Tag: iowa hawkeyes basketball

Iowa Hawkeyes set to take on Duke Blue Devils in Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 6

The Iowa Hawkeyes are set to take on the Duke Blue Devils in a primetime matchup with national prominence on Dec. 6.

The Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team is going to be taking on one of the nation’s premier blue bloods when they travel to the Jimmy V Classic in December of this upcoming season.

The Hawkeyes will make their way to Madison Square Garden in New York City to take part in the mega-event. On Dec. 6, Iowa will take on the Duke Blue Devils along with a matchup of the Texas Longhorns battling it out against fellow Big Ten Member, the Illinois Fighting Illini.

This will be Iowa’s first appearance in the Jimmy V Classic. Duke, Illinois, and Texas are all making their fourth trip to compete in the event that is held to generate donation money and awareness for the V Foundation for Cancer Research that is named after Jim Valvano.

However, it will be Iowa’s fifth trip to Madison Square Garden under head coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes advanced to the NIT Championship in 2013, participated in the 2K Classic in 2014 and 2018 (champions), and competed in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament.

Iowa has cracked the code against Duke just once in its history as they are 1-7 against the Blue Devils all-time in head-to-head matchups. The matchup this year may be a bit more wide open for the taking and a good chance for Iowa to get a win against the blue blood.

Iowa did lose two key figures after last season, Jordan Bohannon and Keegan Murray, but looks to continue building on a Big Ten Championship. Duke is entering a new era under head coach Jon Scheyer after all-time great Mike Krzyzewski retired following Duke’s Final Four appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament.

The exact times for the games has not been set, but fans can expect both of these matchup to be aired on ESPN.

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Keegan Murray drops 26 points, shines in NBA summer league debut

In his NBA Summer League debut, Keegan Murray looked like a seasoned pro, making a statement that this is why he was the No. 4 overall pick.

In his NBA Summer League debut for the Sacramento Kings, Keegan Murray looked like, well, Keegan Murray.

Expectations were high for Murray heading into this Summer League. While the game does not matter in the grand scheme of things, the NBA has a narrative-driven media cycle.

Since Sacramento picked him, fans around the league immediately questioned the selection with Purdue guard Jaden Ivey still on the board. Unfair or not, the “meaningless” Summer League games actually play a massive role in how the narrative of Murray on the Kings spins. His debut against Golden State is a significant first step in proving just why Murray was a top-four pick.

Murray looked like a future star in his Summer League debut, completely dominating the game on offense for the Kings. In only 28 minutes, Murray scored 26 points and grabbed eight boards. He only missed four shots.

While the numbers are great, they don’t do his fantastic performance any justice. Murray wasn’t just scoring open buckets on bad defenses, he showed that he can score from a multitude of ways from the wing. Most impressive was his abilities from three, going 4-for-5 from downtown. He showed that he can catch and shoot quickly, even with a defender closing down on him. As the potential third option on the Kings, that catch-and-shoot ability is exactly why the Kings picked him.

It wasn’t just the made 3-pointers that impressed, he played with a great amount of veteran savvy for his rookie year. His off-ball movement is what ultimately led to so many of his buckets, showcasing his understanding of where to be on the court. When he needed to put his head down and get a bucket, though, Murray was able to work around the rim and from the midrange. It was a truly complete offensive performance.

Keegan Murray’s debut shows the potential that made Sacramento draft him. They desperately need a secondary scorer from the wing who can shoot. They need exactly the player Keegan Murray was in his debut, the player he was at Iowa. He might not be as featured with the Kings, at least not right away, but Saturday night’s game showed just how Keegan Murray can fit in with the Kings.

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Detroit Pistons decline team option on former Iowa Hawkeyes star Luka Garza

The Detroit Pistons declined their team option on former Iowa Hawkeyes star Luka Garza, but his NBA journey likely isn’t over yet.

A former Hawkeyes great will be looking for a new home in 2022.

According to the Detroit Pistons beat writer for The Athletic James Edwards, Detroit will reportedly not pick up Garza’s team option. Frank Jackson and former All-Big Ten guard Carsen Edwards’ options are also not being picked up.

A second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Garza played one season in Detroit, appearing in 32 games and starting five. He also spent an extensive amount of time for G League affiliate Motor City Cruise, making the NBA G League All-Rookie Team as well as the NBA G League third team.

Garza struggled to catch on in Detroit, averaging 5.8 points and three rebounds a game in only 12 minutes per contest. He was able to display more of his talent in the G League, averaging 20.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in 30 minutes of average floor time.

While he wasn’t able to stick with a Detroit squad that just added big man Jalen Duren, the NBA journey is most likely not over for the 2020-2021 Naismith Trophy winner.

There are reports that teams are already in negotiations with Luka and his dad. KCCI sports director Scott Reister said he’s spoken with Garza’s dad who said that negotiations with other NBA teams are already underway.

Garza’s father retweeted the report on his Twitter, so there has to be some truth to it. Garza could be a valuable back-end member of a roster. Don’t expect to see him on the market for too long.

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Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery refutes Keegan Murray’s low ceiling label

Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery pushed back against the notion that former Hawkeye star Keegan Murray has a low ceiling.

Many saw Iowa forward Keegan Murray as the high-floor, low-ceiling type of prospect. Just don’t let Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery hear that, though.

“Anybody who would bring that up is not worth listening to because they clearly don’t know anything about the game,” McCaffery said in a recent interview with Locked on Kings.

McCaffery didn’t mince words one bit defending his former star against anyone that would downplay Murray’s potential.

“It’s as idiotic of a statement as I’ve ever heard. Clearly, you are making a statement about who you are talking about. Because, if you do your homework, you would know that’s not the case,” McCaffery said.

There was a mixed reaction from fans on social media after Murray went No. 4 overall in the 2023 NBA draft to the Sacramento Kings. Many saw Purdue guard Jaden Ivey as a better prospect with a higher ceiling.

Ivey’s an extremely athletic guard in the mold of a Ja Morant. While he might not have the greatest floor with his 3-point shot still needing development and his turnovers remain a bit of a problem, many viewed his ceiling being as high as anyone’s in this draft and better than Murray’s.

McCaffery would not put down now-Detroit Piston Jaden Ivey to prop up Murray.

“I’m a big Jaden Ivey fan. I’ve coached against him for two years. I know his mother well. We were at Notre Dame together. I was an assistant coach, she was playing and coaching. I think the world of him,” McCaffery said.

He did say Murray was most likely a better fit for the Kings’ current roster, a point Hawkeyes Wire explored on draft night. With point guard De’Aaron Fox there, Ivey would have been an extremely similar player. He’s not a carbon copy at all, but both are explosive guards who can drive to the hoop. The Kings needed a secondary scorer from the wing who could shoot and play defense.

“He plays both ends, he doesn’t make mistakes, he makes plays for his teammates, he fits with his teammates, and he consistently performs. I think the hardest part for any general manager is to try and predict just how consistently a guy will be able to perform for 82 games. That is so incredibly hard to do. But I can promise you, Keegan Murray will be able to consistently perform for over 100 games,” McCaffery said.

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Why the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Keegan Murray fits in perfectly with the Sacramento Kings

Keegan Murray is now the highest-selected Iowa Hawkeye in its NBA draft history. How does he fit in with a Sacramento team trying to win?

Keegan Murray is officially the highest-drafted Iowa Hawkeye in school history!

Iowa’s first-ever top-five selection, Murray was drafted No. 4 overall by a Sacramento Kings team trying desperately to right the ship. Without a winning season in 15 years, the Kings made a win-now move last year by trading for All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis.

While they gave up budding star guard Tyrese Haliburton, the hope is that point guard De’Aaron Fox and Sabonis can form an elite partnership. Keegan Murray looks to be a strong third option on the Kings.

Sacramento is one of the best landing spots for Murray. As a player, Murray is definitely a high-floor guy. He is one of the most well-rounded players in the draft, proficient in most areas.

Last year, Murray became just the second Division I player in history to amass more than 800 points, 60 blocks, and 60 3-pointers in a single season. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native joined Kevin Durant in that distinction. He can knock them down from behind the arc, shooting 39.8% from 3-point range. With his size, Murray can be a good secondary rebounder and can guard the No. 1 through No. 4 positions.

While he’s pretty good in most areas, Murray doesn’t necessarily have one trump card at the moment. His best attribute is probably his scoring and his shooting in particular, but he doesn’t really project to be a No. 1 scoring option on a team. Murray’s best role is being the reliable third option who can provide shooting, some secondary perimeter scoring, and just really be a glue guy. This is what makes him the perfect player for Sacramento here.

Many will see passing up on Purdue point guard Jaden Ivey as a mistake, but Ivey doesn’t really fit the Kings currently. Ivey is a pretty ball-dominant guard, sort of clashing with Fox’s game.

Don’t forget that Sacramento already shipped Haliburton, a rising star, to clear up the backcourt. Don’t forget about Davion Mitchell either. The Kings already have their go-to guys in Fox and Sabonis. What they really need is that reliable third option. That’s where Murray fits in.

The Kings were a rough defensive team last year, ranking near the bottom of the league. Murray is a ready-now prospect who should provide some solid defense right away.

Small forward Harrison Barnes actually shot well from 3-point distance last year, hitting 39% of his shots on just under five attempts a game. Besides him, there really isn’t another reliable shooter on the roster now that Buddy Hield is gone. Murray will provide more spacing from the four, really allowing Fox and Sabonis to do their work inside.

Many will be upset that Sacramento did not shoot for a star here, but that isn’t necessarily what they need. They brought in their star in Domantas Sabonis. They needed a good third option, and that’s exactly what Murray can be. Sacramento strongly declared that they were trying to contend with their trade for Sabonis. Drafting a ready-now forward like Keegan Murray further backs that sentiment.

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4-star 2024 PF Cooper Koch commits to the Iowa Hawkeyes

In a major recruiting win, Iowa landed legacy commit Cooper Koch. The four-star power forward in the 2024 class is out of Peoria, Ill.

Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball just secured a big-time commitment from class of 2024 power forward Cooper Koch.

The 6-foot-7, 205 pound product of Peoria Notre Dame High School in Illinois is rated by 247Sports 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.

ESPN also ranks Koch as a four-star recruit, the country’s No. 57 player nationally and the No. 3 player from the state of Illinois. Koch is the son of former Hawkeye forward J.R. Koch, who played for Iowa from 1995-99. His father was a second-round 1999 NBA draft selection of the New York Knicks.

“I have grown up dreaming of playing for the Hawkeyes. Yesterday I made that dream a reality! I am proud to say I have committed to play for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Coach McCaffery!” Koch wrote on Twitter.

Iowa was Koch’s first Power Five offer all the way back on May 11, 2021. Now, he’s the first Hawkeye commit in the 2024 class. Koch chose Iowa over offers from schools such as Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

The commitment from Koch is a major recruiting coup for Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery. In fact, Koch represents the third highest-rated commit Iowa has ever secured according to 247Sports since the service began ranking players.

The only two players to rank ahead of Koch according to 247Sports were small forward Tyler Smith in the 2006 class and center Adam Woodbury in the 2012 class.

With that in mind, Koch’s commitment could help lure in other big-time players to consider making Iowa City a part of their futures. Iowa just recently offered 2023 Moline High School point guard Brock Harding. Harding is teammates with current class of 2023 commit Owen Freeman.

In the 2024 class, Iowa has also recently offered Lyon County High School point guard Travis Perry, St. Rita High School shooting guard Nojus Indrusaitis, Pewaukee High School combo guard Nick Janowski and Sycamore High School center Raleigh Burgess.

Here’s a look at some of Koch’s recent AAU highlights courtesy of TheHoosier on YouTube. Plus, Koch’s full recruiting profile is included below.

Wisconsin men’s basketball’s 2022-23 Big Ten opponents

Wisconsin basketball’s Big Ten opponents for the 2022-23 season: 

On Thursday afternoon, the Big Ten released the home and away opponents for every single men’s basketball team in the conference, and the Wisconsin Badgers will have an outstanding home slate of games for fans.

Related: WATCH: Johnny Davis’ post-workout interview with the Indiana Pacers

Wisconsin will be playing seven teams in home and away matchups including exciting series against Michigan and Iowa. Unfortunately, the Badgers will only get to avenge their regular-season finale loss to Nebraska on the road this season.

Even though the men’s basketball season is still a few months away, it is exciting to see the Badgers’ Big Ten opponents as they will try to defend their shared Big Ten regular season title.

Below are Wisconsin basketball’s Big Ten opponents in the 2022-23 season:

Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark only D1 player to ever lead nation in both points, assists

No player has ever led the nation in points and assists in the same year. That is until Caitlin Clark from Iowa just became the first.

With how the talent level across women’s basketball is exploding, it isn’t very often we have a new “first” or see something that has never been done before.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark did just that, though. Last year during the 2021-22 season, she became the very first Division I player to ever lead the nation in points and assists.

Clark averaged 27 points per game and eight assists per game on her way to making history. These numbers helped propel Iowa to a phenomenal year that eventually saw them crowned Big Ten champions after sharing the regular season title and then winning the conference tournament.

Clark is coming back for her junior year and looks to build on what is already a career for the record books. While her performance on the court is top notch, her off the court moves have been equally as impressive.

She is part of H&R Block’s “A Fair Shot” to help provide $1 million to support women in collegiate athletics as they generate name, image, and likeness deals as well.

Caitlin Clark had an outstanding year in 2021-22 and there is no reason to believe she isn’t going to become even more of a household name this upcoming year. A few more records should probably be ready to fall as well.

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247Sports lists Iowa Hawkeyes’ Kris Murray as 2022-23 Big Ten Player of the Year candidate

Kris Murray returning was huge for Iowa. Now the leader of the Hawkeyes, can Murray contend for the Big Ten Player of the Year award?

The 2021-22 season was quite the year for Iowa basketball. Not only did they win the Big Ten Tournament championship, but they saw the emergence of star forward Keegan Murray. In 2022, we might see the emergence of another Murray into the conversation for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Keegan Murray was sadly unable to make it three Hawkeyes in a row to win the award, somehow losing out to Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis. Murray at least was able to win Big Ten Tournament Player of the Year, but his younger brother Kris looks every bit of a contender to bring the award back to the Hawkeye State.

In 247Sports’ Isaac Trotter’s predictions for each Power Six conference’s Player of the Year in the 2022-23 season, Kris Murray was listed as “strongly in the mix” for the award.

Murray and Edey are two returners who were really good role players last year but are itching to be the top option. Murray should put up video-game numbers in Iowa’s friendly offensive system. – Trotter, 247Sports.

Murray is definitely more of a projection than some of the other contenders. Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, Trotter’s pick to win it, is already an established star. Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a longtime stalwart of the Big Ten, earning multiple All-Big Ten awards.

While Murray might not have reached their status yet, all the signs point to a breakout season in 2022-23. In limited time as a role player, Murray averaged nearly ten points on efficient scoring and was the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer and rebounder off its bench.

His 29 points off the bench against Indiana show just how dominant of a scorer he can be in his third year. There’s a reason he considered staying in the 2022 NBA draft. Murray’s talent is greater than his numbers were.

The Hawkeyes will be Murray’s team in 2022-23. Both his brother Keegan and longtime starter Jordan Bohannon are gone. The Hawkeyes will rely on him to bring them back to the NCAA Tournament next year. We know he has the talent, but can he be a Big Ten Player of the Year caliber player with the spotlight brightly shining on him?

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Is Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray headed to the Detroit Pistons?

ESPN’s latest mock draft has Keegan Murray going In the top five. Which team will select the Iowa forward and how would he fit in?

It appears Iowa will have their highest-ever draft pick in the 2022 NBA draft if this prediction comes to fruition. In Jonathan Givony’s most recent mock draft for ESPN, he has Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray going No. 5 overall to the Detroit Pistons.

Murray exploded onto the scene this past season with Iowa, averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. His points per game average was tops among all Power Five players and his rebounds per game constituted second-best in the Big Ten.

In the process, the 6-foot-8, 225 pound forward emerged as a national player of the year candidate. Murray finished as a consensus first-team All-American and was honored as college basketball’s Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year.

Murray’s all-around game has him all but locked in as a lottery selection and it appears his stock is soaring much higher than that. Here was Givony’s rationale behind Murray heading to the Motor City with the fifth overall selection.

The Pistons would likely be disappointed to see Ivey off the board in this scenario. Still, drafting the most productive player in college basketball this season in Murray would be an excellent consolation prize, as he looks like a day-one contributor ready to step into the void left by Jerami Grant, whose future with the Pistons looks uncertain. – Givony, ESPN.

Givony is not the first draft analyst to project Murray to Detroit, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish projected the same after the draft lottery set the order in stone.

Murray is a switchable big who can guard in space and consistently make shots from the perimeter. What he does, at his size, is perfectly suited for the modern NBA and would fit well with a Detroit franchise trying to return to respectability with Cade Cunningham as the centerpiece. – Parrish, CBS Sports.

Judging from the reactions on social media, many Pistons fans would be disappointed in the selection. Some fans want another guard to pair with rising star Cade Cunningham. While it is true that the Pistons desperately need another guard—Killian Hayes has struggled a ton over the past two years and Cory Joseph as a starting point guard is rough—the Pistons desperately need help everywhere.

The roster reads off as one big “he’s still in the league?!” It features the likes of Frank Jackson, Trey Lyles, Kelly Olynyk, and Josh Jackson. There is a reason that this team finished with only 23 wins in the 2021-22 NBA season.

While many fans have their hopes set on Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, in Givony’s latest mock draft Ivey was selected a pick before Detroit and there have been reports that teams are mixed on Ivey.

Shaedon Sharpe is another guard from the Kentucky Wildcats that will tantalize Detroit fans with his potential, however, he is one of the biggest boom or bust prospects in the draft. He shows promise and is quick for his size, but Sharpe didn’t play a single minute of college ball. All of the projection comes off of his massive stock as the third overall recruit in 2021. That is a large leap in competition.

While many will fall in love with his superstar potential, there also is the possibility that he never develops quite how many hope he will. That is a very big risk for a team with the fifth overall pick, especially a team that has not had much luck in the draft in recent years besides Cade Cunningham who was an obvious prospect coming out of Oklahoma State.

With all that in mind, it makes sense why Keegan Murray keeps getting linked to Detroit in mock drafts. The Pistons in recent years have taken shots on two risky European prospects in Hayes and Sekou Doumbouya, and Doumbouya’s already on another team while Hayes hasn’t polished his game in the NBA yet.

Murray, while an older prospect, is seen as one of the most complete players in the draft and a ready-now player. He can immediately add scoring and high IQ to the Pistons. He might not have the highest ceiling, but he can help Detroit start to turn things around. A team can only spend so long in the gutter before people start to lose their jobs.

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