Iowa
Hawkeyes make up for Owen Freeman’s absence just fine in 96-77 win over South Dakota
Josh Dix lit it up with 23 points, and sophomore Seydou Traore had a very nice first game as a Hawkeye with 12 points and shot-blocking
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IOWA CITY — A West African influence is looking like a very good influence for the Iowa men’s basketball program.
On the day the news came that Mali native and 6-foot-10 forward Bidara Diakite of Connecticut committed to the program as a Class of 2025 recruit, two current Iowa players of West African descent were very good in the Hawkeyes’ 96-77 win over South Dakota Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Forward Seydou Traore, a 6-7 sophomore playing his first game as a Hawkeye after missing the team’s opening two contests with a foot issue, had 12 points in 22 minutes. Soph forward Ladji Dembele had a career-high 11 points and a game-high 8 rebounds.
Traore was born and raised in New York City, but his parents came to the U.S. from the Ivory Coast, which borders Mali. Dembele was born in Mali and lived there until he was 13 when his family moved to Spain, and then New Jersey.
Another Hawkeye, freshman Chris Tadjo, lived in Mali before moving to Montreal.
With starting center Owen Freeman out with illness, Traore and Dembele helped make up for his absence. Traore blocked a pair of shots. Dembele had four offensive rebounds.
“I think they fit well into this institution and into this state,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said of Dembele, Traore and Tadjo. “I think our style of play fits all of them, but it’s been impressive to me how easy it has been to coach those guys.
“They’re innately workers. They work, they listen, they want to do what the coach asks them to do. If anything, I try to get them to be a little more free-flowing. Just trust your talent and make plays. And you’re seeing that more with Ladji this year. And you’ll see with Chris. Seydou’s doing it already.
“I have no doubt our addition will do the same.”
Traore averaged 11.8 points last season as a freshman with Manhattan. He confidently made a couple of first-half 3-pointers.
“You can’t speed him up,” McCaffery said. “He plays at his pace.
“He makes plays for himself, but he almost appreciates making plays for other people more.
Traore said “I didn’t miss a beat” in his first practice back from what he called a tweak in his right foot. It didn’t appear he missed a beat in the game, either. One of the night’s biggest roars came when he finished a lob from Brock Harding with an authoritative dunk.
Traore was an AAU teammate of Diakite’s with the New York Lightning.
“It’s just amazing having another brother commit to the Hawkeyes,” Traore said.
Oh, Iowa’s player from western Iowa was especially good Tuesday, also. Junior guard Josh Dix of Council Bluffs made 5-of-6 three-pointers and scored 23 points.
“My teammates were really just finding me when I was open, making it easy for me,” Dix said. “I was just catching and shooting wide-open threes.”
Freeman, who had 15 points and three blocks in both of Iowa’s first two games, is expected back Friday. That’s when Iowa (3-0) plays Washington State (3-0) at Vibrant Arena in Moline, Ill., at 7:30 p.m.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on offense, defense development
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on how the Cyclones offense and defense is developing.
After securing multiple commitments on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State football has landed its first defensive commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.
Keaton Wollan, a three-star linebacker out of Amery, Wisconsin, committed to the Cyclones on April 21. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker announced his decision on social media.
He chose Iowa State over other offers from Texas Tech and North Dakota State. He previously visited Ames in March, but he also took recent visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan was a two-way standout and earned all-state honors for the 2025 season. Defensively, he racked up a team-high 125 total tackles, including nine for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown.
Offensively, he had a team-high 932 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries. He also caught 15 passes for 179 yards, and he was an impact player in the return game, logging more than 500 kick and punt return yards.
According to 247 Sports Composite rankings, Wollan is the No. 93 linebacker prospect in the country and the No. 11 overall recruit in his class from the state of Wisconsin.
Wollan is the sixth player to commit in the Cyclones’ 2027 recruiting class.
Iowa State football 2027 recruiting commitments
As of April 21
- Gavin Ericson-Staton, OL | Lombard, Illinois/Montini Catholic
- Isaiah Hansen, RB | Newton, Iowa/Newton HS
- Koen Hinzman, OL | Hudson, Michigan/Hudson Area HS
- Will Slagle, OL | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell HS
- Bryson Thompson, WR | San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson HS
- Keaton Wollan, LB | Amery, Wisconsin/Amery HS
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
Avoiding common car crashes
Discover the common causes of car crashes and learn how to avoid them.
Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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