Iowa's Two Biggest Takeaways from B1G Media Day

"We definitely won’t be the slowest in the country," he continued. "But if we still are, we’re going to play to our strengths.”

While a slight cloud of uncertainty seems to sit over exactly how the Hawkeyes intend to shake up McCollum's usual pace, Stirtz' confidence that it won't matter rings true coming from a player who already has experience in McCollum's system. After all, the guard averaged more than 20 points a game under the HC last season, winning a bevy of singular awards as a result.

2. Start Em' Young

On a more specific note compared to the Hawkeyes as a whole, Trey Thompson, the team's 17 year old newcomer, has already made a strong impression on the roster in the mere three months he's spent on campus.

“He’s definitely exceeded my expectations,” Iowa junior Cam Manyawu said of Thompson, "He’s just continuing to grow and learn every day. I really feel like with the more days he gets, he’s going to be really good.”

Thompson, who committed over the summer in the wake of McCollum's hire, represented one of the coach's earliest checked boxes on the recruiting trail. A four-star prospect that had the likes of Purdue, Tennessee and others involved in his process, the 6'8 forward ultimately chose the Hawkeyes and, when given the opportunity, reclassified from the 2026 class in order to bolster the current Hawkeyes arsenal.

Coach McCollum had his own positivities regarding Thompson's game, saying that he is “Really good, particularly offensively."

“We knew he’d be able to do things offensively right away. He’s bouncy. He’s shooting a high percentage, finishes at the rim," he expounded. While Thompson's defense may need a little more time in the lab, you can't ask for a better mold than a young athlete with more time than anyone else on the team to grow.

With their first game now just a few weeks away, it'll be no time at all before the Hawkeyes revamped basketball program is seen in action as expected competitors in a conventionally loaded conference. Expectations are high for McCollum as his team, but if media day suggested anything about the refreshed program, they're prepared for the challenge.