Ben McCollum Convinces Iowa Freshman to Return to Iowa

When Iowa introduced new head coach Ben McCollum, the new head Hawk had a message for fans. Help him get back some of the Iowa players that had entered the transfer portal. He listed three specific names. And after a conversation about the future of Iowa basketball, one of those players has decided to stay at Iowa.

Hawk Central reports that freshman forward Cooper Koch is leaving the transfer portal and returning to Iowa. Koch suffered from an undisclosed illness last season and played in just 10 games. He averaged 4.6 points and 2 rebounds per game. But he also showed some flashes of talent that made him a four-star recruit in Illinois.

The son of 90s Iowa star J.R. Koch shot over 42% from three-point range last season. Hawk Central reports that he scored 14 points against New Hampshire in December and hit some big threes in Iowa's win over Washington State in November. His last game was against Wisconsin on January 3rd.

So why the change of heart? Hawk Central reports that Koch posted on social media that "after speaking with Coach McCollum, I believe his (vision) for the Men's Basketball Team is one that aligns with mine." It's another early recruiting win for McCollum. Can he also convince Josh Dix and Pryce Sandfort to stay? Those players along with guard Bennett Stirtz from Drake would mark a pretty nice start to the Ben McCollum era at Iowa!

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