The Iowa Hawkeyes have had three players leave the program for the transfer portal.
Guards Tony Perkins and Dasonte Bowen left and resurfaced at Missouri and St. Bonaventure, respectively. Forward Patrick McCaffery entered the transfer portal and joined Butler.
Perkins started all 34 games for Iowa last season, averaging 14 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. McCaffery appeared in 31 games, started 15 and averaged 8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Bowen played in 25 games, started eight and averaged 4.4 points, 2 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Even with those departures, 247Sports lists Iowa basketball among its transfer portal winners.
Iowa was not immune to the transfer portal. Patrick McCaffery left for Butler. Second-leading scorer Tony Perkins bounced for Mizzou. Rotation guard Dasonte Bowen jetted off to St. Bonaventure.
But it could have been so much worse.
Iowa survived the transfer portal deadline without Josh Dix, Owen Freeman or Payton Sandfort tossing their names into the fray. Sandfort is currently going through the NBA Draft process. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound wing is one of the top pure snipers in the country, period, and heavy-hitters were strongly interested. Fellow NBA Draft prospects like Coleman Hawkins, Trevon Brazile and Cam Christie entered the transfer portal in the final hour to keep their options open. Sandfort did not. If he plays college basketball next season, it’ll be at Iowa. That’s enormous for Fran McCaffery.
Keeping Josh Dix and Owen Freeman out of the portal is just as significant. Dix is a midrange assassin who can get to his spots against anybody. The polished three-level scorer would’ve had a huge market, but he’s primed for a usage rate bump without Perkins in the mix. The Big Ten didn’t have many impactful freshmen, but Freeman was a major outlier. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 assists per game on his way to earning co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Iowa didn’t have any semblance of rim protection until Freeman steamrolled his way into the starting lineup.
Iowa has plenty of hoops to jump through. It’s still in the thick of it for UMass transfer Matt Cross to fill the frontcourt forward. It’s still waiting to see Sandfort’s feedback from the NBA personnel, but at least it knows Dix and Freeman are officially locked in for an important 2024-25 campaign. – Isaac Trotter, 247Sports.
As noted, Sandfort has a decision to make before the May 29 deadline: to remain in the 2024 NBA draft pool or return to Iowa. A return from Sandfort would bring Iowa’s top scorer and rebounder back.
Sandfort averaged 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 44.6% from the field, 37.9% from 3-point range and 91.1% from the free throw line.
Retaining guard Josh Dix and forward Owen Freeman was key for Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery. Freeman averaged 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season while shooting 61.4% from the floor.
Dix averaged 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-5 guard shot 55.2% from the field and 42.1% from 3-point range.
As Iowa continues its pursuit of UMass transfer forward Matt Cross, the Hawkeyes have already added one player out of the transfer portal. Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell signed with the Hawkeyes.
The 6-foot-3, 195 pound guard played and started in all 68 games for the Eagles over the past two seasons. In his career, Thelwell has appeared in 114 games and started 69.
This past season, Thelwell averaged 10.0 points, 6.2 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The Orlando native shot 43.5% from the floor and 33.8% from 3-point range. Thelwell netted 64.5% of his free-throw tries.
On Wednesday, the Big Ten announced Iowa basketball’s breakdown for its conference opponents.
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