The Iowa Hawkeyes dipped into the NCAA transfer portal to bolster their frontline heading into the 2023-24 men’s college basketball season.
It makes sense. Iowa is replacing consensus third-team All-American and recent No. 23 overall NBA draft pick in forward Kris Murray. The Hawkeyes also saw third-team All-Big Ten center Filip Rebraca exhaust his final eligibility.
As a result, the Hawkeyes went to find proven production out of the transfer portal. That led Iowa to Valparaiso grad transfer Ben Krikke. The 6-foot-9, 220 pound big led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He was even better than that mark in league play, scoring on average 21.0 points per game.
The Edmonton, Alberta, product also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Krikke shot 55% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty is expecting good things for Iowa from Krikke. In his ranking of the Big Ten’s top 10 transfer portal additions, Krikke checks in at No. 4.
The No. 55 transfer spent the last four years at Valparaiso, where he emerged as a three-year starter. And while he averaged at least 12.3 points per game in each of those three seasons, he was at his best as a senior, when he hit career bests in points (19.4), rebounds (5.9) and assists (2.1) per game. The 6-foot-9 forward did most of his work inside the arc, though his shooting just 27.9% from 3 didn’t stop him from taking nearly two 3s per game. Krikke shot 77% at the rim and a strong 41.7% on his 2-point jumpers, according to Hoop-Math; he’s just not a floor-stretching threat at this point. – Flaherty, 247Sports.
Krikke should slide right into the starting rotation for the Hawkeyes.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to become a Hawkeye. I am excited to get to campus. I can tell the school is rich in tradition and history and is serious about success both academically and athletically. I’m excited to be supported by such a vibrant fan base and get to be a part of such a great community. I want to do everything I can to help the team win games and contribute to the school’s legacy.
“I enjoyed getting to know the coaching staff over my recruitment process and respect them both on and off the court. They want to win and so do I. They are genuine people that are dedicated to seeing their players succeed. I also enjoyed getting to meet the players when I visited. I can tell they are serious about success both on and off the court and many of us approach the game with a similar mindset. We all want to work and push each other to get better,” Krikke said in April.
Iowa also added Belmont transfer Even Brauns. Brauns played in 92 games during his three-year Belmont career, including starting 31 contests and 30 of 31 games last season. Brauns averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game in 21.2 minutes of average floor time last year with the Bruins.
A 6-foot-9, 240 pound center, he shot 58.3% from the floor, which was tops on Belmont. Brauns registered double-figure scoring in 10 contests last season and had double-figure boards in five games.
Flaherty’s full top 10 Big Ten transfers looks like this: Indiana’s Kel’el Ware is No. 1, Penn State‘s Adrian Baldwin is No. 2, Ohio State‘s Jamison Battle is No. 3, Iowa’s Krikke No. 4, Michigan‘s Olivier Nkamhoua No. 5, Minnesota’s Mike Mitchell Jr. No. 6, Illinois’ Marcus Domask No. 7, Wisconsin‘s AJ Storr No. 8, Nebraska‘s Rink Mast No. 9 and Nebraska’s Brice Williams No. 10.
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