Heading into last season, many Hawkeye fans thought that there would be at least two redshirts.

However, head coach Fran McCaffrey is a guy who doesn’t like the redshirt and decided not to redshirt any freshman.

One of the freshman many thought was a sure-fire redshirt was Maishe Daily, especially after he didn’t play in Iowa’s first game.

But McCaffrey played Daily 13 minutes in the second game, which made him ineligible to redshirt.

“I think not being redshirted kept me on my toes and made me more eager to get better,” Daily said. “It didn’t happen on the court, but it helped a lot mentally and physically.”

Daily rarely saw the court last season, playing only 91 minutes in 12 appearances, most of them coming when the game was in hand.

Over those 91 minutes (7.7 a game), Daily put up 2.3 points on 1.6 rebounds.

RELATED: Spreading the minutes around

The 6-6 guard’s best game came against Delaware State, in which he put up 8 points while grabbing 7 boards and dishing 2 assists.

Daily may have just been along for the ride last season, but he doesn’t want to do that again this season.

“I want to start,” Daily said. “That’s my goal this season. With my height and my versatility, I feel like I can spread the floor, and because of that, I can do anything my team needs me to.”

With Iowa’s depth at guard, it won’t be easy for Daily to work his way into the starting lineup.

To get there, Daily will have to beat out teammates Christian Williams, Isaiah Moss, Brady Ellingson, and Jordan Bohannon.

Being the tallest of the five certainly gives him an advantage, and he might be the best athlete in the group.

With his athleticism and pure offensive talent, Daily definitely has the tools to be an Iowa starter, he just needs to put his game together.

Teammate Tyler Cook has noticed the sophomore’s talent

“Maishe is a crazy offensive scorer and stupid athletic,” Cook said. “I think just getting him in the right spot is going to be really important for us this year. When he gets going, he can be really dangerous. He just needs to get more comfortable with his game, and once he does that, people are going to be able to see what he can do.”

This summer, Daily is playing in Prime Time on a team with Iowa teammate Luka Garza.

RELATED: Garza excites fans immediately

During the summer season, Daily has had a propensity to be a boom or bust player.

In two games, he put up 23 points and 18, while in his other two games he put up just 11.

Sunday’s game was one of Daily’s 11-point performances in which he struggled to knock down shots, shooting 4-of-16 from the floor.

The Hawkeyes hope that the Beachwood, Ohio, native can find a way to be more consistent on the offensive side of the ball.

Daily’s goal of starting might not come to fruition this season, but there’s no doubt that the future is bright for the young guard.