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There is no mistaking what made the Iowa Hawkeyes go this season. It started and ended with Bennett Stirtz, Iowa’s point guard, who willed this team to wins more than once. After transferring from Drake, Stirtz came in with high expectations and delivered on them.
Despite teams knowing that McCollum’s offense was going to flow through him, Stirtz was able to control the pace and tempo of games perfectly. He delivered a steadying presence and was the facilitator for Iowa’s offense that won three NCAA Tournament games in a historic Elite 8 run.
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The entirety of Stirtz’s season has landed him on CBS Sports’ All-Transfer Team for the 2025-26 college basketball season as one of the best transfers in the sport.
Transfer from Drake
If Lendeborg gets the LeBron comparison, Stirtz gets the Cal Ripken Jr. moniker. The Iowa star never came off the floor and helped engineer the Hawkeyes’ magical run to the Elite Eight. Stirtz answered the bell every night despite loads of attention from Big Ten defenses that didn’t respect his supporting cast for long stretches this season. Stirtz didn’t just stat-pad against the bad teams, either. The former Division II product shot 62% on 2s, 37% from 3-point range and 84% from the charity stripe in Big Ten play. He was held under 12 points just twice in a 25-game sample size against top-100 competition. Oh, and Stirtz posted a 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio with good defense. Warrior. – Isaac Trotter, CBS Sports
On the year, Stirtz averaged 19.8 points per game in his first and only year against Power Four competition. He was incredibly effective from the field, shooting 47.7% overall and 35.8% from three-point range, while still handing out 4.4 assists per game.
His play and his success have helped set the foundation for the Iowa Hawkeyes and have undoubtedly made Ben McCollum’s offense one of the more attractive sports for point guards in the transfer portal.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/iowa-basketball-pg-bennett-stirtz-163028125.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-01 16:30:00
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