Ben McCollum preaching patience, development for Iowa basketball
· Yahoo Sports
As No. 25 Iowa basketball (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten) prepares for its Saturday evening matchup against No. 12 Purdue (20-4, 10-3 Big Ten) from a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena, head coach Ben McCollum preached patience regarding player development within the Hawkeyes program.
"Year two, year three, year four in our program, guys will shockingly get better," McCollum said.
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In his statement, he continued by using Bennett Stirtz's year-by-year improvement as an example, noting that the star guard went from being a second-team All-Conference selection in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) to earning MVP honors in the Missouri Valley Conference to now being among the top players in the Big Ten.
Given that a vast majority of the Hawkeyes' roster is comprised of transfer portal additions and its top two scorers (senior guards Bennett Stirtz and Tavion Banks) exhausting their NCAA eligibility after this season, the natural concern for McCollum's constructed roster is which underclassmen will be able to elevate their game and become reliable options in the future.
Understanding the Iowa fan base's desire to become conference and national contenders immediately, he admitted that, unfortunately, player development takes time to yield dividends. While the transfer portal is obviously an option once again to find an instant boost, McCollum's vision for continued success within the Hawkeyes program may need a bit of patience to fully deliver its ultimate results.
"You'll see that guys get better and better and better and better in our program, and unfortunately, it does take some time," McCollum said.
The Hawkeyes will host the Boilermakers on Feb. 14 with an opportunity to showcase their continued development against one of the top programs in the Big Ten and get revenge for their 79-72 loss at Purdue on Jan. 14.
The tip-off time between Iowa and Purdue is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast on FOX.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Ben McCollum preaching patience, development for Iowa basketball