Courtney Eldridge – Syndication Server

Updating 11 recent Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball 2022 summer offers

A busy summer has continued over the past month for the Iowa men’s basketball staff. Here’s a look at 11 of their latest offers.

It’s been a busy offseason for the Iowa men’s basketball program. Keegan Murray was drafted No. 4 overall by the Sacramento Kings and has put on a show with his NBA Summer League performances.

Murray’s stardom throughout the Summer League has made Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery look pretty smart with his remarks for any of the immediate naysayers. Murray’s fit with the Kings is looking better every second.

Meanwhile, in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes got great news with the return of Keegan’s twin brother, Kris Murray. Kris is happy with his decision to come back to Iowa for another season and it sets up an opportunity for him to fully showcase everything that he’s capable of as the Hawkeyes’ primary star.

With the potential emergence of Payton Sandfort and more production from Patrick McCaffery, Iowa has the makings of another NCAA Tournament team heading into the 2022-23 men’s basketball season. All in all, it’s a pretty talented projected starting lineup and set of reserves for the Hawkeyes.

Of course, Iowa had some staff changes this summer as well. Courtney Eldridge was elevated to one of the Hawkeyes’ assistant coaches from director of recruiting and player development. That replaced the departure of former assistant coach Billy Taylor.

Then, to replace former assistant coach Kirk Speraw, McCaffery and the Hawkeyes went and found a familiar face in new assistant coach Matt Gatens from Drake. Gatens sounds thrilled with the opportunity to be back in Iowa City.

Finally, Iowa added Tristan Spurlock to the staff as the team’s director of player development.

Of course, while all of this was underway, the staff remained busy on the summer recruiting trail. Hawkeyes Wire detailed a series of seven Iowa basketball offers last month.

That group included 2023 small forward Kaden Cooper, 2023 small forward Jamie Kaiser, 2024 center Raleigh Burgess, 2024 combo guard Nick Janowski, 2024 shooting guard Nojus Indrusaitis, 2024 point guard Travis Perry and 2025 center Kai Rogers.

Of course, Iowa also picked up a commitment from four-star, class of 2024 power forward Cooper Koch out of Peoria Notre Dame High School in Illinois. Koch is rated as a four-star talent, the nation’s No. 51 overall player in the 2024 class, the No. 8 power forward and the No. 4 player from Illinois by 247Sports.

That’s just the tip of the recruiting iceberg. Over the past month, 11 more players across the 2023, 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes have been offered by the Iowa Hawkeyes. Let’s take a look at those 11 players below.

An early look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ nonconference basketball matchups in 2022-23

A challenging nonconference slate should have the Iowa Hawkeyes ready for Big Ten play in the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season.

The 2021-22 season was a dream for Iowa up until the NCAA Tournament. Led by sophomore forward Keegan Murray, a likely 2022 NBA draft lottery pick, the Hawkeyes took home the Big Ten Tournament crown over Purdue.

Sadly, all of that momentum came to a screeching halt immediately in the first round of the tournament as 12th-seeded Richmond sent Iowa packing. Despite having one of the better seasons in recent memory for the program and delivering hardware back to Iowa City, the shame is that some will just remember the 2021-22 season for its disappointing end.

There will be some changes for the Hawkeyes heading into next year. Keegan Murray is off to the NBA and longtime starter Jordan Bohannon has graduated.

Iowa did receive a massive boost as Keegan’s twin brother, Kris Murray, announced his return. Patrick McCaffery is a capable player. If Iowa wants to improve upon its anticlimactic end to 2021-22, there are a big set of challenges already loaded up on the Hawkeyes’ nonconference 2022-23 schedule.

Let’s take a look at all of the important nonconference dates that have been finalized for Iowa below.

Iowa Hawkeyes offer 2023 point guard Brock Harding

Brock Harding, a 2023 point guard out of Moline High School in Illinois, picked up his first major offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Thanks to an impressive showing on the AAU circuit with MidPro Academy and perhaps also some urging from Iowa’s lone 2023 commit, Moline High School point guard Brock Harding picked up an offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The 6-foot, 155 pound point guard is rated as a three-star recruit, the nation’s No. 33 point guard and the No. 7 player from Illinois by 247Sports. Harding is teammates with Iowa commit Owen Freeman, who is also rated as a three-star prospect, the nation’s No. 134 player overall, the No. 30 power forward and the No. 3 player from Illinois by 247Sports.

The Iowa offer is the first high-major offer for Harding. He also has offers from Appalachian State, Bradley, Cal Poly, Colorado State, Drake, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago, IPFW, Loyola (Chi.), Radford, Rice, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Western Illinois.

As HawkeyeInsider’s Sean Bock noted, it’s a substantial offer for Harding in part because it comes after Iowa’s primary recruiter for Harding left the program.

That would have been longtime Iowa assistant men’s basketball coach Kirk Speraw. After Speraw’s retirement, the Hawkeyes turned over Harding’s recruitment to new assistant men’s basketball coach Matt Gatens.

“When Speraw saw me in the winter, he liked that I could pass, dribble, and shoot. He liked that I was under control with the ball. I was quick, but never too quick, where I couldn’t control myself. I did a great job of controlling the game, talking, and being the true point guard. That’s something that they wanted whether it be me or someone else in a different class. That’s something they think they could see me doing there,” Harding told HawkeyeInsider.

Suffice it to say that Gatens and Iowa still really liked what they saw. Now, time will tell whether or not Harding will follow Freeman’s footsteps in committing to the Hawkeyes.

One thing is for certain: Harding understands how he would fit in with Iowa and thinks it would be a good match.

“I like that they have five guys on the court that can score at all times. They play up and down and get shots up. That’s somewhere where I can really affect the game is going up and down, and not just playing the half-court game. I’m really good in the full court with creating stuff for myself and others, and I feel like they do that with all five guys,” Harding said to HawkeyeInsider.

Here’s a look at Harding’s Hudl highlights as well as his full recruiting profile.

5 things to know after Iowa basketball hires Matt Gatens as assistant coach

Here’s five things to know about a familiar face in new Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Matt Gatens.

After a pair of changes with his assistant coaching staff this offseason, Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery has officially filled out his coaching staff with the addition of former Drake assistant Matt Gatens.

Let’s take a look at five things fans should know about Gatens entering his stint as one of Iowa’s new assistant coaches.

Best photos of former Hawkeye, new Iowa basketball assistant coach Matt Gatens

Iowa announced Matt Gatens as its newest assistant coach. Take a look back at his time with the Hawkeyes with these stunning still photos.

Iowa has its newest assistant coach and it’s a familiar face. Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery tabbed Matt Gatens as the Hawkeyes’ second new assistant coach, filling the void left by former longtime assistant Kirk Speraw’s decision to retire.

McCaffery and Iowa also recently elevated Courtney Eldridge after Billy Taylor left to become the new head men’s basketball coach at Elon University.

Gatens was a four-year starter for Iowa during the 2009-12 seasons and his final two seasons coincided with the first two years of McCaffery’s tenure in Iowa City. McCaffery raved about the latest addition to his coaching staff.

“We are excited to have Matt Gatens rejoin our program as an assistant coach. Matt was a respected leader on my first two teams as Iowa’s head coach. I could tell right away that he exhibited all the necessary attributes to be a successful coach. Since transitioning to the coaching profession, Matt has gained valuable experience working on the staffs at Auburn and Drake. He will have an immediate impact on our program,” McCaffery said.

Gatens spent the past four seasons with the Drake Bulldogs. The first two he served as the program’s director of operations and then each of the past two seasons he was one of the Bulldogs’ assistant coaches.

Take a look back at Gatens playing career with the Hawkeyes through these stunning still photos.