It is never too early to start looking toward the next men’s college basketball season. With the May 1 deadline for transfers to inform their school of their intention to transfer in the rearview mirror, analysts are now better enabled to get a read on next year’s rosters. 247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty published his way-too-early rankings for 2022-23 and had Iowa coming in at No. 15.
Kris Murray is testing the NBA draft waters, but he looks likely to return to Iowa City for another season, and likely to ascend to stardom. Murray following in his brother Keegan’s footsteps and becoming an All-Big Ten force wouldn’t be a surprise. Add in Patrick McCaffery, Filip Rebraca and Tony Perkins, and more time for Ahron Ulis and Payton Sandfort, and the Hawkeyes could enter March with another top-five seed. – Flaherty, 247Sports.
Iowa is Flaherty’s second-highest ranked Big Ten program behind No. 13 Michigan. Of course, the Wolverines are fresh off a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. After the Hawkeyes and Wolverines, No. 20 Illinois, No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 Michigan State round out the Big Ten teams appearing in the rankings.
Last season Iowa went on a historic Big Ten Tournament championship run, finishing the season as the No. 21 team in the nation after bowing out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to 12th-seeded Richmond, 67-63.
Iowa may have a tough road back to the Big Ten Tournament championship. Star forward [autotag]Keegan Murray[/autotag] is off to the NBA as a potential top-ten pick in the 2022 NBA draft and second-leading scorer and longtime starter [autotag]Jordan Bohannon[/autotag] exhausted his eligibility.
[autotag]Kris Murray[/autotag] will be the X-factor of the offseason. His return would be massive for a Hawkeyes team searching for their next star. While he declared for the draft, the door is still open for the junior forward to return to Iowa for the upcoming season. The deadline for Murray to remove his name and retain his NCAA eligibility is June 1.
Murray’s game progressed in his second season, showing some potential star power coming off the bench. In fact, Kris averaged Iowa’s team-high off the bench at 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. With a full-time role, look out for Kris to emerge as a top Big Ten star just like his twin brother Keegan did this past year.
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