There were two reasons for Iowa Hawkeyes fans to be excited about Fran McCaffery’s replacement. First, Ben McCollum had a remarkable season at Drake as the four-time Division 2 national champion led the Bulldogs to 31 wins and a first-round NCAA Tournament upset of Missouri. And second, Bennett Stirtz.
The All-American honorable mention point guard led McCollum’s team with 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.1 steals a game as he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. Then, in the NCAA Tournament Stirtz proved that he was ready for Power Confernece competition, taking it to Missouri with a dazzling 20-point first-round performance and dropping 20 more in a second-round loss to Texas Tech.
Stirtz followed McCollum from D2 Northwest Missouri State to Drake, so optimistic Iowa fans predicted that the two would be a package deal, and on Tuesday, they were proven right…