The Iowa men’s basketball team got off to a rocky start in the Fran McCaffery era when two players were granted releases from their scholarships on April 9.

The Hawkeyes lost a player from the 2010 recruiting class when 6-9 forward Cody Larson asked out of his letter of intent. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native was regarded as the top prospect of Iowa’s four recruits in the class by numerous recruiting outlets.

In a release sent out that day, head coach McCaffery said Larson would consider recommitting to Iowa.

Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com said McCaffery met with recruit Ben Brust on April 10 and plans to meet with Devyn Marble later this week. Zach McCabe, who hails from Sioux City, has chosen to honor his commitment to the Hawkeyes.

“Those four were all pretty tight,” Kakert said. “They’ve gotten to know each other through the recruiting process. They’ve gotten to be good friends, and when one opts out, they worry about the next one opting out.”

Then the roster was shaken further later in the afternoon, when news broke that sophomore Aaron Fuller made the decision to transfer closer to his home in Mesa, Ariz.

Fuller led Iowa in scoring and rebounding during the Big Ten portion of the Hawkeyes’ campaign, averaging 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest.

With Fuller’s departure, McCaffery now has two open scholarships at his disposal; the second stems from guard Anthony Tucker’s departure in February.

— by Brendan Stiles