Iowa men’s basketball head coach Fran McCaffery and athletes Patrick McCaffery, Payton Sandfort, and Tony Perkins attended Big Ten Media Days in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday to preview the upcoming season. 

Last year, Iowa finished 19-14 overall and 11-9 in the conference. They lost to No. 13 Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and then suffered a first-round exit to No. 9-seed Auburn in the NCAA Tournament. 

Despite losing three starters from last season,  Fran McCaffery has high hopes for the Hawkeyes with the combination of returning players and a standout freshman class.

The head coach noted that Kris Murray, Connor McCaffery, and Filip Rebraca played 3000 minutes, which is a lot of minutes and a lot to replace.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how we develop with what is essentially a new team in a lot of ways,” Fran McCaffery said. “As we move into this year with four freshmen and two transfers, as well as others that have to step up and fill in a different role, starting at the leadership position. We’ve had a little bit of a glimpse of what we can become …  I’ve been very pleased. And I’m very optimistic.”

The Hawkeyes currently have four freshmen on the roster — guard Brock Harding and forwards Owen Freeman, Pryce Sandfort, and Ladij Dembele.

Freeman and Harding won the Class 4A Illinois state championship together at Moline High School. Sandfort was named Iowa 2023 Mr. Basketball playing for Waukee High School, while Harding took home Illinois 2023 Mr. Basketball. 

Dembele is a Newark, New Jersey, prospect who chose Iowa over Wake Forest and Rutgers. 

Fran McCaffery believes this is the best set of freshmen Iowa has had in a long time. 

“We target players that we think will fit the style of our system. I feel really good about the four freshmen we have,” Fran McCaffery said. “They’re smart, intelligent players, but they also provide what we lost in graduation … They’re going to be a factor throughout the course of the season. robably makes us the deepest team we’ve had in quite some time.”

Fran McCaffery emphasized how important it is to allow players to make mistakes and learn from them.

“I think first and foremost, how much did they play as freshmen? Did they get a chance to perform well? Did they get a chance to make mistakes and play through their mistakes? That’s how you develop confidence,” Fran McCaffery said. “The more opportunities you get to succeed and fail as a young player is going to benefit you in the long run.” 

Iowa is projected to finish ninth in the Big Ten standings, according to The Athletic. Senior forward Patrick McCaffery believes rankings are just a number. 

“Who cares? Preseason rankings don’t mean anything,” Patrick McCaffery said. “If we finish 9th, we finish 9th. But I’m very, very confident I don’t think we will.”

Iowa’s season-opener is  against Quincy at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Oct. 30.