Among the Iowa Hawkeyes’ incoming class – the fist under new head coach Ben McCollum – transfer forward Alvaro Folgueiras has consistently, at least to some extent, been lost in the hectic craze that naturally comes with a new leading man.

Folgueiras, entering just his junior year, spent his first two seasons at the collegiate level at Robert Morris, where he was consistently a primary scoring option for the Colonials and a constant candidate for the sort of transfer-pool involvement that eventually landed him in Iowa City.

Last season specifically, Folgueiras nearly averaged a double-double, posting 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game; to boot, he shot a scorching 54.8% clip from the field in the process, including a bolstered 41.3% tally from long range that had risen nearly 15 percent from the previous season.

At 6’10, 230, the Spanish forward might be one of the most intriguing additions to the Hawkeyes’ roster, in spite of his apparently having flown under the wider radar thus far. Interestingly enough, in Iowa’s first game of the year, he’ll be facing off against his former team, Robert Morris, on a new home floor.

In his media day news conference earlier this week, HC McCollum spoke at length about Folgueiras as a player and, more specifically, how he intends to utilize him.

“How we’ll use him, he can play anywhere from the 3, 4 and 5, depending upon if we want to go big or if we want to play small,” McCollum said, “because of his ability to pass and his ability to stretch the floor with his shot, and then his just overall basketball IQ.”

In basketball’s modern form, the so-called “stretch big” has become invaluable due to the overt reliance from most every major competitor on the three point shot. Folgueiras, being able to both pass the ball and score from anywhere on the floor, sets himself apart as a malleable piece in a newly formed offense.

On his defensive capabilities, McCollum honed in on his game plan, saying, “I think the big thing for us is we have to be a little bit unique in that it’s more of a keep-it-out-of-the-paint type of thing, keep it out of that 15-foot, keep it out of that 18-foot area so it just doesn’t get there so you don’t necessarily have to protect the rim, so you kind of protect the paint rather than protecting the rim and shot blocking.”

Folgueiras looks to head a completely revamped Hawkeyes unit come November in what is perhaps the program’s most anticipated season in nearly two decades. Alongside the rest of the transfer-heavy team, the forward’s role appears to have been carved out before he even arrived.

Coach McCollum has a plan, and it’s almost time to see whether or not it’ll pay off in his inaugural attempt.

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