Hiring of Ben McCollum could be a huge win for Iowa

In 2024, McCollum assumed HC duties at Drake when Darian DeVries (now with Indiana) left for West Virginia. Many of DeVries' players, including his son Tucker, followed him.

McCollum served as HC at Division II school Northwest Missouri State from 2009-24, where he won four national championships. He brought some of his players to overhaul Drake's roster. 

Four of the Bulldogs' five starters this season (guards Isaiah Jackson, Bennett Stirtz, Mitch Mascari and forward Daniel Abreu) played for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State. Drake didn't backslide with the new squad. It improved.

McCollum and Co. won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles. In the NCAA Tournament, the No. 11 seed Bulldogs upset the No. 6 seed Missouri Tigers 67-57 in the first round, advancing to the round of 32 for the first time since 1971. They lost to No. 3 seed Texas Tech 77-64 on Saturday. 

Drake went 31-4, finishing with the most wins in a season in school history. McCollum won MVC Coach of the Year and was named a semifinalist for Naismith Coach of the Year.

McCollum will replace Fran McCaffery at Iowa, who was fired after the Hawkeyes went 17-16 this season and missed the Big Dance for a second consecutive year. In 15 seasons with the Hawkeyes, McCaffery won a program-record 297 games and made seven NCAA Tournaments but made no Sweet 16s.

With McCollum at the helm, perhaps the Hawkeyes will rebound soon. Quick turnarounds seem like his specialty.