfort

6'11" C Riley Mulvey


2024 (when scheduled to graduate): 4 players

6'4" G Tony Perkins

6'2" G Ahron Ulis

6'8" F Kris Murray

6'9" SF Patrick McCaffery


2023 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players

6'9" SF Filip Rebraca

6'5" G/F Connor McCaffery


Notable Walk on players:

2025 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players


Luc Laketa--a 2021 6'6" wing/forward; on May 13, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.

Carter Kingsbury--a 2021 6'5", 230 lb shooting guard; on July 10, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.
 
We have a lot of good pieces right now. Dasonte is going to be good. 3 starters return.

1: Bowen/Ulis
2: Tony/Payton
3. Patrick/Payton
4. Kris
5. Filip (he started every game last season)

Then you have Connor, Riley and hopefully Josh Dix coming off the bench.

Fran said he WILL get a 5 out of the portal. The problem? All of the good ones out there have other schools after them as well. But Fran has playing time to offer. If you get a quality 5 you could then have FIlip coming off the bench and you can let Mulvey develop another year. Then you have 6'10 center Owen Freeman arriving in 2023.

Chad Leistikow has reported that Fran might pocket the remaining 2 scholarships because Fran & company are really attacking the 2023 class. Owen Freeman has already committed; there's a really good chance Pryce Sandfort joins the Hawks as well.


Current 2022-2023 Roster (10 currently on scholarship; 3 Scholarships Available):


2026 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players


6'3" PG Dasonte Bowen

6'5" SG Josh Dix


2025 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players

6'7" F Payton Sandfort

6'11" C Riley Mulvey


2024 (when scheduled to graduate): 4 players

6'4" G Tony Perkins

6'2" G Ahron Ulis

6'8" F Kris Murray

6'9" SF Patrick McCaffery


2023 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players

6'9" SF Filip Rebraca

6'5" G/F Connor McCaffery


Notable Walk on players:

2025 (when scheduled to graduate): 2 players


Luc Laketa--a 2021 6'6" wing/forward; on May 13, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.

Carter Kingsbury--a 2021 6'5", 230 lb shooting guard; on July 10, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.
A shot blocking PF or C would go very well with that group. I also think we could really use a one year rental of a PG with experience.
 
Just like last year the Big 10 is still not the great conference it was 2 years ago. The only thing Ulis needs is confidence, and I think he will get better as the year goes on. I'm up on Bowen, and like Hepburn from Wisconsin, could be really good as a 3 star recruit. We'll just have to wait and see. I think Mulvey is set to make a big improvement, and with the rest all getting one more year of seasoning, they should make gains in all areas of the game. Like last year we need help in the paint, so hopefully we will pick up a good big in the portal. But I'm optimistic about this team.
 
I think Ulis can do the job, but he has been inconsistent. Over the course of his minutes this past year, just by the eye test, there was quite a bit of that time as a non-factor or negative impact.
Assuming Fran gets his big, point guard play will determine Iowa's fate next season. Ulis needs to take a big step forward. Everyone who suggests that Joe wasn't a loss needs to consider that Ulis couldn't take his job and had the lowest PER on the team in conference play along with Connor. He has as much athleticism to work with as anyone and would be an immediate upgrade defensively over Jbo. If he doesn't take that step forward offensively, I believe that it's Cmac time more often than not.
 
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Without knowing who is coming and going from different teams. it is silly to speculate. We all agree that Iowa needs a quality big, who is ready to play. Keegan was a huge loss. Joe T hurt, especially if Bowen isn't ready. JBo provided a dimension that really helped at times. Big O really just opened up a scholarship. A grad transfer guard would also help, while Dix heals and Bowen acclimates to college BB.
 

1. Arkansas
2. Houston
3. UCLA
4. Kansas
5. North Carolina
6. Duke
7. Kentucky
8. Baylor
9. Creighton
10. Arizona
11. Michigan
12. Gonzaga
13. Villanova
14. Tennessee
15. Alabama
16. Auburn
17. lllinois
18. Dayton
19. Oregon
20. Xavier
21. Indiana
22. Texas
23. Purdue
24. Texas Tech
25. St. Louis

Next In Line
Virginia
Ohio State
USC
Texas A&M
Michigan State
 

1. UCLA
2. North Carolina
3. Kentucky
4. Baylor
5. Houston
6. Arkansas
7. Gonzaga
8. Kansas
9. Duke
10. Tennessee
11. Arizona
12. Michigan
13. Auburn
14. Creighton
15. Villanova
16. TCU
17. Texas A&M
18. Michigan State
19. Indiana

20. Colorado State
21. USC
22. Alabama
23. Dayton
24. Purdue
25. Oklahoma State
26. St. Louis
 

1. UCLA
2. Kentucky
3. Arkansas
4. North Carolina
5. Duke
6. Houston
7. Kansas
8. Arizona
9. Michigan
10. Gonzaga
11. Creighton
12. Baylor
13. Alabama
14. Villanova
15. USC
16. Texas
17. Dayton
18. Michigan State
19. Oregon
20. Auburn
21. Ohio State
22. San Diego State
23. Purdue
24. Tennessee
25. TCU
 
Everyone has turnover in college bball every year.

Who you lose doesn't effect the talent of the current players.

Losing Cook had no relationship to Garzas talent and losing Garza had no relationship to Keegans talent.

The only factor that determines success is who is on the team.

Kris, Patrick, Tony and Sandfort will largely determine next years success.

Iowa has pretty good pieces next year.

In addition they're going to need a big body from the portal and either Ulis or Bowen to be a solid starters.
 
Only that matters is winning I don't care about our rankings we had a pretty good set on the floor and made it where?
Coaching seems to kill us in the most interesting times
 
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With over a 1000 guys in the portal....
And only about 100 of those will end up in P6 schools. And of those 100, how many are willing to come off the bench? Fran is pretty set on Perkins, Patrick and Kris starting. He's trying to get a starting 5 man. He's kicked the tires on some guards but I think it's reasonable to assume he's only looking for 1 year depth guys which is maybe only a handful of guys that are P6 quality.

Last year about 30% of all guys who entered the portal ended up in D2 or lower or not on a team. So let's not act like there's 1000 good players just willing and able to play at Iowa. Like I said, it's maybe 100 total and the guys that are worth a damn, such as Aimaq, have 50+ offers (that's not an exaggeration). Not to mention that a good chunk of guys who enter the portal go through back channels and know where they are going before they even enter the portal (see Nijel Pack).
 
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And only about 100 of those will end up in P6 schools. And of those 100, how many are willing to come off the bench? Fran is pretty set on Perkins, Patrick and Kris starting. He's trying to get a starting 5 man. He's kicked the tires on some guards but I think it's reasonable to assume he's only looking for 1 year depth guys which is maybe only a handful of guys that are P6 quality.

Last year about 30% of all guys who entered the portal ended up in D2 or lower or not on a team. So let's not act like there's 1000 good players just willing and able to play at Iowa. Like I said, it's maybe 100 total and the guys that are worth a damn, such as Aimaq, have 50+ offers (that's not an exaggeration). Not to mention that a good chunk of guys who enter the portal go through back channels and know where they are going before they even enter the portal (see Nijel Pack).
You could be right, 100 seems low to me though.

If you subtract the %30 that's 700 D1 guys.

The p6 designation doesn't mean a whole lot in basketball. I don't know if its really even relevant.

There's obviously a large amount of players who play at a "lower" level that would do fine in the "p6".
 
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You could be right, 100 seems low to me though.

If you subtract the %30 that's 700 D1 guys.

The p6 designation doesn't mean a whole lot in basketball. I don't know if its really even relevant.

There's obviously a large amount of players who play at a "lower" level that would do fine in the "p6".
Just to paint a picture, I regularly see Joe Toussaint show up as a top-50 transfer portal player. On EvanMiya he's ranked 12th.
Now I think we can agree that Joe is an average P6 PG. Could maybe start for a dozen of P6 schools and probably a starter at the high mid-major level.
100 might be low, but that's probably how many quality guys there are. For every Fardaws Aimaq there's 25 Josh Ogundele's.
 
Everyone has turnover in college bball every year.

Who you lose doesn't effect the talent of the current players.

Losing Cook had no relationship to Garzas talent and losing Garza had no relationship to Keegans talent.

The only factor that determines success is who is on the team.

Kris, Patrick, Tony and Sandfort will largely determine next years success.

Iowa has pretty good pieces next year.

In addition they're going to need a big body from the portal and either Ulis or Bowen to be a solid starters.
Who ever suggested losing a player would make another player worse? That would be crazy.
 
Who ever suggested losing a player would make another player worse? That would be crazy.
Most people seem to base expectations of an upcoming season on what players from a previous season are gone.

That thought process is flawed.

You can only base expectations on who is on the team, not who isn't.
 
Just to paint a picture, I regularly see Joe Toussaint show up as a top-50 transfer portal player. On EvanMiya he's ranked 12th.
Now I think we can agree that Joe is an average P6 PG. Could maybe start for a dozen of P6 schools and probably a starter at the high mid-major level.
100 might be low, but that's probably how many quality guys there are. For every Fardaws Aimaq there's 25 Josh Ogundele's.
You seem more familiar with it than I am.

100 just seemed surprisingly low to me given the overall number but your explanation makes sense.
 
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