Iowa makes top 5 for Utah Valley transfer center Fardaws Aimaq

Iowa made the cut for Utah Valley transfer center Fardaws Aimaq.

Iowa is in the process of replacing national player of the year candidate and probable 2022 NBA draft lottery pick [autotag]Keegan Murray[/autotag] as well as Iowa’s and the Big Ten’s career made 3-pointers leader in guard [autotag]Jordan Bohannon[/autotag].

At least one reporter expects the Hawkeyes to be better off than maybe some naysayers would think. 247Sports national college basketball writer Kevin Flaherty recently ranked Iowa No. 16 in his way-too-early top 23 for 2023. Fellow 247Sports writer Isaac Trotter included Hawkeye forward Patrick McCaffery among his players poised to emerge as potential breakout stars in the 2022-23 season.

McCaffery and forward Kris Murray should both see elevated minutes and usage rates. It only makes sense that McCaffery’s 10.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game should go up as well. That should be the case with Kris Murray’s 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, too.

Still, Iowa is losing some serious production in both Keegan Murray and Bohannon. Keegan Murray finished averaging 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Murray joined former Texas star Kevin Durant in becoming just the second player in Division I history to amass more than 800 points, 60 blocks, and 60 3-pointers in a single season. Meanwhile, Bohannon ended his career having made an Iowa and Big Ten record 455 3-pointers. He also averaged 11 points per game last season for the Hawkeyes.

With those losses in mind, Iowa is looking to replenish via the transfer portal. One of the names Iowa has been linked to is Utah Valley center Fardaws Aimaq. The 6-foot-11 center trimmed his list of potential transfer destinations down to five and Iowa made the cut.

Along with the Hawkeyes, Aimaq is still reportedly considering Gonzaga, Texas, Texas Tech and Washington.